The apostle Peter says: “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.” 2 Peter 1:2. What a marvelous promise! Grace and peace! As sinners, we are in such need of grace. Our hearts should be overflowing with gratitude for the grace of God in our lives. It is of great significance that the word “gratitude” comes from the Latin word gratia, which means “grace.” The famous hymn “Amazing Grace” was written by John Newton, on whose tombstone in Olney, England, we find this inscription: “John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slavers in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned and appointed to preach the faith he had long laboured to destroy.” Newton’s was a marvelous transformation. An erstwhile slave ship captain, he surrendered his life to God and became a preacher of the gospel. Now we can understand the verses he wrote in the beautiful hymn that has become a Christian classic: “Amazing grace! how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.” Because of God’s abundant grace we are united in Christ, and we have peace. Peace with God, peace with our fellow humans, peace with our families, peace with ourselves. Describing this marvelous grace in our lives, Ellen G. White says: “There must be a power working from within, a new life from above, before men can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul, and attract it to God, to holiness.” Steps to Christ, p. 18. Let us all pray that the message of grace will awaken our hearts, our emotions, and our minds and bring us closer to Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

When the Old Testament talks about grace, concepts such as an undeserved favor or gift, a benevolent action in behalf of someone else, kindness, and steadfast love are involved. In the New Testament, grace is kindness and mercy, a special manifestation of God’s presence, power or glory, a gift or favour, gratitude, blessing, something pleasant. What a wonderful concept! Scripture is full of references to the freely given unmerited favor and love of God toward us. But let’s explore this crucial concept a little further, taking a look at Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

An Attribute of God

“Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 1:2. Paul starts his letter and ends it (Ephesians 6:24) with the wish that his audience may experience grace. It is a blessing and “a prayer that his readers may know fully the free, undeserved favour of God, restoring them to Himself, and adding to them all that they need.” Grace is from God, and Paul continues by talking about the “glory of His grace” (Ephesians 1:6), then adds the expression: the “riches of His grace” (v. 7). But as if that would not yet sufficiently describe the excellency of God, Paul intensifies his previous statement by talking about “the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us.” Ephesians 2:7. Thus Paul praises the grace of God in higher and higher terms.

In the Old Testament God introduced Himself to Moses with the following words: “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” Exodus 34:6. The writers of the Old Testament again and again return to this self-revelation of God and praise His grace. David states: “But Thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” Psalm 86:15. Joel calls his people to repentance and declares: “And turn unto the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.” Joel 2:13. Jonah, being angry because of God’s graciousness, prays: “I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.” Jonah 4:2. Paul may have had God’s self-testimony in mind when he referred to God’s grace. In Ephesians 1:6 he even mentions the concept of grace twice: “To the praise of the glory of His grace, in which He . . . [has graced] us in the Beloved.”

It is important that we understand who God is and how He is. For the perception we have of God determines to a large degree the quality of our relationship with Him and therefore also the quality of our own life. Our God is the God of grace. Grace is part of His divine character. Grace means that God turns His “bright happy countenance” toward us and blesses us with undeserved gifts or favours. We can pray for His intervention, but grace cannot be coerced. It is a freely given benefit, granted by a superior to an inferior party, by the powerful to the weak, and it is engendered by love and pity. Thus grace is not only a favorable disposition to a person or a group, but it becomes active. God helps the poor, the oppressed, the mortally ill, those who suffer. He turns toward those who have needs and fulfills these needs that no one else can meet. His actions involve deliverance and protection, help and empowerment. God is very much concerned with good relationships. His grace is His unexpected and loving decision to forgive our shortcoming and to restore broken relationships.

Someone has said: “When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day’s pay for their time, that is a wage. When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for their performance, that is a prize. When a person receives appropriate recognition for their long service or high achievements, that is an award. But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award—yet receives such a gift anyway—that is a good picture of God’s unmerited favour. This is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God.”

We Need It

In Ephesians Paul does not only marvel about the “surpassing riches of His grace,” he also lets us know that we really need it. After having briefly described the Christians’ new status, namely their redemption, their acceptance as God’s children and heirs, and their sealing with the Holy Spirit as a result of God’s grace (see Ephesians 1:3–14), in chapter 2 he elaborates on their previous condition and their subsequent salvation. We must know where we came from. We must know who we are, namely sinners and people on death row. Never should we forget this fact, because should we ever lose sight of it, we will stop appreciating our salvation and treasuring God’s goodness and grace. Please read the great passage of Ephesians 2:4–10.

Not only does the word “grace” occur several times in this passage, Paul tells us that our human condition is one of desperate need. Without God’s grace we are dead, spiritually dead. We are enslaved and inescapably entangled in the coils of sin. We need liberation. We are in need of being bought back to becoming the sole property of our real owner, our Creator and Lord. New life, and nothing less, is needed. But aside from God’s grace there is no way to get it.

In this passage Paul informs us about three things. First, salvation is entirely of grace. The same thought is stressed three times: “By grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:5, 8, NKJV). The second time Paul reinforces this reality by adding “not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” And he goes on to make really sure that we get it: “not of works, lest anyone should boast” (verse 9, NKJV). Salvation is always the free gift of God. If salvation could be earned or if we could add to our salvation, grace would cease to be grace. Oftentimes humans seem to be too proud to admit that they are lost, helpless, and desperate and cannot contribute to their redemption. Oftentimes they are too proud to accept by faith God’s free gift.

As much as we admire God’s grace, it means that we have to come down from our pedestals and in humility recognize our utter helplessness and dependence on the Lord. Paul tells us: Salvation cannot be paid for. It is undeserved. Good works are a consequence of salvation, not the grounds for it (Ephesians 2:10). Second, Paul presents salvation as an accomplished fact. Through God’s grace we are already saved (verses 5, 8). We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7). We have been raised up and seated in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). Third, there is also a future dimension. What God has done for believers and what is a present reality will be fully known only in the ages to come. Although we are already saved, the final salvation still awaits us, when we will not only be freed from the power of sin but also from the presence of sin. It is that final consummation to which we are looking forward.

Moving on in Ephesians we detect that God’s grace is not limited to our salvation. In chapter 3 Paul talks about the grace of God, who has assigned him a special task and ministry (verses 2, 7). He adds: “To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (verse 8, NKJV). The grace of God had made him all that he was, a new person in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:10). But don’t get it wrong! God’s grace called not only Paul to a specific ministry, but all of us: “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ,” Paul says in Ephesians 4:7, enumerating a number of spiritual gifts. Through the grace of God each individual believer has received at least one spiritual gift, unmerited, with no place for boasting. These gifts were given to build up the body of Christ, the church, to help it grow spiritually and also numerically, and to foster its unity (verses 12–16). Do we need grace? Indeed, we need it. We need it for our salvation. We need it for our daily life. We need it for our ministry. Grace is the undeserved favour of God that brings to us all that we need for living a Christian life and serving others. We pass it on.

Ellen G. White summarizes grace in a wonderful way: “God loves the sinless angels, who do His service and are obedient to all His commands; but He does not give them grace: they have never needed it; for they have never sinned. Grace is an attribute shown to undeserving human beings. We did not seek after it; it was sent in search of us. God rejoices to bestow grace upon all who hunger and thirst for it, not because we are worthy, but because we are unworthy. Our need is the qualification which gives us the assurance that we shall receive the gift.” –Testimonies to Ministers, p. 519

Revealed to Us in Christ

So far we have studied the grace of God and our need for it. Yet the most essential part is missing. God’s grace is revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Without Jesus, salvation would not and could not be offered to us as an undeserved gift. Therefore, right at the beginning, when Paul addresses the Christians in Ephesus and wishes them grace and peace, he immediately introduces not only God the Father but also “the Lord Jesus Christ.” When in Ephesians 1:6 Paul praises the glory of God’s grace he hastens to add: with which he has graced us “in the Beloved.” The Beloved is no one else than Jesus our Lord. God’s grace is bestowed upon us in Jesus and in Him alone. One verse further we are assured that “we have redemption . . . , the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Ephesians 1:7, NKJV. How? “In him,” Jesus Christ our Lord and “through His blood.” Salvation by grace is dependent on Jesus. Voluntarily He shed His blood so that we may be freed, an undeserved gift. We were dead in sins. But He saved us. That is grace. Jesus paid the price for our transgressions of God’s law. He took upon Him our unrighteousness so that we may enjoy His righteousness. Therefore, God “made us alive together with Christ . . . and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:5, 6, NKJV. Paul goes so far to indicate that the purpose of God for the church reaches beyond salvation and re-creation, beyond its unity and the proclamation of the gospel to the world. The church is to be a demonstration of God’s love and grace in Christ to the entire creation (Ephesians 2:7). Notice again, “in Christ.” Through Him we are saved by grace and enjoy a new quality of life. Through Him we receive gifts, ministries, and all that we need to grow individually and as a church, to proclaim the everlasting gospel of God’s love toward humankind, and to maintain and advance the unity of His remnant church.

Grace is a wonderful attribute of God. We desperately need it. It is offered to us in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Let us accept this gift of grace and come to the throne of grace boldly through Jesus our Saviour and High Priest. “Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.” Ephesians 6:24, NKJV. To be continued. AMEN!

In Christ,

Nicholas Anca