To speak of grace is to speak of the very heart of God’s dealings with us in Christ. Yet the word “grace” is so often repeated, so dulled by familiarity, that its scandal and power are lost on many. But grace is not a mere sentiment or a vague benevolence. Grace is God’s inexhaustible riches, given freely and irrevocably to those in Christ—at Christ’s expense, not ours. If we miss this, we miss everything.
Grace Begins—and Ends—in God
Grace starts with God Himself. All His riches are in Christ, and in love, He has chosen to lavish these riches on a people—the Church. But let us be clear: in gathering this people, God did not search for merit, worthiness, or potential. He found none. All have been judged by God as utterly without merit. Not one was righteous. Not one sought God. All have sinned and fallen short of His glory. This is not a minor point; it is the foundation. If you imagine there is something in you that could attract or obligate God, you have not yet begun to understand grace.
The Scandal of Unmerited Inheritance
And yet, in His great love, God has determined that through faith in Christ, all who believe are not only saved from the penalty of sin, but are brought into sonship and coheirship with Christ Himself. The riches given are not meager or conditional—they are the unsearchable, inexhaustible riches of God, displayed in kindness that will echo through the ages (Eph. 2:7-8). This is not a partial rescue. It is a wholesale transfer: from darkness to the kingdom of the Son, from alienation to adoption, from poverty to the full inheritance of the saints in light.
Every believer in Christ is guaranteed an eternal, incorruptible inheritance—without exception, without regard to performance. You have been qualified by God Himself, not by your striving. You have been seated with Christ in the heavenlies, far above all rule and authority, and blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3; Col. 1:12-13). This is not a future hope only; it is a present, finished reality.
The Finished Work: Nothing Left to Strive For
Here is the dividing line: everything God will ever do for you, He has already done in Christ. There is nothing left for you to earn, provoke, or complete. The Christian life is not a quest to get God to move on your behalf, but an unveiling—by the Spirit and the Word—of what has already been secured for you in Christ. If you are still striving, still bargaining, still measuring your standing by your performance, you have not entered grace. You are living as if Christ’s work were incomplete.
To accept any system that places blessing, inheritance, or security on the basis of your works is to forfeit the rest and assurance Christ purchased. It is to return to futility, to miss the rest and completeness that are your birthright. This is not a secondary matter. If you allow the logic of works to infect your assurance, you undermine justification itself. You trade sonship for slavery, inheritance for anxiety, and the finished work for endless striving.
The Rest of Faith: Freedom from Manipulation and Fear
The result of grace is rest—faith-rest. Hebrews 4 declares that there remains a rest for the people of God, a rest that is entered by faith, a ceasing from your own works because all the works were finished from the foundation of the world. This rest is not passivity; it is the settled confidence that you are complete in Christ (Col. 2:10). It is the end of spiritual manipulation. No one can threaten you with loss of blessing if you fail to perform, nor entice you with promises of greater favor if you “do more.” You are already as blessed as Christ Himself, because you are in Him.
You can say with Paul, “Let no one rob me of my crown or take me captive by philosophy or empty deceit. I am complete in Christ.” The grace person is immune to the threats and bribes of legalism. He is unmoved by the fear of punishment or the hope of meriting more, because he knows that everything is already his in Christ.
Thanksgiving and Awe: The Only Right Response
When you see the scale of what God has done, the only fitting response is thanksgiving and awe. Paul prays that we would be strengthened by the Spirit to grasp the immeasurable dimensions of God’s love and grace toward us in Christ (Eph. 3:16-19). If your vision of salvation is merely “I’ll go to heaven when I die,” you have not yet staggered under the weight of grace. The true knowledge of Christ’s riches leaves you silenced, overwhelmed, and grateful. You see that you are simply blessed—apart from anything you have done or could do.
What Is Lost If We Abandon This Foundation?
If you accept the error that God’s blessings are contingent on your merit or effort, you lose everything. You lose the assurance of your inheritance, the freedom of sonship, the rest of faith, and the very heart of the gospel. You place yourself back under the curse of striving, fear, and spiritual manipulation. You make Christ’s finished work of no effect for your conscience. This is not a minor theological misstep; it is a collapse of the very foundation of Christian life and hope.
The Only Ground: Christ Alone
In grace, everything has already been given to you in Christ—your calling, regeneration, sonship, sanctification, growth, future glorification, and full inheritance. The moment you believe, you become heir, whether you know it or not. This is seen by faith, not by sight. As Robert Capon said, “the saved were home before they even started.” Paul declares, “You are complete in Christ.”
Let no one move you from this ground. Stand in the finished work. Rest in your inheritance. Give thanks for the unsearchable riches lavished on you—not because of you, but because of Christ. This is grace. This is the only gospel. Anything less is not good news at all.
