THE GRACE OF GOD II

                                                          

The last episode on the Grace of God talked about the Grace of God revealed through Salvation. Our Salvation is defined as redemption by the blood of Jesus and the forgiveness of sin (Eph 1:7). The focus of this episode is on the Love of God as it reveals the Grace of God. It is because of God’s love for us that he made his grace available to us. God’s love brings forth his Grace.

God is love (1jhn 4:16) and Apostle Paul prayed that we have the power to understand how wide, long, high, and deep God’s love is. This love is too great for us to understand fully (Eph 3:18-19 NLT). It is until we experience the love of Christ, that we will be made complete with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

How was the Love of God reveal? Rom 5:8 NLTBut God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinner”. 1jhn 4:9 NLT God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him”.

I love how Apostle John in 1jhn 4:10 NLT expressed God’s love. He said, “This is Real-Love”. This one “na Original love”; “No be made in China or Aba made love” (In vernacular). What is this real Love? Is not that we loved him first (obey him, fellowship with him, desire to please him or even morally upright) but he loved us and sent his son to die for his enemies.

Col 1:21 NLT This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thought and actions”. We can’t give our enemies a cup of water, but He gave his one and only son for his enemies. What Love is greater than this?

God came himself to make peace with his enemies. Col 1:19-20 NLTFor God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in Heaven and on Earth by the means of Christ’s blood on the cross”. 2Cor 5:19 NLT For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people’s sin against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation”.

For you to understand, and appreciate God’s love and his reconciliation of the world through Jesus; you need to read through the Gospel’s and see his dealings with sinners. Let us look at examples of God’s love in a parable, and an incident that occurred in the Gospel’s.

THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON

Jesus was always found in the company of sinners, and this worried the Pharisees. Luke 15:2 NLT This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people-even eating with them”. For Jesus to expose them to the Love of God, he told them the parable of the prodigal son. Luke 15:11-32.

A man had two sons and the younger son asked for his possession. We should understand that this request is like an abomination even in our present generation. You are more or less wishing for your father’s death. His father gave him his possession, and he left for a far country; where he squandered his inheritance. He eventually became so poor that the food of the pigs he fed seemed good to him. We should also understand that the pigs were unclean animal that the Jews should have nothing to do with. This shows the level of filthiness, sin and condemnation that this son has acquired.

On day, he came to his senses and decided to go back to his father to become a slave so he could feed. Luke 15:20 NLT So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him”.

This son that committed the abominable act of wishing his father death; this same son that is smelling like a pig (the unclean animal) and odor of someone trekking for days. This wealthy father (Almighty God) in his mansion (Heaven) saw this condemned, lost son coming home, and he was filled with his nature (Love and Compassion) and he ran to his filthy, smelling son. He hugged him and even kissed him. He didn’t say go and bath first then come later. We can see the Love, his love was blind to every filthiness or disgusting attributes on the son, he only wants his son back.

Before the son could deliver his planned acceptance speech. Luke 15:22 NLTBut his father said to the servants, Quick! Bring the finest rob in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for this feet”. Now this son filthy garment was taken off, and he was clothed with the finest rob (Righteousness). He was reinstated into a place of authority with the ring on his finger. His Son-ship status was being reinstated.

God doesn’t only want us back, but He wants to give us the authority we lost when Adam sinned in the garden. Is this not Love? All he wants from us is for us to come to our sense and come to him, and he will do the rest.

THE ADULTEROUS WOMAN

The Love of God was also reveal in the life of woman caught in the act of adultery (Jhn 8:3-11). She was condemned to death; the stones were ready to be unleashed on her. But their biggest mistake was involving Jesus in the matter; The Righteous One, the one whose nature is love, the one who has no sin. This was his answer. Jhn 8:7 NLT They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up and said; All right, but let the one has never sinned throw the first stone”.” They all disappeared one by one. Then he asked her in vs. 10-11 “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of condemn you?”  And she said, “No, Lord”. Jesus said to her “Neither do I. Go and sin no more”.

Thank you Jesus, though you have the power to condemn us but you chose not to because of your love for us.

This is the truth. God loves us and doesn’t condemn us. Rom 8:1 says there is no condemnation for them that are in Christ Jesus. It doesn’t matter what you have done or the guilt that you carry. There is no condemnation for you. Let us rest in his love for us because it is the only way we can enjoy the fullness of God, Eph 3:19. May God give us understanding to his word.

Written by Chuks

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