“Big words” normally mean lots of letters and a surplus of syllables. Here, I will use “big” to mean a word’s frequency of use and its influence on society.
There are many wonderful words in the languages of the world. Some of these words have precise definitions like the word kind. Because of this preciseness, the word is not a “wide” word. There are other words that are “big,” “wide” and are not wonderful. Sin is one of those words. However, there is a word whose definition is “big,” “wide,” and it is still wonderful. That word is GRACE.
Before I tell you about this word, let’s look at the various definitions of the word “definition.”
The dictionary defines “definition” as:
Definition #1: A statement of the meaning of a word or word group or a sign or symbol.
Definition #2: The meaning of a word from the context of a paragraph or a story or a lecture.
There are many such examples from the books of L.M. Montgomery. Here is one:
“But an August afternoon, with blue hazes scarfing the harvest slopes, little winds whispering elfishly in the poplars, and a dancing splendor of red poppies outflowing against the dark coppice of young firs in a corner of the cherry orchard, was fitter for dreams than dead languages” (Anne of Avonlea).
Both scarfing and outflaming are invented participles made up from the two legitimate words scarf and flaming. The definitions are clear from the basic words and the context. Harvest is a legitimate word if it is used as a verb or a noun. Here it is an adjective. However, the definition is clear. Dancing is a legitimate word, but it modifies splendor, which should not make sense, but it does.
Definition #3: An agreed-upon meaning of a word within a certain group of people.
Two people invited to dinner could agree, before they arrived at the dinner, that the main dish would be called “garbage.” At the table they would say things like this to each other: “Please pass the garbage,” or “Boy, this garbage tastes good.” The hostess might be offended, because she knows the standard meaning of “garbage.” She was not in on the agreement.
This happens in religion frequently. Mormons, Christian Scientists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Muslims all speak of Jesus, but they have different definitions of who He is. They do not agree with each other’s definitions or with the Bible’s. However, if we do not know that each group has an “agreed-upon” definition within itself, we might think that they are talking about the same person we are talking about.
They know what they are talking about, but others who know the dictionary definition or have a contextual definition of the same word, but who are not in on the agreement, do not know what they are talking about, although they will think that they know.
Both Reformed and Wesleyan theologies have modified the contextual definitions of grace with their agreed-upon definition in their own group. The Reformed group precedes the word with the modifiers sovereign and efficacious. These modifiers are used so often that after the group is convinced of the modified meaning, then “grace” can be used by itself and people will hear it in the light of the new meaning. The emphasis is on God giving what cannot be refused.
The Wesleyan group will place the modifier “free” in front of grace and use it until the meaning is commonly understood. The emphasis is on man receiving.
Grace has a clear definition all by itself. The modifiers are applied to help God out so that people will be sure to understand God’s meaning, as if He had not made it clear Himself.
Agreed-upon definitions are O.K. for small societies using “in” words. They are not legitimate for words of world-wide import. We should stick to the dictionary definition, contextual definition, or common usage if the common usage is language-wide.
Here is the definition from Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary: Definition #1: grace, unmerited divine assistance given man for his regeneration or sanctification.
Grace in the Bible
Now let’s look at this wonderful word from the context of the Bible. This is difficult because there is a lot of context. I will quote one passage from each verse group to give some, if limited, meaning. I will group the verses in an order based upon common meanings.
The Source of Grace
· Luke 2:40: “And the child
grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on
him.”
· John 1:14
· John 1:16-17
· Acts 15:40
· Acts 20:24, 32
· Romans 1:7
· Ephesians 2:5, 8
For Whom Is This Grace?
· Titus 3:5-7: “He saved us
through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured
out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been
justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”
· Ephesians 3:2, 7-8
· 2 Corinthians 12:9
· 2 Corinthians 1:2
Modifiers of Grace
· Acts 4:33
· Acts 6:8
· Romans 5:15, 17, 20: “But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! … For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! … The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”
Rejection of Grace
· Jonah 2:8
· Galatians 5:4: “You who are
trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have
fallen away from grace.”
· Hebrews 12:15
Relationship to Mercy, Faith, and Love
· Acts 18:27
· 1 Timothy 1:14: “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”
What Does Grace Do?
· Acts 15:11
· Romans 3:24: “And all are
justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
· Romans 5:21
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