Acceptance Grace is the way we relate to God, namely through the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ on our behalf.

This component of grace is the foundation of the gospel. Grace came in the form of a person, namely Jesus Christ. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17 NKJV, emphasis added) The law was given from a distance (impersonally), but grace came personally and dwelled among us.

The apostle Paul took great care to build his gospel on the foundation of grace (who is Christ) in all the early churches: According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 3:10-11 NKJV)

We ALWAYS need to relate to God in this way, because this is the only way that He relates to us. Empowerment Grace is that supernatural enabling which allows us to do things that would normally be beyond our natural ability or effort.

As we are swallowed up by God’s amazing grace and we begin to get rid of the “I have to” mentality, we find a breathtaking “I want to” attitude that begins to rise up inside us, which is of course the Holy Spirit communicating His desire to live through us, endowing us with all of heaven’s infinite resources and aspirations.

We are the vessels through which God wants to show Himself strong; we are the channels through which He wants His power to flow; we are His conductors through which heaven invades the earth, allowing the Father’s will to be done in this broken world. This is the essence of Empowerment Grace.

Ander Merwe