Many of us know about grace, and we know what grace can do. The bible is full of case studies of the effect of grace in the life of men and women, cutting across several generations and dispensations.
One undeniable fact about grace is that every time grace appears, exploits happen. Several examples in the bible show this.
One such example is Noah. In Genesis 6:8, the bible records that Noah found grace in God’s sight. It was this grace that enabled Noah to build the first ship. Without a background in engineering, grace empowered Noah to build a ship with a capacity that contained his family and a pair of all the animals that God ever created.
Another example is Elijah. In 1 Kings 18:46, the bible records how the hand of God came upon Elijah and he outran the chariots of Ahad. That hand of God that came on Elijah was a manifestation of Grace.
Friend, this is what grace can do. But as beautiful as grace is, grace is in levels and in dimensions.
When I say Grace is in Levels, I mean that Grace is in proportions or measures.
On the other hand, when I talk about grace being in dimensions, what I am referring to is that grace comes in types. In 2 Corinthians 9:8, the bible says that “...God is able to make all grace abound to you” The word “all” indicates the existence of different variations of grace, as you will be seeing in this series.
So, if grace is in levels, and if grace is also in dimensions, our ability to grow in grace (both in the levels and dimensions of grace we carry and manifest) is very very important.
So in this teaching, which I have divided into three parts, my goal is to show you how you can grow in grace, until you become full of grace, both in the levels and in dimensions that you require to fulfill God’s purpose for your life.
There are so many steps and tips that I can share from the scriptures about growing in grace. But I have picked three very important keys, which I consider to be indispensable, if you really want to increase your experience and manifestation of grace.
And because these keys are so important, I have split these teachings into three parts, so we can explore each key in a bit more detail than we would, if I were to discuss three keys in one episode. Friend, these keys I will be sharing are equally important, and none is more or less important than the other. So, I would like you to listen to this episode to the end, and make sure you listen to the second and third parts of this series.
Now, let’s jump right into the first key, which will be the focus of this episode. And, what could this key be?
Friend, the first key to growing in grace is to know and understand what grace is.
This may sound very absurd and ridiculous. But this is very important because many times, many Christians mistake the effect of grace, for grace. And this is so dangerous because when we are unable to distinguish or differentiate between grace and what grace does, we stand the risk of abusing grace or chasing after what grace can do, and not grace itself. And when people begin to chase after the results of grace while ignoring grace itself or being ignorant of what grace is, they easily fall for diabolism and manipulations which are counterfeits of grace that lead to sorrow and destruction.
When we are unable to distinguish or differentiate between grace and what grace does, we stand the risk of abusing grace or chasing after what grace can do, and not grace itself
So, the question you may be asking right now is, “What is grace?”
An excellent definition of grace can be seen in the Amplified Bible translation of the book of John 1:16. It says,
“For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift]”
When we read this passage carefully, we can see that the Amplified Bible (in this passage) refers to grace as a spiritual blessing, a favor, or a gift.
This brings us to one of the fundamental principles of grace, which is the fact that grace is manifested either as a spiritual blessing, favor, or gift. When we read some other scriptures on grace in the amplified bible, we see at least one of these clearly being referred to. For instance, in Luke 2:40, in the Amplified Bible, the passage says;
In other words, in the passage, the meaning of grace being referred to here is favor and spiritual blessing.
Several other scriptures in the bible make reference to the meaning of grace as being at least one of these three. When you read John 1:17 in the Amplified Bible, you will grace being referred to as the undeserved favor of God. The same goes for Acts 4:33, and some other passages in the bible.
I like to call spiritual blessings, favor, and gifts, the 3 manifestations of grace. For you to understand grace, you need to understand what each one of these three manifestations is.
Each manifestation of grace is at the benevolence of God. In other words, the choice of the manifestation of grace in your life is God’s choice. But your growth in the experience of that manifestation is up to you….And you will agree with me that it takes understanding to grow in any experience.
So, if we define grace as a spiritual blessing, a favor, and/or gift, and we call these three things the manifestations of grace, what exactly are they?
Let’s start with spiritual blessing. What does grace as a spiritual blessing mean?
Grace as a Spiritual Blessing
You see, in the bible, the word blessing comes from a Greek word that means favor. So the word “spiritual blessing” also means “spiritual favor”.
So grace as a spiritual blessing means grace is an activator of favor in the realm of the spirit. When grace manifests in a person’s life as a spiritual blessing, it comes like a force that compels the spirit realm to favor you.
Now, one thing to note here is that the spirit realm comprises both good and evil spirits. Hebrews 12:9 calls God the “Father of spirits”
So when God releases grace as a spiritual blessing, both good and evil spirits in the realm of the spirit are compelled to work in your favor.
As a matter of fact, because the evil force and spirits in the spirit realm are compelled to favor people who carry grace as a spiritual blessing, such people tend to enjoy exploits in their life, in spite of terrible experiences and tribulations.
Those evil spirits have evil in their nature. Just like a snake can only crawl and never walk, they can only do evil and never good. But because they are compelled to favor a person who carries grace as a spiritual blessing, their evil only favors such a person.
This is why when you check everyone in the bible that enjoyed grace as a spiritual blessing, you will see evidence of tribulations and terrible experiences that turned in the favor of the one who carried the blessing….whether it is Joseph whose slavery was the path to his throne as the Prime Minister of Egypt, or David whose assassination attempts from Saul where part of his journey to the throne, or even Jesus whose death on the cross was the path to His current position at the right Hand of God.
So, in the equation of grace being manifested as a spiritual blessing, evil may be factored in….But it is only factored in for your good. And when you carry grace as a spiritual blessing, with this understanding, you do not allow the ugly situations to uproot you from grace. Rather, you defy those ugly situations, like Daniel defied the Lion's den, and you stay planted in grace, which makes it possible for you to grow in grace.
Another important factor I must not leave out here is that you are a spirit. So when the Father of Spirits, who is also the father of your spirit, issues a blessing, your spirit aligns. That alignment could be in the form of an enabling and drive you never had, which comes from your spirit, or it could even be your spirit being elevated to a level where it begins to pick up signals, leadings, ideas, or anything that can generate or create visible and tangible proofs of these invisible and intangible blessings.
This, my friend, is what grace as a spiritual blessing is all about.
Let’s move to the next manifestation, which is favor. What does grace, manifested as favor, mean?
Grace as Favor
You see, for us to understand this manifestation of grace, we must recall that I earlier pointed out that “Spiritual Blessing” also means “Spiritual Favor”
So, Grace as a spiritual blessing causes you to enjoy favor in the spiritual realm. Because the spiritual realm controls the physical, as Hebrews 11:3 shows us, spiritual blessings cause circumstances and situations to favor us.
Typical examples are Isaac who prospered in famine, and Jacob who became wealthy under a boss and father-in-law who cheated him several times. This is how grace as a spiritual blessing or spiritual favor works.
But when we talk about grace manifested as favor, we are talking about grace as a force that causes men and women to favor us. Now, remember….as a spiritual blessing, grace causes situations and circumstances to favor us because the circumstances and situations are orchestrated by spirits and spiritual forces.
But Grace as a favor, implies that grace causes people to favor us. Even when people do not like you, the spirit of grace compels them to favor you. Isaiah 49:22-23 gives a perfect illustration of this. In the Berean Study Bible, it says,
22 This is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations, and raise My banner to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.
This, my friend, is how grace manifested as favor works.
Let’s move to the third manifestation, which is a gift. What does grace manifested as a gift mean?
Grace as a Gift
When we talk about grace as a gift, we are talking about an enablement that God places in you to make you stand out.
This could be a talent, a gift, or a unique ability.
Grace, as a gift, is not a skill that is acquired, but a skill that is imparted. Skills can be gotten through training…but such skills cannot compare to skills that God imparts. An example can be seen in Exodus 31:1-5, in the case of Bazaleel who was a gifted craftsman.
Another example is Noah, who built a ship that could carry a pair of all the animals that God created, without taking a degree in engineering.
Friend, when grace comes as a gift, the skills you possess in that area of grace become creative. You begin to invent. While those who acquired skills through training live and think within the box, those who acquired skills through impartation live and think outside the box. Two engineers may have gone to the same university, may have been taught by the same tutors, and even graduated on the same day. But one of the two, who is a gifted engineer through grace, will see and do what the other educated engineers cannot see and do.
This, my friend, is why some of the founders of the most innovative technology companies do not even have a degree. Some of them are dropouts….yet their gift placed them above their pairs.
This is why most of the best musicians never studied music, and most of the best artists never went to art school.
This, my friends, is what grace, as a gift is and can do.
How the Understanding of Grace Helps to Grow in Grace
Now, remember that our central focus in this teaching is on growing in grace, and we are talking about the first key, which is knowing and understanding grace. We have also gone further to define grace as a spiritual blessing, favor, or gift, and we have dived into explaining each of these.
So, now that you know and understand grace to be a spiritual blessing, a favor, or a gift, how does this knowledge and understanding help you grow in grace?
Friend, this knowledge and understanding will help you grow in grace, in two very very important ways.
First, it will help you know the difference between grace and its effect.
From all we have discussed, you will see by now that money or fame is not grace in itself, but the effect of grace. The real grace is the spiritual blessing, the favor, or the gift that brought the money or fame.
Understanding grace helps you to differentiate between grace and its effects
Many believers mistake the effect of grace for grace…and so they begin to chase after and value the wrong thing. They chase after and value money and fame, rather than chasing and valuing spiritual blessings, favor, and gifts.
Sometimes, this leads many Christians into manipulation, or even diabolism, or actions that cost them their lives and their eternity with Christ.
Friend, the fact is that some of the effects of grace can be counterfeited.
But grace cannot be counterfeited. The devil can give you fame, glory, and wealth. After all, he offered to give Jesus the world when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. The devil may be able to give a person riches, results at his or her work, and some other good things that grace can offer. But he cannot give you all that grace offers, such as peace, joy, salvation, and so on.
So if you are not careful to distinguish between the effects of grace, and grace in itself, your effort to grow in grace may lead you into a situation where you are growing in every other thing, except grace.
The second way in which the knowledge and understanding of grace will help you grow in grace is that it will help you understand and be aware of what you are asking for when you pray for grace.
Before you ask God for grace, understand what grace is
If you have read the bible well enough, you will know that one of the obvious ways to grow in grace is to ask God for more grace. Afterall, Matthew 7:7 says you should ask and you shall receive.
But you see, in this teaching, my goal is not to show you the obvious…but to open you up to what is not obvious….and that is why “Asking for more Grace” is not a point I am focusing on, even though it's very important.
Although Matthew 7:7 says ask and you shall receive, James 4:3 says “You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss…”
The right knowledge and understanding of grace will help you to ask for it with the right motive, the right perspective, and the right understanding and awareness of what you are asking for.
As a matter of fact, this knowledge and understanding will even help you to know when your prayer for grace is answered. Some people ask for grace and then stop asking when they see or experience something that looks like the effect of grace.
Friend, when you carry this knowledge and understanding, you will chase after grace in any area of your life, and won't stop chasing it until you receive it. Elisha had a very solid knowledge and understanding of grace…..That was why he followed Elijah to the end. The sons of the prophet were prophesying…Maybe God had imparted some of them with the gift of prophecy through Elijah. Even Elisha could prophesy because when the sons of the prophet told Elisha that God would take away Elijah, he said he knew. It was not new knowledge to Elisha because it had been revealed to him by God. But Elisha knew what he wanted…..He knew the spiritual blessing he wanted and he was very specific in his request.
Friend, nothing commands answers from God like a request that is specific, and nothing aids a specific request like knowledge and understanding. This is why your knowledge and understanding of grace is very critical to your growth in grace.
In the next part of this series, I will be sharing another powerful key to growing in grace.