Scripture Reading: John 1:14, 16-17; Acts 4:33; 11:23; 13:43; 14:3, 26; 15:11, 40; 20:32

Ⅰ　

We need to know, experience, and enjoy the grace of God—Eph. 2:7; 1 Cor. 15:10:

The grace of God is a matter of tremendous significance.

According to the New Testament, grace is actually what God is to us for our enjoyment—John 1:16-17; 2 Cor. 12:9.

The New Testament reveals that grace is mainly not the work God does for us; grace is the Triune God Himself dispensed into our being and experienced as our enjoyment.

Grace came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17); this indicates that grace is a person.

The personification of grace is God Himself; Paul realized this when he said, “Not I but the grace of God which is with me”—1 Cor. 15:10.

When God is enjoyed by us, that is grace.

Grace is God in His Son Jesus Christ to be our portion so that we may enjoy all that He is.

Grace is not merely Christ Himself; it is also Christ moving, Christ working, Christ reigning, Christ convincing, Christ subduing, Christ saving, and Christ uplifting.

There are different aspects of grace:

１　

Great grace—Acts 4:33.

２　

Visible grace—11:23.

３　

Grace saving us—Eph. 2:5; Titus 2:11; 2 Tim. 1:9.

４　

Grace empowering us—2:1.

５　

Grace imparted—Gal. 2:9.

６　

The real grace—John 1:14, 16-17.

７　

Commended to the grace of God—Acts 14:26.

８　

Grace to function—Eph. 3:8.

９　

Grace for timely help—Heb. 4:16.

Abounding, reigning grace—Rom. 5:2, 15, 20-21.

Justified by His grace—3:24.

How to receive grace—Lam. 3:55.

Gifts according to the grace—Rom. 12:6.

Sufficient grace—2 Cor. 12:9.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ—13:14.

Grace with our spirit—Gal. 6:18; 1 Cor. 16:23; 2 Tim. 4:22.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen”—Rev. 22:21.

As believers in Christ, we need to experience the grace of the Lord as revealed in the New Testament:

１　

Having faith and love through the Lord’s superabounding grace—1 Tim. 1:14.

２　

Having obtained access into and standing in God’s abounding grace—Rom. 5:2a.

３　

Enjoying eternal comfort and good hope in grace—2 Thes. 2:16.

４　

Coming forward with boldness to the throne of grace to find grace for timely help—Heb. 4:16.

５　

Receiving God’s abounding supply of all grace—2 Cor. 9:8.

６　

Constantly enjoying God’s multiplying grace—1 Pet. 1:2b; 2 Pet. 1:2; Rev. 22:21.

７　

Enjoying God’s greater grace by being humble—James 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5.

８　

Experiencing the perfecting of the Lord’s sufficient grace, Christ’s overshadowing power, in our weakness—2 Cor. 12:9.

９　

Being perfected, established, strengthened, and grounded by God’s all grace after having suffered—1 Pet. 5:10.

Carrying out the stewardship of the grace of God entrusted by Him—dispensing to people the riches of Christ as the grace of God—Eph. 3:2, 8.

In our living, speaking words for building up and thus giving grace to people—4:28-29.

Reigning in life by receiving the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness—grace reigning unto eternal life—Rom. 5:17b, 21b.

All the believers having grace upon them and the church being built up; the grace received by the believers being visible—Acts 4:33; 11:23.

Ⅱ　

We need to see grace in Acts—4:33; 11:23; 13:43; 14:3, 26; 15:11, 40; 20:32:

“With great power the apostles gave testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all”—4:33:

１　

We appreciate the phrase great grace was upon them all.

２　

This happened at the time of Pentecost; thousands of people were being brought to the Lord—2:41; 4:4.

３　

This was a situation in which people could realize that great grace was upon the believers.

４　

This grace was nothing less than the living Jesus moving, convincing, subduing, releasing, uplifting, and transcending.

５　

“He [Barnabas] arrived and saw the grace of God”—11:23a.

６　

When he saw the grace, he “rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain with the Lord with purpose of heart”—v. 23b.

７　

The grace that was seen by Barnabas must have been the Triune God received and enjoyed by the believers and expressed in their salvation, change in life, holy living, and the gifts they exercised in their meetings, all of which could be seen by others.

“Paul and Barnabas … spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God”—13:43:

１　

To continue in the grace implies that we have already received this grace.

２　

Having received the grace of God, we now need to continue in it:

ａ　

Actually, the believers received the holy and faithful things in verse 34.

ｂ　

Then these holy and faithful things became the grace of God in verse 43.

ｃ　

Hence, the grace of God is compounded of all the holy and faithful things.

“They spent a considerable amount of time speaking with boldness in the Lord, who testified to the word of His grace”—14:3:

１　

We need to see the significance of the expression the word of His grace in verse 3.

２　

The phrase the word of His grace denotes certain dispensational points; the word of the Lord’s grace replaces the law.

３　

This phrase is a strong indication of a change of dispensation, of a change of God’s arrangement in His economy.

“They had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled”—v. 26:

１　

Grace is the Triune God becoming life and everything to us.

２　

The grace that motivated Paul and operated in him was a living person, the resurrected Christ, the embodiment of God the Father who became the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, who dwelt in him as his everything—1 Cor. 15:10.

“We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus we are saved in the same way also as they are”—Acts 15:11:

１　

This grace comprises the Lord’s person and His redemptive work—Gal. 2:21; Rom. 3:24.

２　

Peter and the Jewish believers were saved by this grace, not by keeping the law of Moses.

“Paul chose Silas and went out, having been commended to the grace of the Lord by the brothers”—Acts 15:40:

１　

Paul was commended to the grace of the Lord.

２　

The fact that Paul was commended to the grace of the Lord by the brothers indicates that he had taken the right way.

“I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified”—20:32:

１　

The word of God’s abundant grace is able to build up the saints.

２　

The word of God’s grace functions to give us the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified:

ａ　

This inheritance is the Triune God Himself with all that He has, all that He has done, and all that He will do for His redeemed people.

ｂ　

Our eternal inheritance is related to the divine life, which we have received through regeneration and which we are experiencing and enjoying through our entire Christian life.

ｃ　

To participate in God’s inheritance requires us to be sanctified, and to be sanctified requires the word of God’s grace.

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