Sufficient Grace did not originate with Paul the Apostle. It was there in the beginning of all things, when the worlds were created, before Man was formed from the dust of the earth. Grace raised its head when vegetation was seeded and sprouted and it was increased when the animal kingdom was created. The heavenly sun, moon and stars would give the new earth seasons, light, warmth and gravitational balance. This Grace would allow the plant life to flourish, reseed itself perennially, to cover the earth, to feed the animal kingdom, and to provide for the man that God was going to bring forth.

It was abiding Grace that walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden when God's Shekinah Glory clothed their nakedness. It was Grace that covered their sin and nakedness with the bloody skins of sacrificial innocents. It was Mercy that drove them from the Garden, it was Grace that mantled them with the heaviness of guilt, their need to repent, and the unrelenting ache for a redeemed relationship with God.

Although they had willfully sinned against the commandment of God, and although the works of aging and death had entered their flesh immediatedly as they took of the apple, Mercy had delayed these breakdowns of perfection almost a thousand years during which time procreation established a civilization. And though God's Grace was with Adam, Eve and the spiritual seed bearers of the generations that followed, though this Grace abided throughout their lives and even beyond their deaths, the many remaining heirs followed the way of Cain, becoming a rebellious, wicked and violent peoples.

Today, as then, Grace comes from God alone...

What is Grace? Is it a Spirit? Yes! There is a Spirit of Grace (John 1:14-16. Zechariah 12:10)

Is it the Spirit of Favor? Yes!

Is it one of the seven Spirits of God? Is it the same as the Holy Spirit?

"Sufficient" Grace was bestowed upon Paul (1 Corinthians 15:10), therefore Grace is not given in the same way that Mercy is given, Grace is "bestowed."

Grace is undeserved, unearned, unmerited favor. It is the spirit of favor with God and man. It was first manifest in Creation and has filled the earth since then, increasing during the Church Age, doubling and tripling today as men all over the world come in droves to Jesus Christ for salvation.

Grace is not the same as Mercy. Grace can be bestowed without petition. Mercy is nearly always in answer to fervent prayer, repentance, petition or Covenant. And while Mercy is often measured by the Mercy the repentant has shown to others, and released as needed, Grace is bestowed by God alone for a duration. Men cannot duplicate Grace, men cannot feign its power. Nor can men confine it, limit it or restrain it with their lies and greedy corruptions. Grace is the one mystery that belongs only to the believer and it comes from God alone.

This is what separates the believers from the unbelievers - this great and wonderful Grace we cannot describe yet are bathed in. What joy and what peace comes in the arms of Grace to fill our todays and all our tomorrows.

The Grace of God moves men of faith and the faith of men moves God...

Grace is spiritual and personal. It is not tangible, you cannot put a suit on it and a hat on its head. One cannot describe it yet it can be seen in the treasured relationship one has with God for it is akin to joy. It is like the fresh watering dew that falls in the night and is there in the morning to greet us. Like Mercy, it is abundantly new every morning. Grace is a personal encounter with the revealed will of God. Grace is love manifest through obedience to the will of God...

Jesus came in the fullness of "Grace upon Grace" (John 1:14-18), being in the "bosom of the Father," the heart, life, love, wrath and sum of God's existence. Jesus rested there, dwelled there, this beloved Son who was full of Grace upon Grace declared Him as "Father" and said to the ages of the worlds, "If you have seen me you have seen the Father, for the Father and I are one."

People see Him as a loving Savior who would never send anyone to hell. They are right, of course. Neither Father nor Son would ever send anyone to hell. In fact, they have done everything possible to keep men out of hell. A bloody sacrifice on a Roman Cross was the price paid and it was paid in full. Consequently men take themselves to the fiery depths of hell, by choice, a choice they make in their journey in this life.

The death and shed blood of Jesus Christ draws a sinner to seek reconciliation with God. This is accomplished through a circumcision of the heart and a yielding to the Holy Spirit. The Resurrection of Jesus transforms the sinner into a born-again regenerated soul with a sure and eternal salvation, in the promise of a sure Resurrection in Christ Jesus.

We are reconciled unto God by His death. The veil was rent, the partition was torn down, and we come to the Throne to obtain help in time of need. We are saved by God's Grace through our faith. It is impossible to save ourselves, it is rather a spiritual deliverance, a deliverance by the Grace and powers of the Almighty, lest any man should boast against Him and incur His wrath against all men. We cannot purchase salvation, we cannot earn salvation, we cannot coerce another to favor us, we cannot plead with angels to save us. There is only one way. It is the way of the Cross and the empty tomb...

When we were saved we received the fullness of Christ Jesus, including the fullness of His Grace upon Grace. We entered into this fullness by faith. Much more so, enhancing our standing in this Grace (Romans 5:2), is the joy and benefit of the indwelling Holy Ghost who will never leave us nor forsake us, even through the grave. He is the oil of our lamp, the light unto our path, the deliverance from the wrath to come. He is the way, the truth and the life that is paved with Grace - Grace - Grace unto it...

Grace was bestowed for the needs of the Prophet, the King and the Priest in the Old Testament. Today we have the fullness of God's Grace through Christ Jesus. Because of Grace we do not fear what men can do to us. In the Spirit of Grace we wait patiently for the redemption of our bodies. In the reverence of Grace we forgive all others who trespass against us. In the hope of Grace we trust, we obey and we endure.

Grace is measurable. It can be a little, it can be sufficient, or it can be a lot. It can be "more Grace" (James 4:6) or it can be "abundant Grace" (Romans 5:17). We seek favor at the throne of Grace, in the faith of Grace, and we seek it from the Spirit of Grace. If Grace sits on the Throne then Grace is the essence and fragrance of the Holy God, the very presence of God perfuming and preserving the lives and servitudes of men with favor and kindness.

What a treasure to hold dear, what a Savior to cherish above all others. What a Spirit of Grace that abides...