240. Partakers of Grace
Philippians 1:7 Ye are all the partakers of my grace.
Paul reminds the Philippian believers that he has them in his heart because they are partakers with him of grace. He states as a fact: we all are partakers of grace. The same kind of grace, the same abundant grace and the same amazing grace that I have received you have also received. And we each have all of God’s grace; we do not just get a piece or a share of God’s grace. God’s grace is so expansive that it covers and fills each one of us with more than we can believe or hold on to. The Grace of God through Jesus Christ is so broad and deep that it covers all the sins of all the people of all history in time and space. That’s billions of people; and there is still more left over for the billions of people yet to be born. We all partake of it.
The same amazing grace that bestows untold blessings upon all the people that have ever lived on the earth is given to me to partake of as well. The same grace that is in me is in you. The same grace that is in you is in me. When we fellowship with believers when we gather together in Jesus’ name, when we partake of the same heavenly banquet, when he listen to the same Gospel we are sharing the grace of God.
We know how true it is during those times when we fellowship with fellow believers whom we like. It is also true when we get acquainted with believers we don’t like so much. Remember, they have the same grace that you do.
But there are many people all around us who are not sharing in the grace we have joyfully received. But God still loves unbelievers and wants to share His grace with them; they just haven’t realized it yet. Nevertheless, we can love them and share life with them as potential partakers of grace. Just like we love the unborn, we also love those who are not yet born again. God loves them and grants the same grace; they just haven’t received it yet, remaining in unbelief. If we can see all other people as potential or actual recipients of grace (the same grace we have), we might treat them differently. If we see persons as partakers of grace we treat them one way; if we see them as sinners we treat them another way. For this reason we need this promise: we are all partakers of grace. We just pray that some who don’t yet have it will receive it. Go ahead and give grace; you won’t run out.