GRATITUDE FOR GRACE UPON GRACE
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory,
the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying,
“This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me
because He was before me.’”
From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses;
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son,
who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
John 1:14-18
The Law of Moses was an instructional blueprint for the Israelites. Paul calls it a tutor or guardian, a person in charge of a child to guide him into maturity:
Galatians 3:23-25 Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
The Law revealed to humankind that we were incapable of obeying it perfectly. Under the Law, animal sacrifices were made as a substitute for the people being punished for their failure to keep the Law. Those sacrifices had to be made year after year. However, Jesus came to earth to reveal God to us and to be the final perfect, sacrificial “Lamb”. When we surrender our lives to Christ, we become the beneficiaries of God’s amazing grace, not because we could obey every one of His commands but because Jesus perfectly kept the law and died in our place on the cross. Grace, in a nutshell, is more than not receiving the punishment we deserve. Grace is being given every blessing we never could deserve—forgiveness, relationship, adoption, abundant provision, the indwelling Holy Spirit with all His gifts (Galatians 5:22-23), eternal life in His presence, and much more! Because Jesus became the sacrificial Lamb and died in our place, He has the authority to extend grace to us, not only saving grace, but “grace upon grace.” This indicates a superabundant, fantastic eternal grace! Charles Swindoll, in his book The Grace Awakening, explains the difference between man attempting the impossible task of obeying all of the Old Testament Law and the grace freely given to us through Jesus:
Rigid, barren religion was, at last, replaced by a grace-oriented relationship— liberating grace.
The Grace Awakening, Charles R. Swindoll
Our good friend Dudley Hall who is truly one of our chosen family members explains the same contrast in his book Grace Works:
God has given us promises in place of principles, rest instead of striving, blessings instead of persecution. God takes the initiative in our lives to change us from the inside.
Grace Works, Dudley Hall.
In the Tony Evans Study Bible, “grace upon grace” is compared to waves continually splashing on the shore:
1:16-17 When we receive the substitutionary atoning death of Christ on the cross, our sins are forgiven and eternal life is imparted. That’s amazing grace! The gospel, then, does what the law couldn’t do (1:7). Through Jesus, we have access to the unmerited and unlimited favor of God. Grace is the inexhaustible supply of God’s goodness that continuously brings his favor to his people (1:17), doing for us what we can’t do for ourselves. God will provide believers with a never-ending supply of grace upon grace through Christ, as waves crashing on the seashore (1:16).
Tony Evans Study Bible
Think about how many times God has extended grace to you. We sing about “Amazing Grace:” it is amazing because we don’t deserve it, but it is also amazing in its endless supply! Our heavenly Father showers us with His gems of grace which are much more precious than earthly jewels.
Father, we thank You for grace upon grace in our lives. You redeemed us. You call us Your precious jewels. You enable us and infuse us with Your strength to serve You! And You shower us with blessings!
Worship with Matthew West singing “Grace Upon Grace”: