GROWING IN GRACE

“But GROW IN GRACE and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen” – 2 Peter 3:18

The Covenant of Grace not only enhances our Christian Walk, it aids our GROWING IN GRACE: “But GROW IN GRACE and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen” (2Pet.3:18). God desires that we Grow in Grace. Paul alludes to the tranformative power of grace: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly that they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Cor.15:10). This implies that growth in grace will bring increase in all other facets of life. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Grace (Heb.10:29). When He fills us, we are empowered to serve and live by grace and extend the same to others.

God’s gift of Grace enables us to live the Christian life embracing and extending more grace even though we may be feeling weak: “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2Cor.12:9). Grace is divine enablement that’s freely offered to humanity to transcend our weaknesses, bridge our limitations, and help our insufficiency. Some Christians refuse or rebel against God’s grace and get stuck. Some others hold themselves to some supposedly ‘high’ legalistic standards and wallow in condemnation, guilt and shame over their errors, where grace beckons. Instead of struggling with or fighting grace, we must accept and respond to God’s gift of grace! God changes us through His divine grace, but He also fills us with His grace and calls us to extend grace to others, following His example.

We can respond to God’s grace in two ways: Accepting His grace ourselves daily; and, extending grace to others daily.

Accepting grace daily should be the norm since grace lives in us! God has already given us grace; we just need to accept it. Scripturally, accepting grace involves seeing Grace as a gift; and giving it room to mature: “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (Eph.4:7). God has given us the indwelling Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Grace. Therefore there is no need to add stress to God! He won’t think less of us when we ask for Grace; and our need for grace will not deny others in need of grace. It pays to embrace God’s grace instead of trying to prove our worth. Then, we must cooperate with and wait for grace to mature. We should understand how gifts mature with use and over time. Two things that can delay the maturation of grace in us are: refusal to accept the gift of grace or to extend grace to others. 

Growth in Grace is not an option, it is a MUST. Grace multiplies in our lives through the knowledge of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Pet.3:18). Growing in Grace involves moving beyond the gateway of Faith into higher Grades of Grace. We must ADD TO FAITH: “virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love” (2Pet.1:5b-7). Whoever chooses to remain stagnant at the entry rather than add to faith may wallow in spiritual barrenness and blindness: “For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins” (2Pet.1:9).

In the Kingdom of God, there is always room to grow from grace to grace. God operates in and desires that His children also blossom in “manifold” or many-sided grace (1Pet.4:10). There is a grade of grace to answer to every of humanity’s need (Heb.4:16). Scriptures reveal diverse dimensions of grace including: saving grace (Eph.2:8); sanctifying or transformative grace (1Cor.15:10); serving grace (Heb.12:28); strengthening grace (2Cor.12:9); and shining or great grace (Acts 4:33). May our growing in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ bring Glory to Him now and forever, Amen!