We read in Scriptures that 'to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it' (Ephesians 4:7) because 'grace and truth came through Christ'. (John 1:17) Grace has been apportioned to each one of us in keeping with the 'calling' we have received. Infact, the 'calling' and the grace to fulfill that 'calling' came together. Therefore, Paul wrote: 'Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among the Gentiles ...' (Romans 1:5) However, it is the Spirit of grace who supplies the grace apportioned to each one of us. And to receive the supply of grace, we first need to be connected to the 'source of grace'. That would be like saying our houses need to be wired and connected to the power grid to get the supply of current! Being 'born again' would then mean to be wired up by the Spirit to receive the supply of grace. Just as we do not store electricity in our homes but draw it from the power grid in real-time, grace too is not stored up but is made available to us in real-time. And just as there would be power outages if the circuit is broken, even so there will be power outages if our fellowship with the Spirit is broken. We rarely fall away from faith, but we do often fall away from grace but it is not as grievous as falling away from faith. 'It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.' ( Hebrews 6:4-6) 'How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?' (Hebrews 10:29) If falling away from faith amounts to insulting the 'Spirit of grace', then being rooted in faith amounts to honouring the 'Spirit of grace', who has laboured hard to root us in this faith. Nothing pleases the 'Spirit of grace' more than faith! Let's not insult him with our faithlessness. However, 'if we remain faithless, he remains faithful for he cannot disown himself.' ( 2 Timothy 2:13) Amen.
Sam Matthews. K
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