Title: Grace upon grace (John 1:14~18)
Contents
I think one of the most beautiful words in the world is "grace". Especially to those of us who believe, the word grace is a very familiar word. Grace is a good word. To say that you have received grace or that you have received grace is a very grateful word.
Because to live as God's people does not mean to live according to one's own will or will, but to live by the grace of God and being led by that grace. If we do not receive grace while living our faith, our hearts will become dry and thorns will grow. So they will stab and injure each other, causing pain and suffering.
Anyone who walks through the desert will find it truly desolate. You won't be ecstatic to see the desert. The barrenness of the desert is connected with rain. It doesn't rain very often in the desert. As a result, no trees have broad leaves, and the leaves of all trees turn into thorns. There are some grasses and trees, but most of them are cacti and thorny trees. If the leaves of the tree are wide, they are easily deprived of moisture, so all the leaves have turned into thorns. These thorns easily pierce and hurt those who approach them. This is because there is little rain. Nature always has an early rain and a latter rain. If we do not have the 'rain of grace', we will become 'desertification of the soul' and 'visualization of the soul'.
When it rains often, the leaves of the trees grow and the thorns begin to disappear. When the rain of grace falls, the same phenomenon occurs in the soul. When you receive grace, the thorns disappear and you become a spirit like a broad leaf that becomes a shade for others, a shelter, and a comforter. May this blessing be with all of us.
But today's text verse 16 says, "And from his fullness we all received, and it was grace upon grace." So today, let's think about the word "grace upon grace" together and share the grace.
1. What kind of grace is “grace upon grace”?
Theologically, "grace upon grace" is called "double grace."
It means that special grace is added to the grace already received. The grace you have already received is enough, but adding grace to it is 'grace on grace'. God is essentially a God of grace. The God of grace sent Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, into the world as the Lord of salvation with special grace. The writer of the Gospel of John speaks of the Lord's coming into this world as "grace over grace."
Even people who lived before Jesus lived in the grace of God. It means that the people of the Old Testament also lived under the grace of God. Believers and non-believers alike live in the world created by God and enjoy free sunlight and rain from God. God is the source of grace. Without God's grace, we cannot live even a single moment. God is not gracious to us because we are righteous. Because God is a gracious God, He gives grace first. This is called good grace. God's grace is a grace that is freely given without a price.
However, God gave His Son with a special grace because people do not fully understand the truth of God with that general grace alone. Today's text teaches that the grace given by the Son of God is as high as heaven, far surpassing the grace of the Old Testament. What is the grace of Jesus? General grace, the grace of the law, the grace of the fact of life, which are imperfect and impossible to achieve, and the grace to receive, enjoy, and enter into eternal life.
It is a great grace for an unbeliever to believe. However, if you believe and believe in the most right and right way, you will be expressed as grace over grace. There is a general grace that we believers receive from God, and in addition to that grace, God became a man and came to save me, so it is a greater grace and a special grace above ordinary grace.
2. On grace, what kind of grace is grace?
The overflowing grace is 'grace over grace'.
The grace that God sent Jesus Christ to this earth shows us that God's grace is "a flowing grace."
To overflow means to be left behind. The grace that God has given us is "the grace of giving his only begotten Son."
Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him give us all things?”
“Even if the fish of the Pacific worry that the water will dry up, and the birds of the air fear that they will run out of space to fly, the children of God need not fear that God’s grace will run dry. God’s grace never dries up. There is no law.
The grace of God that overflows even if it is shared with everyone is the grace of God.
God's grace is extraordinarily large.
Jesus said in John 7:37-38, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture says, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water."
I may lack money, health, children, and honor, but God's grace overflows.
3. What is grace over grace
Grace instead of grace. When it comes to grace over grace, the Greek word for 'on' is 'anti', which means 'instead of'.
The grace received in Jesus does not end with one thing. One grace becomes ten thousand blessings. It becomes a channel that leads us into another grace. It is grace enough to deal with everything.
The Apostle Paul, speaking of his imprisonment, said, "Brothers, I want you to know two things that happened to me that made the gospel progress" (Philippians 1:12).
Paul was ill. It is called "the branch of the flesh, that is, the messenger of Satan." I prayed earnestly three times that the disease would go away. God did not heal the sick, but answered, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." He experienced the power of Hana Nam while suffering pain from the thorns in his body.
John Milton lost his sight and became blind, and in bitter pain he achieved an immortal masterpiece called 'Paradise Lost'. Suffering from poverty and hunger, Mozart wrote an immortal masterpiece, 'The Requiem'. Dante was betrayed by his lover, Beatrice, and wrote 'The New Song' with a deep wound in his heart.
Suffering is a challenge to be faced anyway. If you are in need, persecution, or suffering for the sake of Christ, you should rejoice (1 Corinthians 12:10).
When God has given us grace and we forget it, or when we live without knowing the value of that grace, the grace that God gave us to help us realize the grace and restore it is grace upon grace.
4. What is grace over grace
It is a wonderful gift for us believers. And it will be a very astonishing grace for those who watch it.
God is a God who gives grace upon grace. Therefore, any great grace or any difficult work is "a small thing in the sight of the Lord" (2 Kings 3:18).
In 2 Kings chapter 3, when Moab betrayed Israel, King Jehoram of Israel moved Jehoshaphat, king of Judah and king of Edom, to go to the wilderness to defeat the king of Moab. and ended. At this time, at the countermeasure meeting, he asked Elisha, a man of God, to solve the problem.
3:15-20 “Now, call me a harp player.” As the harp player was playing the harp, the hand of the Lord was on Elisha, and he said, “Thus says the Lord, digging up many streams in this valley. “You will see neither wind nor rain, but this valley will be filled with water, so that you, your livestock, and your beasts will drink,” says the Lord. "You will strike every fortified city and every beautiful city, and you will cut down every good tree, fill up every spring, and tear down every good field with stones." And in the morning at the time of the grain offering, water flowed from the side of Edom and filled the land. I did.
Even things that are great and visible to people are very small things in the eyes of the Lord. It is nothing to God.
Therefore, I hope that you will not be discouraged, dismayed, or fussed about something big, but think that this is not a big deal to God and that it is only a very small thing and entrust it to God.
God's grace is always amazing.
All those who received God's grace confessed that the grace was amazing.
5. A shortcut to grace over grace?
Augustine recommended the servant pose
It was said, “To bear the burden with the attitude of a servant is the shortcut to receiving all God’s grace.” Just as a servant longs for the mercy of his master, just as a slave girl longs for the touch of her mother-in-law, such attitude will lead to fullness of grace above grace.
That's right. There is a secret that believers receive grace and that individuals and families prosper. It is to live in the attitude of a servant. It is living a life of faith with the attitude of a servant.
The same goes for the secret of a successful church. It means that both the clergy and the saints serve the church with the attitude of servants and lead the church life. I hope you believe that things will go well when you live in the attitude of a servant.
God's grace is grace above grace, grace that overflows in fullness, grace without lack, grace in which one grace becomes a thousand kinds of grace, and wonderful grace.
The English preacher Spurgeon said, "The alpha is grace, and the omega is grace." Living a life of receiving grace upon grace is the way to live powerfully as a true Christian in this harsh world.