The Efficacy of Divine Grace
Divine grace is a powerful force that transforms our hearts, bringing spiritual joy and making even the smallest drop of it more valuable than earthly riches.
W.R. Inge preaches about the incomparable value of God's grace in the lives of believers, emphasizing that all human works and earthly riches are nothing compared to even the smallest work of grace in the soul. Grace, given by the whole Trinity, frees believers from temptations, worldly burdens, and elevates their spirits to heavenly realms. It has the power to transform sorrows into sweetness, change desires from worldly to spiritual, and make the soul find delight in humility and detachment from earthly things.
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ALL works which men and all creatures can ever work even to the end of the world, without the grace of God--all of them together, however great they may be, are an absolute nothing, as compared with the smallest work which God has worked in men by His grace. As much as God is better than all His creatures, so much better are His works than all the works, or wisdom, or designs, which all men could devise. Even the smallest drop of grace is better than all earthly riches that are beneath the sun. Yea, a drop of grace is more noble than all angels and all souls, and all the natural things that God has made. And yet grace is given more richly by God to the soul than any earthly gift.
It is given more richly than brooks of water, than the breath of the air, than the brightness of the sun; for spiritual things are far finer and nobler than earthly things. The whole Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, give grace to the soul, and flow immediately into it; even the highest angel, in spite of his great nobility, cannot do this. Grace looses us from the snares of many temptations; it relieves us from the heavy burden of worldly cares, and carries the spirit up to heaven, the land of spirits. It kills the worm of conscience, which makes sins alive. Grace is a very powerful thing.
The man, to whom cometh but a little drop of the light of grace, to him all that is not God becomes as bitter as gall upon the tongue. (86)
Grace makes, contrary to nature, all sorrows sweet, and brings it about that a man no longer feels any relish for things which formerly gave him great pleasure and delight. On the other hand, what formerly disgusted him, now delights him and is the desire of his heart--for instance, weakness, sorrow, inwardness, humility, self-abandonment, and detachment from all the creatures. All this is in the highest degree dear to him, when this visitation of the Holy Ghost, grace, has in truth come to him.
Then the sick man, that is to say the external man, with all his faculties is plunged completely into the pool of water, even as the sick man who had been for thirty-eight years by the pool at Jerusalem, and there washes himself thoroughly in the exalted, noble, precious blood of Christ Jesus. For grace in manifold ways bathes the soul in the wounds and blood of the holy Lamb, Jesus Christ. (22)
Sermon Outline
- The Superiority of Divine Grace
- The Source and Nature of Divine Grace
- The Effects of Divine Grace
- Grace frees us from temptation and worldly cares
- Grace brings spiritual joy and transforms our desires
Key Quotes
“Even the smallest drop of grace is better than all earthly riches that are beneath the sun.” — W.R. Inge
“The man, to whom cometh but a little drop of the light of grace, to him all that is not God becomes as bitter as gall upon the tongue.” — W.R. Inge
“Grace makes, contrary to nature, all sorrows sweet, and brings it about that a man no longer feels any relish for things which formerly gave him great pleasure and delight.” — W.R. Inge
Application Points
- We should seek to cultivate a deeper understanding and appreciation of divine grace in our lives.
- We should recognize the transformative power of divine grace and allow it to change our desires and pleasures.
- We should seek to be freed from the snares of temptation and worldly cares through the power of divine grace.