The Enabling Grace of God

[jriccitelli]

Paidion, do you have some other verse besides Titus 2:1, or something that indicates that 'grace' is some kind of power, or a thing other than just an a quality, or a 'noun'?

[mattrose]

I don't think Paidion is suggesting that grace is a THING that operates independent of the Holy Spirit.

I think he is arguing that the Holy Spirit clearly does enabling work, quite gracefully.

[darinhouston]

I don't think Paidion is suggesting that grace is a THING that operates independent of the Holy Spirit.

I think he is arguing that the Holy Spirit clearly does enabling work, quite gracefully.

That's beautiful.

[RICHinCHRIST]

Paidion, do you have some other verse besides Titus 2:1, or something that indicates that 'grace' is some kind of power, or a thing other than just an a quality, or a 'noun'?

In this verse, Paul equates grace with strength and power.

[Paidion]

How does a person know they are in Christ? And when they are out?

Reading and accepting Jesus' words might help:

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:7-14)

When we are on a physical road, we seem to know whether or not we have stayed on it, or whether we have taken a side path or strayed off it in some other way.
I think we know whether we are on the difficult road which leads to life, or whether we have gotten off it and are serving ourselves.

Yet, we could be deceivig ourselves, thinking we are on it when we are not. On the other hand, we may think we have gotten off it whenever we do something wrong. That is not the case. We get off it when we began to live our lives for ourselves, and not for Messiah Jesus our Lord. How did we become disciples? By repenting (having a change of heart and mind), submitting to the authority of Christ, and becoming baptized. How can we get off the difficult road that leads to life, and cease being disciples? By repenting of our repentance—in other words, turning from serving Him, and begin living self-serving lives once again.

[jriccitelli]

How does a person know they are in Christ? And when they are out?

I recognize the quote/question from another thread months back, but what has this, or your answer, have to do with ‘Enabling Grace’, and whether or not enabling grace is ‘a power’?

[Paidion]

Why should my answer address the matter of whether or not enabling grace is a power? Though enabling grace is involved in the answer, the question was not about enabling grace. You yourself, quoted the question which Homer asked. That's what I attempted to answer.

[jriccitelli]

I didn’t know 'where' you got that quote (above) from, now I see Homer asked that over a year ago in 2011!
Nobody has posted on this thread since then. I looked for this thread because I though we were getting off subject on Matt’s thread Wednesday.

All the things you speak of as being done by ‘cooperating’ with the ‘Enabling Grace’ of God, is really what the Holy Spirit does. And the Holy Spirit is what works through us as we ‘cooperate’ with God.
You often speak of the ‘Enabling Grace’ of God, as if it is an entity of it’s own;

‘Somehow we must coöperate with the grace of God’
‘It is as we work together with Christ, that we will be able to receive the enabling grace of God which will deliver us from actual sin in our lives’
‘If they really mean it, they will call upon God's enabling grace, trusting Christ to deliver them because of His death for that purpose’
‘Christ's sacrificial death has made God's enabling grace available to us to overcome wrongdoing’
‘I have also been saying that salvation does not come to us from "trusting in the finished work of Christ" in order to get to heaven, but that this enabling grace becomes available by repenting’

It was just a very deliberate personality that you 'seem' to put upon grace, to make me wonder what you meant. Then I asked you if that is what you were implying. And you defended this by saying both you and Paul agree Grace is a power;

“Read the following words of Paul and tell me whether he is "dropping a meaning into 'enabling grace'." Is he using the word "grace" to mean "assurance of the cross covering my sin" or does he say that it "trains us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and to live sensible, righteous, and devout lives in the present age"? You say "grace is not a power." It sure seems that Paul speaks of it as a power which trains us to renounce impiety. And did Paul in this passage say that the "cross", the death of Christ, "covered our sin"? I don't think so” (Paidion Sat Nov 17, 2012 Lordship salv.)

Paidion you have also quoted Titus 2 in other threads in order to show us that the grace of God has ‘appeared’, as if it wasn’t Christ Himself, but as if it was something other than Christ Himself.

I understand you think the Holy Spirit is the ‘extended consciousness of Jesus and the Father’, but what a believer cooperates with is the ‘Holy Spirit’, not ‘cooperate’ with Grace, as if it is an entity of it’s own, or something other than God alone, right?

[paulespino]

Hello,
Hi Paidion, I just wanna add these verses and statements. I hope it is relevant to the discussion.

Romans 5:2-4
through whom also we have acess by faith into this grace in which we stand,
Paul said that we stand on the Grace of God, as long as we stand on this Grace we will have enough tools and weapons to use to remain standing against our enemies. It is the grace of God that enables us to remain standing.

and rejoice in hope of the glory of God . 
When Paul said hope he meant that the hope of the christian is to be transformed according to the glory of God, The glory of God is referring to the Image of God or the Image of Christ therefore Paul is saying that it is our hope to be transformed according to the Image of Christ someday.

3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
In here Paul is saying that there is a process before we will be transformed in the Image of Christ and that is we will experience tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Paul's is telling us that we must rejoice because it is our hope to be transformed according to the Image of Christ or become Holy someday.

2Cor 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
God has given us his grace so that we can complete our christian works.

2Cor 3:5
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God
This sufficiency is the grace of God

Heb 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need
it is he grace of God that help us in time of need

[Paidion]

Thanks Paul. The passages you quoted are relevant indeed!