The Measure of Grace
“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Ephesians 4:7
Does every believer receive the same amount of grace? Paul’s statement indicates that grace is given by God as a believer needs it. God doesn’t give us tomorrow’s grace today, but He always measures out the appropriate amount for today’s needs. When God saves a sinner, it seems to me that He has given an enormous amount of His grace to receive that sinner into His family considering that it cost Him the suffering and death of His Son, Jesus Christ. We call that “saving grace”. Believers also require sustaining grace as they live out their daily lives. There is another kind of grace supplied when standing against our adversaries, and another when facing death. No two people are exactly alike and neither are two believers. Each has his or her own battle to face while living on this earth, and God provides His grace freely and generously as the needs arise. Each believer should be extremely grateful for the grace which the Lord provides and not concern himself or herself with the quantity of grace that others receive. God has plenty of grace to give as He sees fit.
In verse 8, Paul quoted King David’s prophecy from Psalm 68:18 which foretold of Christ’s ascension back to His Father in heaven after His resurrection in which He led all those originally captured by sin, death, and Satan, but who had believed in God’s promise of a Savior, into eternal life, and Christ will also bind Satan and his demons into captivity for all eternity when He returns to claim His church. Jesus also provided gifts to mankind, chiefly spiritual gifts, grace, and abilities to carry on His work until such time as the Father releases Him to return to earth as King and Conqueror. Jesus said in John 15:5 that without Him we can do nothing.
In verses 9 and 10, Paul gave a parenthetical statement in referring to the prophecy that King David had made in foretelling of Jesus’ ascension back to heaven: (“Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above the heavens, that He might fill all things.) His ascension indicated that He had first descended from heaven to earth, His incarnation, as David wrote in Psalm 139:15, describing Jesus’ birth as “made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth”. Some scholars believe that David’s prophecy represented Jesus’ death and burial before His return to heaven. Still others believe this prophecy tells of Jesus’ visit to the Paradise side of Hades, the place of the dead, to free all those who had believed in God’s promise of a Savior and release them for heaven. In this scenario, it was necessary to present Himself to the Old Testament believers as the One who died to forgive sin. They had died believing in the promise and were given visible proof that God provided for them a Savior in His Son.
I don’t think that we believers fully appreciate the grace by which God saved us and sustains us 24/7, 365 days a year. I know that we don’t understand why God would be so generous and good to us when we don’t deserve His grace, but isn’t that what grace is, the unmerited, undeserved favor of God? For that, I am eternally grateful.