John 1:16-17 KJV And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Grace, which is the truth, came through Jesus Christ. The “and” there does not suggest they are speaking about two separate things; rather, it is an explanation of the word “Grace.” Grace, which is the truth, came through Jesus Christ.
To provide a proper understanding of what we are looking at, let us read Romans 1:1-6 KJV Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
Do you notice that two words are constant between this scripture and John 1:16? We have received. John says, “of his fullness we have all received,” and here Paul says, “through him we have received grace and apostleship.” This grace and apostleship are for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 13:14 KJV The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
The “and” there is not describing something different; it is an explanation of the grace of God.
The proper rendition is: the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the love of God. The love of God is expressed through the communion of the Holy Spirit with you all. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is the love of God, and the love of God to mankind is the communion, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
That is the expression of the love of God, that we are brought into fellowship with God through His Spirit.
Galatians 1:13-16 KJV For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
Paul was called by the grace of God. He had received the grace of God, and by virtue of that grace, God revealed His Son in him so that he might preach Him among the Gentiles.
We are looking at “Grace for Grace”
John 1:16 tells us that of His fullness, we have all received grace for grace. Some versions say “grace upon grace,” and the Passion Translation says grace is being “heaped upon grace.” God is heaping His grace upon us.
We must understand the dynamics of the grace of God as it touches both our salvation and our calling.
Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Salvation is a work of grace, it is a product of grace. The grace of God is the gift of God to mankind and the foundation of our salvation. No one is saved by works or by their own capacity. In fact, you did not contribute to your salvation, you only came to receive. Sometimes people say, “I gave my life to Christ,” but scripturally, that is not entirely correct. Our lives were not worthy or useful to give. Instead, we received His life. Of His fullness, we have received.
Salvation is the work of His grace, but we do not stop there. After salvation, we keep receiving grace for grace. The life of a believer is a life of grace, if you remove grace, our lives have no meaning. From the beginning to the moment we see Jesus face to face, it is by grace. On this journey, we will constantly be in need of grace.
There is a grace for salvation, but there is also a grace for service. You are saved to serve. No one who has received grace for salvation has failed to receive grace for service. The day you receive grace for salvation is the day you also receive grace for service and grace for growth.
No one is expected to be saved and simply sit down without maturing. You should grow to the point where you sense the need to be of service to the Lord and to the saints.
The grace you encountered was the love of God toward humanity.
John 3:16 KJV
Receiving that love was receiving the grace of God. This grace brought you into communion and fellowship with the Father. Now, you have a right standing, you can relate to God and call Him Abba Father. You do not need a middleman, there is no partition. You have direct access and can come boldly to the throne of grace.
In Galatians 1:15, Paul says he was separated from his mother’s womb and called through His grace. No one is called by their own effort, merit, wisdom, or strength. It is not because you studied at Harvard or Oklahoma that God calls you. In fact, God often likes to use “weak things” to reveal Himself,men whom the world might regard as uneducated.
While a man called without education may later see the need for personal development and self-improvement to fulfill his call, God never calls a man because he is already qualified. God calls the unqualified and then qualifies them.
Paul is the perfect example. He persecuted the church, yet he speaks of being separated from his mother’s womb. This is the grace of election. Even when he was doing what he was doing,God still elected him. Just as the Lord spoke to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5
Paul realized that even while he was doing evil, God had elected him. That calling was through grace,Paul would never have been qualified to be a servant of God otherwise.
The progression of grace is clear, it starts with salvation, moves to growth, and leads to an assignment. Paul was saved by grace and called by grace to reveal His Son in him so that he might preach Him. Your calling is to reveal His Son and to preach Christ.
In Romans 1:1, Paul describes himself as a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, and separated unto the gospel. An apostle is one separated unto the gospel of God.
This gospel, which was promised through the prophets in the Holy Scriptures, is concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 1:5 says, “Through him we have received grace and apostleship.” You cannot receive grace for salvation and claim you have not received apostleship. Every believer who has received grace for salvation has also received the gift of apostleship.
The Passion Translation renders this beautifully:
“Through him a joy-producing grace cascaded into us, empowering us with the gift of apostleship, so that we can win people from every nation to a faithful commitment to Jesus, to bring honor to his name.”
You are among the chosen ones who have received the call to belong to Jesus, the Anointed One. Primarily speaking, the title of “Apostle” is not something to carry on your shoulder as a badge of pride. As a believer, you have received an apostolic assignment; we are an apostolic people. Whether or not you carry the title, you have received grace and apostleship. The word “apostle” refers to one who is sent with the message of the saving grace of God.
The grace of God is the basis of our empowerment to be useful for His Kingdom. If you are saved, you are saved to be an “apostle”, a sent one. There is a version of Christianity that has brought men to idleness, making them comfortable doing nothing. If the gospel you heard makes you feel it is enough to just “go to church” while only the “called ones” work, that Christianity must come to an end.
You are a real apostle if you have a sense of mission for the gospel. There is no such thing as an “apostle of success,” an “apostle of hope,” or an “apostle of finance.” Those are errors born of bad teaching. You are not an apostle of prayer; every believer should pray. You are an apostle of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
While your unique gifts like the grace of an evangelist, words of knowledge, or prophecy gives “color” to your ministry, you are called for one primary thing: the preaching and heralding of the gospel. Do not be distracted. Jesus used the gift of the word of knowledge with the woman at the well, but He never forgot His primary call.
The grace of God is on a mission in your life. It does not just stop at salvation, it prepares you for your assignment. If you are practicing a Christianity that only involves bearing the name, attending service on Sunday, and then ignoring God until the next Sunday, you are not doing well. From His fullness, we receive grace upon grace, meaning we must keep growing. The grace of God should constantly produce a better version of you and bring clarity to what you were saved for.
The grace of God takes away lukewarmness and makes you a man on a mission. God is interested in your advancement. He wants to see you reach a point where you are not just praying for your needs, what to eat or wear, but laboring for the souls of men. As it is written:
Matthew 6:33 KJV But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
This modern Christianity that thinks it can outsource responsibility or that feels entitled and offended when questioned is a far cry from what we received.
The grace that saved us also empowers us, empowering us with the gift of apostleship. Apostleship is about winning souls, establishing men in Christ, preaching, teaching this gospel empowering men and women to walk in the reality of the grace of God.
The moment you got saved, you got called. The grace that saved you is the same grace that called you. The New Testament church is an apostolic church, and we are an apostolic people. Our passion must be to see the gospel preached and lives transformed.
The same grace that saves us also empowers us. You may not be a full-time preacher, but wherever you find yourself, you are meant to carry out your apostolic assignment. Apostles are “sent ones.” If you get a job somewhere, it is not primarily employment; it is deployment.
Deployment is superior to employment. If you have worked in a place for fifteen years and the only record you have is a salary, if no one was saved through you, then you were only employed, but heaven intended for you to be deployed. Every one of us must understand.
Do not let the pursuit of money swallow you. Some people were burning with fire for God in Nigeria, but the moment they stepped onto foreign shores, their language changed. They started saying, “In this part of the world, life is not that hard; you are the one carrying it on your head.” Do not disappoint God. What is on record for your name? What have you done for Jesus?
We are called to preach a Person, not a thing. We do not preach success, we do not preach finance as the gospel. We preach Him.
Galatians 1:16 KJV
An apostolic church is Christ-centered. You must be consumed with Christ. While you may teach finance or career as a pastor or leader to help people balance their life on this side of eternity, those are extracurricular activities; they are not the message. When you stand before Jesus, He will not ask if I taught you finance; He will ask, “Did you preach Him?”
The currency of heaven is souls. Your house, your degrees, your cars, they will not matter. Everything we try to gather, the shoes that wear out, the paint that peels, the cars that get dented, it all speaks of vanity. But what goes beyond this life is the souls of men.
The grace that saved me, called me, and that same grace is empowering me. God will not back out until He has seen you become all He wants you to be.
In conclusion, do not settle for “Sunday-Sunday” Christianity. The grace of God places a weight of responsibility on our shoulders.