Hoekstra's Day by Day by Grace (December 16th)

Relating Rightly to the God of All Grace

The God of all grace…to the praise of the glory of His grace…the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ…the Spirit of grace. (1 Peter 5:10; Ephesians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 8:9; and Hebrews 10:29)

Our Lord God is "the God of all grace." God's comprehensive and infinite grace is characteristic of all the Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The Father will be honored forever for His grace, so we read: "to the praise of the glory of His grace." The Son makes that grace available to all who believe, so it is called "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ." The Spirit applies that grace in the hearts of those who follow Jesus Christ, so He is called "the Spirit of grace." Grace is found in God alone. Therefore, one must relate rightly to the God of all grace in order to receive all that He has for us in fulfilling His purposes and glorifying His name.

We relate rightly to the God of grace by developing a personal relationship with Him. Getting to know God is what life with the Lord is all about. "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3). In fact, knowing the Lord is man's ultimate treasure in all of creation. Everything else that competes is to be considered as loss. "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:7-8). It is not surprising then that getting increasingly acquainted with the Lord is the way that His grace impacts our lives. "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord" (2 Peter 1:2).

As we get to know the God of all grace more and more, He develops in us two strategic relational realities: humility and faith. Relational realities are spiritual qualities that become practically real as a result of a growing relationship with Christ. We have looked at these two spiritual qualities many times throughout our meditations. Repeated reflection on humility and faith is appropriate, since they unfold the practical heart of living daily by God's grace. "Be clothed with humility, for 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble'" (1 Peter 5:5). God's grace is given to those who "walk humbly with [their] God" (Micah 6:8). Likewise, faith accesses grace. "We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand" (Romans 5:2). Walking in humble dependence is the way to relate rightly to the God of all grace.