Hey All,
Many people, even believers, think that grace is a New Testament concept. We see the term prominent in Paul's letters.
Ephesians 2:7
That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
We see it throughout the book of Acts.
John uses it to open and close the book of The Revelation.
Revelation 1:4
John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
Revelation 22:21
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
But grace is an Old Testament concept that began with Adam and Eve.
Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
God clothed them. Could they not have done this for themselves? Why did God do it for them? The clothes were a physical representation of the grace of God. Without them, Adam and Eve were shameful, and had to hide from God. With the clothes of God, through His grace, Adam and Eve were able to once again stand before Him.
God's grace made it possible.
Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
Why Noah? What made him so special?
Genesis 6:22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
Genesis 7:5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.
These two verses say a lot more than the words written. The Arc took 140 years to complete. 140 years of chopping, sawing, and crafting wood into a livable environment for eight people and either two or seven of each beast, depending upon their cleanliness. Day in, day out. That's a lot of obedience for a very long time.
What would be the first words out of our mouths? You gotta be kidding me God. That's a lot of work. Why would anyone need a boat like that?
Noah just said OK and got to work.
Believing, in the grace of God, through faith in God's Word, resulted in salvation for Noah.
Hmm, I've read that somewhere.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
To those who would argue that Noah created his own salvation because he built the Arc. I would say that Noah exercised his faith in the grace of God, through obedience.
Genesis 7:15-16 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
Noah found the grace of God manifested through the faith to build a boat that made no earthly sense. God sealed Noah and his family from the destruction of the rest of mankind. God's grace made Noah's salvation a reality. Noah's obedience saved his whole family. We are all alive because Noah was faithful to the grace of God. Think about that!
After Noah got all the animals off the Arc, what was the first thing Noah did?
Genesis 8:20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Noah honored his Savior, and gave sacrifice.
God was honored, and gave this promise:
Genesis 8:21-22 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
(By the way, that last part kind of puts an end to the global warming and climate change nonsense, doesn't it?)
Genesis 9:13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
The rainbow, the token of the covenant. Did you know there are approximately 1800 thunder storms somewhere in the world each day. That is 75 an hour: more than one per minute. That means that somewhere in the world, there is a rainbow shining. All the time. Every day. Do you know the other place a rainbow exists all the time!
Revelation 4:2-3 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
The covenant is never forgotten; not here in Earth, not there at the throne.
I know I got off track here. But that was the direction I was drawn to. Maybe somebody needed to hear that.
I have a feeling this is God's grace at work here.
I have more examples of grace in the Old Testament. But this is probably long enough for now. I may enter more in the weeks to come.
It has always been by grace, through faith, that we are saved.
God's promises are everlasting.
I am ready to close this but I don't believe I am finished with this.
If someone is struggling believing God's promises, or His grace, please ask your questions. I don't know the answer to everything. But there are a lot of smart people here who may be able to give you an answer. So ask.
I don't exactly know why I wrote that.
But I can close this now.
Keep walking everybody.
May God bless,
Taz
Many people, even believers, think that grace is a New Testament concept. We see the term prominent in Paul's letters.
Ephesians 2:7
That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
We see it throughout the book of Acts.
John uses it to open and close the book of The Revelation.
Revelation 1:4
John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
Revelation 22:21
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
But grace is an Old Testament concept that began with Adam and Eve.
Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
God clothed them. Could they not have done this for themselves? Why did God do it for them? The clothes were a physical representation of the grace of God. Without them, Adam and Eve were shameful, and had to hide from God. With the clothes of God, through His grace, Adam and Eve were able to once again stand before Him.
God's grace made it possible.
Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
Why Noah? What made him so special?
Genesis 6:22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
Genesis 7:5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.
These two verses say a lot more than the words written. The Arc took 140 years to complete. 140 years of chopping, sawing, and crafting wood into a livable environment for eight people and either two or seven of each beast, depending upon their cleanliness. Day in, day out. That's a lot of obedience for a very long time.
What would be the first words out of our mouths? You gotta be kidding me God. That's a lot of work. Why would anyone need a boat like that?
Noah just said OK and got to work.
Believing, in the grace of God, through faith in God's Word, resulted in salvation for Noah.
Hmm, I've read that somewhere.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
To those who would argue that Noah created his own salvation because he built the Arc. I would say that Noah exercised his faith in the grace of God, through obedience.
Genesis 7:15-16 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
Noah found the grace of God manifested through the faith to build a boat that made no earthly sense. God sealed Noah and his family from the destruction of the rest of mankind. God's grace made Noah's salvation a reality. Noah's obedience saved his whole family. We are all alive because Noah was faithful to the grace of God. Think about that!
After Noah got all the animals off the Arc, what was the first thing Noah did?
Genesis 8:20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Noah honored his Savior, and gave sacrifice.
God was honored, and gave this promise:
Genesis 8:21-22 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
(By the way, that last part kind of puts an end to the global warming and climate change nonsense, doesn't it?)
Genesis 9:13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
The rainbow, the token of the covenant. Did you know there are approximately 1800 thunder storms somewhere in the world each day. That is 75 an hour: more than one per minute. That means that somewhere in the world, there is a rainbow shining. All the time. Every day. Do you know the other place a rainbow exists all the time!
Revelation 4:2-3 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
The covenant is never forgotten; not here in Earth, not there at the throne.
I know I got off track here. But that was the direction I was drawn to. Maybe somebody needed to hear that.
I have a feeling this is God's grace at work here.
I have more examples of grace in the Old Testament. But this is probably long enough for now. I may enter more in the weeks to come.
It has always been by grace, through faith, that we are saved.
God's promises are everlasting.
I am ready to close this but I don't believe I am finished with this.
If someone is struggling believing God's promises, or His grace, please ask your questions. I don't know the answer to everything. But there are a lot of smart people here who may be able to give you an answer. So ask.
I don't exactly know why I wrote that.
But I can close this now.
Keep walking everybody.
May God bless,
Taz
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