In the first part of this series, we began teaching on how to grow in grace, with a focus on one out of three important keys to growing in grace. In that episode, we talked about the first key to growing in grace, which is knowing and understanding grace. And then we went on to define grace as a spiritual blessing, a favor, or a gift.
We saw that a spiritual blessing causes the beings and forces in the spirit realm to work to your advantage, favor causes men and women to work to your advantage, while a gift is an enablement that God places in you to make you stand out.
We also classified spiritual blessings, favor, and gifts as three (3) manifestations of grace, and we established the fact that having a thorough knowledge and understanding of what grace is, is vital in our growth in grace because it helps us to differentiate between grace and its effect and to ask for more grace with understanding.
Now, in this part, we will be discussing the second key to growing in grace, which is “Understanding and aligning with the Purpose of Grace”
A great teacher once said, “When the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable”
When we lack an understanding of the purpose of the grace God gives us, and we fail to align with that purpose, we retard our experience of grace and its expression through our lives.
Friends, understanding the purpose of any manifestation of grace, is as important as aligning with the purpose of that manifestation of grace.
When we lack an understanding of the purpose of the grace God gives us, and we fail to align with that purpose, we retard our experience of grace and its expression through our lives.
Carrying grace, without aligning with its purpose, will only result in a life of misery, struggle, and frustration. This is why there are many who are gifted by God, and yet live a miserable and depressed life.
Over the years, there have been cases of people who enjoy the manifestation of grace as a gift, a favor, or a blessing, and this brought a lot of good and desirable things into their life. Yet they ended up being depressed, or even committing suicide because their misalignment with the purpose of the grace they carry made them see no meaning or essence to life or the good things in their life.
If you are going to grow in grace, and if God is going to increase the grace that he has put upon you, it is important that you understand the purpose of the grace you already have, and align yourself with that purpose.
Carrying grace, without aligning with its purpose, will only result in a life of misery, struggle, and frustration.
For instance, if the purpose of the grace you carry as a fashion entrepreneur is to produce outfits for children, do not expect that grace to grow if you are a fashion designer for women. You may have the skill for it….but you will never have the results that grace can produce in the field until you align yourself with the purpose of the grace you carry, which in this example, is for children’s outfits.
Now, this is just an example….but the same principle here applies to every other endeavor that God gives grace for.
When we talk about understanding the purpose of the grace you carry, 2 Corinthians 9:8 says that “...God is able to make all grace abound toward you..”
The phrase “All grace” suggests that there are different types of grace.
If we carry different types of grace, we must understand and align with the purpose of each type, in order to grow in it.
In the last part, we talked about the different manifestations of grace, which are spiritual blessings, favor, and gifts. For each of these manifestations, there are multitudes of types.
For instance, for spiritual blessing;
One type is the blessing of fruitfulness (which can be seen in Genesis 1:28)
Another type is the blessing of financial prosperity (which is illustrated in 2 Chronicles 1:12)
Another type is the blessing of divine selection (which is seen in Luke 1:28, 48)
And there are several other types of blessings
Also, when you look at the manifestation of grace as favor, there are also different types. For instance,
There is favor among power holders (as seen in Isaiah 49:3)
There is favor among power brokers, or kingmakers, or gatekeepers. An illustration of this can be seen in 2 Kings 11, which shows how Joash became a king at the age of 7 as a result of favor shown to him by a priest called Jehoiada, whom God made a power broker and kingmaker in his time.
There is also favor with God and favor with men, which Jesus enjoyed, as shown in Luke 2:52.
And there are several other types of favor.
When you talk about gifts, there are also multitudes and variations of gifts that God can give as a manifestation of grace. For instance,
One category of gifts is “Spiritual gifts”....and within these categories alone, there are several types, as 2 Corinthians 12:4, 8-10 shows.
Another category is ministry gifts, as shown in 1 Corinthians 12:28-31.
Then we have talents or unique abilities or skills, as we see in the case of Bazaleel and the craftsmen in Exodus 31:1-6, in whom God had deposited the gift of craftsmanship.
And there are several other types of gifts and talents, which are also manifestations of grace.
In a nutshell, we can easily conclude that we all are individual embodiments of numerous types of grace. And we must understand and align with the purpose of the different types of grace we enjoy, in order to grow in them. And when we talk about growth here, we are talking of both horizontal growth (which is a growth in the types of grace we carry) and vertical growth (which is a growth in the measure of each type of grace we carry).
Now, at this point, here is the big question; “If you and I are an embodiment of different and numerous types of grace, how can we understand the purpose of each one of these graces?”
You see, God’s grace to us is so abundant, and uncountable…..And if we are to understand the purpose of each one, when we cannot even count the blessings or favor God has brought our way, how can we align with all the purpose of all these numerous types and manifestations of grace that God makes available to?
Friend, the answer to this question is in understanding the categories under which all the manifestations and dimensions of Grace that God makes available to you, fall under.
We all are embodiments of various manifestations of grace, with each manifestation coming in the form of different types. If you could take a moment to count the blessings, the favors, or the gifts that God has given you, you could count them in 10s or 100s and not even count them all.
But no matter the number, all these manifestations and types of grace fall under one of three categories of grace, that I am about to share with you. And for each category of grace, all the manifestations and types of grace within that category have the same purpose.
If you look at your life, and you can count 1,000 blessings, favors, or gifts, you don't have to worry about the purpose of each of these 1,000 dimensions of grace. All you need to do is understand the category each grace falls into, and align with the purpose of that category.
You may be wondering what these three categories are…..and I will share them with you in a very short while.
But before we get into these three categories of grace, I would like to point out here that each one of us possesses graces that fall into these three categories….and you will see these shortly. So we cannot just focus on one category and ignore the others. We must understand these three categories, we must understand the purpose of each of these three categories….and because grace is made available to us on a daily basis, we must align with the purpose of these three categories on a daily basis.
You will agree with me, that if God gives you 1,000 different types of grace, itit'ss easier to understand the purpose of the three categories that these 1,000 graces fall under than it is to understand the purpose of each of the 1,000 types. And this is not to mention the fact that God’s grace to us is innumerable and uncountable.
So….now the big question is….What are these three categories that all the grace God makes available to us falls under, and what is the purpose of each of these three categories?
The Saving Grace of God
The First category of grace we enjoy is what we can call the saving grace of God. The ultimate purpose of the saving grace of God is to deliver from sin, from destruction, or any agenda of the devil. Romans 5:20b speaks of this category of grace. It says “...But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” In other words, the essence of this grace that Romans 5:20b is referring to is to deliver from sin. That is why this category of grace, which is the saving grace, is made available where sin exists.
The favor with God, which brings salvation and mercy, is a type of grace that comes under the category of the saving grace of God. Romans 5:21 goes on to say,
“...as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”
When an addictive sinner surrenders his life to Christ, and suddenly or gradually loses the appetite for a sinful addiction he or she has had for years, such as a pornography addiction, or a drug addiction, such a loss of appetite for sin, or what you may call deliverance, is a type of grace that comes under this category of grace that we refer to as the saving grace of God. Philippians 2:13 says “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
Any blessing, favor, or gift that God makes available, to deliver us from the agenda of the enemy, which according to John 10:10 are to steal, to kill, and to destroy, is a grace that comes under the saving grace of God.
Clearly, as believers or as Christians, each one of us have experienced, are experiencing, and will still experience this first category of grace called the Saving grace of God.
Now, let’s move to the second category.
The Enabling Grace of God
This second category of grace is what I call, the enabling grace of God.
The purpose of this category of grace is to fulfill instructions that God gives us, or to fulfill the will of God, or to fulfill the purpose and plan of God.
Talents are an example of the enabling grace.
Favor with power holders, power brokers, or influential people can also fall under enabling grace, especially when such favor propels you to fulfill the plan or will, or agenda of God for your life. An example of this can be seen in the life of Esther, who enjoyed favor with the King's servant and with the King, as shown in Esther 2:9 and 17 and in chapters 5 and 7. The favor that Esther enjoyed, which helped her to save her people is an example of enabling grace.
A blessing could also be an enabling grace. For instance, the blessing in Deuteronomy 28:13, which makes you the head and not the tail, is a type of grace that falls under the category of the enabling grace.
Any blessing, favor, or gift that God makes available to you for the purpose of doing something is an enabling grace.
Again, just like we saw for the first category of grace, you will agree with me that each one of us have several manifestations and types of grace that come under this category of grace called the enabling grace.
Now, let’s look at the third category.
The Perfecting Grace of God
The third category of grace is what I refer to as the perfecting grace of God.
God’s ultimate agenda for your life is not just to save and enable you. His ultimate agenda for your life is eternal salvation, which will make you reign with Christ in eternity.
Therefore, the purpose of this category of grace called the perfecting grace of God is to fulfill this ultimate agenda of God in your life, which is eternal salivation.
Psalms 138:8 says, “The LORD will perfect that which concerns me…”
Both the purpose of the saving grace and the enabling grace of God remains incomplete, without the perfecting grace of God. Think of the perfecting grace as the crown of the saving and enabling grace of God.
Philippians 1:6 says, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”
The perfecting grace of God also seeks to build us up, and ultimately help us to make heaven. In Acts 20:32, the bible says, “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” So when we talk about this category of grace called the perfecting grace of God, we are talking about a category of graces that builds us up spiritually, and helps us to make heaven.
We just talked about the saving grace. However, salvation and eternal salvation are two different things….and I will be sharing about this in a future episode. But here is the difference….we experience salvation when we surrender our lives to Christ. But we experience eternal salvation when we make heaven and reign with Christ in eternity. Salvation is the result of the saving grace…But eternal salvation largely comes through this category of grace called the perfecting grace. Hebrews 7:25 talks about Jesus being able to save us to the utmost.
The perfecting grace also encompasses the dimensions of grace that helps us mature spiritually, and equips us for the work of ministry. These dimensions or types of perfecting grace are often disseminated or channeled to us through the work of men and women in the five-fold ministry. In Ephesians 4:11-12, the Bible says,
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Friend, this is why we go to church services, attend crusades and conferences, and spiritual gatherings.
As a matter of fact, without this category of grace called the perfecting grace, the saving graces and enabling graces we have are of no worth.
When we pray for grace for a deeper walk with God, that grace we are asking for falls under the perfecting grace of God. In The Passion Translation for the bible, Romans 6:22 says,
“But now, as God’s loving servants, you live in joyous freedom from the power of sin. So consider the benefits you now enjoy—you are brought deeper into the experience of true holiness that ends with eternal life!”
In a nutshell, this third category of grace I have described, comprises the spiritual blessings, the favors, and gifts that God makes available to us to mature spiritually as Christians, and to ultimately make heaven.
Now that we have discussed the three categories that all the grace you can ever experience fall under, and we have discussed the purpose of each of these categories of grace, the next question is, “How do we align ourselves with the purpose of these categories of grace?”
Aligning with the Purpose of Grace
Remember that in this part of this series, we are looking at the second key to growing in grace, which we described as understanding and aligning with the purpose of grace. And we have explained the purpose of different categories of grace.
So now, let's assume you have identified a particular grace that you want to grow in, and you have now understood the purpose of that grace, based on the category it belongs to….The question now will be, “How do you engage this second key, by aligning yourself with that purpose, in order to grow in that grace?”
To answer this question, we need to go back to the categories of grace we talked about, and see how we align with the purpose of each of these categories.
Let’s start with the saving grace.
How do we align ourselves with the purpose of graces that come under the saving grace?
We align with the purpose of these graces by walking in love and obedience to God. Remember that we said that one of the primary purposes of saving grace is to deliver us from sin. In The Passion Translation of the bible, Romans 6:15-16 says,
“15 What are we to do, then? Should we sin to our hearts’ content since there’s no law to condemn us anymore? What a terrible thought!
16 Don’t you realize that grace frees you to choose your own master? But choose carefully, for you surrender yourself to become a servant—bound to the one you choose to obey. If you choose to love sin, it will become your master, and it will own you and reward you with death. But if you choose to love and obey God, he will lead you into perfect righteousness
So through our walk in love and obedience to God, we naturally embrace and align with the manifestations and types of saving grace that God makes available to us, and we position ourselves to grow in our experience of the saving grace of God.
The next category is enabling grace.
How do we align ourselves with the purpose of the spiritual blessings, the favor, or the gifts that come under the category of grace called enabling grace?
Friends, we align with enabling grace by taking steps of faith, and acting on that grace. You see, when the enabling grace comes on a man;
It can come on your body and enable you to do something physical which is unimaginable for you to do, like in the case of Elijah in 1 Kings 18:6, or in several instances in the life of Samson.
Or it can come on your soul, which is were your mind resides, and make you begin to get innovative ideas
Or it can come on your spirit, and for instance, enable you to begin to see into the realm of the spirit, or may be in the form of a spiritual gift.
Imagine if that grace came on Elijah in the form of the hand of God, and Elijah refused to run….If that happened, he would not have outran the chariots of Ahab.
Or imagine the grace that came upon Isaac, which enabled him to invent the concept of irrigation, which helped him to prosper in famine….If he refused to act on the idea, and if he refused to dig wells, he would not have enjoyed the hundredfold harvest he had in famine, which Genesis 26:12 talks about.
Or imagine if Samson refused to do anything when he was attacked by a Lion and the Spirit of the Lord came on him, as Judges 12:6 records….If that was the case, the Lion would have killed Samson even with the grace that was on him at that point.
So it is acting on the grace that is available to us, through steps of faith, that enables us to align with the enabling grace of God. Remember, James 2:26 says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
Also, in 1 Corinthians 15:10, Paul said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me”
So, through steps of faith, which entails working or laboring in the area where you receive an enabling grace, you position yourself, both in alignment with that grace, and for growth in that grace.
The third category is the perfecting grace.
How do we align ourselves with the purpose of the spiritual blessings, the favor, or the gifts that come under the category of grace called the perfecting grace?
Friend, we align with perfecting grace by yielding ourselves to God, and to His word. Acts 20:32 says, “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified”
We yield ourselves to God and to His word, by cultivating a daily habit of studying God’s word, and the teachings of God’s agents of perfection listed in Ephesians 4:11-12, and obeying them.
In Isaiah 64:8, the bible speaks of God as the potter, and we as His clay. A perfect sculpture can only emerge from the potter because the clay is yielded to the potter.
So it is our yieldedness, through studying, listening to, and obeying the word of God, that aligns us with the purpose of this category of grace called the perfecting grace, and enables us to grow in it.
In conclusion, we have talked about the second key to growing in grace, and this key is understanding the purpose of the grace we want to grow in it, and aligning with that purpose.
And we have established that all the grace that God makes available to us comes under one of three categories, which are saving grace, enabling grace, and perfecting grace. And because we are embodiments of all three categories of grace, we have looked at three things we must do to align with the purpose, and to grow in each of these categories. These are;
Walking in love and obedience to God.
Taking steps of faith, in line with the grace God gives us
And yielding ourselves daily to God and to His word.
We grow in the saving grace by walking in love and obedience to God. We grow in the enabling grace by taking steps of faith. And we grow in the perfecting grace by yielding ourselves to God.