(c) Again, Christ's grace, in St. Paul's view of it, was marked by its sin-eonquering power. Besides the great antithesis between grace with its free gifts on the one hand, and the Law with its works and debts on the other, we have in the Apostle's teaching a further antithesis between grace and sin. This antithesis follows of necessity from the former one, for it is the fact of the Law that leads to the imputation of sin (Ro 5'^), and it is the coming in of the Law that causes trespasses to abound (v.*). But that same grace of Christ which rises superior to the Law shows its power to master the sin which is the transgression of the Law. ' Where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly' (ib.). And this superabundance of grace over sin is manifested in two distinct ways : (a) It removes the guilt of sin and the dread conse- quences which flow from guiltiness. This it does by not only forgiving the sinner (Eph 1'), but jus- tifying him freely (Ro S-""), bestowing upon him the gift of righteousness (Gal 2-'), and giving him the assurance that as sin reined unto death, even so shall grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life (Ro 5-'). (^) It breaks the dominion of sin over the sinner's heart. The antinomian indeed may say, ' Let us continue in sin, that grace may abound.' But St. Paul's answer is, ' God forbid ! ' (Ro 6=, cf.
'). The free gift bestowed by the grace of the ■""' ■ ■"' 't an ' abundance of
tilings included in ^•■■itli to sin and a 1 I liat we are not , implies that sin's , and that we have
One Man (5") carries within
grace' (v."). Anf
this abundance of
life unto God (6-'
under the Law, bii
tyranny over us is
been set free from it (v.") for a life of righteousness
and holiness in the service of God (vv.'*- ~).
(d) Finally, we may say that in the Pauline teacliiiiL;- the -race of Plirist, the 'riches of his grace' a~ ive lia\e it iu Kph. (1"), stood for the xtuii-lut.il i.f <iU clii-i.-ili'iii blessings. There is an aliundiince and sii|"'raliuiidance in grace (Ro 5"- ^, 2 Co 4'=). which makes it a stream of endless bene- faction flowing from an inexhaustible fountain. Christ's riches are unsearchable (Eph 3"), but all that Christ is His grace is, for grace is the most essential quality of His being, while He Himself is the very incarnation of everything we mean by grace. We are called by grace (Gal 1"), and jus- tified by grace (Ro 3^), and sanctified by grace (6'''). Through grace also we obtain eternal com-
I
GRACIOUSNESS
GRACIOUSNESS
fort and good hope (2 Tli 2«), and strength (2 Ti 2'), and liberality (2 Co 8'), and happy songs (Col 3'*). And so it was the great Apostle's custom, when he would gather up into a single word all his wishes and hopes and prayers for the Churches, to say, ' The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all ' (2 Th 3« Ro 16" ; cf. 1 Co 16=^ etc.).*
3. The grace of Christ in the rest of the NT.— The material here is very much scantier than in the Pauline writings, but it is quite sufficient to show how deeply tlie great I'auline word had lodged itself in the general Christian mind. It is true that we do not tind grace defined as to its nature by those antitheses of law and works and sin which give the Pauline conception its peculiar colouring, but the word is still used to express the Divine favour as revealed in Christ, and those saving blessings of which He is the Mediator. The chief relevant passages in Acts have been referred to already in connexion with the usage of the Third Evangelist. In 1 Peter we find the grace of salva- tion made to depend on the revelation of Jesus Christ, and associated in particular with the Saviour's suft'erings and the glories that followed them (P""). The author of 2 Peter exhorts his readers to ' grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jeisus Christ' (3'*). In Hebrews the fact that Jesus is our great High Priest is urged as the reason wliy we should draw near with boldness unto the ' throne of grace ' (4"-"') ; and the treading under foot of the Son of God is regarded as equivalent to doing despite to 'the Spirit of grace' (10'"-'). As in the Fourth Gospel apart from the Prologue, so in the other Johannine ^vlitings, love takes the place held by the idea of grace in the Pauline teaching. But the familiarity of the thought of Christ's grace is shown bv its appearance in tlie fuinis nf salutation (2 Jn 3, Rev l'^ ^). And what cunld be more fitting than that the NT as a whole, of whieli grace is the distinctive watchword, and over every page of which we might inscribe the words ' Crace reigns,' should conclude, in the last sentence of the Apoca- lypse, with the benediction, ' The grace of the Lord Jesus be with the saints ' (Rev 22-') ?
LiTKRATURE.— The Lexx. of Liddell and Scott, Grimm-Thayer, and Crenier, s.v. j;«/".- ; Hastings' DB, art. 'Grace'; PRE 3, art. 'Gnade' ; Weiss, Bibl. Thenl. of NT, Index, s.v., but esp. i. 385 fF.; Dieckmann, Die cfiristtichii Lehre von der Gnade (Berlin, 1901) ; Wells, artt. on ■ Grace ' in ExpT, viii. ix. [1897] ; Bruce, Expos. Gr. Test, ad Lk 4", Gaiikan Gusp. oh. ii. ; Dale, Ephesiaiis, ch. x. ; Expositor, i. xii. [1880) p. 86 ff., v. ix. [1899]