We Can Rejoice in the Lord Because We Are Partakers of Grace

(Philippians 1:6)

Review

• We are involved in a series of lessons in the book of Philippians in which we are discovering 20 reasons why we can rejoice in the Lord.

• We are undertaking this series of lessons so that we can:

– Illustrate just how wonderful it is to be a child of God

– Increase our resolve to be faithful to the Lord– Improve our ability to let our light shine

Review

• In our first lesson, we learned that we can rejoice in the Lord because we are saints!

• In our second lesson, we learned that we can rejoice in the Lord because God works in our lives!

• In this our third lesson, we will learn that we can rejoice in the Lord because we are partakers of His grace!

Partakers of Grace!

• What Is God’s Grace?

• How Do We Receive God’s Grace?

• How Can We Grow in Grace?

What Is God’s Grace?

• There are four meanings for the word “grace” in Scripture.

– Elegance or beauty in form, manner or motion (Proverbs 1:8,9; Ephesians 4:29)

– The granting of mercy, clemency or pardon (Ezra 9:8,9; II Corinthians 12:8,9)

– Demonstrations of favor, especially made by a superior (Acts 4:33; Colossians 3:16)

– An undeserved, unmerited free gift (Romans 5:15; Ephesians 2:4-7; II Timothy 1:8-10)

How Do We Receive the Gift of God’s Grace?

• The general answer to this question is that we receive the gift of God’s grace by means of FAITH. (John 1:12; 5:24; 11:25,26; Eph. 2:8; I Timothy 1:15,16)

• The specific answer to this question is that we receive the gift of God’s grace when we express our faith by way obeying God’s commands. (Mark 16:15,16; Titus 3:3-7)

How Can We Grow in Grace?

• By Pruning (John 15:1,2; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 4:17-24; Colossians 3:5-10)

• By Producing (Galatians 5:22,23; II Peter 1:5-11)

• By Protecting (Ephesians 6:10-17)

Reasons to Rejoice in the Lord Concerning God’s Grace

• We can rejoice in the Lord concerning God’s grace because:

– We have received the beautiful gift of salvation.

– We have received something that we could not possibly have earned on our own.

– We can grow in it, which means we can deeply enrich our lives.