SERVICES: SATURDAY 6PM | SUNDAY 9AM & 10:45AM. 

We Livestream at www.FaithFellowshipWeb.com/livestream, through the FFC App, and YouTube.

The Economy of Grace

Words of Faith Final

The Economy of Grace

Words of Faith 2-8-2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2021

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

www.faithfellowshipweb.com

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

 

Ephesians 3

[1] For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-- [2]  Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, [3] that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.

 

      Paul wrote as a Prisoner.  That was not the reason for his letter.  The reason for his writing was simply the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, which he had lifted up for the first two chapters. Jewish and Gentile believers were being raised to a new plane to be part of a whole new move of God. Paul was writing from prison in Rome, imprisoned because he served Christ, particularly because of his ministry as the apostle to the Gentiles.

      Because of his faithfulness to the stewardship God had given him among the Gentiles, bitter Jewish opposition arose against him. This resulted in his being attacked in Jerusalem and placed on trial in Caesarea and Rome. He was accused of breaking down the "phragmos" or divisions of religion and culture by bringing a Gentile into the Temple in Jerusalem.

      Paul talks about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you. The word here is oikonomia, from which we get the word economy.  It also refers to stewardship, administration, or dispensation.  The KJV translators chose "dispensation," which is a more sacramental sense like that of a priest who dispenses grace. 

      It is probably better to understand Paul as speaking of the Economy of God's grace. Surely you have heard about the economy of God's grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.

       Paul has been talking about the mystery of the economy of God's grace in the previous chapter.  What is the cost of God's grace?  How is it paid for?  In what way is it distributed or dispensed? It is important to note that many false economies are around us, which are not the economy of grace.

      There is a Religious Economy by which you must earn your righteousness before God by good works, rituals, or sacrifice.  In the religious economy, grace may be dispensed by a priesthood.  There is a Social Economy that some subscribe to by which one must belong to the right group, have the right breeding, or even the correct education.  There is a Psychological economy that suggests that you must work to free oneself of anxiety and guilt, often by rationalization or even the conscience's searing.  There is a Worldly Economy through which we gain meaning. You must have things and the admiration of people. Others subscribe to a Secret Economy by which you must know certain secrets in order to draw close to God.

      God's Economy of Grace is quite different.  It is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).   The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). 

      Life is free to you.  It was extremely costly. You receive it by faith.  You cannot purchase, earn or deserve it.

 

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2010, 2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an E-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an E-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -     

The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.