The Grace of God sets “the called” Apart...

“Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” And He said,“Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. “For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.” (Exodus 33:13-16)

God’s Grace IS His Holy Spirit’s presence with God‘s approval. If you do not have the Holy Spirit, you do not have the Grace of God. And no people could even slightly begin to do the work of the Holy Spirit without the Holy Spirit, no matter how hard they try to mimic it through the will of the carnal mind and the work of the flesh using all the Scripture they can muster up to attempt to impress the naive.

It is the Grace of God which sets true believers in Christ Jesus apart from all other humans on the earth. If you do not have the Grace of God in your heart, you are not a born-again Christian in the eyes of the Living God. Many claim to be “Christian” but lack the Grace to prove it. Grace is in stark contrast to legalism or licentiousness. The Grace of God is the active presence of His Holy Spirit in someone’s heart and life working from the Mind of Christ. His Grace contains all we need to produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. And God receives ALL the glory because we can not do what only He can.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ep 2:9)

“Lord, You will establish peace for us,
For You have also done all our works in us.” (Is 26:12)

This Grace is only given because of the work that the resurrected and ascended Christ has finished on His Cross and it is His Holy Spirit which does all our works which God has pre-ordained before time. It is nothing of our doing which has made us deserving of this Grace. This Grace is given to all types of people. All races, all cultures, all colors. God is no respecter of persons as He chooses the poor and the rich, the great and the small, the intelligent and the simple. Yet it should be said at this time that according to God’s own words, NOT MANY of those we deem as having great assets like wisdom, riches, or fame will enter the Kingdom of God by Grace --the ONLY WAY possible-- for they have chosen to rely on those things God gave them. Yet they often will not even acknowledge that God gave them all they have in that.

When Moses said “if I have found grace in Your sight” he was showing to us how those who are the chosen of God appear to Him from Heaven’s sight. We have found or “attained” grace from God. The NT says in the introduction of Jesus Christ brought to us from the beloved Disciple John:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of GRACE AND TRUTH. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” And of His fullness we have all received, and GRACE FOR GRACE. For the law was given through Moses, but GRACE AND TRUTH came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” (John 1:14-18) -emphasis added

The Apostle Paul said:
“But BEFORE faith came, we WERE kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would AFTERWARD be revealed. Therefore the law WAS our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But AFTER FAITH has come, WE ARE NO LONGER UNDER A TUTOR.” -emphasis to show God’s eras through time

You know you are living by grace alone when you live through the power of the Holy Spirit. For legalism attempts to “live the life” without God’s Grace to help, as it is full of condemnation and bondage. And licentiousness attempts to have men give up and give in to the power of sin because Grace in the Holy Spirit is not there to teach us and give us the victory which His Divine Power has given to believers in Christ.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ep 2:8-9)

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,” (2 Pet 1:2-3)

Legalism and licentiousness both work to block “the knowledge of Him who called us” from being known through knowing the Person of Jesus Christ. “Another Jesus” made by men will never help, as it is void of the True Grace of our Lord and Savior. Where you find no Grace you find no Holy Spirit. Where you will find no Holy Spirit you will find no Grace to help in times of need.

I look forward to sharing more on the Grace of God the next time here on HAVEN OF GRACE.