Eph 1:1+2 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Last time, we started our consideration of many of the aspects of grace that are used by the New Testament writers. We are using Adam Clarke’s research of the Greek word charis, as a general framework for our study. To a greater depth, we are looking at numerous scriptures to see an increased measure of the intensity of the work of God’s grace in our lives.
Please realize that any human language, no matter how eloquent or descriptive, will never be able to completely express the fullness of the heart of God in the grace that He has lavished upon us in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We are limited with a complete lack of the knowledge and truth of the mind of God. His ways are so beyond ours and His thoughts are not our thoughts. We must simply satisfy ourselves with the best of human expression to gain a better understanding of His Heart opened to us in His Grace.
We ended our last consideration with the witness of the Apostle John as he saw the grace of God completely and eternally manifested in Jesus Christ. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. We see Jesus as the expression of what God’s grace will accomplish in our lives. There is no doubt that He will do this since there is no power in heaven or on earth that can thwart His active and powerful grace. All the energy of this age completely exhausted itself in its utmost, yet feeble efforts to keep Jesus in the grave. Then, when the full brunt force of this age was set in place to oppose God’s Grace, that divine grace of God reached down and lifted Jesus Christ up in life and in utmost glory from that tomb. And not just Jesus, we were lifted up from that grave with Christ as we read in Rom 6:3-4 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. God’s Grace exalted Him above every name that is named and every power of earth or heaven. And, in the marvelous power of God’s grace, He has seated us, together, in Christ.
When we consider the work that God has done in and through Jesus Christ, we must declare with the Apostle John in John 1:16+17 And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. We have already mentioned several times that it was always with a view unto the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son that God has showered us in His Grace. That grace is manifested into our lives by the truth of God’s love, guidance, and faithfulness in all that we have received of the benevolence that God has opened into our hearts.
This is where we continue, this morning, with the truth that, charis, grace, is not only what we have received from God but how we have received it. According to Clarke It is sometimes taken for the whole of the Christian religion, as being the grandest possible display of God's favour to a lost, ruined world: end of quote (from Adam Clarke's Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996, 2003, 2005 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
This is a rather large aspect of the grace of God manifested in Jesus Christ. We are Christians because the grace of God has made us Christians. Our faith, our belief, our doctrines are all centered in the truth of God revealed in Christ by His grace. Our being joined together into the body of believers hinges on the Grace of God. The Apostle Peter recounts this in 1 Peter 5:10-12, as he exhorts his readers, the church, not to give up because of the hardships and the trials. The grace of God will see them, will see us, through unto the joining together of all into one heart in Jesus Christ, Christians. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you. To him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. By Silva'nus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God; stand fast in it. 
	The grace of God is evident, even in terms of including the Gentiles into this wondrous relationship as the Body of Christ. The work of Grace, was not reserved for a single group of people. God’s Grace to everyone, regardless of any distinctions that mankind puts upon himself. Again, quoting Clarke The Jewish religion was restricted in its benefits to a few; but the Christian religion proposes the salvation of all people; and the author of it has become a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. End of Quote (from Adam Clarke's Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996, 2003, 2005 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.) The grace of God is seen in the fact that it is limitless in the scope of those who are brought into Jesus Christ. No one is denied His love and grace when they call upon Him. All people are enabled to become Christians, members of the body of Christ Jesus, as they accept this tremendous gift of God’s Grace. Such is the grace that is seen in the church by the outside realm. What God has done in Christ Jesus, by His Grace, is of such endless value and scope that even the angelic hosts of heaven desire to see its outworking. As the Apostle Peter states in 1 Peter 1:10-12 The prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired about this salvation; they inquired what person or time was indicated by the Spirit of Christ within them when predicting the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glory. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things which have now been announced to you by those who preached the good news to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. They stand in awe of the work of God that He has accomplished by creating the church through His Grace in Jesus Christ. They are the celestial witnesses of the Grace of God as it continues to work actively, powerfully, and triumphantly on this earth.
Paul rejoices in this freedom of life as he states in 1 Cor 1:4 I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus. It is with joy unending that we are brought into the proper relationship with God, by His Grace. We must give Him all honor and adoration for what He has done. It is so wonderful to know that nothing in our growth in Christ depends on our efforts or our worthiness, on our concepts, on our wisdom. It is all God’s wonderful work, drawing us unto Himself through His heart of love expressed in the overwhelming abundance of His Grace.  
2 Cor 9:8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work. This grace is not only unto salvation, it is unto life. It is grace, God’s grace, that is at work in us to bring us to the point of realization that He supplies our every need. The Apostle Paul clearly states this truth in Phil 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. This is true in both the corporate and the individual sense. 
Dwell on this for a moment. Many of us are able to say that God meets our needs day by day. And it is absolutely true in every sense of His work in our lives. Yet we tend to look at those provisions from an entirely earthly perspective. We focus on our needs from the temporal sense of food, clothing, shelter, etc. We limit our vision to the mundane, earthly requirements of life, rather than to the heavenly joy of life in Christ. Yes, we are absolutely thankful to God for each provision that is met on this earth. It begins with the pre-salvation work of the Holy Spirit as He shows us the need for our salvation. We see that we are lost, that we are falling, that we are sinking into the mire of this realm; physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. We are headed toward utter bankruptcy in every aspect of our lives. We sink to the lowest depths of our self-life in despair until we call out to God to save us. This describes us as we turn to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Initially, as we begin our spiritual life in Christ, this is to be expected and is the point of our spiritual birth. There is no shame in it. Rather, the whole body rejoices together in that salvation of God. As we read in Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men,
However, as we begin to grow in the Grace of God, we should begin to develop unto a maturity in our growth. Just as the body develops and matures in a physical sense, we should be growing in our spiritual beings. There should become evidenced that enlargement of our spiritual faculties, to the point of being able to guide and to encourage and to stand in the gap for others whom the Lord brings into our lives. This is the grace of God working from within us to bring forth more and more of Christ. This is the grace of God establishing His church on this earth. We often term this a death to self that Christ might more freely live forth from our hearts unto others. This is a step by step process. There is no set time limit in terms of who should be where when. This is a matter of the Holy Spirit’s action within the hearts of those called unto God in Jesus Christ. This is a matter best left between each heart and the Lord. There is absolutely no place for thinking that we are growing better and stronger than someone else. There is no basis for comparison between any og the members of His Body of believers. 
To be frank, there is no way that we can see what is happening within the lives of this one or that one. We rarely see clearly what the Lord is doing in our own hearts and lives, much less someone else’s. Sure, we get glimpses that the Lord is at work, but that is not for our selfish use as a comparison among the believers. What that should do is cause us to stand even more resolutely in the Grace of God on behalf of one another. We should be seeking with all our hearts for the Lord to continue His most excellent work of Grace to His glory in all of us. 
Many times we think that we know what this person or that person needs as we watch on the sidelines. We think that we know the root cause of the trouble they find themselves in and we jump in to try to save that person. That is a most dangerous thing to do. If we are not led by the Holy Spirit to step into the situation, we are making the circumstances worse for all parties. We need to trust God and His guidance in everything. God uses these circumstances and situations for good; again as we know from Rom 8:28 We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. God may have that heart exactly where it needs to be in order to learn to rely on His grace, His supply, His faithfulness, His Lordship in everything. That is a vital truth to know, not just mentally, but spiritually and practically as well. Learning to trust God in everything is a fundamental progressive work of the Grace of God. If we interfere, we are hindering our brother or sister from learning this truth, playing god, as it were, instead of giving God the full opportunity to work a deep, vital, relationship into the heart of all concerned. As the Apostle Paul writes in 2 Cor 1:12 For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience that we have behaved in the world, and still more toward you, with holiness and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God.
We should never think that we have any answer outside of Jesus Christ. If God has no other answer outside of His Son, who do we think we are that we could fabricate a better response to a need? God supplies every need in Jesus Christ; He endows us with every blessing in abundance in His limitless provision of grace through His Son, Our Risen and Victorious Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, please realize this as well. If the Holy Spirit puts it upon our heart to help that person, that family, that loved one in some practical manner, we should do it with all our heart and soul without hesitation. We dare not refuse to follow the guidance of the Lord. That brother or family may be on the very brink of utter annihilation, and in the overwhelming grace of God, He uses our willingness, our love, our resources to care for and supply that need. That need must be met with no other credit than the Lord. We dare not use it as a means of showing the fellowship of believers that we are somehow superior because we think that we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. We do not seek any credit, we do not seek any reputation, and we do not seek any glory except the glory due unto the Lord.
In an effort to follow this through, let us jump briefly ahead in the consideration of our text. I recently met with a couple of young people who asked for a practical manner of how to know whether our actions were directed by God or by ourselves. That manner is shown in the following words of this second verse of Ephesians One. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We can tell when we are following the guidance of the Holy Spirit’s leading when His peace indwells us from within. As we trust the Lord to make known His way in the manner of how we live our lives, we will continue to find that peace of God reigning in the innermost region of our beings. It does not matter whether we have been Christians for days or years, we can learn to know the peace of God. We can learn to yearn for His over abiding peace being always present in our lives. How do we know if we should help someone whom we see floundering? It is as the peace of God directs us to help or forbids us from doing anything other than holding that person in our heart in love before the throne of God’s grace. 
Once we know the peace of God, we cannot find joy without it being the core of our lives. No peace, no joy, that simple. We can use all the excuses, we can argue all the seemingly correct positions, we can lay forth the greatest of the wisdom of mankind to convince ourselves. But, if the peace of God does not reign in that decision, we must not leap out on the basis of our own understanding. We need to count on the Lord, through His ministry, through His Word, through His teaching, through His peace. We can then rejoice together in the Word of God as given in Rom 6:17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,... Obedient from the heart to the Holy Spirit as He opens the Word of God into our lives and teaches us how to live by faith, by trust in the grace of God. Obedience is seen in the tranquility of our hearts before the Lord. Is it easy, no! Does it always follow the logic of this age, usually never! Is it always a delightful experience, not necessarily. But, obedience unto God will always, always result in the reign of God’s peace in our lives and the constant joy that His peace brings.
As we learn to more and more rely on the blessing of the grace of God to supply our every need, we will discover that we are fully enveloped with all the love, comfort, guidance, and covering of God’s grace, every moment of every day. Rain or shine from our vantage point, makes no difference. He always proves Himself faithful and just in all His ways, which are always far beyond our highest expectations and thoughts. 1 Cor 1:9 God is faithful , by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 
The grace of God supplies His peace as an indicator of our walk with Him. If we are seeking Him and His ways, we have peace. If we are seeking our ways, our credit, our reputation, there is no peace. No peace, no joy. Sadly, that is why there are many believers who just endure their salvation. They have no desire to learn of the fullness of the Grace of God. They have not be taught, or refuse to receive the precepts of Rom 5:1-5 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.
Let us never be satisfied with what little we know of God today. Let us never think that we have learned everything we need to know. Let us always, always, earnestly desire and yearn for more and more of the Grace of God, individually and corporately. Let us ever press on to the goal of Jesus Christ, forgetting those things that are behind and focusing our hearts and minds on the joy, the righteousness, the peace found only in the Lordship of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That should be the witness of these lives that we live on this earth. That is when the grace of God will be proven from the heavenly perspective of meeting our every need to the glory of God alone.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our benediction this morning is from Gal 1:3-5 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father; to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.