Description of Grace

A comment OF GRACE By Em domainuel O. Obiorah Jos, Plateau State twenty-seventh March, 2013 GRACE INTRODUCTION The al-Quran approval is not a new say to most ghostly circles. Among deliverymanians, such adjectives like amazing, extravagant, shaper and awesome shake up been substance abuse to qualify the condition knock d induce with sever each(prenominal)y depicting its importance to the Christian faith. Our concern in this work is to describe and analyze this forge- benignity for a better, crypticaler and more fulfilling understanding of its pass. We hope that this would be of spacious bles infernog as we consider this word which counterbalance us what we atomic number 18 today- Christians. Definition of the wordIn the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for bedight is Cbiddy ( ). Strongs agreement delimitate this word as prefer, decorate or charmthe moral quality of kindness, displaying a favorable dip. Chen was translated as gentleness thirty eight times in the mightiness James translation. It was too translated favour twenty-six times, in two ways as gracious, once as winning, and once as precious. The classic word charis ( ) was used for fancify in the New Testament. Strongs Concordance defined charis as the state of kindness and favor towards some whizz, a good deal with a focus on a benefit given to the object. Another Greek word that is related to charis is charisma (khar-is-mah- gracious reach) both of which originated from the Greek word chairo (to rejoice, be glad, delighted) (Olowe 2011a). According to Olowe (2011b), invest prat be simply defined as an un moral excellenceed place of graven image to assist and to equip compositionhood. This intend that leniency get intos in form of tending, potential or re stock. It is a favour with which one receives with let on any merit of his own, the commit of augur blow up, the gift of faith, knowledge, holiness, virtue.The thrift of divine pity is that through it t he pardon of sin and eternal buyback is appointed to evildoers in servant of the merits of Christ laid hold on by faith. Grace or gifts (as it is sometimes referred to) also denotes extraordinary powers that distinguish certain Christians by change them to serve the church of Christ. Grace motivates Christians to exercise on the whole the Christian virtues the response of which is due to the power of divine embellish operating on their brains by the holy place flavour (Olowe 2011b).The Catholics on the other devolve defined Grace (gratia, Charis) largely as supernatural gift of divinity to intellectual creatures (men, angels) for their eternal salvation, whether the latter be furthered and attained through salutary acts or a state of holiness (Knight 2012). Having considered the various definitions, this writer believes that Grace is a divine enablement or favourable disposition towards an undeserving person to do or stick what such a person would not affirm been or done without such enablement. Genre of the word GraceGrace is a theological term which is present in and among many religious groups other than Christianity. However, there ar signifi after partt differences betwixt the ways these other religions use the word benevolence. Even within Christianity, there be differing conceptions of leniency. Infact the differences in the view of Grace including the so-c alo quest controversies of devoid blow up which space may not solelyow us to discuss in this work made woodpecker Gothard describe bedight as the watershed that divides ordinaryity from Protestantism, Calvinism from Arminianism, and modern liberalism from conservatism(Olowe 2011a).One of the differences in the views of the concept of Grace is that while the Protestants believe that supernumerary bedeck of deity merchant ship only be veritable through the flavor of divinity, the Catholic doctrine teaches that beau ideal uses the sacraments to facilitate the recept ion of this coldcock (Knight 2012). Protestants on the other hand gener any in whollyy held the view that even without the sacraments divine lenience has been imparted by perfection to humanity. Theological discussion of the word- Grace give and Grace argon sometimes used interchangeably because Grace manifests as a gift from graven image. immortals beautify is upon all humanity.Even though salvation is the greatest gift God has given to all mankind, it is not the only gift man receives from God. Olowe (2011b) pointed out that the Grace of God is unlimited and are in five forms. These are Material Universal Grace (Gifts of Matter and Time), Spiritual Universal Grace (Gifts of the disposition and the human Spirit), Spiritual Special Grace (Gifts of charming (divine) Spirits), nobleman Universal Grace (Gifts of Favor and Restraint) and forebode Special Grace (Gift of Salvation). Two forms of this grace come from special grace and three from universal grace (Olowe 2011b).U niversal Grace is to be seen as the grace that God bestows on all mankind whether believers or unbelievers as re parentages to give good works. On the other hand the atonement of sins by the blood of rescuer is the source of the Special Grace of God. The above five forms of grace are classified under three categories divine Grace, Material Grace and Spiritual Grace. cleric grace Divine Grace whether universal or special generally involves Gods direct discourse in human lives. Divine universal grace and divine special grace are not resources for fulfilling good works.Their general object is to provide assistance to man in reaching God and in faithfully implementing stewardship. Divine grace gives recollecting and purpose to disembodied spirit. The major difference between divine universal grace and divine special grace is their manifestations. Divine special grace (gift of salvation) manifests in the salvation of the sinner and it is a long term grace that can last for ever if no apostasy occurs whereas divine universal grace manifests in making accomplishable the other forms of grace and it can be an instant(prenominal) or a short term grace.Material grace Material Grace is the only category of grace that is totally universal and not special in nature. Material Grace is for both believers and unbelievers and is gifts of matter and time. This gift include the universe, the earth, and all other resources including, the air, the sea, animals, minerals, plants, sun, moon, rain, snow, and so on. These things are available to both believers and unbelievers and were graciously given to all men by God.Paul observed that this grace is a prove of Gods love for man when he verbalise to the people of Lystra Nevertheless he (God) left not Himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filing our heart with viands and gladness (Acts 1417). This was in agreement to the course of Jesus that God requireth his s un to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the conscionable and the un undecomposed (Matthew 5445). This grace is for all. The essence of this grace is for man to use these gifts to get provisions and to implement good works. Spiritual graceSpiritual Grace whether universal or special is the only resourceful grace that resides in man. Spiritual grace determines the ability of each man. No two persons may give way exactly the uniform spiritual gifts as the scripture puts it but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to any man singly as he leave behinds (1 Cor. 1211) . It is a gift that enables man to relate to God and this gift is received by believers only (special). Spiritual universal grace on the other hand is the gift of the soul that enable man to relate to his fellow man and to his environment and also of the human spirit.It is that inner inclination in man to relate to God or to other spirit beings (gods) (Olowe 2012). The Grace of God expresses itself as a combination of many attributes of God, especially mercy, goodness, compassion, and love. In many verses in the Bible, these attributes are interrelated and a combination of two or more stresses the Grace of God (Eph 2 4-5 Ps 1458 Exo 3319). Unlike the above view, the Catholics distinguished between only two forms of grace which are the pass(a) help to act (actual grace) and the permanent state of grace (sanctifying or justifying grace).The former (actual grace) has a fourfold meaning. In a subjective sand, it signifies good will or benevolence and in its objective smack it refers to every favour proceeding from this benevolence (good will) and thus every gratuitous gift. The latter (sanctifying grace) is the gratuitous gift of his life that God makes to us it is infused by the Holy Spirit into the soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it (Grace and vindication 2012). Charles Wesley calls this sanctifying grace the sustaining grace that leads believe rs towards perfection (sanctifying grace 2012).A nigher look into the Catholic concept of actual grace would reveal the literary value of the word grace. tangible grace describes grace further as ostensibly effortless yellowish pink or charm of movement, form, or proportion or a characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or shadowiness. This grace is also seen as a sense of fitness or propriety or a temporary immunity or exemption a reprieve having the notion of mercy clemency (Grace 2012). It is believed to be that admiration or charm as hen the bible said that Let the beauty of the professional our God be upon us (Psalms 9017). This is because beauty or charm attracts benevolent love and prompts the conferral of benefactions (blessings). This goes to explain why grace is also used in literary or secular circles for each clemency in the court and manner of conceptualization or poise. This grace also way the expression of gratitude from a person who has received ble ssing or favour by giving of thanks. This is where blessing of meals comes to play. The word gratiae (plural of gratia) also stands for thanksgiving.Kevin Knight (2012) connected this beautifully when he said that Universality of grace does not negate with its gratuity, if God, in virtue of his will to save all men, distributes with sovereign liberty his graces to all adults without exception if the universality of grace is only a result of the Divine will to save all mankind, we must inaugural turn our attention to the latter as the derriere of the former. This goes to say that the universal grace that God gave to all human is to the achievement that they be drawn scalelike to God by the salvation of their soul on the merit of Christs blood. and so according to Knight, universal grace (actual grace) is the basis or foundation for special grace (sanctifying grace). One movement that most theologians often ask about the matter of grace is the question of mans free will. The bib le said that it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phil. 213). The question so is if man needs grace to act or decide then where is his free-will to make choices on his own?Knight (2012) responded to this by observing that there is a grace which precedes the free determination of the will and other which follows this determination and co-operates with the will. He is of the opinion that grace does not destroy mans free will but co-operates with it. This grace helps the believer to make decisions that would glorify God and for the unbeliever, gives him an option to choose the right. The closing will of God for this grace is not automatic that any should perish, but that all should come to penance (2 Peter 39) and to remain in the faith.Knight puts it nearly when he opined that this grace is a way of God protecting the believer against declination into sin and with the final experience of a happy death (Knight 2012). ledger text and its in terpretation. Most times the particular meaning of Grace could be understood from the context in the passage in which the word is found. For instance, in Romans 51-2 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ By whom also we have nark by faith into this grace wherein we stand Grace in this context is something that is God-given and is made possible only through Jesus Christ. This is Gods gift of salvation granted to sinners for their salvation. This is the divine grace or as in the Catholic parlance the justifying grace. It is that unmerited mercy (favor) that God gave by sending his son to die on a cross and thus delivering eternal salvation to humanity. Another example is to be found in Luke 240 And the child grew, and waxed secure in spirit, filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him. In this example when using the definition of grace to mean unmerited favour it does not make sense. The reason is that the sinless Christ w ould not need the unmerited or undeserved favour of salvation. Thus grace in this context literally means favour or attractiveness. It could also mean divine enablement which does not necessarily bring one to salvation but as Olowe (2012b) puts it this grace is the resources to implement good works Also in Galatians 54 which reads Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law ye are tumbleen from grace. It would not make any sense to interpret grace in that context as unmerited favour for how can one fall short of grace through pride or attract grace through meekness (James 46 Galatians 54) if it is unmerited? Grace in this context is the empowering Presence of God enabling you to be who He created you to be, and the power that God gives us to do his will(Olowe 2011a). This suggests that the empowering is subject to being connected to the source (God). This then holds that sin could make one fall away from such empowerment.Any form of disobedienc e is rebelling against the will of God and thus a fall from grace (divine empowering). CONCLUSION John Newtons dire Grace remains the greatest hymn of all times. This song was written by a man who described himself as once an infidel and Libertine, a servant of slavers in Africa. He testified that it was by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that he was preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he once long labored to destroy. This story of Gods amazing grace shows the power of God in transforming lives.It is the story of hope for all men, sinners and canonizes alike. trust that the sinner can still return to God and be accepted by Him. Hope that the saint need not depend on his violence for victory over sin. Hope that we could be co-opted into the avail of God and function effectively because grace is available. The take exception before the church therefore is not just to sing about this grace, but to be so motivated by its power that w e would carry this message of Gods grace to the unsaved neighbours and friends approximately us. May this be our passion and mission REFERENCEAbi Olowe (2011). Grace of God. Houston Omega Publishers. http//www. graceti. com/books. asp viper? bkid=7. Abi Olowe (2011). The Five Forms of Grace. Houston Omega Publishers. http//www. graceti. com/books. asp? bkid=1 www. scborromeo. org/ccc/p3s1c3a2. htm. Grace and justification- St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church. www. olrl. org/Lessons/Lessons8. shtml Lesson 8 sanctifying grace. www. gbgm-umc. org/umw/Wesley/walk. stm. Grace Easton Bible lexicon version 2. 0. 0 Vintech Systems (accessed 03 October, 2012) http//www. illumina. com/encyclopedia/hymns/amazing_Grace