The Grace of Enablement

Whenever you and I think of the word “grace” we should think of God’s unmerited favor which is shown to us on the basis of Christ’s finished work of perfect righteousness and His sacrificial death. This is what our being justified, or declared righteous, in the sight of God is all about. But what we may not so easily see is that God’s grace is His enablement as well. This grace of enablement relates to your sanctification; your becoming holy and useful to God in service to Him, by the grace which Christ supplies. Our Christian life is not simply that we stand justified in the righteousness of Christ, as great a gift as that is. What we need to understand is that when God calls us into relationship with Himself He has a purpose and a work for us to do; a ministry which He would have us fulfill. And the ministry of each and every Christian to Christ, and to His people in your church and outside of it, is something which requires His enablement. It requires your receiving wisdom to see what you should do and how you should do it. And it requires Christ’s strength to enter into this work of service to Christ; to strive and to persevere in the things that you would do for Him, so that you would see them accomplished to His glory.