195. Grace
Galatians 6:18 Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Grace is with us all the time and in every place. This is not a wish, but a promise. Jesus is with us; the Holy Spirit is with us; God is with us; but more than that, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is also with us. Grace freely forgives and covers each and every sin; grace is always near and available. Grace gives salvation and eternal life; Jesus earned it for us and gives it to us freely. And we have it by faith in the Gospel. Grace also is a power, a force that is stronger than the sin that is in us and surrounds us. Grace keeps us clean and makes us right with God, giving us access to God at any time.
The promise of the truth and power of grace being with us changes us when we take hold of it by faith in Jesus Christ. This grace is with our spirit: the spirit is deep inside beyond the soul. The Holy Spirit makes the renewed human spirit alive; the Spirit influences and positively affects the soul (mind, will, emotions) with the life and love of God. Then the soul moves upon the body, and actionable good works result. Grace has more power to make something happen than human effort trying to do good works. Grace is God doing it.
Grace with us has been misunderstood as a force that we need to do the good works that save us. This is false: we do not do good works in order to be saved; we do the good works because we are already saved. Grace does produce good works, but grace before good works is already full salvation, and nothing more needs to be added to it. It is precisely because of grace that completely saves that good works results from the newly created life within.
We do, however, need to be reminded of this “grace with us” all the time. We need the power of “grace with us” to walk by faith and do good works. Grace with us = when we sin we are instantly forgiven; and life goes on with grace. Repentance admits the sin; faith admits the grace, which is with our spirit.