PAUL AND GRACE
What is it?
Grace was one of St Paul’s favourite words. “Grace and peace be with you” was his normal greeting. And his whole theology can be summed up in the sentence, “By grace you have been saved through faith.” (Ephesians 2.8) But what is grace actually?
What people think
What comes into people’s minds when you say the word ‘grace’ is the prayer before a meal. But the Bible has a much deeper meaning. E.g. in John’s gospel Jesus as the word of God is described as “full of grace and truth”. Meaning what?
What vicars think
I asked two vicars what grace means. Both came out with “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense”. This was a standard evangelical phrase throughout the 20th century. But it is over-specific and too long-winded to use all the time. Is there an easier answer?
The answer
The answer is actually quite simple and is a matter of language. ‘Grace’ translates the Greek word ‘charis’ as well as the Latin translation ‘gratia’. Both these also mean ‘thanks’. But ‘charis’ is also the Greek translation of a very common Hebrew word from the Old Testament. This word is ‘hesed’. In English Bibles this is translated as steadfast love, or loving-kindness. So when we pray for grace, we are praying for God’s loving-kindness to be shown to us.
“By grace you have been saved through faith.” 
So how does this work out in this central passage for Paul’s thought? We need to bear in mind that ‘saved’ can also mean ‘healed’, and ‘faith’ means primarily ‘faithfulness’ or ‘commitment’. (See my blog ‘Paul on Faith’). Here is how it could be expressed:
“By God’s loving-kindness you have been healed/rescued through committing your life to him.”.
It makes sense to me. Does it make sense to you? Send me your comments!