Why Christianity? Grace… A Phil Kulis Series
Welcome to Part 5 of Phil’s series.
𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐓, 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋, 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄, 𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐇, 𝐁𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐌
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲?
God created Adam.
God plus Adam begat Eve.
Adam plus Eve begat Mary.
God plus Mary begat Jesus, the second Adam.
God plus Jesus begat the Church, the second Eve.
We the church are now and forever like Eve in that narrow moment of time after she ate (sinned) yet before Adam disobeyed God by eating.
Even though we have sinned, we are protected by Christ’s perfect obedience to the Covenant of Sin and Death which is finished, permanently and eternally sealed by His blood. It’s over.
Jesus, the Seed of the Woman, is the Kinsman Redeemer. The Keeper of the Covenant. The Accepted Substitute. Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!
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𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐬 “𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞”?
The term “grace” is often used but rarely defined therefore not fully understood. It’s a state of being, a status. Some say it’s “getting what we don’t deserve”. But that’s not a state of being.
To demonstrate, it helps to consider the opposite of grace which is; disgrace. If someone is a disgrace it means they have committed some sort of serious error, totally inappropriate for the circumstances. Disgrace becomes their status because of what they did. It cannot be undone because you can’t change the past.
With that in mind, “grace” can be defined as “the delightful beauty of saying, doing, being, everything right in every circumstance.”
The adjective “graceful” can be seen in an athlete who performs an extraordinary feat, such as a football player who catches an almost impossible pass and makes it look easy. Or a ballerina who moves with such fluidity that it seems purely effortless and natural. Poetry in motion. It’s not our actions, but theirs. We are “fans”, beneficiaries of their performance.
Sometimes a person of royalty is honored with the respectful title of “Your Grace”.
When you plug that understanding into the Bible wherever the word “grace” is used it blossoms with meaning.
Jesus is the personification of the grace of God. He said, did, and was, everything right in every circumstance. His words and His actions were in perfect harmony with His Father’s will; Love, which culminated in a singularly unique accomplishment.
It’s not a matter of Him giving us grace for ourselves, but that when we believe “in” Him we behave like Him. It’s His grace.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it (grace) is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Jesus is the personification of grace, He is the gift of God from God.
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𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐃𝐨 𝐖𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞?
What does it mean to believe “in” Jesus? By simply asking the question of do we believe “in” Jesus or “out” of Jesus we find the answer. It’s not enough to just believe He existed. When we believe “out” of Jesus we’re walking in darkness. We must be willing to come out of the darkness of our disgrace and shame to walk in the Light of His grace, allowing the Father’s will be done on earth 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑢𝑠, just as Jesus did the will of His Father.
John 3:20-21 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.
When we are “in” Him we are in His grace of the New and Everlasting Covenant. It’s His grace that is the gift of God. It’s not our efforts “works” that finished the covenant. It was His.
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