The Way to God - Jesus. The Way to Jesus - the Cross.

Grace is often defined simply as “God’s unmerited favor.” That definition is true as far as it goes. However, for many readers of Scripture, it creates a tension. If grace is unmerited favor, and Christ is full of grace (John 1:14), does that imply Christ was undeserving? It seems there is no seam by which we can stitch unmerited favor and Christ's perfect holiness together. How can Christ be full of unmerited favor?  That question exposes a seam many of us were never taught to see.  The issue isn’t with Scripture, it is with how narrowly grace is sometimes defined.  Grace Is Not Defined by the Recipient In Scripture, grace does not originate in human need; it originates in God's character.  God describes Himself as “merciful and gracious” (Exodus 34:6). Grace belongs to who God is before it ever describes what we lack . When John says that Jesus is “full of grace and truth,” he is not saying Jesus needed grace; he is saying that God's gracious character ...