What does the word grace mean? It's in the New Testament a lot. ExamplesGrace be with you, the grace of God,

Question

grace verses the law, the Lord said to Paul in 2 Cor 12:9 my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

Answer 1

Divine grace is a Christian term for gifts granted to humanity by God, that God is under no need or obligation to grant. Most broadly, grace describes all of God's gifts to humankind, including our life, creation, and salvation, which God gives to us freely. More narrowly but more commonly, grace describes the means by which humans are saved from original sin and granted salvation.

Answer 2

Good question. Concerning the first example, "Grace be with you", often the word ειρήνη was often used, which is better translated as "Peace be with you", or unity, love, or tranquility. Other times the word χαρις is used, which deals more with receiving a gift. In 2 Cor 12:9 the word ειρήνη was used, meaning it more accurately meant "my peace is sufficient for you", but in Romans 6 where it talks about being saved by grace, the word χαρις was used.

I'll elaborate just a tad more on the Biblical context of χαρις.

According to Christian theology, we are saved by grace, it is a gift from God, because there is absolutely nothing we can do to impress God and "wow" him into letting us into heaven. This collaborates with the writings of the Prophet Isaiah that our righteousness, our good works, is like "filthy rags" in God's eyes.

Scripture says we are saved by grace, though faith, because the suffering that Christ undertook was a gift for us that we may find atonement and sanctification, because without that gift, without that grace, we would have no way of finding redemption. And we read in Galatians that the Jewish law was instituted, not to sanctify us (otherwise Christ wouldn't be needed), but to keep us in line until that faith could come because of grace.

Once again, Grace is a gift, and in Biblical context you can't "earn" or "deserve" it. And like all gifts, you have to accept it before you get to indulge in it.

If you have any questions feel free to email me.

Answer 3

The theological definition of grace is "the power and desire to do the will of God." It is based on a verse which says, "God is at work in you to will and to work for His good pleasure." Grace is power given by God which is totally free. You can not work for it, or obtain it from God He gives it to us to meet our needs. It is one of the two main forces of Christianity. Ephes 2:8 "For by grace are you saved through faith.."
Moses gave us the law but no power to keep it. Jesus came with the power to live by the law so that now by God's grace we can keep the law.

Answer 4

There's really two types of God's grace:

Actual grace ... which empowers ... like David and Goliath.

Sanctifying grace ... the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit in a human soul, which justifies, transforms, and makes one acceptable to God.

Answer 5

God's grace addresses itself not merely to the absence of merit but to the presence of demerit. To understand divine grace, we must see it as more than unmerited favor. The idea of demerit is an essential element in the biblical meaning of grace. In our relationship with God, there is either merit for obedience or demerit for disobedience, but there is no such thing as "unmerit." There is either merit or demerit but no unmerit.

In our case, of course, there is no merit. Even our best deeds are stained with sin, and in a strict view of justice, we deserve to be punished rather than rewarded. That is why the Apostle Paul wrote of us that in our condition before salvation, "We were by nature objects of wrath" (Ephesians 2:3).

Since the concept of demerit is essential to an understanding of grace, I propose the following definition: Grace is God's favor through Christ to people who deserve His wrath. In this definition, the deserving of wrath picks up the idea of demerit, while the concept of God's favor is still retained.

Answer 6

Grace is an undeserved favor...as in God's forgiveness and salavation for those who know Jesus. We never deserve to be in Heaven with Him, since we are human and will always fall short with sin.
Isaiah 64:6
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

We can never do enough by ourselves to deserve it. But we are saved by grace, through faith.

Ephesians 2:8 (New International Version)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

Answer 7

We may define actual grace as a supernatural help of God for salutary acts granted in consideration of the merits of Christ.

It is called a "help of God for salutary acts", because, on the one hand, it differs from permanent sanctifying grace, in that it consists only in a passing influence of God on the soul, and, on the other, it is destined only for actions which have a necessary relation to man's eternal salvation. It is further called a "supernatural help" so as to exclude from its definition not only all merely natural graces, but also, in a special manner, ordinary Divine conservation and concurrence (concursus generalis divinus). Finally, the "merits of Christ" are named as its meritorious cause because all graces granted to fallen man are derived from this one source. It is for this reason that the prayers of the Church either invoke Christ directly or conclude with the words: Through Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Santifying grace

Since the end and aim of all efficacious grace is directed to the production of sanctifying grace where it does not already exist, or to retain and increase it where it is already present, its excellence, dignity, and importance become immediately apparent; for holiness and the sonship of God depend solely upon the possession of sanctifying grace, wherefore it is frequently called simply grace without any qualifying word to accompany it as, for instance, in the phrases "to live in grace" or "to fall from grace".

Answer 8

Grace is awesome! It is an undeserved gift.

I really like where it says, "do we sin just so Grace may abound? no." We are not under the Law, but it is beautiful to keep it as best you can anyhow. I just started doing it and its a real blessing.

Blessings
David

Answer 9

AMAZING GRACE
HOW SWEET THE SOUND
THAT SAVED A WRETCH LIKE ME
I ONCE WAS LOST
BUT NOW AM FOUND
WAS BLIND, BUT NOW I SEE

THROUGH MANY TOILS, TWISTS, AND SNARES
I HAVE ALREADY COME
TRUE GRACE HAS BROUGHT ME SAFE THUS FAR
AND GRACE WILL LEAD ME HOME.

It seems to be a different meaning from, "The mother displayed a gread deal of grace when she laughed with the family at the videos of her own embarassment at her daughter's wedding."

Answer 10

Unmerited favor. We are saved by Grace through Faith. We don't deserve to be saved but God sent His Son that we might have eternal life, not because of anything we could do but because of what Jesus did, died for us.