Extraordinary Grace, Ordinary Means

There’s nothing ordinary about grace. The Greek word charis, translated “grace” or “favor,” is used so often in the New Testament that we might begin to think it’s commonplace, but nothing could be further from the truth. The New Testament contains the unveiling of God’s grace in the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, beginning an epoch often called the “Age of Grace.”

At the Incarnation, John the Evangelist wrote that “from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16). Paul told Titus and his congregations in Crete, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men…” (Titus 2:11). In another place, Paul calls God’s work in believer’s lives “the surpassing measure of God’s grace” (2 Corinthians 9:14). Based on Romans 5:20, the Puritan John Bunyan referred to his own conversion as “Grace abounding to the Chief of Sinners.” Some of the greatest hymns of the faith refer to the astonishing nature of God’s grace – “Amazing Grace,” “Grace, Greater Than Our Sin,” “Wonderful Grace of Jesus.”

Here's the point: there’s nothing common, nothing “ho-hum” about divine grace. It’s not something that elicits a yawn or a “so what?” God’s grace evokes awe, wonder, worship, and devotion.

The Parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15 may be one of the most compelling metaphors for God’s surpassing, all-encompassing, extraordinary grace. The Father, though rejected, despised, forgotten, and insulted by his own son, waits day after day, watching for his return. And when the son finally comes to his senses, pledging to return and be a household servant, the Father accepts him with open arms, gives him a robe and a ring, and brings him into a family celebration that is unprecedented in its joy and mirth. That’s extraordinary grace!

In the apostolic age, before the completion of the New Testament, signs and wonders accompanied the message of Christ and the cross, confirming the word of His apostles (see Acts 14:3; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Hebrews 2:4). According to Luke’s account, Paul was granted to do “extraordinary miracles” in Ephesus (Ephesians 19:11-12). At this time, the message of extraordinary grace was accompanied by extraordinary signs.

But even as this was happening, the apostles demonstrated their confidence in the ordinary means of grace. Perhaps “ordinary means of grace” is a new term to you. Question 88 in the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What are the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption?” The outward means are to be distinguished from the inward means. Christ communicates inwardly the benefits of salvation through our regeneration, justification, and progressive sanctification by the Spirit. Concerning the outward and ordinary means, the catechism answers, “The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption are, his ordinances, especially the Word, Sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation.”

We could put it this way: God communicates His grace directly to us through the preaching of the Word, individual and corporate prayer, the Lord’s Supper, and baptism. Isn’t this what we find the early church “devoting” themselves to in Acts 2:42, 46-47? Weren’t Jesus’ final commands clear and surprisingly ordinary? “Go…make disciples…baptizing them…and teaching” (Matthew 28:19-20).

There’s much more to consider concerning the “ordinary means of grace,” but we can pause for now and meditate on this question: “If the Word of God, prayer, and the ordinances were enough for the early church, aren’t they sufficient for the church today?”