15. Grace

I should learn not to present to you a pre-conceived path for what will be written next, because Our Glorious Salvation remains writing to teach. Which then means there is so much more that I must learn in order to teach.

The third lesson of “Knowing the Father” I have titled “Form and Flow.” But in writing that lesson, I introduced the meaning of GRACE. And then was stopped short – because I see so much more than what I know. If you look across all my writing, you will find little on “grace” as a topic, no real definitions, but only bringing it in as peripheral to some other topic.

Reasons for My Ignorance. There are a number of reasons for this lack; the largest being my complete ignorance of God and of our Glorious Salvation. Another reason is the definitions created by the thinking of Nicene Christianity, illegitimate definitions that come, not out from the context, the ONLY source of real definitions, but rather, out from a hatred for the way God made us. Then, even inside of present grace circles, as in The Hyper-Grace Gospel by Paul Ellis, those same off definitions remain, even inside of a much greater faith in what God says.

But the third reason is the most important, and that is that, up until now, God has not anointed me to seek from Him what He means by GRACE. – The time of that seeking and that anointing is now.

An Explosion of Grace. When I came to the place in “Form and Flow” where I needed to define “Grace,” something happened that I had sort of hoped would happen. Grace exploded in size in my seeing, far beyond anything I have ever known. Grace became as big as the biggest verse in the universe – FILLED with ALL the FULNESS of GOD!

And suddenly this lesson, “Form and Flow,” became the single most important lesson in the entirety of Our Glorious Salvation, and it is essential to everything going forward that I have a further definition of Grace than I could possibly write in the present moment. And so I am thrust back into writing to learn.

Laying out This Zoom Session. Then I looked again at The Jesus Secret II, at the pages I have added and must yet do in 2 Corinthians and Romans. In looking at those pages I remembered this fact, that a True knowing of “GRACE” does not have the place it must have in our speaking of Christ. And then I saw that six of those pages are perfect for adding in each one a box declaring six different qualities that are Grace. I like seven, however, and so the seventh must be the inclusion of Zechariah 4, the Capstone, shouting “Grace, Grace,” upon God’s dwelling place. In this session, then, we include the portion of “Form and Flow” up to needing a definition of Grace, followed by “A Living Grace.”

8.3 Form and Flow
The words “form” and “flow” could refer to God by Himself or to us by ourselves. Our ultimate relationship with God then requires a togetherness. Thus form becomes symmorphy, sharing the same form, and flow becomes synergeia, sharing the same flow of energeia together.

Yet we still benefit from the simple terms of form and flow, because in these are the two parts of everything that lives, the two parts of Life. In this relationship, we have the form that, shared with God, makes God’s form visible. And God has the energeia, shared with us, that enables our energeia to bless others.

Perfect Compatibility. Our compatibility with God could not be more perfect. God designed us to be exactly what He needs, in fitting us to Himself, in order to be seen and known by all, to touch and bless everything in creation, heaven and earth. At the same time, all differences that do exist between God and us, two entities that are very much not the same, are resolved fully by Christ Jesus, whose connection with both the Father and us makes our weak humanity and God’s divine power to fit and to flow seamlessly.

This ability of Jesus is especially miraculous and displayed at its greatest achievement inside the joining of Will with will, of Choice with choice, of Desire with desire, that is, peace. Through Christ Jesus, the Father and we are one.

The Outward Flow. In the last lesson, “Source and Likeness,” we looked at the movement taking place inside our own beings, from Father arising in our hearts, through our soul shared with Jesus, to the Kindness and Compassion of God on our face and through our touch. In this lesson, we want to know the Father inside the outward flow, every next step shared with God, that is, the Kingdom.

In short, we know someone else best when we do many things together over the years, which is actually the story of our lives. Every moment since we asked Jesus into our hearts, we have shared all with God and God with us. It took the skill of the greatest Craftsman to bring us to know what has always been True, to know that our Father has always shared all with us.

The Ark of the Covenant. The single most important metaphor in the Bible of this relationship each one of us shares with God our Father is the Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat upon it. And the single most important picture of God as He is with us as we are, in the Old Testament prior to the Lord Jesus in the New, was the Ark of the Covenant resting on the shoulders of four men standing at the bottom of the Jordan, the lowest place on earth, holding back the waters of death until every little one who belonged to God had passed through death into the Promised Land.

You see, God first shares our own interests and doings with us that we might reciprocate, as we desire, in sharing God’s interests with Him.

“This Is Me.” And God has one overwhelming interest, which is to place Himself beneath of all, to hold back all that destroys, to seek and to save what is lost, and to endure until every little one who belongs to Jesus has entered into all the life of Christ.

This same God turns to us and says, “I love sharing all things with you that you enjoy. In like manner, you love sharing all things with Me that I enjoy. This is Me, this Ark of the Covenant making the way open for all, enduring until all are safely through, this is Me.” And He says to us, “Know Me as I am; share all the doings of My own Heart together with Me. You walk with Me and I with you, inside of and as one another. Our knowing and our doing are always shared together.”

Life-Unfolding. We know the Father, and He knows us, inside the action of every next step we take together, in every ongoing moment. We know the Father inside of and as Life, age-unfolding.

~ Living inside of Jesus is my Way to connect with the Father sharing my life with me. Jesus living inside of me is the Father’s Way to connect with me sharing His life with Him, that God might enter creation through me. Life itself is my Way, moment by moment and step by step, not ‘to’ something, but rather life-unfolding, the living and dynamic expression of God-with-me unveiled new every morning forever. ~

This is the context. And now we want to explore the wondrous reality of knowing our Father as we have come to know Him inside all Completion, and as the unfolding of the Kingdom.

The Circle of Grace. Again, our interest here is not the practicality of every next step we take with God, but rather the knowing of one another that occurs in and because of that next step shared together. Let’s bring in a ruling verse that shows us what we want. – Good grace and thanks be to God, who always leads us in the triumphal procession inside of Christ, with the aroma of His knowledge being made visible through us in every place. For of Christ we are a fragrance to God – inside the saved.

One word describes the totality of knowing the Father inside every next step He and each one of us take together; that word is Grace. Notice the complete circle, from our Grace to God, through God’s Grace with us, to Grace being known everywhere, back to our Grace to God through others.

What Is Grace? Covenant is God towards us, Jesus having come into union with us first to enable us then to be in union with Him. This Grace is Kingdom, not Covenant, though it always comes out from Covenant. But we see that every next step begins, not with God to us, but with us to God. The Greek reads thus – Eucharist be to God. Every next step begins as you and I giving good Grace and Favor to God.

Covenant, then, is God liking to be with us, Himself gifted utterly, and Kingdom is us liking to be with God, gifted utterly in return. The Eucharist, speaking good Grace, is our response to God out from the life we share together. What is Grace?

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“Defining” Grace. At this point, we return to the pages for The Jesus Secret II. How do we even begin formulating an understanding of Grace as God-with-us? The primary meaning of Grace is that it is a living thing. Living things are much more complex than mechanical things. I must start with “A Living Grace.”

If we bounce around, the non-completed JSII pages give us a path forward. So we have these boxes from six different pages. “A Living Grace,” “The Aroma of Grace,” “The Celebration of Grace,” “The Favor and Generosity of Grace,” “The Devotion of Grace,” and “The Return of Grace.” “A Living Grace” fits on the JSII page for Romans 8:2, and so we must begin with the law of the Spirit of Life inside of Jesus.

I Live in the Law of Life. The law of the Spirit of Life inside of Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Or we could say it this way. – The Tree of Life has made me free from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Or – Grace has made me free from the old covenant. Or, better yet – Living in Jesus has made me free to live in the knowledge of all the Life of God.

And this is the “problem” of redemption. Redemption is an escape out from, but Salvation is a release into God. As long as our eyes were upon that from which we were escaping, they were not on that into which we were being released.

Grace Is – . Living now inside of All-Salvation, we consider the law of sin and death no more. Being made free, then, means free to know God, free to connect with everything in God we find. “Knowing” God, however, is not mental, but vital.

We are reaching for essential definitions. We use words, actually, even when having little idea as to what they mean. An essential definition requires a brief phrase that conveys to one’s inner knowing the essence of what is meant. Most words then require an expansion of meaning from that essence.

So – grace is “life shared together.” This meaning is required by the Gospel instruction that we are to give grace to God, that is, give thanks. Thanks is a gift in return. Thus grace must be a continuous shared giving.

“Unworthy” Grace. Now, most evangelicals define grace in this way. “I ‘get to’ ‘go to’ heaven when I die even though I ‘don’t deserve’ it (that is, I deserve hell), but – I must also obey in some way.” And so the “get to” is the gift part, but a gift received only in the moment of death, with the modifier of “don’t deserve.”

God requires us to SEE the Salvation of God – (and shut up about ourselves.) Whereas the definition “unmerited favor” places yakking about self FIRST – and God becomes distant. Some also define grace by the context of some verses, and that is a present “divine enablement,” also called the anointing, something given from God to us, but still, separate from God. Thus in all this, “grace” remains a description, an adjective, and not something in itself.

Expanding the Essence. When we say that grace is “life shared together,” we are placing grace as something in itself, something very real, very God, very us, and very now. Then we see that these three words, though they capture the essence of grace, must be expanded.

The word “life,” however, is as difficult as grace to define. But grace is not “life” itself, rather, it is the word “shared” that carries the central meaning, for “shared” conveys the meaning of gift; grace is a reciprocal and continuous gift. The word “together” is simple. It means two or many together as one. It means proximity and reciprocity. The word “shared” we will develop through these pages. Romans 8:2 requires, then, a definition of LIFE – before it is shared.

What Is Life? We begin with this. ~ Life is an action that shows itself in two ways. First, there is movement taking place inside of a form, and second that form moves from one place to the next. We could say that life is “fluid,” within and without. ~ When we think of “life,” it is best to think of a single living and independent cell, such as an amoeba.

Now, internal movement is with purpose, but without desire. Internal movement has two primary purposes, first to sustain and second to cleanse. External movement is also always with purpose, yet coming this time out from desire. I want to eat, so I sit down at the table, and so on. Let’s just start with this and see what adds itself to it.

Defining Life. Life is an action that shows itself in two ways. First, there is movement taking place inside of a form, and second that form moves from one place to the next. We could say that life is “fluid,” within and without. Life inside my form moves with purpose, to sustain and to cleanse. Thus life is in the blood, and my spirit gives life energeia to all parts of my physic. Then, life without is my every next breath and step in every ongoing moment, as I move through my world. This movement is also with purpose, but also always out from my desire. Inside these movements within and without, I am a living soul, an ongoing story of words inside of my spirit knowing of myself.

Life as a Law. Romans 8:2 then gives us two qualities pertaining to life, first, the law of life, and second, the Spirit of life, both are found inside the Person of Christ Jesus.  

The law of sin and death is simple. – The soul that sins shall die. Or – The soul that partakes of a self-story of good versus evil will surely die. Thus the law of life is – The soul that partakes of Christ Jesus as the Bread of Life, as every word God speaks, shall live (John 6). In these cases, life includes the meanings of source, sustenance, and self-story.

The law of life, then, is cause and effect. Partake of a fake, made-up source and die; partake of the True Source and Live. This is the same category as the law of sowing and reaping or the law of gravity.

The Spirit as Life. Then we have the Spirit of Life. The Spirit is what makes life alive. In fact, the law of life comes out from the Spirit of Life, the law of the Spirit of Life. Spirit is the energeia of life. Spirit causes consciousness or self-awareness. Spirit as a created form is the life-essence of our physic. Yet the Spirit of Christ, the Devoted Spirit, has merged with our own spirit such that we are one Sspirit with Jesus.

Thus it is not just our created heavenly form that energeoes us as life, but the un-created Spirit of God. Thus the Devoted Spirit is Gift given freely to us, and without measure. By that Spirit we synergeo always with God. The LAW of the Spirit of Life, then, is the guarantee out from God that as we partake of Jesus, it is truly God-Life that swallows us up.

The Law of the Spirit of Life. The law of death says that the soul that sins shall die, but the law of life says that the soul that partakes of Christ Jesus, the Bread of God, every word God speaks, shall live. Yet the law of the Spirit of Life inside of Christ Jesus goes even further. The Devoted Spirit of God is joined as one with my human spirit. As I partake of Christ Jesus, calling His self-story to be joined with my own, so the Father Himself guarantees me through the Gift of His Spirit that the life I am joined with must be all the life of God.

Considering Freedom. The Jesus Secret page then requires the box, “I Am Free.” We are no longer thinking of freedom from the negative, but rather, the freedom to possess all that is God given to us, that is, the freedom found inside of GRACE. The law of the Spirit of Life is far more certain than the law of gravity. The Spirit is God’s certainty given to me.

Freedom, to be truly free, though it begins with right and authority, must also possess power out from that authority. But consider “right.” A “right” is not a positive, but a negative. A right is a chain that binds the evil – “Congress shall make NO law.” Thus the cross is my right to be free from sin and death, the boundary around a living Grace (Grace as a living cell) through which no evil or death can pass.

Freedom inside of Grace. But the freedom found inside of Grace is much more than the negative; it is the freedom to possess all the life of God. I am free to possess as my own life, every particle and quality of Life Energeia that I find inside all the fulness of God. Not only do I have the authority to do so, but the Spirit of Life gives me the energeoing power to KNOW God my Father.

We are approaching the freedom of Synergeia inside of Symmorphy. We are considering the reckless “piracy” of David inside the Most Devoted, approaching everything we find in God and seizing it as our own essence, our own knowing of God. We are contemplating sharing Hheart with God. This is a profound Freedom, a guaranteed Freedom. Indeed, it is the Glorious Liberty of the children birthed out from God.

I Am Free. I am first free from all sin and death, protected utterly by the cross. Inside that freedom, I turn and see God, knowing that my Father has given all that He is to me. I am free to connect in all ways with God through Jesus. I am free to possess everything I find in God as my own, especially His Life. I am free to possess His Heart as my own, shared utterly with me. I am free to live every moment with God sharing all with me.

Grace Is Alive. When we say, “A Living Grace,” we are saying something incredibly incredible. Grace is alive. More than that, since grace is life shared together, then all the fullness of God is just part of Grace.

So – reference Grace as a living cell. The cell wall is the cross, keeping out what does not belong and allowing in what does, the face of Life given freely to us. Inside this living cell are two primary things, all the fulness of God on the one hand and all the fulness of me on the other. Two who are distinct, yet interacting as one. Grace, then, is the living interaction between God and me inside the bubble of my frame or form.

A Living and Intimate Friendship. In the Greek, the Grace of God is the charis of Theos. Grace/charis is feminine; God/Theos is masculine. Grace is the active and living intimacy I share with God my Father inside of Jesus inside of me, by which I share with God all the Life He is, that through me, that same Life might enter into all my world.

A Living Grace then becomes three things. First, it is the continuous Life Flow between God and me inside my form, like an A/C current, reciprocating at the speed of light. Third, it is the deepest intimacy I share with God by which His life flows through me into my world. But second, in-between those two, Grace is Friendship inside of Favor.

A Living Grace (OSG). Grace is life shared together with God. Grace is a living interaction with the Father through Jesus inside our human form. Grace is a living flow, a reciprocating current of Life between God and ourselves inside the boundary of freedom. Grace is then the Life of God, now shared with us, passing through us into our world. Grace is our response to God, blessing God with the gift of ourselves, for the sake of others.

Inside this living Grace, this reciprocating Favor, is found the deepest meaning of Friendship. God our Father is the dearest and closest Friend to each one of us and we are each the dearest and closest Friend to Him, inside our souls. Grace is the Father and I sharing Friendship through each next step together.

A Living Grace (JSII). Grace is life shared together with God. Grace is a living interaction with the Father through Jesus inside my human form. Grace is the living flow, a reciprocating current of Life between God and me inside my boundary of freedom. I give favor to God out from God giving favor to me. I approve of God out from God’s just approval of me. This mutual Favor is the foundation of the Friendship I share with God inside my own soul. Inside of Friendship, inside of Grace, God actively enjoys all of me with me even as I enjoy all of God with God. This law of the Spirit of Life, this living and vibrant connection I share with God, becomes the very Life of God flowing through me into my world. It is the basis of every next step I take with my Father. Grace is the Friendship I share every moment with God.

We Bless God. The Eucharist, then, is you and me giving favor to God. The Eucharist, giving favor to God, is always the first step of the Kingdom, the first of every next step shared with God. We bless God. We approve of Him. We approve of how He formed us and how He leads us. We approve of all His doings in our lives. We give our just approval to God; He is justly innocent of all charges we once laid against Him.

Yet our blessing of God goes far beyond our just approval. We BLESS God with the full gift of ourselves, devoted to Him. We give God favor. We give God what to Him is the greatest treasure in creation, valued by the Blood of His Son, our own hearts as His own. That He might share our hearts with us. We grace God our Father with our hearts.

Reading for Next Time. I moved the box “The Aroma of Grace” to the next lesson. Then, to continue on this path we will write the JSII pages for Romans 8:14, “For those who are led and carried by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” And for 2 Corinthians Chapters 8 & 9, a page titled, “I Give Generously.” Thus the two further Grace boxes are “The Celebration of Grace” and “The Favor and Generosity of Grace.” Yet in no way are we leaving “life shared together.” In all ways, these aspects of Grace are found only there.  

I must now do a full study of “charis” in its New Testament context. It continues to grow even after what I have written here. I may even insert another Bridge into Our Glorious Salvation, after Chapter 9, titled “Defining Grace.”

Let’s Pray Together. “God, our Father, we bless You with the gift of our hearts, given freely to You, even as we enjoy the gift of Your heart, given freely to us.

“Father, cause us to know, out from our shared and Devoted Spirit, the full extent and meaning of this Grace in which we live, this Grace upon which we stand. Father, cause us to know the incredible meaning and experience of the Grace we give to You in return, a Grace that allows You to flow through us as Grace inside our world. Father, cause us to know how this Grace protects our own personal boundary on the one hand, but also reaches out to include one another inside the Living Synergeia that fills each of our entire beings.

“Father, we walk every step with You inside this living bubble of Grace, this shared life together. We walk every step with You in the deepest Friendship, in pure and personal intimacy.

“And Father, You say that in every step, wherever it might take us, Your knowledge flows out from us as an aroma of Life, bringing the same knowledge of Grace to those who are receiving Jesus, and the same knowledge of the cross to those who live in ruin, without a boundary. Father, You are telling us the Truth. Your Grace is flowing out from us as the waters that cover the sea, as an ocean of Life in knowing You. Father, Your Grace is placing the boundary of Your cross around all our brothers and sisters in heaven and earth. We know that it is so, Father, for through Jesus, You always answer us.”