Grace and Truth
From time to time, I have people tell me that I talk too much about grace. They’ll usually say something like, “I’ve learned so much about grace from you, but there’s more to the Christian life than grace.” A lot of times, they’ll say that I need to teach more truth.
In other words, they see grace and truth as opposites. Grace is on one side of the playing field and truth is on the other. Grace is what gets you to heaven, but truth is what teaches you how to live.
I used to think that too. I often thought of grace mostly as the entrance into the Christian life. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
I had experienced salvation, so now it was time to move beyond grace and on to what was next. Give me the truth side of Christianity now. Give me the commands. I wanted to go deeper and start doing what I was supposed to be doing!
What I know now though is that grace and truth are not opposite things. What I know now is that we don’t graduate from grace. Not only are we saved by God’s grace, but we live the Christian life by God’s grace.
GRACE AND TRUTH
In the gospel of John, the apostle John tells us in the opening chapter that Jesus is full of grace and truth.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:14)
Jesus is not 50% grace and 50% truth. He is full of both grace and truth. 100% grace and 100% truth. They are intertwined together.
Jesus is grace.
Jesus is truth.
Grace and truth define who Jesus is. As a matter of fact, a few verses later, John even says that the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came into this world through Jesus Christ (John 1:17).
Not only did grace and truth come into this world through Jesus though, the apostle John said one verse prior that we are recipients of it in our lives as well.
For from his fullness, we have all received, grace upon grace.
(John 1:16)
From His fullness of grace and truth, we received grace upon grace. When we put our faith in Jesus for salvation, He came to dwell in us. He, the one full of grace and truth, dwells in you and is united to you in a spiritual union. His grace and truth have become part of your new heart in Christ.
RECEIVERS AND DISPENSERS
No one has a problem with talking about receiving when it comes to God’s grace and salvation. We know that we receive salvation and that it is not a work of our own. But now it’s time to move on, right? Now it’s time to do something!
Not so fast. Jesus said in John 15 that He is the vine and that we are the branches. The last time I checked, branches were receivers.
All a branch does is receive from the vine. The life-giving stuff from the vine flows into the branch, through the branch, and gets dispensed out of the branch in the form of fruit.
We don’t just receive grace as an entrance into the Christian life. We, as branches, continue to receive from The Vine. Jesus, as the One who is full of grace and truth, is eternally pouring His Life into us and through us.
When Paul was writing to the church at Colossae, he wrote this in Colossians 2:6-7:
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him
Just as you received Jesus, continue to live your lives by receiving from Him through your spiritual union to Him. Receive from The Vine and allow Him to dispense grace and truth through you!
GRACE AND SIN
A lot of times, when I hear people say that we need to move on beyond God’s grace, they are thinking that because they don’t want people to feel like they have a “license to sin.”
People were worried about that in Paul’s day as well, but look at what he said in Titus 2:11-14:
11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It (GRACE) teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes that it is grace that teaches us to not sin. As we continue to receive from Jesus in our lives, the One who is grace and truth, expresses His life through us in ways that lead us away from sin and toward godly things.
CONCLUSION
We don’t graduate from grace. We don’t move on from grace to something else. We enter the Christian life through grace, and we live the Christian life by God’s grace.
We are receivers and dispensers. From His fullness, we have received grace upon grace (John 1:16).
Rest in His grace. Soak in His grace. Allow His grace to be expressed through you so that others come to experience His grace and truth through you.