DOMINION MANDATE DAILY DEVOTIONAL
MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2022
THE SPIRIT OF GRACE AND TRUTH
BIBLE READING: JOHN 1:1-17; PSALM 85:10; 89:14; PROVERBS 16:6
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His Glory, the Glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of Grace and Truth" John 1:14(KJV).
The Bible is very explicit in placing Grace and Truth together. As a Christian believer, you can't have the former without the latter otherwise you will go off course. The problem with a major part of our Christianity today is that most of us gravitate more to one side or the other. In other words, the vast majority of us are either primarily Truth people or Grace people which has created a lot of friction in the Body of Christ as though the two are opposites. But, you see, Jesus was full of both. He was balanced in both. He wasn't 50% Grace and 50% Truth. He was 100% Grace and 100% Truth. Grace and Truth must work together to produce a Whole and Balanced Christian Life (Jn. 17:17).
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines grace as "Unmerited Divine Assistance granted to humans for their Regeneration or Sanctification. Biblical Truth is defined as the Knowledge of God's Law and its Application. Both put together simply means "God's Unmerited Divine Assistance to a person for his Regeneration and Sanctification to know God and obey His Laws." Grace enables you to apply God's Truth which you otherwise can't achieve on your own. Grace without Truth is like a sailboat without a rudder while Truth without Grace is like a sailboat with a rudder but no wind. When both are present, the believer will go forward in the right direction (Eph. 4:15).
Grace is not a licence to sin but rather produces Enabling Power for obedience. We see in Titus 2:11-12 how Grace and Truth are inseparable in producing Sanctification in the life of the believer. It says there that "Grace teaches us". That was Grace working with Truth. We also see in Heb.12:28 that Grace enables us to serve God acceptably.
Jesus told us that "The Truth will make us free." (Jn. 8:32)* In other words, Grace SETS us free while Truth MAKES us free i.e., keeps us walking in liberty. Therefore, having Grace without pursuing the Truth of God's Word to live by it will keep us in bondage to sin and satan. On the other hand, having Truth without Grace produces legalism. Grace and Truth came through Christ. (Jn. 1:17). It means that we already received the Spirit of Grace and Truth when we received Jesus into our hearts. Hence, it must be activated by praying in the Spirit and constant Study of God's Word (Eph. 5:18; Col. 3:16).
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us the Spirit of Grace and Truth through our Lord Jesus Christ. Please help us continue to activate and live out a Balanced Christian Life by manifesting both in Jesus' Mighty Name. Amen.
