What is favor?

Question

The bible uses favor and grace sononamously in the KJV and NIV. So can anyone help me. I am trying to do a personal study on what it means to have the favor of the Lord. I got a few that say you will have favor but nothing that states what it is. I understand we have it because of Christ. Because what He did we get fringe benefits in our salvation package. Any comments or thoughts please let me know.

Answer 1

To a Christian a far stronger desire is to find favor with God. Of Jehovah God, it is stated at Psalm 84:11: “Favor and glory are what he gives. Jehovah himself will not hold back anything good from those walking in faultlessness.” At the birth of Jesus, the joyful cry of the heavenly angels promised “peace on earth for men whom he favours!”—Luke 2:14, Moffatt.

Each of us might well ask, Do I show favor to persons whom God favors, or am I inclined to follow worldly standards in my judgment of people? To gain Jehovah’s favor and approval, we must take care to see things from his viewpoint. “God is not partial,” said the apostle Peter, “but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.” Further, the apostle Paul testified that God “made out of one man every nation of men.” (Acts 10:34, 35; 17:26.) It is only reasonable to conclude, therefore, that all humans are equal in God’s sight no matter what their physical characteristics are. That being the case, it would not befit a Christian to favor someone unduly simply because that one comes from a particular region or is of a certain skin color or belongs to another race. Rather, he would do well to follow his Exemplar, Jesus Christ, about whom even enemies admitted that he showed no partiality.—Matthew 22:16.

Jesus Christ found favor with God because he was rich not in material goods but in fine works. (Compare 1 Timothy 6:17, 18.) He admonished his followers: “Stop storing up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break in and steal. Rather, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19, 20 If you maintain God’s viewpoint, you will never fall prey to the common practice of favoring or catering to the materially rich.

As for education, the Bible clearly shows that God urges us to seek knowledge and wisdom and that Jesus Christ was the greatest teacher ever to walk the earth. (Proverbs 4:7; Matthew 7:29; John 7:46.) But it is not worldly wisdom or education that finds favor with God. On the contrary, Paul tells us that “not many wise in a fleshly way were called, . . . but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put the wise men to shame.”—1 Corinthians 1:26, 27.

God favors those who are well educated, not in the secular subjects taught in institutes of higher learning, but in the “pure language” of truth as found in his Word, the Bible. (Zephaniah 3:9) In fact, Jehovah himself is teaching his people today by means of an educational program that extends to the far corners of the earth. As foretold by the prophet Isaiah, people of all nations are responding by saying: “Let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” Therefore, instead of glorifying secular education, Christians will seek out those who prove by their words and deeds that they are really “persons taught by Jehovah.” By so doing, they will enjoy the ‘abundant peace’ that God gives.—Isaiah 2:3; 54:13.

Jehovah God examines a person’s heart and favors those who display such qualities as love, goodness, kindness, and long-suffering. We should do likewise. (1 Samuel 16:7; Galatians 5:22, 23.) We need to look at the inner person, to the extent we as humans can, and not at his skin color or ethnic background. Rather than seeking out those rich in material things, we do well to bear in mind God’s view of riches and strive “to be rich in fine works, to be liberal, ready to share.” (1 Timothy 6:18.) To gain God’s favor, we must continue to seek accurate knowledge of God and of his Son, Jesus Christ, becoming well educated in the pure language of truth. (John 17:3, 17) In so doing, we too will be among those whom God favors.

If you would like further information or help with a free personal Bible study, please contact Jehovah's Witnesses at the local Kingdom Hall. Or visit their official web site - http://www.watchtower.org

Answer 2

We read of an example of this in Genesis 6: 8..(Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord)....
If you were to use this idea...we soon read afterward that God would wipe out the rest of man who did what was right in his own eyes...
when we find favor with God we are then spared from God's wrath...in this case God's wrath would have been the flood that destroyed man...

God says in Genesis 7:1
And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.....

You are found in favor when God declares you righteous which is now possible through Jesus Christ...If you are not proclaimed righteous then you gain God's wrath...

Answer 3

There is one main word that if most used for grace and favor- "charis"....It can have to do with thanks, gratitude, kindness. The verb form related to this word "chairo" means "I have joy". It is interesting that the word for "grace" is related to the verb "I have joy." There is another word that can be used for favor that means "good-thought." It can mean approval. So it is not weird for those words to be interchangeable.
Both seem to relate to approval and a gift of goodness that God gives us and we can give eachother.....kindness. Like God being on our team, sitting in the bleachers cheering the loudest while we're up to bat.

churchtogether.blogspot.com

Answer 4

You gain "favor" by killing the evil and the undead..but only if you are a follower of the Voln Christian Way..when you gain enough "favor" you can gain a rank in the VCW and use it to unlock special powers within you..like martial arts and the ability to sanctify.