Sermon Tone Analysis

What is Grace?

Noun

• grace

• grace (outworking)

• mercy

• favor (feeling)

• present ⇔ grace

• grace (system)

• grace (act)

Verb

• to show gracious kindness

• to give graciously

• to pity

• to forgive graciously

• to plead for compassion

• to be gracious

Adjective

• gracious

Grace refers to the condition of being given or shown favor, especially by someone in a position to exercise goodwill by meeting a particular need.

Grace can also refer to the manifestation of such a disposition of kindness in the form of material benefaction, including the giving of gifts, the approval of one’s request, the granting of freedom or mercy, and the deliverance or salvation from evil or harm.

In the New Testament, the idea of grace is expressed with the Greek noun χάρις (charis, “grace”; Luke 2:40).

Although this word occurs in most of the nt writings, almost two-thirds of its occurrences are in Paul’s letters.

The verbs χαρίζομαι (charizomai, “to give graciously”; Phil 2:9) and χαριτόω (charitoō, “to bestow favor”; Eph 1:6) are related to charis and express additional aspects of the concept.

The nt also has a related word for gift, χάρισμα (charisma; 1 Cor 12:4), which denotes something that is graciously given.

Instead of using an adjectival form of charis, the nt places the term in the genitive or dative cases when using it to modify another noun.

Grace is a Gift

The word charis conveys the idea of a favorable disposition toward another—Mary is described as finding favor (charis) with God (Luke 1:30), Jesus grows up in the favor (charis) of both God and humans (Luke 2:52), and the early church finds favor (charis) with the people (Acts 2:47) and with God (Acts 4:33; 13:43).

Grace (charis) can also refer to an act born out of grace, such as healing, the canceling of a debt, the release of a prisoner, or monetary and spiritual gifts.

Paul also describes his calling to be a minister of the gospel as the grace of God (e.g., Rom 1:5; 1 Cor 3:10; Eph 3:7–8).

Most importantly, grace is associated with the salvation of humanity through the life and death of Jesus, who is understood to embody the grace of God (e.g., John 1:14–16; Acts 15:11; Rom 5:15–17).

For this reason, the gospel is described as the good news of God’s grace (charis; Acts 20:24, 32), and Paul adapts the common Graeco-Roman letter opening from χαίρειν (chairein, “greetings”) to χάρις (charis, “grace”) in order to reflect the grace of God manifest through Christ (e.g., Rom 1:7; Col 1:2).

In several of his letters, Paul emphasizes the unmerited nature of grace in order to proclaim that, due to the death of Jesus (understood as a free gift), God’s redemption and promised salvation is now accessible through faith in Jesus, apart from following the customs of the Jewish law (e.g., Rom 11:5–6; Gal 2:19–21; Eph 2:8–9).

In the nt, the salvation that is obtained through faith in Jesus is the ultimate expression of God’s grace to all men (Titus 2:11).

Grace is Given to Save

Grace is Given to Stay

Grace is Given to Serve

Grace is Given to Supply