1 Timothy 4:10 (NKJV)
For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.
There are two aspects of God’s grace contrasted in our Success Scripture this week; common grace and redemptive grace.
The phrase, “the Savior of all men,” means that God offers salvation to every person, Jew and Gentile alike, and He saves all who trust in the living God. The next phrase, “especially of those who believe,” draws a contrast between God’s common grace to all people and His redemptive grace to those who trust Jesus as Savior.
God’s common grace can be summed up with the phrase, “God is good.” This is confirmed in Genesis chapter 1. After each phase of God’s creation, He called it good, and then in Genesis 1:31, after God finished making everything, He said it was very good. Common grace is God’s goodness that is poured out on people everywhere regardless of their race or religion. God’s common grace includes all His goodness.
Jesus gave a perfect example of God’s common grace in Matthew chapter 5, when He said (in verse 46), “This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty.”
The benefits of God’s common grace are available to everyone, the good and bad, the nice and nasty. Common grace is God’s constant love for all mankind, irrespective of whether they believe in Him or not. Many do not realize that God is involved every time they experience the benefits of common grace. God is involved when you enjoy a meal, laugh at a joke, fall in love or sense fulfillment after completing a project. Technology, medicine, and other inventions are all examples of God’s common grace. The fact that our bodies have an innate healing power is a result of God’s common grace.
Many times we place a higher value on things that cost money, but most of the things that common grace provides are free, such as love, joy, peace, faith, family and friendship. Even the miracle of life itself, both in nature and in humanity, is another example of God’s common grace. Every person, whether they choose to acknowledge it or not, experiences God on a daily basis because God’s common grace provides all the good in life we know.
I first heard about the concept of God’s common grace when I read There is More to the Secret by Ed Gungor. You can order your copy here.
