Is Grace Truly a Gift?

Isa 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Have you ever considered why grace is needed? Probably not. Afterall, according to Paul in Ephesians 2:8 “…by grace are you saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is a gift of God.” As the old saying goes,” Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth?” Looking would be considered as being rude and unappreciative of the gesture behind the gift. But is it really a gift?

A kingdom viewpoint

There are few things which many fail to understand about how the Kingdom of God operates. Here is my basic understanding:

1. God is Love
2. God sits on a throne called grace.
3. A throne is the place where the king issues commandments which must be followed by the subjects of the kingdom. The subjects describe God’s throne as “grace” because the commandments issued from it are an expression of His character as Love.
4. The Word was with God in the beginning; all things were made by the Word and are held together by the Word. According to the subjects of the kingdom, the Word gave us grace for grace.
5 Love covers all sins.
6. The kingdom of God is within us.

Sure, this is rather simplistic, like the wanderings of maybe a little child. Yet isn’t that how we are supposed to view this according to Jesus? So, let’s consider the question at hand: Is grace really a gift?

Everyone will admit that Paul was quite capable of instilling truth through the use of metaphors. There is a debate on whether it was Paul who actually wrote the book of Ephesians, so I’m just going to sit this argument out using this line of thought: I submit that the writer of the book of Ephesians was using a metaphor to describe grace as a gift. My reason is simply because the Greek word for grace, charis, has the meaning of reciprocal giving of a gift or service.

Pay attention to the term “reciprocal.” Its Greek understanding associated with charis is how when something is given by one, the other is obligated to return something in return of equal or greater value in the future. Culturally, this was understood by all those who spoke Greek. Hence, the use of charis as a metaphor and not as a literal translation. Consider the implications to you if this was literal: What greater gift could you possibly give to God than His son?

So, let me go back to the kingdom understanding I presented and see how a new understanding of grace might be presented. The writer of the fourth gospel claims that Jesus gave grace for grace. I submit that Jesus offered the true representation of grace from the kingdom of God for what the culture believed grace was. Yes, there was the act of giving demonstrated, however, it was self-less. Humans give to get there is no other way around it. Jesus did not give in this manner simply because he knew that there wasn’t anything he wanted or needed from someone else since his Father was his entire source.

In the kingdom of God grace is the activating power of His love. The Hebrews view God as a verb not a noun. Grace therefore cannot be a gift like a puppy or new bicycle. Grace is the visible action of God’s love. Consider everything which surrounds you now. It was all made by and through God’s word. It is the visible action of the word of God’s character as Love. There isn’t anything made that isn’t that grace-filled expression of Love.

Now there is an implication from this claim which many never address or even consider. You are the grace-filled expression of Love. You always have been. There has never been anything that could change or take this away from you. If something could alter this about you anytime, you and God would cease to exist! If you and God cease to exist, so does ALL of creation.

I’ll let you flesh out the reality of this on your own. However, there are powers who do not want this to come out. So, proceed accordingly.

Again, grace is the activating power of God’s love. You are surrounded by it. Some might tell you that you don’t deserve it, or that you must earn it, or maybe once you had it but now you’ve lost it. They are ignorant – even though they too are grace-filled expressions of God’s love. God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours. Thankfully.