Lesson 31 February 22, 2004

 

4.  God presented to this new Free Moral Agent  man,  Truth and the standards He expected of him just as He did to the angels:  Gen 3 [began immediately and has been true all through history.

a.  Because God is truth, His viewpoint, His thinking,  is always Truth.  Jn 14:6;      Jn 1:14

 

b.  He originally revealed His Truth thru direct communication  (Gen 2:16-17).

 

c.  He then shifted to the written record.  Ps 119:160;  Ps 119:142

 

d.  The Truth focuses on the Unique Celebrity of the Universe.   Gen 3:15; Jn 14:6

 

e.  God, being Omniscient and knowing all there is to know about His Creation, designed a policy of Grace to deal with mankind:  

1)  Common grace = provision for both believer and unbeliever  Mt. 5:45;        Acts 14:37

 

2)  Living Grace  or Sustaining Grace - which is designed to provide the physical and spiritual provisions necessary for the believer to advance to maturity, that is to become conformed to the image of His Son.   Phil 4:19;  Mt 6:25-34

 

a)  Living grace also includes deliverance and protection so that we can finish our course  (2Tim.3:11; 4:7,8,17,18).

 

We will be persecuted, but our enemies cannot keep us from the adjustments, only we can.  2 Tim 3:12

 

b)  Living grace will be tested as it was with the Exodus generation. They flunked the test (Ex.17:2,7; Num.14:22; Ps.78:18,41,56; 95:9; Heb.3:9)

 

 

3)  Saving Grace  - which is designed to take an inferior, unrighteous creature who is spiritually dead and make him able to have fellowship with Him without compromising His essence. 

a)  We are called by grace Gal. 1:15  

 

b)  We are justified by grace Titus 3:7

 

 

c)  All mankind are candidates for this saving grace.    Titus 2:11.

 

d)  This grace is realized only by faith  Rom 4:16

 

e)  This grace is not received or associated with our works at all Rom 3:23-24; 4:4-5;  Eph 2:8-9; 2 Tim. 1:9