GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION
Every person has a divinely implanted destiny and purpose, and we can never really be fully satisfied unless we live out that destiny and purpose through Christ.
Ecclesiastes says,
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy]…. —Ecclesiastes 3:11 (AMP)
But there are many things that can hinder or destroy our destiny and sabotage the fulfillment of God’s purposes for our lives! But most believers are usually able to trust God to restore their lives from the consequences related to these kinds of destructions.
What happens if we are the ones who have failed and hindered our own life’s purposes? This is usually where we struggle to trust God.
David, made a really powerful observation:
…Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction…. —Psalms 103:2-4 (KJV)
The Power of Sin to Destroy vs the Power of Grace to Restore
The gospel reveals that the power of sin and iniquity to DESTROY your life, is never greater than the power of God’s love and grace to RESTORE your life!
…But where sin increased and abounded, grace (God’s unmerited favor) has surpassed it and increased the more and superabounded. —Romans 5:20 (AMP)
This truth is so apparent in Paul’s life and ministry because he had firsthand experience of the power of God’s grace on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1–9). Paul wanted to destroy every Christian and was on a mission to do so. On the road to Damascus, he encountered Jesus.
On the road to Damascus, sin in Paul’s life was abounding, increasing and overflowing.
Every person has a divinely implanted destiny and purpose, and we can never really be fully satisfied unless we live out that destiny and purpose through Christ. But Paul said,
…Yet, though sin is shown to be wide and deep, thank God his grace is wider and deeper still! … but now GRACE IS THE RULING FACTOR. —Romans 5:20 (Phillips)
When you trust in the Lord and His finished work, the whole outlook changes! Even in our greatest failures, God’s grace is more powerful to heal, deliver and restore, than the power of sin to hinder, sabotage and destroy! You’re never out of God’s reach to restore you and fulfill His purposes for your life!
Scripture reveals that God has no “expectations” of us, but rather only has an “expectancy” for us.
For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. —Jeremiah 29:11 (AMP)
If God had expectations of us, He would be disappointed all the time. But He only has an expectancy for our gifts, callings and ministries. Therefore, He’s never disappointed in us. He only has hope and is excited for us! God is always ready, willing and able to help us get where we need to go in life, no matter how many times we’ve failed.
God Can Recalculate! I’m glad I have a navigation app on my phone. When driving in unfamiliar cities, I put the address of my desired destination into the app, and the voice will guide me where I need to go. If I take a wrong turn or exit, the app will immediately recalculate and get me back on track.
If we are able to devise an app to help us stay on track, how much more is God able to recalculate our failures to help us get where we need to go in life!
And I am convinced and sure … that He Who began a good work in you will continue … developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you. —Philippians 1:6 (AMP)
Blessings,
Arthur Meintjes
The English language has about 200,000 words, yet one word is missing from the dictionary. That word is hypergrace.
Why don’t we change that? Why don’t we put hypergrace into the dictionary?
Hypergrace is an important word. It’s a unique word. It’s a word many of us love and many more of us have used. Consider these numbers:
A word that has gained so much traction ought to be officially recognized. Right?
Ten years ago, no one was talking about hypergrace. Now it has become a shibboleth for the Christian community. If you’ve heard about it, chances are you have an opinion about it.
Grace like snow
If the Eskimos have 20 words for snow, we ought to have at least one word to describe the extreme and radical grace of God. We need a word to capture what the Apostle Paul had in mind when writing about the abundance of God’s grace (literally super-grace) in Romans 5:17 or his abounding grace (literally hyper-super-grace) in Romans 5:20.
Abounding?! Is that the best we can do? God’s grace is so much more than that. At least it was when Paul wrote about it.
The grace of a limitless God is extreme, super-abounding, and over the top. His hypergrace exceeds your wildest dreams.
So why isn’t this word in the dictionary? Are we trying to minimize the grace of God? Are we embarrassed by the riches of his grace? Do we not want people to know how much God loves them and how amazing his grace really is?
Back in July I submitted “hypergrace” to the Oxford English Dictionary. So far I’ve heard nothing back. (I shared the story with patrons.) But this is the OED we’re talking about. They take years to make decisions.
Not so the Urban Dictionary. I submitted hypergrace on Monday and got an acceptance from the editors within 10 minutes. Check it out here, and give it some upvotes!
I have also submitted hypergrace to several other dictionaries where it is pending review. More on that below.
How to get a word into the dictionary
To submit a new word to a dictionary, you have to provide a simple definition of that word. You also have to show how the word can be used in a sentence. This is what I came up with:
Word: hypergrace
Definition (short): God’s super-abounding favor
Definition (long): The extreme favor of God that extends over, beyond, and above what you can conceive or imagine (source: The Hyper-Grace Gospel, p.12)
Use it in a sentence:
What do you think of my definition of hypergrace? Can you come up with a sharper one? Let me know in the comments below. I would love to hear your thoughts.
What next?
I have submitted hypergrace to six dictionaries. If you believe hypergrace should be in the dictionary, head on over to the following dictionaries and search for it. Words that get searched for get recognized.
If you can think of a dictionary I missed, feel free to submit the word yourself, then let me know about it below. I’ll add your dictionary to the list above.
The hypergrace of God was no secret to the Greek speakers of the New Testament, and it shouldn’t be a secret today. Let’s inject some good news into our language. Let’s encourage the guardians of our lexicons to embrace a big beautiful word that means so much to so many.
Spread the word.
___________
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The validity of the New Testament Gospel message is based upon the crucifixion of Christ, signifying the finished work of the cross.
When it comes to interpreting Scripture, we need to have a Christ- centered view. Jesus, and what He accomplished on the cross, CHANGED EVERYTHING!
When we celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, we must understand that Jesus on the cross changed everything by establishing a new and far superior covenant.
…He [Christ] has acquired a [priestly] ministry which is as much superior and more excellent [than the old] as the covenant (the agreement) of which He is the Mediator (the Arbiter, Agent) is superior and more excellent, [because] it is enacted and rests upon more important (sublimer, higher, and nobler) promises. —Hebrews 8:6 (AMP)
This makes it very clear that Jesus’ priestly ministry is superior, and He is the Mediator of a superior covenant than the Old Covenant!
It is a covenant eternally established and ratified between God the Father and God the Son! An Arbiter is a person who has the power and authority to decide what will be done and accepted, someone with entire authority and control. A Mediator is a person who acts as a guarantee! Jesus, on our behalf, has the authority to decide what will be done and accepted. Furthermore, Jesus is the One who is guaranteeing the terms, conditions and legal requirements of the New Covenant are already fulfilled on our behalf! We don’t have to fulfill any requirements to keep the covenant.
Jesus changed everything, and we are safe and sound through Him!
Under the Old Covenant the promises were dependent upon our ability to perform certain requirements. But
the New Covenant surpasses the old because it’s enacted upon far better, higher, nobler and unconditional promises!
Jesus changed everything, and we are safe and sound through Him!
For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes [answer] in Him [Christ]. For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him [in His Person and by His agency] to the glory of God. —2 Corinthians 1:20 (AMP)
All the promises of God in Him are now YES and AMEN!
Hebrews says that by a single offering Jesus established the New Covenant, which is superior and more excellent because
our sin was eternally taken away, leaving us to serve God with a clear conscience and a promise that He will never again remember our sin! (Heb. 10:14-17)
The Old Covenant was one of fault finding, but the New Covenant is one of justification by faith! In Matthew, Jesus said,…except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. —Matthew 5:20 (KJV) Exceed means to superabound in quantity and quality, to be in excess, or to excel!
What Jesus was saying is unless you have a righteousness that is far more superior than the righteousness of the Old Covenant, both in quantity and quality, you will never enter into kingdom living! Paul said that because of the finished work of Jesus, we are made righteous, a righteousness that is far superior to righteousness under the Old Covenant.
The Old Covenant was one of judgment and punishment, but in the New Covenant, punishment and judgment have been satisfied!
There has always been only one way we can have access to God and confidence and peace before Him—by faith in the finished work of Christ alone! It’s essential that we absolutely know that we are no longer under the Old Covenant. We are now safe and sound in a new, superior covenant of grace through Jesus Christ!
