The Nature of Special Grace

Last time we looked at the subject of common grace. This is the grace that is bestowed upon every single human being who has ever lived. It is the unmerited favor of God in his creation. He allows all people everywhere to live and enjoy the world and all of its blessings even when they are in rebellion against him. Even though according to Scripture we are all born dead in our trespasses and sins, living according to the course of this world and indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind (Ephesians 2:1-2), God extends common grace to us. This form of grace is wonderful and incomprehensible, yet it still pales in comparison to the second form of God’s grace that we are going to discuss today.

Today we will look at what is called Special grace. Special grace is the grace by which God saves, sanctifies and glorifies his people. I do believe this type of grace is biblical also and we will see from scripture why this is the case. Unlike common grace, which is bestowed upon everyone, special grace is only bestowed upon those whom God has chosen from the foundations of the world

Ephesians 1:4 ~ 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love.

There are several aspects of special grace revealed in scripture. First, we see that this “special” grace is received through faith. We see this in Ephesians 2:8-9 when Paul says, “for by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

We also see that it is the basis for salvation in Romans 3:24-25 when it states, “Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed.”

We also see that it is undeserved in Ephesians 2:8-9 when it says, 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not of works, so that no one may boast. 

We see that it is neither cheap nor costly but that it is free according to Romans 6:23 when it states, 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The final aspect of special grace we need to consider is that not only are we saved by grace but that we are to live by grace. In Romans 5:2 Paul tells us this when he writes concerning Christ, “through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. Ephesians 2:10 goes on to state, 10 "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do".

This special grace should cause the believer to be humbled understanding that their salvation was a work of God, not their own. It should also drive the believer to fervent evangelism understanding that God will bestow this grace upon those whom He has chosen, and He has called the believer to be the instrument through which the gospel message is delivered.

Next time we will close out our examination of grace by looking at Prevenient grace.