Grace recognized. I came across this phrase a few months ago. I loved it immediately and the more I have sat with it, the more I have come to appreciate it. Grace is a word we hear and use a lot. The authors of scripture use it as a greeting and as a goodbye. Have you ever said, “We will see you tomorrow, by the grace of God.” Have you stopped to weigh just what that word means?
In the Greek: charis- as a gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ; derived from the Greek verb chairō, meaning to rejoice or be glad. {Friends, do you see that? The definition of joy, chara, includes the phrase grace recognized. It. Is. All. Connected. }
In the New Testament, chairs primarily refers to the unmerited favor and kindness of God towards humanity. It encompasses the idea of divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration and sanctification [the process of being made holy/action or process of being freed from sin or purified. Charis is often associated with the concept of salvation as it is by grace through faith believers are saved. It also denotes the graciousness of God in bestowing gifts and blessings upon his people, as well as the grace that believers are to extend to others.
In the Greco-Roman world, charis was commonly understood as a favor or gift given without expectation of return, often to cement social bonds or express goodwill. In the New Testament this concept is deepened and transformed to express the profound and unconditional love of God towards humanity, which is not based on human merit but on God’s own character and purpose. (
https://biblehub.com/greek/5485.htm)
Favor is being disposed to, inclined, favorable towards, leaning towards to share benefit. The Lord’s favor freely extended to give himself away to people.
So that is what grace means. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith…” Ephesians 2:8
God was/is inclined towards us. He gave us what we have not earned. He expects nothing in return. He has goodwill towards us. Do you recognize what that means? Do you recognize, not just acknowledge that it is there. Fully recognize grace.
