Home	Calling For 'Great Grace'
Faith's Confession of God's Word
Jesus' Name: Faith's Complete Authority
Continuing in Faith As We Have Begun

Acts 4:33

"And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them."

Most believers in Christ know the common definition of the beautiful word "grace" as "the unmerited favour of God." This is wonderfully true and clearly relates to our salvation apart from the works of energy of our flesh (Ephesians 2:7-9). But "grace," as used in this text ("great grace") and texts such as Luke 2:40 and Acts 11:23, also refers to "operations of the power of God." Just as God in mercy saves us by His grace, so that grace is manifested in great dynamic where the Holy Spirit is at work in power. Zechariah 4:7 provides an Old Testament illustration of this truth. The prophet instructed Zerubbabel to speak "grace" to the "mountain" - the hindrance he faced in the trying task of rebuilding God's temple. Speaking "grace" to obstacles we face is an action of faith, drawing on the operations of God's great power. We only speak: the work is entirely His - by His gracious power and for His great victory. When we accept salvation, we receive it only through the power of His grace. Likewise, we can trust that His same grace will operate in us and through us, as it has been shown to us. As with the early disciples, great authority and power in other issues flowed through them and in their midst. As we call upon the name of the Lord, speaking His grace into the face of our mountainous impossibilities, we have every reason to expect "great grace" today too.

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