Ask the average believer what the Bible word āgraceā means, and he will doubtless reply, āunmerited favorā.
Actually, however, grace is much more than this. ItĀ is that loving attitude, or disposition, on Godās part, from which all His kindness toward us flows.
Thus we read in Ephesians 2:2-6 that we wereĀ āthe children of disobedienceāĀ and thereforeĀ āby nature the children of wrath, even as othersā.
āBut God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.ā
Note:Ā This passage begins with those who were āchildren of disobedienceā and āchildren of wrathā and, saving them āby grace,ā gives them a position in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus!
Godās grace to us as sinners was great indeed, for:
āIn [Christ] we have redemption through His blood, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS [Godās] GRACE.ā
But now, having given us a position in His beloved Son, Godās grace goes out to us in still greater measure.
Ephesians 1:6 declares that God has āmade us accepted [Lit., āengraced usā] in the Belovedā.
Beholding us in Christ, God loves us and delights in us more than any father ever delighted in his son, or any grandfather in that precious grandchild.
Thus, while in Ephesians 1:7 we read that we haveĀ āredemptionā¦ the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His graceā, in Ephesians 2:7 we see these riches of grace increased to us āexceedinglyā, now that we occupy a position āin the Belovedā:
āThat in the ages to come He might show THE EXCEEDING RICHES OF HIS GRACEā¦ā
How?
āā¦in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesusā! source