The grace of God.
Understanding what these four words mean can unlock freedom within your soul, your mind, your body, and your spirit. I know this because I have experienced it. Knowing who God truly is has changed everything for me.
At the very end of his first letter, Peter encourages believers to stand firm in the true grace of God (v. 12). It is easy to move past these words and go on about one’s day, but let’s sit here for a moment. Peter’s story can meet us right where we are.
In Luke 22, we read of Peter’s denial of Jesus. We may think nothing of this as we recount the story, but this moment in time was grim. As Jesus is being taken away to the house of the high priest – right before his crucifixion – Peter denies the fact that he even knows Jesus. Not once but three times. In Jesus’ greatest moments of sorrow, one of his best friends refuses to associate with him. Peter messed up, and it brought him to tears.
I imagine Peter finishing his first letter to the believers, looking back and remembering the words of Jesus in the midst of his painful moment of sin. The words of Jesus hold healing power. Before Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus spoke words of redemption and love over him. He came to Peter, saying, When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers (Luke 22:32).
We find that Peter’s experience with Jesus informed his view of God, as conveyed in his letters. Peter walked with Jesus on earth. He came face to face with God, for Jesus is the fullness of God (Col. 2:9). Peter came to understand the grace of God firsthand. He messed up, and Jesus not only forgave him but gave him a special call to bring the gospel of God’s grace to others. Knowing who God is changes everything.
The grace of Jesus goes far beyond what we imagine or deserve. Jesus and Peter shared a remarkable conversation before Jesus’ ascension into heaven after the resurrection, documented in John 21. In this passage, Jesus shows Peter that He knows him and forgives him entirely. Peter denied Jesus three times. Jesus subsequently called Peter three times to be a shepherd of His church for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Feed my sheep, Jesus repeatedly said.
Jesus did not mark Peter as unable to be used because of his sin. Instead, Jesus used Peter’s life and humanity as an avenue to make His grace evident.
1 Peter 5:10 is Peter’s testimony of how God restored him by forgiving his sin, confirmed his identity as beloved by God, strengthened him to share the Good News of God’s grace, and established him as an inheritance-receiving son of God. This is the heart of God. It was the heart of God for Peter, and it is the heart of God for you.
The biggest thing I have learned this year is that God can redeem all things. Not some things but all things. God can cover my sins entirely and wash me white as snow (Psalm 32:1). No matter how far I run away or how long I am gone, the arms of God are always wide open for me to run back into. The protection of His presence is always available.
Grace by definition is unmerited favor. We do not deserve grace. In fact, we do not deserve anything. But because of God’s mighty and great love for us, He has chosen to give us what we do not deserve. God sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us so that we could be forgiven, made right with Him, and live forever with Him. If we acknowledge our sins to God and repent, He will save us and redeem us of our sins and give us new for both now and forever.
John 3:17 says that God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him. This is love. This is the true grace of God. Someone loves you more than you will ever know, and His name is Jesus. No matter who you are, where you are, or what you have done, the arms of God Himself are open for you to run back into right now. Knowing who God is changes everything.
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Join us as we study God’s Word using the Triumph Over Trials: 1 & 2 Peter study!
Grab your journal today and dive in!
