All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
Passive Grace and Active Grace, Part II
We will examine now what I mean by the passive grace of God and the active grace of God. A passive thing is something which does not necessarily produce or require any response. It exists but does not have to affect its environment. It exists in spite of conditions around it. An active thing, on the other hand, is the opposite. It produces direct effect on its environment. By its very existence it affects conditions around it. We will relate these meanings to the grace of God.
The passive grace of God is the unconditional existence of the grace of God. It is the fact of the existence of the grace of God in spite of conditions around. The passive grace of God towards mankind exists and is manifested without first requiring any change in mankind for its manifestation.
The Bible tells us that God demonstrated His grace to mankind in spite of the existing condition of man’s sinfulness and rebellion against Him. Romans 5:8 tells us: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The love of God extended to us through the death of Christ for our salvation while we were sinful and in enmity against God demonstrates how unconditionally the passive grace of God works. We also read in 1 John 4:10: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
The active grace of God takes the work of salvation further into our lives and produces our transformation from a sinful state into God's righteousness. It equips for service and enables us to triumph in our Christian walk over the world, the flesh, and the devil. And so, unlike passive grace which exists without any response from us, active grace produces a response where it exists. This is well brought out in Titus 2:11-12: “For the grace of God has come, giving salvation to all men, training us so that, turning away from evil and the desires of this world, we may be living wisely and uprightly in the knowledge of God in this present life.”
Paul’s testimony of his experience of both the passive and active grace of God is an example. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10: “For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
The grace of God was extended towards Paul while he was yet a wicked persecutor of the Church. It is by grace God forbear with Paul in his wicked activities against the Church. It is by grace the Lord Jesus Christ visited Paul while Paul was on one of his missions to continue his persecution of the Church. It is by grace the Lord forgave and called Paul to be His servant. God ministered to Paul by grace in spite of Paul’s wickedness. But the grace of God did not stop there but went on to change Paul into one of the most productive workers of God in the Church.
Father, I thank you for the fullness of your grace to help me according to my need. Help me to see that by grace you do not only accept and forgive me in my sinfulness and weakness, but also deliver me from the power of sin over me, change me, and empower me to do your will through Jesus Christ. Amen.
The passive grace of God is the unconditional existence of the grace of God. It is the fact of the existence of the grace of God in spite of conditions around. The passive grace of God towards mankind exists and is manifested without first requiring any change in mankind for its manifestation.
The Bible tells us that God demonstrated His grace to mankind in spite of the existing condition of man’s sinfulness and rebellion against Him. Romans 5:8 tells us: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The love of God extended to us through the death of Christ for our salvation while we were sinful and in enmity against God demonstrates how unconditionally the passive grace of God works. We also read in 1 John 4:10: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
The active grace of God takes the work of salvation further into our lives and produces our transformation from a sinful state into God's righteousness. It equips for service and enables us to triumph in our Christian walk over the world, the flesh, and the devil. And so, unlike passive grace which exists without any response from us, active grace produces a response where it exists. This is well brought out in Titus 2:11-12: “For the grace of God has come, giving salvation to all men, training us so that, turning away from evil and the desires of this world, we may be living wisely and uprightly in the knowledge of God in this present life.”
Paul’s testimony of his experience of both the passive and active grace of God is an example. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10: “For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
The grace of God was extended towards Paul while he was yet a wicked persecutor of the Church. It is by grace God forbear with Paul in his wicked activities against the Church. It is by grace the Lord Jesus Christ visited Paul while Paul was on one of his missions to continue his persecution of the Church. It is by grace the Lord forgave and called Paul to be His servant. God ministered to Paul by grace in spite of Paul’s wickedness. But the grace of God did not stop there but went on to change Paul into one of the most productive workers of God in the Church.
Father, I thank you for the fullness of your grace to help me according to my need. Help me to see that by grace you do not only accept and forgive me in my sinfulness and weakness, but also deliver me from the power of sin over me, change me, and empower me to do your will through Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Eric Johnson Jr. on
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Praise the Lord. God bless you. Grace, passive and active, what a blessing from Lord. Thank you JESUS! Praise God. Lord bless you for the teaching, I was blessed by it. Thank you prayers also. Please bear with me as Lord reminded me. After Lord got me out of prison back in June 17, 1992, I was checking on my mail at San Carlos Apache Tribe's post office. A Apache woman asked me what am I doing out of prison. I told her Jesus found and saved me. Jesus got me out of prison. She started to yell and attracted a lot of people! She yelled to me "Eric, you were a very evil and wicked man! You should be back in prison! You probably escaped! I will report to police you have escaped!" I testified to her again of what had happened. She yelled louder "Eric, you are wicked and evil! You should go back to prison and rot and die! Go back to prison and rot and die!" I asked if she would like a prayer. She stormed out of post office yelling and screaming. Many stood around and simple looked at me. I was very crush and heartbroken. Since that time, Lord has blessed me to labor for Him in San Carlos by preaching His gospel in the streets, carrying His cross around, feeding the poor and needy, giving out free clothes to all, and loving and forgiving them all. Christians, ministers, and churches had started to call me the devil and that I am not of the Lord during that time, they still do today. Lord eventually started to sent me out to other tribes and nationalities in other towns, cities, and states. Body of Christ also call me the devil in many of these places. Simply amazing. Praise God. Back in San Carlos, Lord had blessed me to get married to a German from Michigan. We were married 10 years. Last year in August she divorced me. We had moved to Kayenta on the Navajo reservation four years ago. She is R.N. in E.R. in hospital there. Lord blessed me to preach gospel and carry His cross around in 25 towns on the Navajo reservation. My wife had helped me tremendously in both places with her time and money! On her days off she helped m to carry cross and preach gospel. I do not work as in getting paycheck or money, Lord provides. But my wife said her co-workers, friends, christian friends, and ministers told her to divorce me. She said she is tired of all this. I told her that Lord said He is against divorce, except if fornication/adultery and unbelief is done. She still divorced me in August 2008. I have been very crushed and heartbroken since that time. There were days I was suicidal. I am back in San Carlos where christians still call me the devil and that I am not of the Lord. Home church may be closing down soon. Medicine men have told me since I worship white man's God, I am not Apache to them no more, so they want me to leave San Carlos. Siblings and relatives have also rejected me. I may be leaving San Carlos soon. I am homeless and have no family. I had just returned from Kayenta to pick up what ex-wife had told me get-some of my stuff. I still love her and I do miss her very much. You prayer and teaching is great timing from Lord. Praise God. I do want to stop serving Lord because of these situations. I am an ex-con Apache that does not know much, especially algebra, computers, and typing. Sometimes I pray Lord you should use someone that knows scriptures, chapter numbers and verses because I don't. But by His Holy Spirit He blesses me to press on. I do desire to get back with my wife who divorced me. My heart aches for this. Praise God for His mercy and grace. I don't know where to go to but to my Lord. Sometimes I just want to go home because nobody wants me around and I have no home here or anywhere. Even so come Lord Jesus. Yes His grace is great, His amazing grace is beautiful. Lake of fire? Paradise? Eternal condemnation? Eternal life? Would it be great to hear Lord Jesus say enter in, to be home with Lord forever and ever! I want to go home. Praise God. Forgive me for sharing so much. Please hold me up in prayers that what Lord starte d with me He will continue for His glory until the day He takes me home. Praise God. Philippians 3:13-14.
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Permalink Reply by PoiemaDei on
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Praise God! Amazing grace! How sweet the song that saved a wretch like me! That's a wonderful testimony of the depth and power of the grace of God towards mankind.
Thanks, my beloved brother and friend, Eric. I honour you, brother, as a minister of God. You have blessed my heart today and, I am sure, many more who would read your message on this site.
Jesus said in Luke 6:22-23:
22: Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake.
23: Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
You are a blessed disciple of Christ. Don't give up. Press on. We are praying for you.
When Paul began his ministry he went through similar rejections like you. Many Christians kept thinking of him as the evil man he used to be when he persecuted the Church and would not accept him among them. They feared him. This just shows how easy it is for some professing Christians to pay just lip-service to the idea of the grace of God and the salvation it brings to sinners, but in reality they pronounce condemnation on those who they judge are too sinful to be saved.
I pray the Holy Spirit will comfort you at this time. I also pray that the Lord will restore the bond between you and your wife.
God bless you, my friend. I love you. -
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