So if you would, please be turning
with me to John 1. John 1. John 1, verses 14 through 17.
I'll get there in a minute. John 1,
verse 14. And the word was made flesh and
dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him and
cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake. He that cometh
after me is preferred before me, for he was before me. and of his fullness have all
we received, and grace for grace, for the law was given by Moses,
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Now I want you to hear me out
this morning. Let me finish what I'm going to say. I know I've
said this before that the meaning of grace means unmerited favor
before God, but that's not what the word means. The word means
favor. Now before anyone gets anxious at what I'm saying, men as we
are born in Adam, if we are to seek grace, it will be unmerited
favor of God. There is nothing in fallen man
that would cause God to have favor on him. But there is a
man that had favor in God's eyes. We just read it. Jesus Christ
is full of grace. But hear this passage, Luke 2,
verses 52. And Jesus increased in wisdom
and stature, and in favor with God and man. That's the same
word grace that's used everywhere else. Jesus Christ certainly had favor
with God the Father, did he not? Now, I do not say these things
that I'm about to say to embarrass anyone or to cast anyone away
as a heretic. I simply want to proclaim the
truth of God as it is in the face of Jesus Christ, who is
full of grace and truth. But I've seen some things lately
about provenient grace. Now, let me be clear. Are there
some things as it concerns the grace of God that in time for
a fallen son of Adam that happened before other things? Yes. God
has been pleased to bring about the salvation of his people a
certain way. But let me be clear again. Are
we not saved by the death of his son on that tree? Is that
not salvation? I would have to say that if there
is any salvation, then it would hinge on that. I will speak on
this more a little later. But there are some who want to
talk about provenient grace, grace that comes before grace
as they teach it. I have no doubt that God brings
about in time some things before he does others. But right from
the start, I want to be clear, grace is grace is grace. There is no need for me to give
it another label if God in his word does not give it to us under
another label, if you will. Jesus Christ, as we have read,
is full of grace and truth. I hope that immediately brings
up in your mind this thought, I want to know Jesus Christ.
In light of this, I want to go through the following points
to see what Scripture says about grace, and especially as it concerns
Jesus Christ, because He is full of grace and truth. What does
grace mean to men born of Adam? Where does this grace come from?
What are the effects of this grace? First of all, all men born in
Adam are born dead to God. And I don't think anyone here
disagrees with that. But this passage I'm gonna use,
nothing new to this group, I've used it plenty of times before,
but it's still there. Romans 5.12. Wherefore, as by
one man, that's Adam, sin entered into the world, and death by
sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. But we then read in Matthew,
Matthew 22, 32, it says, and this is Christ speaking, I am
the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead,
but of the living. Men, as we are born, are as dead
to God as we can be. We are D-E-A-D dead. We are not going to search out
God in this state and we can do nothing to change ourselves
from this state. We are dead. Scripture also tells
us that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that's all
it will ever be. There is no part of this flesh
that we are born with into this world that will be made better
or changed. It also says this though, that
which is born of the spirit is spirit. That is all it will ever
be. And that is of the spirit. So
something has to be done for us on our behalf if we are ever
to see God. We must get life somehow and
we can do nothing to affect it because we are dead. It says,
God is the God of the living, but I am born dead. The scripture
tells us in Ephesians 2.1, and you hath he quickened, who were
dead in trespasses and in sins. So there are some for whom God
quickens, or that is, gives life to. We know this to be his elect,
those whom he has chosen from before the foundation of the
world in Jesus Christ. This is certainly unmerited,
unearned grace. And this grace was towards them
from before the foundation of the world. Those who would be
born dead in trespasses and in sin, that is those who have committed
a capital offense against the one holy and just God, these
are shown grace from this God before they were ever even born.
This election was before anyone was ever born. It is called in
Romans 11 5, it says, even so then at this present time also
there is a remnant according to the election of grace. Not electing grace, but the election
of grace. Everything God does toward a
fallen individual is of grace. Romans 9, 11 through 13, we read
of this election of grace. And we read, for the children
being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but
of him that called. It was said unto her, the elder
shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated. I don't know of another way to
describe it other than this, and I'm sure there's others who
could describe it much better than me, but grace is a canopy,
if you will. All those things God has purposed
to do fall under this canopy. It's just, it's favor from God.
Do some things happen before others? Yes, this is the purpose
of God. Man has no strength of his own
to do anything for himself. This means he has no power at
all, but God has all the power. God is not a creature of time,
as we are, but he has been pleased to have things happen a certain
way, and in a certain order, if you will. He, in fact, will
do it his way, and he will have men do things his way. We have
examples in scripture where there were men who did not do it his
way, and God destroyed them. So to some men, grace means absolutely
nothing to them because they never know it. But to a few others,
it is that which God shows to them, which they do not deserve
because of, they do not deserve, but it's because of someone else.
There is no such thing as common grace. The scripture does say
that the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike. So this
is true and I believe that. But this falling of the rain
is for the benefit of those He chose in His Son from before
the foundation of the world. What favor is it that one who
has rain fall on them and help their crops grow and they have
food on their table? That's the indication in Matthew
5 45. It says that ye may be the children of your father which
is in heaven for he maketh his son to rise on the evil and on
the good and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. A
couple of things here briefly. First of all, we do not deserve
God's goodness. There is none just in and of
themselves. So we ought to be grateful to
our God for everything he gives us. Everything that happens or
does not happen, the scripture tells us, is for those who love
him. It is for their good. Who's good? Romans 8 28. And we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God. And here he describes to us those
who love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. God does not love or favor or
have grace on those whom he will destroy. Those who hate God do
benefit from what he does for his people. This is what the
scripture calls the long suffering of God. These things will continue
until he, that is God, brings in his last elect individual.
There is no such thing as common grace. Grace is not common at
all. God does not favor you and then
not favor you. God does not change. In fact,
it only comes from one place and one place alone. And that
brings me to my next point. Where does this grace come from?
So back to our text. and the word was made flesh and
dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. John bare witness of him and
cried, saying, this was he of whom I spake, he that cometh
after me is preferred before me, for he was before me. And of his fullness have all
we received, and grace for grace. That last verse, this is grace
for grace. Is this pervenient grace? No,
this is saying we have received favor from God because of the
favor of God towards his son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Because
it is of his fullness. And what is his fullness? He
is full of grace and truth. Jesus Christ is full of favor
and truth. So what are some of those things
in us receiving of his fullness? Romans 3.24 reads, being justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus. So this can be read this way.
Having been made righteous, that is made completely right by his
favor. His favor through what? The redemption,
that is salvation, deliverance, that is in Jesus Christ. Here
is grace that brings salvation along with it before I or you
were ever even born. Is it not? This provenient grace spoken
of is spoken by men as if it is not a salvific grace, but
it is a grace that comes before salvific grace, if you would,
to prepare an individual for salvific grace. And I don't know
if that's a word or not, but it sounds to me like Jesus Christ
did some saving to me. What does this mean? That is
pervenient grace. It means absolutely nothing because
it is not true whatsoever. Any grace, all grace is salvific
because there is but one grace and that is Jesus Christ. Some
things of grace happen before others, but it is all to the
saving of the soul because we receive this grace because of
him. If there is one part of it that
does not happen, the individual will not be saved, because God
has been pleased to do it all. Romans 5.15 says, but not as
the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense
of one, many be made dead, many be dead, much more the grace
of God and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ,
hath abounded unto many. Grace is favor from God. There
are not many graces. There is one grace, and that
grace manifests itself in many ways to those for whom Jesus
Christ died on that tree, bearing their guilt and shame and taking
the punishment they deserved, and that is seen in his being
forsaken of God. That I cannot explain to you.
All I can tell you to do is believe it, if you can. but then he dying
the death that I should have died and the death you should
have died if you were in him. This gift is eternal life. Ephesians 1, verses six and seven
says, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath
made us accepted in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of his grace. So this leads me to what are
the effects of this grace, or how is this experienced by the
believer, you could say. First of all, let me say, we
as we are born into this world, as I've already shown, are dead
in trespasses and in sin. We are the children of wrath,
even as others. That is, we hate God in our flesh
as much as anyone else. So something has to change and
we certainly are not the ones who will change that. There will
not be any decision making for us because we hate God. It has
to be Him that made the choice. It has to be Him that does the
work. It is all grounded in Him who
is full of grace. And if you would be turning with
me to Luke chapter eight, Luke chapter eight. Verses 11 through 15. This passage we have here is
our Lord explaining to his disciples what this parable means. Parable
of the seed and sower. Everyone knows this here. I know
I've done this before as well. Once I seen some of these things
on Preventing Grace, I was doing some searching and I found a
couple of messages. I'm not mentioning any names because I believe these
to be brothers. When you listen to those message, they'll say
exactly what I'm saying right here. They just put it under
Provenient Grace. Now let's read the passage, 11
through 15. Now the parable is this. The
seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are they
that hear. Then cometh the devil and taketh
away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and
be saved. They on the rock are they which when they hear receive
the word with joy, and these have no root, which for a while
believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell
among thorns are they which when they have heard go forth and
are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and
bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are
they which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word,
keep it and bring forth fruit with patience. Christ tells us
the seed is the word of God. So is there any doubt as to what
is meant by the seed? The sower is not spoken of specifically,
so I cannot say specifically who this is, it's just a sower.
but the important thing is the sower is sowing the word of God. You then have these four different
grounds, and by ground this is talking about men's heart, because
in verse 12 it says, those by the wayside are they that hear,
then cometh the devil and taketh away the word out of their hearts. The first three grounds mentioned,
the word has no lasting effect on those with this kind of heart.
We are all familiar with this kind of ground because all of
us at one time were this kind of ground and may in fact been
all three of these grounds. In our nature as we are born
in Adam, we are still these types of grounds. But there is one
last ground. Maybe not all of us here are
of this type. But this type of ground we must
be if the word is going to have any lasting effect on us, where
we bring forth fruit with patience. Again, ground here is speaking
of the heart. And Jesus Christ tells us himself,
this last ground, are they. So we are talking about people.
But these are they which in an honest and good heart. This is
a heart that is perfect and righteous. It is intrinsically good. You
can look up the words. That's what the honest and good
heart in this passage means. Where did this heart come from?
I'm certainly not born with this heart as I am born from my daddy
Adam's loins. Jeremiah 17, nine says, the heart
is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can
know it? And then in Isaiah 1.6 we read,
from the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness
in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. They have
not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. But we also read in Ezekiel,
Ezekiel 11.19, and I will give them one heart, and I will put
a new spirit within you, and I will take the stony heart,
that is the dead heart, out of their flesh, and will give them
a heart of flesh, that is a living heart. This is that time of love
which God Almighty comes to us in power, and he gives us life
in the giving of this new heart. Can a heart like this be dead?
God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. Although
we were dead, when he finds us as is his purpose to do, then
we live by his power and him giving us a new heart. God's
gifts are not death. They are life because of Jesus
Christ. Ezekiel 16, six says, and when
I passed by thee and saw thee polluted in thine own blood,
I said unto thee, when thou wast in thy blood, live. Yea, I said
unto thee, when thou wast in thy blood, live. I hear some men say when it talks
about this honest and good heart that this is a preparing work
of God in grace for a sinner to salvation. I do not doubt
this is so, and I believe it wholeheartedly. I can agree with
that, but let's just call it what God calls it, the giving
of life to a dead alien sinner apart from any means but himself.
It is not different grace, it is just grace and what God has
been pleased to do in bringing a dead alien sinner to himself.
Without this, we will still be one of these other grounds and
there will not be any fruit to perfection. Jesus Christ tells
us himself in this passage in Luke, he says, in Luke 8, 18,
it says, take heed therefore how you hear. For whosoever hath,
to him shall be given. and whosoever hath not, from
him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have. God
is plain with his word, but it is by grace that we will know
anything of his word. He must open our understanding,
and I pray God does this to me. But he first has to give us a
new heart, a new heart that has life in it so that when the word
is sown, it will take root and begin to grow and will begin
to produce fruit. that perfect fruit which is believing
Jesus Christ. As it concerns this parable in
Mark 4, what does Christ tell his disciple concerning this
parable, Mark 4, 13? And he said unto them, Know ye
not this parable? And how then will ye know all
parables? Grace is always the same grace. Some men may have more grace
than others bestowed on them, but it is all the same grace.
All will come to God the same way, and that is by His power
and grace. There is nothing but light and
life that comes from God for a child of His. The same grace
that raised Christ from the dead is the same grace that gives
us life in this new heart. Ephesians 2.5 says, even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace
are you saved. Quickening is the giving of a
new heart life from God God conceiving us to life we all Here know what
conception is? But then the seed comes and we
are born forth believing that plant It begins to grow and then you
start to see fruit and Ephesians 2 8 says for by grace are you
saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift
of God This grace is given by the measure of Christ that for
which he has been pleased to give us Ephesians 4 7 says but
into every one of us is given grace according to the measure
of the gift of Christ and It is grace that chose us. It is
grace that our Lord came and died on that tree being accepted
of the Father. It is grace that keeps us until
that time of love. It is grace that gives us a new
living heart that is life in Christ. It is grace that sends
us the gospel whereby we can and do believe Jesus Christ.
Acts 15 and 11 says, but we believe that through the grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they. What grace
does, what grace does, God, What grace does God possess that
does not save us? If we lack grace from God, then
we lack everything. The gospel does not impart life
to a dead alien sinner. It does not conceive us. The
gospel brings life and immortality to light. 2 Timothy 1.10 says,
but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus
Christ, who hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel. Once God conceives us in giving
us life, he sends us the gospel, and then we are born forth in
believing the gospel, bringing to light that which he has done
through this very gospel of Jesus Christ and him crucified. These
two things must happen along with everything else that God
has been pleased to do. It is not prevenient grace, but
the abundance of grace. Grace in everything we have been
given, Romans 5.17 says, for if by one man's offense death
reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace
and of the gift of righteousness, that is life, shall reign in
life by one, Jesus Christ. Grace is grace is grace, as they
say. Grace is favor from God. Favor
that sinful fallen men did not merit and did not earn. It has
to be bestowed, and it was for some. Grace is not common, because
God does not favor all men. He only favors those he has chosen
in his Son, because his Son is full of grace and truth. There
are not different kinds of grace. There is not saving grace and
dying grace, traveling grace and formative grace, restraining
grace and overruling grace, and so on. There is, however, and
this is not a play on words, it is simply the truth, and it
makes a difference how you say it and how you think about it.
There is God's grace which saves. It is there when you die. It
is there when you travel. It is a grace that forms a new
heart in you. It is a grace that restrains.
It is a grace that overrules. It is a grace that reveals, and
so on. God does all these things for
those he loves, because if he did not, they would not be saved. If in grace, that is favor towards
fallen sinful men, but if in grace God had not chosen us,
or that is elected us in grace, he would not have saved us by
his grace. All these things must and will
come to pass for the salvation of his people. Election is not
salvation, but unto it. Salvation is in a person. The
work that He did on that tree, that is salvation. But God bethinked
He was not pleased to let us just sit there without knowing
this salvation. Because of the work of His Son,
we are saved. But He in time will let us know
about it, and it must come to pass. Because His grace is in
all things He does, this too is salvation, not a different
salvation, but that one and the same salvation. He chose us in
grace, He restrains us in grace, He overrules us in grace, He
sanctifies us by His Spirit in grace, and He sends us His gospel
in grace. Now especially as it concerns
sanctification of the Spirit, that is seen when He gives us
a new heart, that is life before Him so that we can then see,
hear, and believe His gospel. But especially as it concerns
these two things, we can see these are both for salvation
because we read in 2 Thessalonians 2 and 13, it says, but we are
bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved
of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you
to what? Salvation. Through sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth. two separate and distinct
things intrinsically tied together by God. This is His word, and
that word and in there that ties them together is there, put there
by God. But they both must happen to the saving of the soul because
God said so. We also read this in 1 Peter
1 too, it says, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father through sanctification of the spirit unto obedience
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace unto you
and peace be multiplied. All of God's grace is salvific
grace, although men may want to say different. I know God
tells us this in his word and we just went through it. If God
does not prepare us by giving us a new living heart, then we
will never believe his gospel, because this old Adamic heart
will not believe. All it will do is deceive us.
This leaves me with one last thing to say as it does at the
end of Romans and many other epistles. The grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Thank you, dear Lord, for your
power, your son, dear Lord. Your son is all to his people. May we be found in him, dear
Lord. May you open our eyes, our understanding, that we may
know you. All these things we ask in Christ's
name, amen.