“Grace, ‘tis a charming sound. Harmonious to the ear; Heaven with the echo shall resound, And all the earth shall here.”
Grace is unmerited favor. It is also “the divine influence on the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude.” The word comes from the Greek word charis and is translated into a number of different English words. In Ephesians 1:6 it is rendered accepted. That is, the “Lord has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ; He chose us to be holy and without blemish before Him in love; He adopted us unto Himself as sons; He redeemed us through the offering of the blood of Jesus and forgave us our sins. He graced us with all of the blessings which made us “acceptable” to Him, not of any merit, of our own, and it was all to the praise of the glory of His grace.” (Eph. 1:3-7)
In Luke 1:30 the word is translated “favor.” It was told Mary that she was highly favored of the Lord. She was to become the mother of a child who was to be called the Son of God. And because of this grace which was upon her she exclaimed, “from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed, for he that is mighty hath done to me great things and holy in his name.”
Charis translated Joy in Philemon, v. 7, “For I had much joy comfort in thy love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through thee, brother.” The influence of the love of Christ on the heart of Philemon reflected in his daily life by refreshing the hearts of the saints, which caused the heart of the apostle to be filled with joy. It graced his heart to the extent that he would write this wonderful epistle of tenderness and love.
Many times, the word is translated thanks. In 1 Cor. 15:57 the apostle pours out his heart in praise to God for victory over death. God has graced us with the greatest of all favors, the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope for an immortal body. For this great victory, Christ’s victory over death, Paul exclaims, “Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Again, charis is translated thanks in 2 Cor., chapters 8 and 9. Here in bondless praise he says, “Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.” (2 Cor. 9:15.) Paul has been praising the Macedonian brethren for their liberality in giving. They had first given themselves to the Lord and being influenced from the heart by the “divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4.) with which they were graced (2 Cor. 8:1) out of their deep poverty they gave beyond their power to give. They knew “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that, though He was rich, yet for our sakes, He became poor, that we through His poverty might become rich.” And because of this gratitude, which was shown by the brethren, the apostle exclaims, “Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.”
In 1 Pet. 2:19 we have the word translated thankworthy. A man who endures griefs, suffering wrongdoing from others and takes it patiently, is one who is acceptable to God. Again, we see the “divine influence of the heart and its refection in the life” comes from the life of Christ. For Jesus suffered for our sins event though He knew no sin. But for our example, “When He was reviled, He reviled not again; when He suffered, threatened not; but committed Himself to Him who judgeth righteously.” The one who has been graced of God by receiving His love into his heart so that he can follow the steps of the Master will receive “thanks” in that Day; he will be accounted “worthy.”
“Grace all the work shall crown, through everlasting days; It lays in heaven the topmost stone, and well deserves our praise.”
This is the first in a 3-part series by E. A. Rhodes, (1887-1981) in “Missionary Messenger,” Vol. XXXV, No. 5, May 1958.