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My Soul and Costly Grace
(Rm3:24)
God is the Lord of grace.
Grace comes from Him and
To show His grace He created man and
He lets those who know His grace come and live before the throne of grace (He4:16).
Faith is believing that by the grace of Yeshua Christ one has been saved (Ac15:11) and
Faith life is knowing the value of grace and living worthy of His calling.
Grace refers to a freely-given gift not because it is worthless but because
It is too precious to put a price — that is, it is costly grace.
The general grace—all things made by the word—> given to all mankind;
The special grace—the incarnate Word, the only begotten Son—> to those who believe—> grace upon grace (Jn1:16).
God’s dispensation is the process of making His grace be known:
Noah and his family were saved after being warned of the great deluge (Ge6:8);
Lot and his family were saved after being warned of
The destruction of Sodom by brimstone fire (Ge19:19).
They all received the grace of narrowly escaping death.
Anyone violating the Law was put to death without mercy regardless of who (Lev10:1; 1Sa28:7-8).
Yet the Law was good for it allowed an animal sacrifice to die at the altar in sinner's place (Rm7:16).
The temple reminded Israel all the good that God had done for Israel (1Ki8:66).
Yeshua said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days,” and angered the Jews
But through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body (Jn2:19-21),
He would give grace upon grace (Jn1:16):
The temple—the name of Jehovah—animal sacrifice—flesh and blood of a specific people;
His body—the name of Yeshua—His life as a ransom (Mt20:28)—souls of all nations.
Dismissing the disciple who, unaware of God’s purpose, tried to dissuade Him (Mt16:22-23),
He went up to Jerusalem, where death awaited Him, and as He hung on the cross and died,
He said, "It is finished” (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) Laid down His life according to the Father’s command, looking toward the greater grace the Father would give Him (Jnh2:2-3; Jn10:17-18);
2) Condemned the devil the ungrateful one (Ge3:4-6; Is14:12-15; Jnh2:8; 1Jn3:8); and
3) As the last Adam paid the price of the first Adam (all men)’s sin—redemption (1Co15:45),
With His precious blood bought all mankind from the devil—redemption (1Pe1:18-20).
He resurrected and ascended to heaven; He is the Lamb seated on the throne of grace (He4:16).
The Holy Spirit whom He sent comes to believers and
Lets them understand what God has freely given them (1Co2:12)
So grace may be grace (Rm4:16).
The grace Israel received—miracles and signs—> for the flesh;
The grace that Christians received—the incarnate Word—> for souls.
The souls bought with His precious blood!
He lets them know that they are souls as precious as jewels.
When God set a valuation for different bodies of Israel (Lev27:2–7),
He demonstrated that the value of an animal and that of human differ from one another
To reveal that the body of the Word in the beginning, that is God, who came as man, is
Costly grace!
A Christian is he who received a holy calling by grace (Gal1:6; 2Ti1:9):
1) He is indebted to grace—there is no time to think about anything other than paying off the debt; expects no praise, no matter the effort put in (Lk17:10; Rm1:14; 1Co9:16);
2) For the Lord died for me, I live for Him (2Co5:15)—living the second public life of Yeshua Christ;
3) Where sin increased, grace increased all the more; where grace increases, the love for the Lord increases—thus, freely offering everything to the Lord, holding nothing back (Lk7:47); and
4) Testifying the gospel of His grace, not sparing life (Ac20:23-24).
O Lord!
A sinner like me—worse than a dog, a pig, or even an insect—the worst of sinners!
How did I get to be called and hear the gospel?
It is all by grace!
I have to come to understand that, receiving answer to prayer and healing was all grace
But the incarnation of the Word is the greatest grace.
This costly grace! Grace beyond repayment!
Let us never turn this costly grace into cheap grace.
Let us never forget that we are all debtors to grace! Amen.