THE GRACE OF GOD

But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever: Amen (Peter 3:18).

Introduction: Grace is the outward Reflection of The Glory of God. The beauty of God that causes a man to prosper in everything he does. Grace is the beauty of divinity.
Grace is the inner working of God that is seen from the outside. It’s that thing that causes you to move from one level to another. Grace is the favor of God manifested in your life; and that’s why the Bible instructs us to grow in it. Every child of God has received Grace in abundance (Romans 5:17), but the degree to which you let it reflect is up to you. The more you fill your heart with the Word and have the Holy Spirit work in your life, the greater grace will shine forth on the outside.
You can and should increase in that outward reflection of the glory of God in your spirit, to such an extent that others will see it and glorify God. They might not be able to explain it, but they’ll not be able to deny that there’s just something excellent and beautiful about you. In our opening scripture, the Spirit of God through the Apostle Peter admonished us to grow in grace: “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ.” The word “grow” is from the Greek “auxano” and it means to “increase” or “enlarge.” In other words, God wants you to increase in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” For example, when the Lord Jesus was a child, the Bible says he “…grew (increased) and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him” (Luke 2:40). He increased in grace, even as a child thus he had favour with God and man (Luke 2:52)
In the book of Acts, we’re told that Barnabas went to visit certain brethren and saw the grace of God upon them: “…when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and extorted them all…(Acts11:23). What Barnabas saw wasn’t a light beaming out of their heads- He saw the beauty of God, which is the grace. He saw in them the outward reflection of the glory of God. He saw the word working out excellently in the lives of these brethren. This can be your testimony today, as you recognize, take advantage and grow in the grace that’s in Christ Jesus. Scriptural Verse: 2 Peter 1:2; John 1:16; Ephesians 4:7.