Grace

VIEW:40 DATA:01-04-2020
GRACE (from Lat. gratia [= favour,—either received from or shown to another], through the Fr. grace).—Of the three meanings assigned to this word in the Eng. Dict.—(1) ‘pleasingness,’ (2) ‘favour,’ (3) ‘thanks’ (the sense of favour received)—(1) and (2) belong to the Eng. Bible; (3) attaches to the equivalent Gr. charis, where it is rendered ‘thank(s)’ or ‘thankfulness’ (Heb_12:28 RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] .). The specific Biblical use of ‘grace’ comes under the second of the above significations; it is prominent in the NT. The OT usage requires no separate treatment. (2) is the primary meaning of the Hebrew original, rendered ‘favour’ almost as often as ‘grace’; but (1) of the Greek charis, which at its root signified the gladdening, joy-bringing. Hence the correspondence between the common Greek salutation chaire (te) or chairein (‘Joy to you!’) and the Christian charis (‘Grace to you!’) is more than a verbal coincidence.
1. Of the sense charm, winsomeness (of person, bearing, speech, etc.)—a usage conspicuous in common Greek, and personified in the Charites, the three Graces of mythology—the prominent instances in the OT are Psa_45:2 (‘Grace is poured on thy lips’) and probably Zec_4:7; add to these Pro_1:9; Pro_3:22; Pro_4:9; Pro_22:11; Pro_31:30 (‘favour’). The same noun occurs in the Heb. of Pro_5:10; Pro_11:16, and Ecc_10:12, Pro_17:8, under the adjectival renderings ‘pleasant,’ ‘gracious,’ ‘precious,’ and in Nah_3:4 (‘well-favoured’). For the NT, ‘grace’ is charm in Luk_4:22, Col_4:8; in Eph_4:28 there may be a play on the double sense of the word. Charm of speech is designated by charis in Sir_20:18; Sir_21:10; Sir_37:21, in the Apocrypha. in Jam_1:11 ‘grace of the fashion’ renders a single Greek word signifying ‘fair-seemingness,’ quite distinct from charis.
2. The OT passages coming under (2) above, employ ‘grace’ chiefly in the idiom ‘to find grace (or favour),’ which is used indifferently of favour in the eyes of J″ [Note: Jahweh.] (Gen_6:8) or of one’s fellow-men (Gen_39:4), and whether the finder bring good (Gen_39:4) or ill (Gen_19:19) desert to the quest. With this broad application, ‘grace’ means good-will, favourable inclination towards another—of the superior (king, benefactor, etc.) or one treated as such by courtesy, to the inferior—shown on whatever ground. In the Eng. NT, ‘favour’ is reserved for this wide sense of charis; see Luk_1:30; Luk_2:52, Act_2:47; Act_7:10; Act_7:46; Act_25:3 : ‘grace’ has the same meaning in Luk_2:40, Act_4:33, Zec_12:10 is the one instance in which ‘grace’ in the OT approximates to its prevalent NT import; but the Heb. adj. for gracious, and the equivalent vb., are together used of J″ [Note: Jahweh.] , in His attitude towards the sinful, more than twenty times, associated often with ‘merciful,’ etc.; see. e.g., Exo_33:19; Exo_34:6, Psa_77:9; Psa_103:8, Joe_2:13, Jon_4:2. The character in God which the OT prefers to express by mercy, signifying His pitiful disposition towards man as weak and wretched, the NT in effect translates into ‘grace,’ as signifying His forgiving disposition towards man as guilty and lost.
3. Christianity first made grace a leading term in the vocabulary of religion. The prominence and emphasis of its use are due to St. Paul, in whose Epp. the word figures twice as often as in all the NT besides. ‘Grace’ is the first word of greeting and the last of farewell in St. Paul’s letters; for him it includes the sum of all blessing that comes from God through Christ: ‘grace’ the source, ‘peace’ the stream. In the Gospels, the Johannine Prologue (vv. 14–17: contrasted with ‘law,’ and co-extensive with ‘truth’) supplies the only example of ‘grace’ used with the Pauline fulness of meaning. This passage, and the Lukan examples in Acts (Act_6:3; Act_11:23; Act_13:43; Act_14:8; Act_15:11; Act_20:24; Act_20:32), with the kindred uses in Heb_1:1-14, 2 Peter., Jude, 2 Jn., Rev., may be set down to the influence of Paulinism on Apostolic speech. There is little in earlier phraseology to explain the supremacy in the NT of this specific term; a new experience demanded a new name. ‘Grace’ designates the principle in God of man’s salvation through Jesus Christ. It is God’s unmerited, unconstrained love towards sinners, revealed and operative in Christ. Tit_2:11-14, interpreted by Rom_5:1 to Rom_6:23, is the text which approaches nearest to a definition; this passage shows how St. Paul derived from God’s grace not only the soul’s reconciliation and new hopes in Christ (Rom_5:1-11), but the whole moral uplifting and rehabilitation of human life through Christianity. St. Paul’s experience in conversion gave him this watchword; the Divine goodness revealed itself to the ‘chief of sinners’ under the aspect of ‘grace’ (1Co_15:9 f., 1Ti_1:13-16). The spontaneity and generosity of God’s love felt in the act of his salvation, the complete setting aside therein of everything legal and conventional (with, possibly, the added connotation of charm of which charis is redolent), marked out this word as describing what St. Paul had proved of Christ’s redemption; under this name he could commend it to the world of sinful men; his ministry ‘testifies the gospel of the grace of God’ (Act_20:24). Essentially, grace stands opposed to sin; it is God’s way of meeting and conquering man’s sin (Rom_5:20 f., Rom_6:1 ff., Rom_6:15 ff.): He thus effects ‘the impossible task of the Law’ (Rom_7:7 to Rom_8:4). The legal discipline had taught St. Paul to understand, by contrast, the value and the operation of the principle of grace; he was able to handle it with effect in the legalist controversy. Grace supplies, in his theology, the one and sufficient means of deliverance from sin, holding objectively the place which faith holds subjectively in man’s salvation (Eph_2:8, Tit_2:11). Formally, and in point of method, grace stands opposed to ‘the law,’ ‘which worketh wrath’ (Rom_3:19-26; Rom_4:15, Gal_2:15-21; Gal_5:4); it supersedes the futile ‘works’ by which the Jew had hoped, in fulfilling the Law, to merit salvation (Rom_4:2-8; Rom_11:6, Gal_2:16-20, Eph_2:8 f.). Grace excludes, therefore, all notion of ‘debt’ as owing from God to men, all thought of earning the Messianic blessings (Rom_4:4) by establishing ‘a righteousness of one’s own’ (Rom_10:3); through it men are ‘justified gratis’ (Rom_3:24) and ‘receive the gift of righteousness’ (Rom_5:17). In twenty-two instances St. Paul writes of ‘the grace of God’ (or ‘his grace’); In fifteen, of ‘the grace of Christ’ (‘the Lord Jesus Christ,’ etc.). Ten of the latter examples belong to salutation-formulæ (so in Rev_22:21), the fullest of these being 2Co_13:14, where ‘the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ’ is referred to ‘the love of God’ as its fountain-head; In the remaining five detached instances the context dictates the combination ‘grace of Christ’ (‘our Lord,’ etc.),—Rom_5:15, 2Co_8:9; 2Co_12:9, Gal_1:6, 1Ti_1:14 (also in 2Pe_3:16). In other NT writings the complement is predominantly ‘of God’; 1Pe_5:10 inverts the expression—‘the God of all grace.’ Once—in 2Th_1:12—grace is referred conjointly to God and Christ. Christ is the expression and vehicle of the grace of the Father, and is completely identified with it (see Joh_1:14; Joh_1:17), so that God’s grace can equally be called Christ’s; but its reference to the latter is strictly personal in such a passage as 2Co_8:9. A real distinction is implied in the remarkable language of Rom_5:15, where, after positing ‘the grace of God’ as the fundamental ground of redemption, St. Paul adds to this ‘the gift in grace, viz. the grace of the one man Jesus Christ,’ who is the counterpart of the sinful and baleful Adam: the generous bounty of the Man towards men, shown by Jesus Christ, served an essential part in human redemption.
Cognate to charis, and charged in various ways with its meaning, is the vb. rendered (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ) to grant in Act_27:24, Gal_3:18, Php_1:29, Phm_1:22, give in Php_2:9, freely give in Rom_8:32, 1Co_2:12, and (with ‘wrong’ or ‘debt’ for object, expressed or implied) forgive in Luk_7:42 f., 2Co_2:7; 2Co_2:10; 2Co_12:13, Eph_4:32, Col_2:13; Col_3:18.
There are two occasional secondary uses of ‘grace,’ derived from the above, in the Pauline Epp.: it may denote (a) a gracious endowment or bestowment, God’s grace to men taking shape in some concrete ministry (so Eph_4:7, in view of the following context, and perhaps Gal_2:9; cf. Act_7:10)—for charis in this sense charisma (charism) is St. Paul’s regular term, as in 1Co_12:4 etc.; and (b) a state of grace, God’s grace realized by the recipient (Rom_5:2, 2Ti_2:1).
G. G. Findlay.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909


This word is understood in several senses: for beauty, graceful form, and agreeableness of person, Pro_1:9; Pro_3:22. For favour, friendship, kindness, Gen_6:8; Gen_18:3; Rom_11:6; 2Ti_1:9. For pardon, mercy, undeserved remission of offences, Eph_2:5; Col_1:6. For certain gifts of God, which he bestows freely, when, where, and on whom, he pleases; such are the gifts of miracles, prophecy, languages, &c, Rom_15:15; 1Co_15:10; Eph_3:8, &c. For the Gospel dispensation, in contradistinction to that of the law, Rom_6:14; 1Pe_5:12. For a liberal and charitable disposition, 2Co_8:7. For eternal life, or final salvation, 1Pe_1:13. In theological language grace also signifies divine influence upon the soul; and it derives the name from this being the effect of the great grace or favour of God to mankind. Austin defines inward actual grace to be the inspiration of love, which prompts us to practise according to what we know, out of a religious affection and compliance. He says, likewise, that the grace of God is the blessing of God's sweet influence, whereby we are induced to take pleasure in that which he commands, to desire and to love it; and that if God does not prevent us with this blessing, what he commands, not only is not perfected, but is not so much as begun in us. Without the inward grace of Jesus Christ, man is not able to do the least thing that is good. He stands in need of this grace to begin, continue, and finish all the good he does, or rather, which God does in him and with him, by his grace. This grace is free; it is not due to us: if it were due to us, it would be no more grace; it would be a debt, Rom_11:6; it is in its nature an assistance so powerful and efficacious, that it surmounts the obstinacy of the most rebellious human heart, without destroying human liberty. There is no subject on which Christian doctors have written so largely, as on the several particulars relating to the grace of God. The difficulty consists in reconciling human liberty with the operation of divine grace; the concurrence of man with the influence and assistance of the Almighty. And who is able to set up an accurate boundary between these two things? Who can pretend to know how far the privileges of grace extend over the heart of man, and what that man's liberty exactly is, who is prevented, enlightened, moved, and attracted by grace?
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.


There is much in the Bible about grace, partly because there is much in the Bible about sin. Grace is the undeserved favour of God. People repeatedly sin and rebel against God, yet God in his grace is still ready to forgive them when they repent (Exo_34:6; Rom_5:20).
Saved by God’s grace
The only way people have ever been forgiven their sin and saved from condemnation is by God’s grace, and they receive this salvation through faith (Eph_2:8). People have never been saved through obeying the law or offering sacrifices (Rom_3:24-26; Gal_3:17-22). (Concerning the purpose of Old Testament regulations given to Israel see COVENANT; LAW; SACRIFICE.)
So much is grace a characteristic of God that the Bible calls him the God of grace (1Pe_5:10; see also LOVE; MERCY). He chooses to save people because of his sovereign grace alone, not because of their good works (Rom_11:6; Eph_1:5-6; see ELECTION). Many of the stories that Jesus told illustrate God’s grace (e.g. Mat_18:23-34; Mat_20:1-16; Luk_7:36-50; Luk_14:16-24; Luk_15:11-32), but Jesus himself is the greatest demonstration of God’s grace (Joh_1:14). He demonstrated that grace not only by the way he lived (Joh_1:17; 2Co_8:9), but particularly by his death on the cross (Rom_3:24-25; Gal_2:21; Heb_2:9).
Through Jesus’ death, God can forgive freely all who repent of their sins and trust in him. More than that, God brings them into a right relationship with himself and declares them righteous (Rom_3:23-24; Rom_4:5; Rom_5:2; 1Co_1:4; Tit_2:11; Tit_3:4-5). (For further discussion on God’s work of grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus see FORGIVENESS; JUSTIFICATION; PROPITIATION; RECONCILIATION.)
God’s grace in the lives of believers
Although salvation is a gift of God’s grace and not a reward for good works, that is no reason for Christians to ignore good works. They are not free to live as they like or sin as they like. God’s grace continues to work in their lives, giving them the inner power to discipline themselves, to do good, to endure suffering and to triumph over temptation (Rom_6:14-15; 2Co_12:9; 2Ti_2:1; Tit_2:11-14; see FREEDOM; GOOD WORKS). They can carry out their Christian service properly only because God in his grace has given them the ability to do so (Rom_12:6).
God exercised his grace towards believers before they were born. That same grace operates continually towards them throughout life and will continue to be active towards them throughout the ages to come (Gal_1:15; Rom_5:2; Rom_5:21; Eph_2:7; 1Ti_1:12-16).
Paul’s practice was to begin and end his letters by speaking of the grace of God, or the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this way he indicated that he was always conscious that the believer’s whole life is lived in the atmosphere of God’s grace (Rom_1:7; Rom_16:20; 1Co_1:3; 1Co_16:23; Gal_1:3; Gal_6:18).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.


grās:
1. The Word Cháris
In the English New Testament the word ?grace? is always a translation of (χάρις, cháris), a word that occurs in the Greek text something over 170 times (the reading is uncertain in places). In secular Greek of all periods it is also a very common word, and in both Biblical and secular Greek it is used with far more meanings than can be represented by any one term in English Primarily (a) The word seems to denote pleasant external appearance, ?gracefulness? ?loveliness?; compare the personificaion in the Graces.? Such a use is found in Luk_4:22, where 'wondered at the charm of his words' is a good translation; and similarly in Col_4:6. (b) Objectively, charis may denote the impression produced by ?gracefulness,? as in 3Jo_1:4 'greater gratification have I none than this' (but many manuscripts read chará, ?joy,? here). (c) As a mental attribute charis may be translated by ?graciousness,? or, when directed toward a particular person or persons, by ?favor.? So in Luk_2:52, ?Jesus advanced ... in favor with God and men.? (d) As the complement to this, charis denotes the emotion awakened in the recipient of such favor, i.e. ?gratitude.? So Luk_17:9 reads literally, 'Has he gratitude to that servant?' In a slightly transferred sense charis designates the words or emotion in which gratitude is expressed, and so becomes ?thanks? (some 10 t, Rom_6:17, etc.)'. (e) Concretely, charis may mean the act by which graciousness is expressed, as in 1Co_16:3, where the King James Version translates by ?liberality,? and the Revised Version (British and American) by ?bounty.? These various meanings naturally tend to blend into each other, and in certain cases it is difficult to fix the precise meaning that the writer meant the word to convey, a confusion that is common to both New Testament and secular Greek And in secular Greek the word has a still larger variety of meanings that scarcely concern theologian.

2. Grace as Power
Naturally, the various meanings of the word were simply taken over from ordinary language by the New Testament writers. And so it is quite illegitimate to try to construct on the basis of all the occurrences of the word a single doctrine that will account for all the various usages. That one word could express both ?charm of speech? and ?thankfulness for blessings? was doubtless felt to be a mere accident, if it was thought of at all. But none the less, the very elasticity of the word enabled it to receive still another - new and technically Christian - meaning. This seems to have originated in part by fusing together two of the ordinary significances. In the first place, as in (e) above, charis may mean ?a gift.? In 1Co_16:3; 2Co_8:19 it is the money given by the Corinthians to the Jerusalemites. In 2Co_9:8 it is the increase of worldly goods that God grants for charitable purposes. In 2Co_1:15 it is the benefit received by the Corinthians from a visit by Paul. In a more spiritual sense charis is the endowment for an office in the church (Eph_4:7), more particularly for the apostolate (Rom_1:5; Rom_12:3; Rom_15:15; 1Co_3:10; Eph_3:2, Eph_3:7). So in 1Co_1:4-7 margin charis is expanded into ?word and all knowledge,? endowments with which the Corinthians were especially favored. In 1Pe_1:13 charis is the future heavenly blessedness that Christians are to receive; in 1Pe_3:7 it is the present gift of ?life.? In the second place, charis is the word for God's favor, a sense of the term that is especially refined by Paul (see below). But God's favor differs from man's in that it cannot be conceived of as inactive. A favorable ?thought? of God's about a man involves of necessity the reception of some blessing by that man, and ?to look with favor? is one of the commonest Biblical paraphrases for ?bestow a blessing.? Between ?God's favor? and ?God's favors? there exists a relation of active power, and as charis denoted both the favor and the favors, it was the natural word for the power that connected them. This use is very clear in 1Co_15:10, where Paul says, ?not I, but the grace of God which was with me? labored more abundantly than they all: grace is something that labors. So in 2Co_12:9, ?My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness?; compare 2Ti_2:1, ?strengthened in the grace,? and 1Pe_4:10, ?stewards of the manifold grace.? Evidently in this sense ?grace? is almost a synonym for the Spirit (see HOLY SPIRIT), and there is little real difference between ?full of the Holy Spirit? and ?full of grace and power? in Act_6:5, Act_6:8, while there is a very striking parallel between Eph_4:7-13 and 1Co_12:4-11, with ?gifts of grace? in the one passage, and ?gifts of the Spirit? in the other. And this connection between grace and the Spirit is found definitely in the formula ?Spirit of grace? in Heb_10:29 (compare Zec_12:10). And, as is well known, it is from this sense of the word that the Catholic doctrine of grace developed.

3. Grace in Justification
This meaning of charis was obtained by expanding and combining other meanings. By the opposite process of narrowly restricting one of the meanings of the word, it came again into Christian theology as a technical term, but this time in a sense quite distinct from that just discussed. The formation of this special sense seems to have been the work of Paul. When charis is used with the meaning ?favor,? nothing at all is implied as to whether or not the favor is deserved. So, for instance, in the New Testament, when in Luk_2:52 it is said that ?Jesus advanced ... in favor with God and men,? the last possible thought is that our Lord did not deserve this favor. Compare also Luk_2:40 and Act_2:47 and, as less clear cases, Luk_1:30; Act_7:46; Heb_4:16; Heb_12:15, Heb_12:28. But the word has abundant use in secular Greek in the sense of unmerited favor, and Paul seized on this meaning of the word to express a fundamental characteristic of Christianity. The basic passage is Rom_11:5, Rom_11:6, where as a definition is given, ?If it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace.? That the word is used in other senses could have caused no 1st-century reader to miss the meaning, which, indeed, is unmistakable. ?Grace? in this sense is an attitude on God's part that proceeds entirely from within Himself, and that is conditioned in no way by anything in the objects of His favor. So in Rom_4:4. If salvation is given on the basis of what a man has done, then salvation is given by God as the payment of a debt. But when faith is reckoned for what it is not, i.e. righteousness, there is no claim on man's part, and he receives as a pure gift something that he has not earned. (It is quite true that faith involves moral effort, and so may be thought of as a sort of a ?work?; it is quite true that faith does something as a preparation for receiving God's further gifts. But it simply clouds the exegetical issue to bring in these ideas here, as they certainly were not present in Paul's mind when the verses were being written.) ?Grace? then, in this sense is the antinomy to ?works? or to ?law?; it has a special relation to the guilt of sin (Rom_5:20; Rom_6:1), and has almost exactly the same sense as ?mercy.? Indeed, ?grace? here differs from ?mercy? chiefly in connoting eager love as the source of the act. See JUSTIFICATION. Of course it is this sense of grace that dominates Rom 3 through 6, especially in thesis Rom_3:24, while the same use is found in Gal_2:21; Eph_2:5, Eph_2:8; 2Ti_1:9. The same strict sense underlies Gal_1:6 and is found, less sharply formulated, in Tit_3:5-7. (Gal_5:4 is perhaps different.) Outside of Paul's writings, his definition of the word seems to be adopted in Joh_1:17; Act_15:11; Heb_13:9, while a perversion of this definition in the direction of antinomianism is the subject of the invective in Jud_1:4. And, of course, it is from the word in this technical Pauline sense that an elaborate Protestant doctrine of grace has been developed.

4. Special Uses
A few special uses of the word may be noted. That the special blessing of God on a particular undertaking (Act_14:26; Act_15:40) should be called a ?grace? needs no explanation. In Luk_6:32-34, and 1Pe_2:19, 1Pe_2:20, charis seems to be used in the sense of ?that which deserves the thanks of God,? i.e. a specifically Christian act as distinguished from an act of ?natural morality.? ?Grace for grace? in Joh_1:16 is a difficult phrase, but an almost exact parallel in Philo (Poster. Cain, 43) may fix the sense as ?benefit on benefit.? But the tendency of the New Testament writers is to combine the various meanings the word can have, something that is particularly well illustrated in 2 Cor 8; 2Co_9:1-15. In these two chapters the word occurs 10 t, but in so many different senses as to suggest that Paul is consciously playing with the term. Charis is the money given to the Jerusalemites by the Corinthians (2Co_8:19), it is the increase of goods that God will grant the Corinthians (2Co_9:8), it is the disposition of the givers (2Co_8:6), it is the power of God that has wrought this disposition (2Co_8:1; 2Co_9:14), it is the act of Christ in the Incarnation (2Co_8:9; contrast the distinction between ?God's grace? and ?Christs act? in Heb_2:9), it is the thanks that Paul renders (2Co_9:15). That all a Christian is and all that he has is God's gift could have been stated of course without the use of any special term at all. But in these two chapters Paul has taught this truth by using for the various ideas always the same term and by referring this term to God at the beginning and the end of the section. That is, to the multiplicity of concepts there is given a unity of terminology, corresponding to the unity given the multiple aspects of life by the thought of entire dependence on God. So charis, ?grace,? becomes almost an equivalent for ?Christianity,? viewed as the religion of dependence on God through Christ. As one may think of entering Christianity, abiding in it, or falling from it, so one may speak of entering into (Rom_5:2), abiding in (Act_13:43), or falling from (Gal_5:4) grace; compare 1Pe_5:12. So the teaching of Christianity may be summed up as word or gospel of grace (Act_14:3; Act_20:24, Act_20:32). So ?grace be with you? closes the Epistles as a sufficient summary of all the blessings that can be wished Christian readers. At the beginning of the Epistles the words ?and peace? are usually added, but this is due only to the influence of the Jewish greeting ?peace be with you? (Luk_10:5, etc.), and not to any reflection on ?grace? and ?peace? as separate things. (It is possible that the Greek use of chaı́rein, ?rejoice,? as an epistolary salutation (so in Jam_1:1) influenced the Christian use of charis. But that ?grace and peace? was consciously regarded as a universalistic combination of Jewish and Gentile custom is altogether unlikely.) The further expansion of the introductory formula by the introduction of ?mercy? in 1 and 2 Tim is quite without theological significance.

5. Teaching of Christ
In the Greek Gospels, charis is used in the words of Christ only in Luk_6:32-34; Luk_17:9. As Christ spoke in Aram, the choice of this word is due to Luke, probably under the influence of its common Christian use in his own day. And there is no word in our Lord's recorded sayings that suggests that He employed habitually any especial term to denote grace in any of its senses. But the ideas are unambiguously present. That the pardon of sins is a free act on God's part may be described as an essential in Christ's teaching, and the lesson is taught in all manner of ways. The prodigal knowing only his own wretchedness (Luk_15:20), the publican without merit to urge (Luk_18:13), the sick who need a physician (Mar_2:17), they who hunger and thirst after righteousness (Mat_5:6), these are the ones for whom God's pardon is inexhaustible. And positive blessings, be they temporal or spiritual, are to be looked for from God, with perfect trust in Him who clothes the lilies and knows how to give good gifts to His children (Mat_7:11; here Luk_11:13 has ?Holy Spirit? for ?gifts,? doubtless a Lukan interpretation, but certainly a correct one). Indeed, it is not too much to say that Christ knows but one unpardonable sin, the sin of spiritual self-satisfaction - ?That which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God? (Luk_16:15; compare Luk_17:7-10; Mt 20:1-16).

6. In the Old Testament
There is no word in Hebrew that can represent all the meanings of charis, and in the Septuagint charis itself is used, practically, only as a translation of the Hebrew חן, ḥēn, ?favor,? this restriction of meaning being due to the desire to represent the same Hebrew word by the same Greek word as far as possible. And ḥēn, in turn, is used chiefly only in the phrase ?find favor? (Gen_6:8, etc.), whether the reference is to God or men, and without theological importance. Much nearer Paul's use of charis is rācōn (רצון), ?acceptance,? in such passages as Isa_60:10, ?In my favor have I had mercy on thee?; Psa_44:3, ?not ... by their own sword ... but ... because thou wast favorable unto them.? Perhaps still closer parallels can be detected in the use of חסד, ḥeṣedh, ?kindness,? ?mercy,? as in Exo_20:6, etc. But, of course, a limitation of the sources for the doctrine to passages containing only certain words would be altogether unjust. The main lines seem to be these: (1) Technically, salvation by grace in the New Testament is opposed to an Old Testament doctrine of salvation by works (Rom_4:4; Rom_11:6), or, what is the same thing, by law (Rom_6:14; Joh_1:17); i.e men and God are thought of as parties to a contract, to be fulfilled by each independently. Most of the legislation seems to presuppose some idea of man as a quantity quite outside of God, while Deu_30:11-14 states explicitly that the law is not too hard nor too far off for man. (2) Yet even this legalism is not without important modifications. The keeping of the law is man's work, but that man has the law to keep is something for which God only is to be thanked. Ps 119 is the essence of legalism, but the writer feels overwhelmed throughout by the greatness of the mercy that disclosed such statutes to men. After all, the initial (and vital!) act is God's not man's. This is stated most sharply in Eze_23:1-4 - Oholibah and her sister became God's, not because of any virtue in them, but in spite of most revolting conduct. Compare Deu_7:7, etc. (3) But even in the most legalistic passages, an absolute literal keeping of the law is never (not even in such a passage as Num_15:30, Num_15:31) made a condition of salvation. The thought of transgression is at all times tempered with the thought of God's pardon. The whole sacrificial system, in so far as it is expiatory, rests on God's gracious acceptance of something in place of legal obedience, while the passages that offer God's mercy without demanding even a sacrifice (Isa_1:18; Mic_7:18-20, etc.) are countless. Indeed, in Ezek 16; 20; 23, mercy is promised to a nation that is spoken of as hardly even desiring it, a most extreme instance. (4) But a mere negative granting of pardon is a most deficient definition of the Old Testament idea of God's mercy, which delights in conferring positive benefits. The gift to Abraham of the land of Canaan, liberation from Egypt, food in the wilderness, salvation from enemies, deliverance from exile - all of Israel's history can be felt to be the record of what God did for His people through no duty or compulsion, grateful thanksgiving for such unmerited blessings filling, for instance, much of the Psalter. The hearts of men are in God's keeping, to receive from Him the impulse toward what is right (1Ch_29:18, etc.). And the promise is made that the God who has manifested Himself as a forgiving Father will in due time take hold of His children to work in them actual righteousness (Isa_1:26; Isa_4:3, Isa_4:4; Isa_32:1-8; Isa_33:24; Jer_31:33, Jer_31:14; Eze_36:25, Eze_36:26; Zec 8; Dan_9:24; Psa_51:10-12) With this promise - for the Old Testament always a matter of the future - the Old Testament teaching passes into that of the New Testament.

7. Summary
Most of the discussions of the Biblical doctrine of grace have been faulty in narrowing the meaning of ?grace? to some special sense, and then endeavoring to force this special sense on all the Biblical passages. For instance, Roman scholars, starting with the meaning of the word in (say) 2Co_12:9, have made Rom_3:24 state that men are justified by the infusion of Divine holiness into them, an interpretation that utterly ruins Paul's argument. On the other hand, Protestant extremists have tried to reverse the process and have argued that grace cannot mean anything except favor as an attitude, with results that are equally disastrous from the exegetical standpoint. And a confusion has resulted that has prevented men from seeing that most of the controversies about grace are at cross-purposes. A rigid definition is hardly possible, but still a single conception is actually present in almost every case where ?grace? is found - the conception that all a Christian has or is, is centered exclusively in God and Christ, and depends utterly on God through Christ. The kingdom of heaven is reserved for those who become as little children, for those who look to their Father in loving confidence for every benefit, whether it be for the pardon so freely given, or for the strength that comes from Him who works in them both to will and to do.

Literature
All the Biblical theologies contain full discussions of the subject; for the New Testament the closest definitions are given by Bernard Weiss. But for the meaning of ?grace? in any particular place the commentaries must be consulted, although the student may be warned against discussions that argue too closely from what may seem to be parallel passages.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.


Grace
(Lat. gratia; Gr. χάρις; Heb. חֶסֶד and חֶן a word of, various import in Scripture and in theology.
I. Scriptural Uses. —
(1.) Physical beauty (grace of form and person) (Pro_1:9; Pro_3:22; Pro_31:30.; Psa_45:2, aetc.).
(2.) Favor, kindness, goodness, benevolence, friendship of God towards men, or of men towards one another (Gen_6:8; Gen_18:3; Gen_19:19; 1Sa_10:2; 2Ti_1:9).
(3.) God's forgiving mercy, as gratuitous and opposed to merit (Rom_11:6; Eph_2:5; Col_1:6, etc.).
(4.) The Gospel generally, as, contradistinguished from the law (Joh_1:17; Rom_6:14; 1Pe_5:12, etc.).
(5.) Certain gifts of God,. freely bestowed; e.g. miracles, prophecy, tongues, etc. (Rom_15:15; 1Co_15:10; Eph_3:8, etc.).
(6.) Christian virtues; e.g. charity, liberality, holiness, etc. (2Co_8:7; 2Pe_3:18).
(7.) The glory to be revealed, or eternal life (1Pe_1:13). — Wilson. (Bampton Lecture on the Communion of Saints, Oxford, 1851, 8vo) remarks as follows on the scriptural use of the word: ῾Χάρις occurs in the Sept. version sixty-six times, of which number it stands sixty-one times for חֵן, its signification in the New Test. cannot be fairly estimated without reference to the idea expressed by that Hebrew word. This is drawn altogether from Oriental life, and, implies properly the good will and inclination of a superior towards an inferior, so much below him as to seek only for a spontaneous and gratuitous favor, or to invite the favor only by his needs, humility, and supplications. The favorable inclination is manifested in a kind of condescending aspect. Hence constantly the phrase ' find favor in the sight of (בְּ ינֵי): compare particularly Num_6:25, 'The Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee (וַיחִנֶּךָ). Upon an examination of the use of the words חֵן and חָנִן in the Old Test. it will appear that a quality is sometimes implied in the object which has invited the favor of the superior; sometimes the favor is altogether gratuitous: a few instances are subjoined. 1. A quality or antecedent merit is supposed: Gen_32:5; Gen_39:4; Gen_39:21; Gen_47:29; Gen_1:4; 1Sa_16:22; 1Sa_25:8; 2Sa_16:4; Est_2:15; Est_5:2; Pro_1:9; Pro_3:22; Pro_4:9 (in these three places χάριτας, spiritual graces); Pro_5:19, hinnula gratice; Pro_13:15, bona mens dat gratiam; Pro_11:16, mulier gratiae (εὔχρηστος)); in Nah_3:4, pulchritudo meretricis. 2. On the other hand, the idea of merit or pleasing quality is excluded in Gen_34:11; Exo_3:21; Exo_11:3; Exo_12:36; Num_32:5; Rth_2:2; 1Sa_1:18; 1Sa_27:5; Jer_31:2; but particularly in Exo_33:19, where אֲשֶׁר אָחֹן וְחִנֹּתִּי אֶתאּ. is translated by ἐλεήσω ὃν ¨ν ἐλεῶ; and Psa_51:3, where, and in other places, חָנִןhas nearly the meaning of רָחִם, to pity and commiserate. חֵן stands for a gift of free love in Psa_84:12; Pro_3:34. A merit or pleasing quality in the object is neither excluded nor necessarily implied in Psa_67:2, and elsewhere. But some exciting cause of the favor is supposed in Deu_28:50; 2Ki_13:23; Job_19:21 (Have pity on me); Psalm 123:6; Pro_14:35; Pro_19:17 (He that hath pity on the poor); 21:10; Isa_30:18-19; Isa_33:2; Lam_4:16; Amo_5:15; Mal_1:9. But the best illustration of the Hebrew idea of 'grace' will be derived from observing that הַתְהִנֵּן, the form of which implies to make one's self an object ofgrace, means not to deserve, but to pray; and תִּחֲנוּנִים are not merits, but supplications; the humility and abject condition of the suppliant is thus the exciting cause of the favor (1Ki_8:33; 1Ki_8:47; 1Ki_8:59; 1Ki_9:3; 2Ch_6:24; 2Ch_6:37; Job_9:15; Job_19:16; Est_4:8). תְּחִנָּה is sometimes prayer and sometimes the favor gained by it." The word grace occurs 128 times in the New Test. (Cruden). Wilson presents all these passages in a tabular form, with explanations, and remarks that a comparison of them will show that "there is not one text in which the word grace occurs in any connection with either of the sacraments." SEE SACRAMENTS.
II. Theological. — The word "grace" is the hinge of three great theological controversies:
(1) that of the nature of depravity and regeneration, between the orthodox doctrine of the Church and Pelagianism;
(2) that of the relation between grace and free will, between the Calvinists and the Arminians;
(3) that of means (media) of grace, between the Romanists and Puseyites on the one hand and Protestants on the other. For the treatment of the first, SEE PELAGIANISM; on the second, SEE ARMINIANISM; SEE ELECTION; SEE PREDESTINATION; SEE WILL. On the third, SEE SACRAMENTS.

CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.





Norway

FACEBOOK

Participe de nossa rede facebook.com/osreformadoresdasaude

Novidades, e respostas das perguntas de nossos colaboradores

Comments   2

BUSCADAVERDADE

Visite o nosso canal youtube.com/buscadaverdade e se INSCREVA agora mesmo! Lá temos uma diversidade de temas interessantes sobre: Saúde, Receitas Saudáveis, Benefícios dos Alimentos, Benefícios das Vitaminas e Sais Minerais... Dê uma olhadinha, você vai gostar! E não se esqueça, dê o seu like e se INSCREVA! Clique abaixo e vá direto ao canal!


Saiba Mais

  • Image Nutrição
    Vegetarianismo e a Vitamina B12
  • Image Receita
    Como preparar a Proteína Vegetal Texturizada
  • Image Arqueologia
    Livro de Enoque é um livro profético?
  • Image Profecia
    O que ocorrerá no Armagedom?

Tags