{"id":1994,"date":"2018-06-22T10:23:41","date_gmt":"2018-06-22T17:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/?p=1994"},"modified":"2018-06-23T06:00:34","modified_gmt":"2018-06-23T13:00:34","slug":"the-deep-dark-secret-of-grace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2018\/06\/22\/the-deep-dark-secret-of-grace\/","title":{"rendered":"The Deep, Dark Secret of Grace"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"hand
\nLiving in the shelter of our religious institutions most of us never would even imagine that there is a secret about grace which we\u2019ve never been told. Sure, some might feel that living under the heavy hand of atonement theology, replacement theology, or even prosperity and kingdom theology, when grace enters our consciousness, it appears somehow that an ancient mystery, a secret of mystical proportions has suddenly burst upon our mind illuminating dogma and doctrine handed down from by-gone eras. Happily, we skip through life now encouraged and uplifted in the love of the Father having left behind the stigma of our wretched, miserable Adamic nature which pastors assailed from their pulpits every sabbath.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been around grace for any amount of time the first discovery to its impetus in our lives comes from the second page of Paul\u2019s letter to the people of Ephesus where he boldly proclaims that we are saved by grace, not by our works, but as a gift of God. From this injunction we now live a life perfectly in the will of the Father, whether we know it or not. This is the fount of the entire grace message, Paul\u2019s capstone to a life committed to spreading the good news of the works of God in Jesus. <\/p>\n

From this passage we have assembled those from far and wide extolling them with the news that distinction of their affiliations, ethnicity, gender or social status has no favorable standing before the gift offered in Jesus. Grace applies to all, works in all, and exceeds the expectations of all. Paul said it; that\u2019s good news to me. <\/p>\n

So, let me ask a few questions: Does grace cover lying and cheating? How about fraud and manipulation? Are heretics also saved by grace? If none of these conditions were not covered by grace, then it wouldn\u2019t be grace, would it? <\/p>\n

Therein, lies the deep, dark secret of grace. To put it as plainly as I can, Paul never said to the people of Ephesus that they were saved by grace! Subsequently, in reading this letter, Paul never said that to you! Selah.<\/p>\n

Have you been lied to, cheated, defrauded and manipulated all this time? Am I a heretic for claiming such blasphemous filth? Is it grace or not?<\/p>\n

I can honestly claim what I stated is based on historical evidence. The letter written to the people of Ephesus was penned after the death of Paul, possibly as much as 10 years, by someone who was potentially one of his disciples, and used his name in publishing this letter. Scholarly study has confirmed this repeatedly for many years now and yet we\u2019re still living under the belief of a doctrine which ascribed these words directly from Paul. So why does this matter?<\/p>\n

Is it grace or not? Is ignorance covered by grace? Is wisdom and new revelation covered by grace? Are these writings, whether attributed to Paul or actually written by Paul, covered by grace? If it doesn\u2019t matter, is it covered by grace? If it does matter, is it covered by grace? <\/p>\n

Grace does not operate from an either\/or<\/em> sense of logic. Its logic is both\/and<\/em>. That is too a secret none will tell you. Its not grace if it doesn\u2019t apply to all \u2013 period.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living in the shelter of our religious institutions most of us never would even imagine that there is a secret about grace which we\u2019ve never been told. Sure, some might feel that living under the heavy hand of atonement theology, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amazonpipp_noncename":"","amazon-product-isactive":"","amazon-product-single-asin":"","amazon-product-content-location":"","amazon-product-content-hook-override":"","amazon-product-excerpt-hook-override":"","amazon-product-singular-only":"","amazon-product-amazon-desc":"","amazon-product-show-gallery":"","amazon-product-show-features":"","amazon-product-newwindow":"","amazon-product-show-list-price":"","amazon-product-show-used-price":"","amazon-product-show-saved-amt":"","amazon-product-timestamp":"","amazon-product-new-title":"","amazon-product-use-cartURL":"","amazon_featured_post_meta_key":"","_amazon_featured_alt":"","amazon-product-template":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[4,6,5],"class_list":["post-1994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2018-postings","tag-grace","tag-mike-hillebrecht","tag-teaching"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2ITDy-wa","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3345,"url":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/06\/fractured-moments-grace-emerging-from-the-unexpected-cracks\/","url_meta":{"origin":1994,"position":0},"title":"Fractured Moments \u2013 Grace Emerging from the Unexpected Cracks","author":"mike","date":"December 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Building on our last dive into the grind [Previous Blog: Grace in the Grind \u2013 When Everyday Chaos Whispers Divinity], let's push deeper. What if the experiences we label \"not divine\"\u2014a job loss, a betrayal, or even a random encounter\u2014aren't interruptions but invitations? Our perceptions of grace don't evolve linearly;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2025 Postings"","block_context":{"text":"2025 Postings","link":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/category\/2025\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"hand in hand","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":395,"url":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2016\/07\/07\/so-you-call-yourself-a-grace-guy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1994,"position":1},"title":"So you call yourself a grace guy\u2026","author":"mike","date":"July 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"These days it appears that everyone is trying to getting on the grace band wagon (with the possible exception of a number of people who are opposed and you know who they are.) It seems that \u201cgrace\u201d is the hot topic of the moment despite the fact that Paul has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Postings"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Postings","link":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/category\/2016\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2192,"url":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2019\/04\/18\/worlds-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":1994,"position":2},"title":"World\u2019s grace","author":"mike","date":"April 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"What if the grace message, and its present manifestation as a movement, isn\u2019t for the world? What if it is only for the church? Absurd? Consider before you dismiss. What do you know about grace? It is the power of a gift which enables us to be in the presence\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2019 Postings"","block_context":{"text":"2019 Postings","link":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/category\/2019-postings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"hand in hand","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2107,"url":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2019\/01\/19\/blast-zone\/","url_meta":{"origin":1994,"position":3},"title":"Blast Zone","author":"mike","date":"January 19, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Ever had a hand grenade go off in your theology? The impact, the debris field, the repercussions are beyond anything imagined. This recently happened to me and to say I\u2019m over it is truly just a lie. This explosion has rocked all my prior beliefs (which is a good thing).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2019 Postings"","block_context":{"text":"2019 Postings","link":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/category\/2019-postings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"hand in hand","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3460,"url":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/21\/daily-kingdom-living-extending-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":1994,"position":4},"title":"Daily Kingdom Living: Extending Grace","author":"mike","date":"December 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Daily living extends grace, embodying kingdom in world. This post outlines habits, challenges, and fruits, making grace practical for illusion navigation. Habits for Daily Extension Habits include gratitude, service, mindfulness\u2014extending grace in interactions. 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