Scriptural text
“For through the law, I died to the law, so that I might live to God.
My old identity has been co-crucified with Christ and no longer lives. And now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives his life through me— we live in union as one! My new life is empowered by the faith of the Son of God who loves me so much that he gave himself for me, dispensing his life into mine!
So that is why I don’t view God’s grace as something peripheral. For if keeping the law could release God’s righteousness to us, then Christ would have died for nothing.”
Galatians 2:19-21 TPT
Four principal enemies of Grace
Disgrace is the removal of grace
It is possible to fall from grace
“You have been severed from Christ if you seek to be justified [that is, declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty, and placed in right standing with God] through the Law; you have fallen from grace [for you have lost your grasp on God’s unmerited favour and blessing].”
Galatians 5:4 AMP
1. Pride: James 4:6, 1 Pet 5:5-6 God gives more grace to the humble.
Promotion is tied to humility and dependent on Grace
2. Ignorance: Lack of knowledge of God. Grace is multiplied through knowledge
“And such as violate the covenant he shall pervert and seduce with flatteries, but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall stand firm and do exploits [for God].”
Daniel 11:32 AMPC
The richer you are in the knowledge of God the more grace you have access to
“May grace and perfect peace cascade over you as you live in the rich knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”
2 Peter 1:2 TPT
3. Unbelief: those who walk in unbelief can never experience Grace.
“The promise depends on faith so that it can be experienced as a grace-gift, and now it extends to all the descendants of Abraham. This promise is not only meant for those who obey the law, but also to those who enter into the faith of Abraham, the father of us all.”
Romans 4:16 TPT
Whatever does not originate from faith cannot be by Grace, we access Grace by faith
“Through Him we also have access by faith into this [remarkable state of] grace in which we [firmly and safely and securely] stand. Let us rejoice in our hope and the confident assurance of [experiencing and enjoying] the glory of [our great] God [the manifestation of His excellence and power].”
Romans 5:2 AMP
4. Prayerlessness: Luke 18:1. Prayer is the price you have to pay for power
“Because of this extraordinary grace, which God has lavished on you, they will affectionately remember you in their prayers.”
2 Corinthians 9:14 TPT
We must also understand the following
Grace can be frustrated Gal 2:21 Grace then becomes of no effect
Grace can be received in vain
“Now, since we are God’s coworkers, we beg you not to take God’s marvellous grace for granted, allowing it to have no effect on your lives.”
2 Corinthians 6:1 TPT
Grace can be perverted or polluted
“There have been some who have sneaked in among you unnoticed. They are depraved people whose judgment was prophesied in Scripture a long time ago. They have perverted the message of God’s grace into a license to commit immorality and turn against our only absolute Master, our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Jude (Judah) 1:4 TPT
The power of Grace
1. Grace brings visibility and tangibility to your destiny because Grace is tangible and visible.
“News of what was happening in Antioch reached the church of Jerusalem, so the apostles sent Barnabas to Antioch as their emissary. When he got there and witnessed for himself God’s marvellous grace, he was enthused and overjoyed. He encouraged the believers to remain faithful and cling to the Lord with passionate hearts.”
Acts 11:22-23 TPT
2. Grace builds men with the strength needed to take their inheritance
It empowers you to take your inheritance
“And so now, I entrust you into God’s hands and the message of his grace, which is all that you need to become strong. All of God’s blessings are imparted through the message of his grace, which he provides as the spiritual inheritance given to all of his holy ones.”
Acts 20:32 TPT
3. Grace enables you to dominate sin
“Don’t you realize that grace frees you to choose your own master? But choose carefully, for you surrender yourself to become a servant—bound to the one you choose to obey. If you choose to love sin, it will become your master, and it will own you and reward you with death. But if you choose to love and obey God, he will lead you into perfect righteousness.”
Romans 6:16
4. Grace confers upon you uncommon and unique power for exploits
“And I will not be presumptuous to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me. For many non-Jewish people are coming into faith’s obedience by the power of the Spirit of God, which is displayed through mighty signs and amazing wonders, both in word and deed.
Starting from Jerusalem I went from place to place as far as the distant Roman province of Illyricum, fully preaching the wonderful message of Christ. And because of the outpouring of God’s grace on my life to be his minister and to preach Jesus, the Anointed One, to the non-Jewish people, I have written rather boldly to you on some themes, reminding you of their importance.
For this grace has made me a servant of the gospel of God, constantly doing the work of a priest, for I endeavour to present an acceptable offering to God; so that the non-Jewish people of the earth may be set apart and made holy by the Spirit of holiness.”
Romans 15:15-16, 18-19 TPT
5. Grace empowers for riches 2 Cor 8:9, 9:8
“You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though He was rich, yet for your sakes, He became poor, so that by His poverty He could make you rich.”
2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT
6. Grace brings you to a state of 'More than enough' of everything
“Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything —every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.”
2 Corinthians 9:8 TPT
7. Grace is a gift to be received Eph 2:7-8
Grace brings comfort 2 Cor 1:2-4
“May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”
2 Corinthians 1:2-4 NLT
Jesus is the Grace of God John 1:14,17 and the gospel is the gospel of the Grace of God
“But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.”
Acts of the Apostles 20:24 NLT
“For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.”
Romans 1:16 NLT
Appearance of grace
Paul enumerated the outcome of the appearance of the amazing grace of God to Him in 1 Corinthians 15:1-10
“For the [remarkable, undeserved] grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.”
Titus 2:11 AMP
Grace has manifested in the lives of many biblical characters. it has turned the ordinary to the extraordinary and sinners into saints
Grace manifested ......
In the story of the woman with the alabaster box Luke 7:36-50
In the story of the woman caught in adultery John 8:1-11
In the story of Zaccheus Luke 19:1-10
In the conversion of Saul Acts 9:1-10
In the restoration of Peter John 21:15-21
As a Christian and minister of the gospel, Grace has manifested in my salvation and in God's patience and forbearance in pursuing me for ministry
Manifesting grace as a follower of Christ
From today onwards, let grace manifest in the following areas of your life
In your words
“Let every word you speak be drenched with grace and tempered with truth and clarity. For then you will be prepared to give a respectful answer to anyone who asks about your faith.”
Colossians 4:6 TPT
In your growth
Grow in grace
“but grow [spiritually mature] in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory (honour, majesty, splendour), both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”
2 Peter 3:18 AMP
In your hard work
The grace of God is not a licence to slothfulness but diligence
“But God’s amazing grace has made me who I am! And his grace to me was not fruitless. In fact, I worked harder than all the rest, yet not in my own strength but God’s, for his empowering grace is poured out upon me.”
1 Corinthians 15:10 TPT
In Helping others to receive grace
“Watch over each other to make sure that no one misses the revelation of God’s grace. And make sure no one lives with a root of bitterness sprouting within them which will only cause trouble and poison the hearts of many.”
Hebrews 12:15 TPT
Grace saved you, introduce others to this Grace
Please follow the youtube link below to listen to the full teaching on the enemies and power of Grace
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