Beyond unmerited favor

  • Ephesians
  • 2:8-9: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that
  • not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should
  • boast". 

Equipping for God's purposes


  • 2 Timothy 1:9.

  • 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy
  • life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own
  • purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the
  • beginning of time, 

  • 1 Peter 4:10. 

  • 10 Just as each one of you has received a special gift
  • [a spiritual talent, an ability graciously given by God], employ it in
  • serving one another as [is appropriate for] good stewards of God’s
  • multi-faceted grace [faithfully using the diverse, varied gifts and
  • abilities granted to Christians by God’s unmerited favor]

  • Acts 1:8

  • 8 But you will receive power and ability
  • when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to
  • tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and
  • Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.”

Working in weakness


  • 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. 

  • 9 But he said to me, “My grace is
  • sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore
  • I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s
  • power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for
  • Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in
  • hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak,
  • then I am strong

Transformative power


  • Titus 2:11-12. 

  • 11 For the grace of God has appeared that
  • offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches
  • us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live
  • self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,

Spiritual growth and fruitfulness


  • 2 Peter 3:18. 

  • 18 but grow [spiritually mature] in the grace and
  • knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory (honor,
  • majesty, splendor), both now and to the day of eternity. Amen