“For the law (written instructions in righteousness) was given by Moses, but Grace* and Truth came by Jesus Christ . . . And of His fullness have all we received, and Grace for grace . . . !” John 1:17,16
Grace (G5485) = the divine Influence upon the heart, and It’s reflection as seen in the life
Truth (G225) = Verity, verily so !
“For the written instructions of righteousness were given by Moses . . . But Grace (the Divine Influence, Spirit) and Truth (Verity) came by Jesus Christ !” John 1:17
Can every believer have grace enough to keep him free from sinning? Yes. Indeed, everybody in the world can have enough to keep him from sinning. Enough is given, and it is given for this purpose. If anyone does not have it, it is not because enough has not been given, but because he does not take that which has been given.
For “unto every one of us is given Grace* (G5485 – the Divine Influence upon the heart) according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Ephesians 4:7. The measure of the gift of Christ is Himself wholly, and that is the measure of “all the fullness of the Godhead (divinity, deity) bodily.” To the fullness of the Godhead there is, indeed, no measure; it is boundless. It is simply the infinity of God. Yet that is the only measure of the grace that is given to every one of us. The boundless measure of the fullness of the Godhead is the only thing that can express the proportion of Grace that is given to every one who is in this world. For “where sin abounded, Grace did much more abound !” Romans 5:20.
This Grace is given in order that just “as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might Grace reign through righteousness unto Eternal Life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:21), and in order that sin shall not have dominion over you, because you are under Grace.
“Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon (on behalf of) all them that believe . . . To declare, I say, at this time His Righteousness . . . that He might be Just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus (Yehushua) !” Romans 3:21-26
It is given also “for the perfecting of the saints.” The object of it (God’s grace) is to bring each one to perfection in Christ Jesus –to the perfection too, that is fully up to God’s standard, for it is given for the build-ing up of the body of Christ, “till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge (knowing) of the Son of God . . . which is Life eternal ! . . . unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:7,12-13 & John 17:3
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk (live) in them !” Ephesians 2:10
It is given to “every one of us,” “till we all come” to perfection, even by the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Again, this Grace (this divine Influence) is given to every one where sin abounds and it brings Salvation (deliverance, freedom, healing) to every one to whom it is given. Bringing Salvation in itself, the measure of the Salvation which it brings to every one is only the measure of its own fullness, which is nothing less than the measure of the fullness of the Godhead.
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing (baptism) of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit . . . Which He shed (poured forth) on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour !” Titus 3:4-6
As boundless Grace is given to every one bringing Salvation (deliverance, freedom & healing) to the extent of its own full measure, then if any one does not have boundless Salvation, why is it?
Plainly it can be only because he will not take that which is given. As boundless (abundant) Grace is given to every one in order that it shall reign in him against all the power of sin, as certainly as ever sin reigned and in order that sin shall not have dominion, then if sin still reigns in anyone, if sin yet has dominion over anyone, where lies the fault?
Clearly, it lies only in this, that he will not allow the Grace to do for him and in him that which it is given to do. By unbelief he frustrates the Grace of God. So far as he is concerned, the Grace has been given in vain.
“For the grace of God that bringeth Salvation hath appeared unto all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness (ungod-likeness) and worldly lusts and desires, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world . . . !”
Titus 2:11-12
“The Lord would have every one of his believing children rich in faith; and this is the fruit of the working of the Holy Spirit upon the heart. From the heart the Spirit works outward, developing a character that God will approve. What a vast field of the treasures of Truth did Christ add to the domain of faith to be appropriated by his disciples. We need greater faith if we would have better knowledge of the Word. The greatest hindrance to our receiving the Divine illumination is that we do not depend on the efficiency of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit is freely given us of God if we will appreciate and accept it. And what is it? The representative of Jesus Christ. It is to be our constant helper. It is through the Spirit that Christ fulfills the promise, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting Life.” (The bell is sounding for morning worship, I must stop here).” – 1888 Materials p.1538
“The lessons that have come to us through Christ are not oft- repeated maxims; they are full of vital (Living) thought. But it is our part to appropriate divine Truth . . .Thy Word is Truth (Verity, verily so)! . . . The apostle Paul exhorts us to lay hold on the hope set before us in the gospel. By faith we are to appropriate the Promises of God, and to provide ourselves with the abundant Blessings which have been secured for us through Christ Jesus. Hope has been set before us, even the hope of Eternal Life. Nothing short of this Blessing for us will satisfy our Redeemer; but it is our part to lay hold upon this hope by faith in Him Who has promised . . . !” – 1 Selected Messages p.108
“And hope (confidence, expectation) maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad (poured forth, gushed out) in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us . . . !” Romans 5:5
“Said the great apostle to the Gentiles, “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself (in exchange) for me.” By faith Paul appropriated the Grace of Christ, and this grace supplied the necessities of his soul. By faith he rece-ived the heavenly Gift, and imparted It to souls longing for Light. This is the experience we need, that, in a time when iniquity prevails, we may say, “I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Pray for this faith. Strive for it. Believe that God will give it to you !”
– Review & Herald, May 30, 1907
But every believer, by his very profession, says that he has received the Grace of God. Then if in the believer Grace does not reign instead of sin, if Grace (the divine Influence) does not have dominion instead of sin, it is plain enough that he is receiving the Grace of God in vain. If grace is not bringing the believer onward toward a perfect man in the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, then he is receiving the Grace of God in vain. Therefore the exhortation of the Scripture is, “We then, as workers together with Him, beseech you also that ye receive not the Grace of God in vain.” II Corinthians 6:1.
The Grace of God is fully able to accomplish that for which It is given, if only It is allowed to work. We have seen that grace being altogether from God, the power of Grace is nothing but the power of God. It is plain enough therefore that the power of God is abundantly able to accomplish all for which it is given —the Salvat-ion of the soul, deliverance from sin and from the power of it, the Reign of righteousness in the life, and the perfecting of the believer unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ –if only it can have place in the heart and in the life to work according to the will of God.
But the power of God is “unto Salvation to every one that believeth.” Unbelief frustrates the grace of God. Many believe and receive the Grace of God for the Salvation from sins that are past but are content with that and do not give It the same place in the soul to reign against the power of sin Today, that they did to save from sins of the past. This, too, is but another phase of unbelief. So as to the one great final object of Grace –the perfection of the life in the likeness of Christ– they do practically receive the Grace of God in vain.
“For I am not ashamed of the Glad Tidings of Christ (The Anointed One, the Anointing): for it is the power of God unto Salvation (deliverance, freedom, healing) to every one that believeth . . . For therein is the righte-ousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith!” Romans 1:16-17
“We then, as workers together with Him, beseech you also that ye receive not the Grace of God in vain.
For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted,* and in the Day of Salvation have I succored (rescued) thee:
Behold, Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of Salvation . . .
“As it is written, The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Glad Tidings to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised . . . To proclaim the acceptable year* (time) of the Lord (Adoni – Sovereign King) . . . !”
Luke 4:18-19
. . . Giving no offense in anything, that the ministry be not blamed.” Nor does this word “ministry” refer simply to the ordained ministry of the pulpit. It includes every one who receives the Grace of God or that has named the name of Christ. For “as every man hath received the Gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold Grace of God.” I Peter 4:10
Therefore he does not want anyone to receive the Grace of God in vain, lest that Grace and Its blessed work-ing be misrepresented to the world and so men be further hindered from yielding to It. He does not want His Grace to be received in vain, because when it is, offense is given in many things, and the ministry of Grace itself is blamed. Yet when the Grace of God is not received in vain but is given the place that belongs to It, “no offen-se” will be given “in anything,” and the ministry will not only be not blamed but will be blest.
And now to show how complete and all-pervading the Reign of Grace will be in the life where it is not received in vain, the Lord has set down the following list, embracing “all things,” and in which we shall approve ourselves unto God. Read it carefully:
In all things approving ourselves unto God, In much patience, In afflictions, In necessities, In distresses,
In stripes, In imprisonments, In tumults, In labors, In watchings, In fastings; By pureness, By knowledge,
By longsuffering, By kindness, By the Holy Ghost, By love unfeigned, By the Word of Truth . . .
By the power of God,
By the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
By honor and dishonor,
By evil report and good report;
As deceivers, and yet true;
As unknown, and yet well known;
As dying, and, behold, we live;
As chastened, and not killed;
As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;
As poor, yet making many rich;
As having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
This list covers all the experiences that can ever enter into the life of any believer in this world.
It shows that where the Grace of God is not received in vain, that Grace (that Divine Influence through His Spirit) will so take possession and control of the life, that every experience that enters into the life will be taken by grace and turned to making us approved unto God and building us up in perfection unto the measure of the stature of the full-ness of Christ. “We then, as workers together with Him, beseech you also that ye receive not the Grace of God in vain.”
– Review & Herald, Sept. 22, 1896
A.T. Jones
Please contact Eric and Sarah Wilson at Isaiah Ministries if you need prayer, or would like a set of materials on Salvation, Deliverance, Freedom, Victory, Healing and Redemption !