Grace & Gifts – BT1:  Grace is a completely different-in-kind New Covenant Way distinction

 

 

 

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Here’s a definitive statement from a scholarly work about grace:  “There is no word in the Hebrew Old Testament (OT) that can represent all of the meanings of grace in 118 verses of the New Testament (NT), and in the OT Greek Septuagint LXX charis ‘grace’ itself is practically used only as a translation of the Hebrew chen ‘favor’ or ratson ‘acceptance’ in such passages as Isaiah 60:10 and Psalms 44:3, or chesed ‘kindness/mercy’ as in Exodus 20:6.  That is because technically, salvation by grace in the NT is opposed to an OT doctrine of salvation by ergon works/doings (a), or, what is the same thing, salvation by Law (b) – i.e. men and God are thought of as parties to a contract/covenant-agreement, to be fulfilled by each independently.”  The OT is about working FOR God but the NT is about working WITH God. <Notes> a) Romans 4:4; 11:6, b) Romans 6:14.

 

They continue:  “Most of the legislation seems to presuppose some idea of man as an entity quite outside of God.  But 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 (a).”  Whatever the Law was, it sure wasn’t “The Grace” or “The The Truth” since in John 1:17 it says that “The Law was given through Moses, but The Grace and/coupled The Truth actually ginomai ’emerged/moved-from/came-into-being/manifested from 1 realm/condition into another’ dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of Jesus Christ.” <Notes> a) Isaiah 1:26; 4:3-4; 32:1-8; 33:24; Jeremiah 31:33-34; Ezekiel 36:25-26; Zechariah 8; Daniel 9:24; Psalms 51:10-12.

 

Furthermore, trusting-relying-faith and unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace as associated together are pretty much NT distinctions from the OT, exactly because the New Covenant is completely-different-in-kind, sharing nothing with its predecessor, by definition of Hebrew chadash & Greek kainos “NEW.”  That’s exactly Paul’s gospel logos message of The Truth!  –  “The gospel is the enabling-power of God for salvation” that reveals God’s “WAY of righteousness by-the-means-of unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace apart from obedience to the Law” – but only to those who routinely/habitually have trusting-relying-faith in Christ (a).  <Notes> a) Romans 1:16-17, 3:21-22, 25-28, 30, 5:1-2; Galatians 2:16, 3:24; Ephesians 2:8; Philippians 1:27, 3:9.

 

Jewish myths, genealogies, controversies, dissensions, quarrels, and the like about the Law (a) are worthless and unprofitable (b), even the reading or teaching of the Law (c), as is anything else is other than Christ and His sound gospel logos messages (d).  However, Paul and the writer of Hebrews (e) say there are gramma letters (f) of graphe scripture that are “of a kind/class/category/portion of” (g) scripture that Jewish-Christians, like Timothy and his family, commonly used to catechize/convert (h) fellow Jews to Christ to “make them wise eis ‘toward and reaching the goal/purpose of’ salvation dia ‘thru the realizing channel of’ trusting-relying-faith IN Christ Jesus” (i).  This “kind/class/category/portion of” used by the early Jewish-Christians amounts to 2.6% of the OT graphe scripture – see Logos Word of God – BT6.

 

<Notes> a) scholarly debate is still encouraged to ‘unlock’ or ‘unpack’ the scriptures, and the Jews see it as “worshipping God with their all their minds”, b) 1 Timothy 1:4; Titus 3:9, c) 2 Corinthians 3:7, 15-18; 1 Timothy 1:3, 7; Romans 7:6; Colossians 2:16-23; Titus 1:11, d) 1 Timothy 6:3; Titus 2:1; Hebrews 13:9, e) likely Paul’s preaching companion Barnabas, who had much better Greek than Paul, f) writings, but in context: portions of sacred writings, g) pas is rarely used as “the whole/entirety of,” h) 2 Timothy 3:15-16, i) katecheo: repetitive instruction of foundational truths: Luke 1:4; Galatians 6:6; 1 Corinthians 14:19; Acts 18:25.

 

Charis unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace and agape unconditional-love are nearly synonymous in meaning, the former’s “favor” is the result of the latter’s love of God, but both are unconditional!  We also see “unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace and peace” given as a blessing for “those unconditionally-loved by God” (a), and “unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace to all who unconditionally-love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying unconditional-love” (b), and “may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who unconditionally-loved us and/coupled by His unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope” (c). <Notes> a) Romans 1:7, b) Ephesians 6:24, c) 2 Thessalonians 2:16.

 

The Triune God is involved in blessing us:  “May the unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and/coupled the unconditional-love of God (Father), and/coupled the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (a).  Paul knows where all this comes from:  “The unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace of our Lord (Jesus) was poured out on me abundantly, along with trusting-relying-faith and/coupled unconditional-love that are [both] in Christ Jesus” (b).  Finally, “unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace, mercy, peace from God the Father and/coupled from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, shall indeed be with us by-the-means-of [singular] Truth and/coupled [singular] Unconditional-Love” (c). <Notes> a) 2 Corinthians 13:14, b) 1 Timothy 1:14, c) 2 John 1:3.

 

Because God’s unconditional-love and God’s unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace are so similar in meaning – the later the result of the former – and our trusting-relying-faith results in God’s unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace, naturally the connection between unconditional-love and trusting-relying-faith is even more obvious – even directly coupling them by the Greek conjunction kai 6 times (a).  In fact, the other examples of proximity and relationships are so numerous that I’ve discussed this all on the Obedient Steps of Faith and the Unconditional-Love pages!  <Notes> a) Revelation 2:19; 1 Thessalonians 3:6, 5:8; 1 Timothy 1:14, 2:15; 2 Timothy 1:13.

 

Reflections:

 

As Christian musicians, don’t we want our worship music to represent the completely different-in-kind New Covenant that speaks of the unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace that comes from God’s unconditional-love, which we can all have dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of trusting-relying-faith?  If grace is all about “unmerited, unearned, undeserved, no-strings-attached loving favor,” why then are we referring to Old Testament “spiritual disciplines” like fasting at all, when all these are based on the “merited, earned, deserved, conditional-love” of the Law of commandments, that Paul said in Colossians 2:23 has “absolutely-in-fact-NO value in curbing the indulgence of the flesh, especially since all 613 commandments that were against us were airo lifted up/away and nailed to the cross by Christ per v. 2:14?

 

You need to ask why Christ’s disciples didn’t fast and why Christ’s defense was that you absolutely can’t put new wine into old wineskins or sew new cloth onto old fabric without ruining BOTH – see Matthew 9:14-17; Mark 2:18-22; Luke 5:33-39 and New Covenant – BT7.  Many pastors like Francis Chan have recognized that the oldest New Testament manuscripts don’t teach fasting at all, but that this is simply a “tradition of men” passed on down by the Byzantine Catholic Church.  Is there anything else we are “borrowing” from the Old Testament to build the foundation of The Great Wall quenching the Holy Spirit in the Church today?

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Education, Grace is mostly unique to the New Testament, New salvation by grace opposite from Righteousness by works of Old Law, Working FOR God is opposite of Working With God thru relationship, The Grace & The Truth isn’t the bible but Jesus, Grace by Faith is unique gospel message of the New Testament, The Law study & teaching are now worthless & unprofitable, Only 2.6% of Old Testament used and only to convert Jews, Charis Grace favor comes from God’s agape Love, Blessings NOW by Grace-Love thru koinonia relationship by Faith-Dependence