What Is Meant by ‘God’s Grace’?
Grace is often defined as “God’s unmerited favor toward humanity.” Though true, this definition is incomplete. Grace is explained more fully as the intrinsic quality of God by which He spontaneously bestows unmerited favor, love, and mercy on undeserving, sinful humanity.
God first revealed His grace to Adam and Eve after they disobeyed Him. Therefore, all mankind (except Jesus) inherited Adam’s sin nature.
God extended His grace to humanity in two ways:
1. Common grace, or providential care extended to all people (Ps. 145:14–16; Acts 14:17). Such grace also includes God restraining His judgment against wicked societies (Jon. 3:10) and giving individuals time to repent of their sin (2 Pet. 3:9).
2. Special grace, or efficacious or saving grace. God’s grace is efficacious because He bestows salvation on those who place their faith in Christ’s death and shed blood for the remission of their sin. Believers are granted salvation not according to their own works but according to God’s grace, purpose, and will (2 Tim. 1:9).
Scripture describes several types of grace:
Saving grace. Man is redeemed from sin’s penalty and power and will be delivered from its presence at his future glorification (Eph. 2:8–9).
Sanctifying grace. Sanctify means “to make holy” or “set apart unto God” for a sacred purpose. Sanctification is the work of God’s grace through the Holy Spirit whereby He sets believers apart to be conformed to Christ’s image.
Scripture describes three stages of man’s sanctification:
1. Positional sanctification, a believer’s holy standing before God on the basis of redemption through Christ (1 Cor. 6:11).
2. Progressive sanctification, the lifelong process in which Christians are renewed spiritually to be conformed into Christ’s likeness through God’s Word (Jn. 17:17). As believers grow daily in grace, they develop the fruit of the Spirit and are conformed to Christ’s image (Rom. 8:29).
3. Perfected sanctification, a Christian’s soul and spirit’s reunification in his or her resurrected, glorified body at Jesus’ return (v. 30).
Serving grace. God has provided believers spiritual gifts without merit through His grace freely given by the Holy Spirit. These gifts equip and enable Christians for local church ministry (12:6–8).
Suffering grace. Paul had a “thorn in the flesh” that he appealed to God three times to remove. The Lord answered, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). The same is true today: God’s grace strengthens believers to overcome any trial, temptation, or time of suffering.
