1 Corinthians 1:4
I always thank my God for you because of the grace He has given you in Christ Jesus.
*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 5485
GRACE: is preeminently used of the Lord's favor – freely extended to give Himself away to people (because He is "always leaning toward them"). Favor, kindness, a gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ.
I have heard that the word 'grace' can be seen as an anagram, making it easy to remember:
God's
Riches
At
Christ's
Expense
THE GIFT OF GRACE
Grace comes from God by way of God's only begotten Son Jesus Christ.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Acts 4:11, 12
(11) This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. (12) Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Ephesians 2:4-11
(4) But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, (5)made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!
(6) And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, (7) in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
(8) For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, (9) not by works, so that no one can boast.
(10) For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.
THE WRAPPED GIFT
Acts 2:23, 24
(23) He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. (24) But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches.
Isaiah 53 describes the suffering that God's Gift had to go through. God's Gift was not a pretty sight. It was wrapped in blood, covered with bruises and nailed to the cross: for us.
Hebrews 2:17
For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people.
Isaiah 53
Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
no beauty that we should desire Him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces,
He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
Surely He took on our infirmities
and carried our sorrows;
yet we considered Him stricken by God,
struck down and afflicted.
But He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,
and by His stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
each one has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid upon Him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet He did not open His mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so He did not open His mouth.
By oppression and judgment He was taken away,
and who can recount His descendants?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
He was stricken for the transgression of My people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with a rich man in His death,
although He had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in His mouth.
Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him
and to cause Him to suffer;
and when His soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days,
and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
After the anguish of His soul,
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many,
and He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great,
and He will divide the spoils with the strong,
because He has poured out His life unto death,
and He was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet He bore the sin of many
and made intercession for the transgressors.
That's God's Gift of Grace to us who believe and receive this Word, this Bread, sent down from heaven.
RECEIVING THE GIFT OF GRACE
Romans 10:9, 10
(9) That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. (10) For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 4:23, 24
(23) Now the words “it was credited to him” were written not only for Abraham, (24) but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
Grace is God's gift to us in Jesus Christ. We just have to accept it (believe) and open it (receive). When we get a wrapped birthday or Christmas present, we must receive the gift from the giver. If the package just sits there and we never open it, then we have never received it: we have rejected it.
REJECTING THE GIFT OF GRACE
But what if we open the gift from the giver and we don't like it, or it's not exactly what we had in mind when we accepted the gift? Is it still ours? No. For when we have rejected what has been given us, we are still rejecting the gift, even after receiving it.
This gift of grace from God is for everyone who receives it. Though given to the whole world, the whole world will not receive it: this gift will be rejected by many. The Gift will be rejected because of their unwillingness to believe that not only is the Gift theirs, but that the Gift-giver is loving and generous.
Romans 2:4
Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
John 3:18
Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.
Mark 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
