Grace

Bible Study Skills - Grace

Word Study on Grace

Grace is one of the most amazing things about our faith. We think it’s so important for us as Christians to understand and accept the grace of Jesus Christ. Read on, girls! I hope you will enjoy today’s Bible Study Skill!

Ephesians 2:8 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (NIV)

Our foundation as Christ-Followers, is found in accepting the grace of God. What does that mean really? We sing of amazing grace, we hear of grace in almost every Christian song or church sermon, we may say grace before we eat a meal, but do we really grasp the power of God’s grace?

Let’s do a word study of the word Grace.

· Define the word - If your Bible has a dictionary or concordance in the back, look up the word “grace.” (By the way, a “concordance” is an alphabetical list of topics you can find in the Bible, with matching verses for each subject. It probably says something to the effect of God’s free and unmerited favor.)

That’s true, but I still think to fully understand the power of God’s grace we need to dig a little deeper and see the significance of God’s grace in every aspect of our lives. Are you a skeptic like me when someone offers you a “free gift”? I am a read-the-fine-print kind of girl. In this case, the fine print is the Bible.

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Do a Key Word search - Use Biblegateway.com or use a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. Depending on which translation of the Bible you are using, the word “grace” is mentioned over 100 times in the Old and New Testaments. (Almost 170 times in the King James Version.) You’ll find the word “grace” is found throughout the Bible — from Genesis all the way to the very last verse of the entire Bible, found in Revelation!

· Start reading - Start reading some of the Scriptures where you find the word “grace.” Ask questions of the text to understand the who, what, why and where? Of course, you don’t have to look up all 170 verses on “grace” at one time! Take your time and allow the truth of God’s Word to soak into your heart and mind.

· Take Note - As you begin to search the Scriptures for “grace,” God is going to reveal parts of His character and His love to you that will lead you to desire a deeper relationship with our loving and merciful God. Take note of these things in a journal or notebook, so you can pray about them and process your thoughts and feelings.

One of my favorite scriptures about grace is 2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (NIV)

This verse tells me God’s grace is going to be our strength through all of these places in our hearts that seem impossible to mend, and that gives me hope!

As you are doing your word study on “grace,” check out how the Apostle Paul ended each of his letters with a prayer for grace! Share your prayer for this study with us!

• Read Hebrews 4:14-16 at BibleGateway.com. What speaks to your heart most about these verses?

• How does it make you feel to know that you can approach God’s throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace in your time of need?