Part 1
I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ
1 Corinthians 1:4 KJV
Whatever we have received or become in Christ are nothing but the consequences of the Grace of God. The grace of God is the disposition of God to give unreservedly to the undeserving; it bestows on us the riches, the goodness and blessings of God that in turn evoke gratitude and thanksgiving.
There are many ‘types’ of the grace of God in the Old Testament. In 2 Sam 7:1ff, we are able to glean much about the grace into which we are called from this episode in the life of David. King David, a type of God as king, the sovereign, who owns all things and under whose authority all resources are dispensed, declared, “Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Although Saul did not deserve the least of mercies from David, yet David called out to show kindness to any of his sons for Jonathan’s sake. Saul was an avowed enemy of David. Saul never imagined anything good toward David. He sought every means to kill and utterly destroy David. His household continued to remained enemies of David. But David thought to show anyone who was left among the sons of David the kindness of God.
Please note that what David sought to do was to show the kind of kindness God would have shown, hence, the kindness of God.
Mephibosheth who became the beneficiary of this kindness was not deserving and at all qualified. He was not fit to be in the palace of the King of Israel because he had blemishes; he was crippled in both feet. How could such a person be present at the table with the princes of Israel? In the minds of some of David’s chiefs, it was wrong to show kindness to the house of Saul, that Mephibosheth would be the beneficiary was worse. But David elevated this man to sit with princes and nobles in the palace. He would now eat with the King continually. He needed not worry how the provisions would be made; he did not need to worry about the next meal. All he needed to do was to be available at the table! Everything was already prepared and provided for Jonathan’s sake.
Jesus Christ is our ‘Jonathan’. For His sake we are able to sit with God the Father, and enjoy all His goodness. Just like Mephibosheth, we do not have to worry about our spiritual sustenance… all we need to do is to come and dine with Him in fellowship, follow His Spirit and obey His word, this way we cannot be shaken.
This is the picture of the grace of God that we are considering. Whatever Mephibosheth became or possessed after he was shown kindness could not be attributed to his schemes, efforts or any personal attributes. If we ever desire to achieve anything in the Lord, it will be because we have received His grace into our lives. Just like the Corinthians were enriched in all things as a testimony of Christ among them, we also would be supplied all that we need to stand and continue in the will of God all the days of our lives. To this God is faithful (1 Cor 1:9). Praise the Lord.
By His grace God has called us: ¹ to be saints and ² into the fellowship of His Son and to Apostleship3. Concerning this call, the Lord Jesus in several, especially through parables, illustrated the grace in being called by God. Simply, our call is God’s invitation, but not by merit. Ironically, in the parables of Jesus, those who were invited because of some merits rejected the invitation. those who eventually heeded the call were unqualified. So it is clear that our invitation by God is not because of any personal or individual merit but God’s own desire to admit us as His own not regarding our conditions. Many are called, few are chosen… only those who accept God’s invitation; that is His basis for admitting His saints, is by faith and not any effort on their own part.