GRACE HAS COME TO YOU - PART 5

TUESDAY 09 JANUARY 2024

Reference: 1 Peter 1:10-12 New International Version (NIV)

"Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things."

Today I want us to notice the characteristic attribute or inherent virtue of the Prophets who spoke confidently concerning the GRACE we have today. Having spoken of it, they searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out...!

So what manner of men were they that produced such prophesy? They were not ordinary prophets, considering the fact that they were astute and zealous in engaging such an intent search for more informative analysis - with careful attention. They were wise and intelligent; so they diligently sought to perceive more from God about grace, and the ministry of reconciliation coming soon from heaven.

In a nutshell, they had an extraordinary perceptive in terms of setting about such sense of discerning and incisive search, and I perceive that they were the finest prophets of the Old with sensitive insights. So God worked with their intelligence, by choosing them to speak of GRACE to come, not those who would take the revelation for granted.

Now watch this:

The wisdom of grace is unsearchable and this asserts the basis on which the mystery was testified through the knowledge of the old prophets' election. By this I mean that those prophets were not just brilliant personalities, the purpose of the mystery of grace was to deliver the unsearchable riches of Christ to mankind, which is the manner of the gospel that has come to us. To that effect, Paul said, "To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the UNSEARCHABLE riches of Christ" ( Ephesians 3:8 NKJV).

Grace connects us to "UNSEARCHABLE" riches of Christ. The riches of God's grace came to us, not only in words, but also in power; confirmed by salvation of souls and diverse miracles, and it exerts a powerful operation of righteousness upon the very Christian heart (see Acts 14:3 NIV).

So when the prophets prophesied about GRACE, they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and the power they felt within, gave them so much assurance, which influenced them to make further inquiries, thereby gaining full assent to the revelation they've received, without doubting any part of it. Their further inquiries triumphed over the waves of all disputes, objections or hesitations of the human mind. Beloved, that's the true assurance we always have from the Holy Ghost today.

Again watch this:

According to referenced Scripture, it was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you (which includes "us"; the saved ones), when they spoke of the things that have now been delivered to us by those who have preached the gospel to us through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. What does this statement imply?

Although the prophesy wasn't directly meant for the prophets that revealed it, they still took the advantage of gaining the spiritual understanding and awareness of such an era to come, thereby entertaining the ministry of the Holy Spirit with greater assurance (see also John 16:13 NIV). And in all these things, their inquiries or search showed that they had a great regard for the salvation of mankind. And so, it appealed to their cognizance to perceive more about their prophesy, which wasn't even meant for their sake. Got it?

What about us in today's world? Grace has come and we can receive more and more of it. However, the question is: What are we doing with the grace we have received and continued to receive? If the prophets did more than prophesying about it, then we have the great responsibility to do more with this GRACE given to us in abundance. However, due to the capacity of this article, I will continue this exposition in the next part of the article. Stay tuned...Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Acts 20:24; Ephesians 2:7; Acts 20:32; 2 Timothy 1:9.

Exuberant Declaration:

I exercise my dependence on God's grace on a daily basis and I celebrate my abiding attachment to His goodness and good pleasure with joyous exuberance. Hallelujah!