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The Grace of God

Many of the terms and phrases of Paul the Apostle have become lost on us. Men have supposed that this is due to the change of word usage and/or the language barrier of translating his words from Greek to English. Others have postulated that Paul was speaking in idioms and colloquialisms and that has caused them to have been lost for all time.

The truth is that when you follow the unjust plumb line of the traditions and doctrines of men you will not find the truth of Christ. Instead you will find only more traditions and more doctrines of men. This is because the traditions and doctrines of men lead only to men. But the truth of the true Gospel always leads you to the feet of Christ and God.  

Take now the word grace, charis in the Greek. We have been told by three centuries of fundamentalist theologians that this word charis that is translated as grace means “favor” or “enablement.”

The question then comes, if grace actually means favor then why is it not translated favor rather than the ambiguous word “grace?”  A second question is how is “favor” word wise considered the same as “enablement?”

We will deal with the second question first because this opens a wider discussion of the Greek word Charis. As we have already stated Charis in the New Testament has almost been universally been translated as “grace.”  But there is another form of this same word  in the Greek “Charis-ma.”  “Charisma” is not translated as “grace” or more properly “a grace bestowed” but as the word is translated instead “spiritual gift” This word Charisma is actually where these scholars glean the term “enablement” from. The reason is that adding the MA to Charis makes the “favor of God” from a perceived general favor to one that is given that is given to a specific individual. –  However in this study we are going to see that these earthly fleshly doctrines and traditions concerning the word “Grace” pale when compared with the word “Grace” that Paul selected when speaking of the workings of God in his life and the lives of true believers.

Let us now look at the bible of Paul the Apostle, and see the word Charis that he selected to describe something that he had been endowed with and that he wanted all believers to be endowed with.

In Genesis 6:8 we come to the first use of the word “Charis” in scripture.

Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
We will return to this verse because the grace in this verse is not defined.

In Genesis 18:1-5 we find the second use of the word Charis in scripture.

Genesis 18:1-5 And the LORD appeared unto him (Abram) in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, My LORD, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:  And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
In this scripture the Hebrew counterpart to the word Charis is translated as “favor.”  This verse defines the word Charis for us. Abraham was first spoken to by God in Babylon and he came forth with his father, and his cousin. Abram had a ministry, God called Abraham a prophet, and Abraham had a deep abiding relationship with God that included dreams, visions, and personal physical visitations. Note how Abram defines Charis – If they servant has found favor in thy sight – pass not away in a fleeting visitation, but abide with me.

Grace is not a so-called one-time revival event, but the abiding of God with an individual that has come into a place of sanctification, and personal relationship with God.  This allows special favor with God.  Compare this with the current use of the term “unmerited favor” and decide if God was correct in meriting this special favor to Abraham?  This Charis was not given to Abram’s father, it was not given to Lot and it was not even given to Sarai. This Charis was to Abram alone – because of his walk and relationship with God..

In Genesis 30:27 we find the third use of the word Chairs and this thought of “abiding “ as part and parcel of that grace is carried on.

Genesis 30:27 And Laban said unto him (Jacob), I pray thee, if I have found favor in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.
Charis is again translated as “favor.” And we see here that this favor that is based on his (Laban’s) personal relationship with Jacob. And that the “Favor” Laban is speaking of is not a passing or a fleeting visitation of Jacob, but the “Grace” or “favor” is that Jacob would “abide” with Laban. For in Jacob’s abiding Laban says that he has received tokens (physical manifestations) of God’s blessings.

Jacob had God’s “Grace” on him, and this Grace of God was shed abroad  (Almost a quote of Paul) – not by Jacob saying or doing anything, but by Jacob just being there. Jacob was a light shining in the darkness and Laban realized this.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace (the approbation or love of God) are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Faith does not work of itself – this is the error of modern confession and faith teaching. Faith does not work apart from Christ. It works only if you have developed that deep abiding relationship with Christ – and by becoming upright before the Lord – as you level by level receive sanctification you receive also the tokens, the Charis of His affection, one of those tokens is faith – which Paul declares: this faith does not have its origin in you, it is not of yourself.  And therefore this faith is not a faith that is independent of God. And Paul then further states it is the “Chris-ma” a token of God’s affection to an individual that God deems as meriting His favor.

Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

With what we have seen concerning grace with Abraham and now Jacob do you suppose that this grace that Noah received was “The Smile of God in his life.” Do you suppose that this Grace that Noah received was “The sunshine of God’s spiritual presence?” 

We can state here that Noah walked with God, He actively diligently sought God and over time Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. This grace included the Lord speaking to him in dreams, visions and quite probably personal physical visitations as God needed to check the physical integrity of this “never been seen before” project that He put Noah in charge of building.  Noah had to have great grace to have been able to build something of this magnitude and to get it right the first time. God probably abided with Noah in every step of the process.  It is inconceivable that God told Noah build me an ark and then walked away until the project was completed yet since my youth I have heard this preached.

Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and because of this Noah received of God special favor with God, the tokens of Gods affection.    

Exodus 33:12-17 And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And He (The Lord) said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.  And he (Moses) said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.  For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.  And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. And he (Moses) said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And He (The Lord) said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:  And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

This is the Passage in Psalms where David says: “Israel saw God’s acts, but Moses the ways of God.”  Here again we see that Charis of God is not bestowed upon the multitudes, it was not bestowed upon Aaron, or any of the priests, this Charis of God was not bestowed upon the 70 elders that visibly saw God and later prophesied being made partaker of the spirit of God that was upon Moses.  

(Moses speaking) Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.

Moses tells God that God has not only made himself known to Moses by name but He has also made known to Moses that Moses has found “Charis in the eyes of the Lord.” Note here that Moses a man of great selflessness and asks to use this token of God’s affection not for himself but that this charis be used regarding this nation and God’s people. How many who suppose they have found favor in the eyes of the Lord  in this hour try would to use that  fleshly perceived “charis” to heap upon themselves the lust of their flesh? How many would use that fleshly perceived “charis” to promote themselves and their ministry. This is why by definition “they neither know the Lord nor have received His “charis.”

And He (The Lord) said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.  And he (Moses) said unto Him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.  For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? Is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.

My presence shall go with thee and give thee rest.  Isn’t this the promise of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit “Is this not the refreshing spoken of in Isaiah the prophet?”  This rest is not sleep. This rest of God is a refreshing, a filling with God’s Spirit, that is to make one to be “stirred up in Spirit” This is the refreshing or rest that God is speaking of.

Note here that Moses speaking of this refreshing, this enduement of God’s Spirit among His people shall make it known that these individuals and these people have found Charis in God’s sight. 

So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. This separation or mark upon his people is caused by this refreshing of God, or the impartation of part of God himself, His Spirit, The Spirit of God. And when one has so been endowed by His grace they are separated or marked in the eyes of the Lord from all other flesh or peoples. On the flip side in scripture we see also that there is a loss of God’s favor with an individual and a people. That is to say that the separation or mark of God can be removed. We might call this verse: Is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. Is the “law of the Spirit”  The Spirit of God, His charis is His mark, and this mark that can be perceived only by God and Angels shows the separation between His people and the world, and the lack or loss of this mark means that God sees no separation between these individuals or people regardless of whether they call themselves by his name or not and the world.  And we can say if those who lose this mark it is regardless of their past walk or their past acts.

Ezekiel 18:20-32 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. 21   But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 22   All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. 23   Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? 24   But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. 25   Yet ye say, The way of the LORD is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? 26   When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. 28   Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 29   Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the LORD is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal? 30   Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. 31   Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?  32   For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

And he (Moses) said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And He (The Lord) said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:  And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
Here we now see Moses seeking to use this Charis he has earned from God through his relationship with God for himself. Does Moses as for riches, power or a long life? No he seeks not the carnal things of this life and neither did Solomon or Christ.

And Jesus said:
John 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

In that day refers to the day that the disciples have personally entered into the Charis of the Father.  And in that day because of a deep work of sanctification the twelve disciples shall no longer fight among themselves who will be the greatest,  they shall no longer lust after for seats of wealth and power in a carnal kingdom,  and they shall no longer seek after who will sit at the right and left and of Christ. In that day they will be as Moses and request for themselves that God would abide and further reveal himself to them.

John 3:27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 

While the word Charis is not in this verse John the Baptist understood the value of a personal relationship with God and that anything that one might receive would stem from the merited favor of God.

This word Charis as defined by Abram and Moses is the word that Paul chose to define his relationship with God and the relationship of true believers with God.  It is Paul’s earnest desire that all believers come into this charis that Paul had so experienced.  But receiving the charis of God is not a done deal, it is not automatic, and it cannot be confessed into ones life as is taught in the current madness.

We need to come to grips that the Church as an entity has fallen far short of the Glory of God. That the Church long ago fell from this charis of God and that in our day virtually no one in the ministry has the Charis of God.

Instead from God’s point of view He sees no difference between most people of this hour that call themselves by his name and the world, and to be explicit in this matter this list of have-nots include Fundamentalists, Charismatics, and Pentecostals. For those who doubt these words explain then how in the book of Revelation we see this mark being restored? And when is the mark made? It is during what is termed the great tribulation.  It is not that we cannot seek God and come into a deep abiding relationship with Him now, but on their own few chose to pay the price to do thus. It is only when this people shall have their houses, lands, and mother, father, sister and brother and corrupt mammon stripped from them, and by their being pressed beyond measure that they in any number shall turn to the Lord and cry out.

Romans 1:5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

Paul is not speaking here of an unmerited favor, he is speaking of merited favor. And this meriting is not reckoned by men or the will of the flesh it is reckoned unto an individual just as it was reckoned unto Abram unto righteousness.

Romans 12:5-7 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;  Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, (wait) on (our) teaching;

Having Charis-mas (Tokens of part of God Himself) according to the Charis of God that has been given to us as individuals. And we see here the mentioning that prophecy, ministry, and teaching, are according to the portion of faith – seems to be saying that the Charis we have is not “carte blanche” as has been commonly preached in this day, but rather the Charis is in proportion or measure to our relationship with Christ and the Father.

Luke 6:38  Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

According to the current madness this verse is the key to earthly and carnal riches. And these men brazenly preaches God is one who’s head is turned by bribes, and His graces can be bought by carnal means. This is an abomination and all that teach His people to sin so shall burn in the eternal fires of hell along with their father the devil whom they serve.  I would propose that for God the father to be in their equation, that the giving that Jesus is speaking of is first of not a giving of earthly and sensual things to curry the favor of God, it is a giving of ourselves to Christ and the Father. And as in the scripture above in the measure that you mete it out who shall give it to you again? God and what you receive if you are willing to pour out your soul and life unto the Lord is the Charis of God.  He that lendeth to the Lord  . . .”  

The Father hears not only our words and boasting professions, but He sees past our bluster into our corrupt and conflicted hearts. He alone is the judge of all things and He righteously grants His charis, only to those who He deems as being pure of heart and those who truly love him for Himself  not as part of some wealth building exercise. These and these along are those who are deemed meritous of His charis.

Is it any wonder that Christ said : “Many are called but few are chosen?”

1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly (read that as: “I had greater obedience”) than they all: yet not I, but the (because of a greater measure) grace of God which was with me.

This verse demonstrates again that the proportion of charis that one receives is in accordance to their relationship and obedience of God.

May the charis of God be upon you, and may the charis of God be in all that you do.