1 PETER 5:10 – And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
THEME OF THE DAY: ALL OF GRACE. In the prologue of John’s gospel, He provides the most comprehensive description of the Lord as the Godman. In the opening five verses we see the deity of Christ – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:1-5). Moving further into the chapter comes the staggering truth of God becoming a Man and living among His creation, particularly His choice creation, people – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known (John 1:14-18).
Did we notice the two qualities found in and from the Lord Jesus that John mentions twice? Grace and truth. As for grace, it appears a total of four times. Rightly so, grace is a big deal in the Christian life. In fact, it is the Christian life from start to finish. We are saved by grace – For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). We are to grow in grace – But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen (2 Peter 3:18). We are what we are by grace – But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me (1 Corinthians 15:10). But there is something more about grace. It is in today’s scripture.
God’s grace is not only saving and keeping grace, but comforting, restoring, confirming, and establishing grace. In today’s scripture, Peter is writing to a suffering group of Christians. They were weary from intense trials, persecution, and the difficulties of living the Christian life. Each of us may relate. There are times we are tired, even exhausted, in the battles we must face as Christians. Battles from the world, but more intense are the battles we fight in our own hearts, sin, doubt, fear, anxiety, stress, and the weakness of our flesh. In those times we call out to the Lord for help. What kind of help? Restoring, confirming, strengthening, and establishing grace to lift up our downcast hearts, to renew us with joy, and to set our feet back on the solid rock of Christ. And what happens? The God of all grace comes to our aid. He will shepherd us as the Good Shepherd. He will comfort us as our Heavenly Father, and that all through His grace. Grace that will prove sufficient in all trying circumstances and tough situations.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for the all-sufficiency of Your grace in all that I encounter in this life.”
QUOTE: “God’s grace will be enough to strengthen and comfort us in whatever situation His sovereignty takes us.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim