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Grace in Christianity

For the prayer before meals, see Grace (prayer).

A series of articles on
Grace in Christianity
Part of a series on the
Attributes of God
in Christianity
Core attributes
Overarching attributes
Miscellaneous
Emotions expressed by God

In Western Christian theology, grace is created by God who gives it as help to one because God desires one to have it, not necessarily because of anything one has done to earn it.[1] It is understood by Western Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to people – "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved"[2] – that takes the form of divine favor, love, clemency, and a share in the divine life of God.[3] In the Eastern Orthodox Church, grace is the uncreated Energies of God. Among Eastern Christians generally, grace is considered to be the partaking of the Divine Nature described in 2 Peter 1:4[4] and grace is the working of God himself, not a created substance of any kind that can be treated like a commodity.[5][6]

As an attribute of God it manifests most in the salvation of sinners and Western Christianity holds that the initiative in the relationship of grace between God and an individual is always on the side of God.

The question of the means of grace has been called "the watershed that divides Catholicism from Protestantism, Calvinism from Arminianism, modern theological liberalism from theological conservatism."[7] The Catholic Church holds that it is because of the action of Christ and the Holy Spirit in transforming into the divine life what is subjected to God's power that "the sacraments confer the grace they signify": "the power of Christ and his Spirit acts in and through [each sacrament], independently of the personal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless, the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them."[8][9] The Sacred Mysteries (sacraments) are seen as a means of partaking of divine grace because God works through his Church.

Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Protestants agree that faith is a gift from God, as in Ephesians 2:8: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Lutherans hold that the means of grace are "the gospel in Word and sacraments."[10][11] That the sacraments are means of grace is also the teaching of John Wesley,[12] who described the Eucharist as "the grand channel whereby the grace of his Spirit was conveyed to the souls of all the children of God".[13]

Calvinists emphasize "the utter helplessness of people apart from grace." But God reaches out with "first grace" or "prevenient grace". The Calvinist doctrine known as irresistible grace states that, since all persons are by nature spiritually dead, no one desires to accept this grace until God spiritually enlivens them by means of regeneration. God regenerates only individuals whom he has predestined to salvation. Arminians understand the grace of God as cooperating with one's free will in order to bring an individual to salvation. According to Evangelical theologian Charles C. Ryrie, modern liberal theology "gives an exaggerated place to the abilities of people to decide their own fate and to effect their own salvation entirely apart from God's grace."[7]

  1. ^ "Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life." "Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1996". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  2. ^ Quessnell, Q. (1990). "'Grace'". In Komonchak, Joseph A.; Collins, Mary; Lane, Dermot A. (eds.). The New Dictionary of Theology. Liturgical Press. pp. 437–450. ISBN 978-0-8146-5609-9.
  3. ^ Diderot, Denis (1757). Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. pp. Vol. 7, pp. 800–803.
  4. ^ Fr. Tadros Malaty, The Divine Grace PDF Archived 2021-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ODT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Gregory (Grabbe), Archbishop. The Sacramental Life: An Orthodox Christian Perspective. Liberty TN: St. John of Kronstadt Press, 1986
  7. ^ a b Ryrie, Charles C. The Grace of God. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1963), pp. 10–11.
  8. ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church - IntraText". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  9. ^ "Sacraments". www.catholiceducation.org. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  10. ^ "What We Believe". WELS. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  11. ^ "The Means of Grace". clclutheran.org. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  12. ^ What is a sacrament?
  13. ^ John Wesley, "Sermon on the Mount—Discourse Six", III.11, quoted in "This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion" Archived 2020-08-01 at the Wayback Machine

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