“Grace is the deliverance that God gave the world. When we in the Church say “grace,” we understand this word to mean energy, the uncreated energy of God, which is poured out on man and saves him. Man is delivered by the grace of God—we can interpret it this way. Man is liberated for free. Our salvation was given to us for free; we didn’t offer anything. Christ saved us gratuitously. And may this grace of our deliverance, and the energy of the Holy Spirit, and the peace of God be with us all.” (Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol)
“ [Christianity] rejects any teaching that suggests God gives grace capriciously. When God “lifts up a man’s face” and favors him, it is because He knows the man’s heart, his contrition and openness. When we love God, He knows; He is aware. When our love for God grows, “we feel divine longing well up within us from the depths of our heart”…God’s grace or favor toward us is known or experienced as a personal encounter. “Grace is not just a ‘gift’ of God, not just an object which God bestows on men, but a direct manifestation of the living God Himself, a personal confrontation between creature and Creator,” (Dynamis 9/24/2021, St. John Cassian, Metropolitan Kallistos Ware)
“No great theological knowledge or scholarliness—although we mustn’t denigrate them—are capable of working so effectively on the human heart and soul as divine grace. Just look at how many examples there are around us of people who have received the highest educations, including theological education, say quite correct things, yet God’s people do not believe them. They speak, but their words don’t affect people’s hearts, because those scholars did not acquire divine grace—which is acquired, of course, through daily ascetic labors, through humility, fasting, prayer, love, and responsiveness to our neighbor’s suffering.” (Hieromonk Ignaty Shestakov)
“People who are characterized by egotism, vainglory, and pride, who believe that “only us and no one else,” who think that everything they see and know, everything they experience, is indisputable, because they say so. Such people don’t have the Spirit of God within them. They’re in a state of prelest, of delusion. Egotism is the seal of delusion. Humility is the seal of grace. People with grace know themselves; they don’t lose their identity. They’re not like people who have fallen, who have lost their consciousness and seen and done some things in this state. Then it may turn out to be true, but we mustn’t forget that the devil has power if a man allows him to mimic the action of grace. The devil often parodies the works of God. He tries to behave like God in order to deceive people. We have to be very careful. And first of all, the seal of truth is the Church, then holiness, a virtuous life, and the humility of a man who has such experience.” (Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol)
“I’m always troubled to hear “there is no grace outside the Church.” I can’t fathom what such a statement means. Since the entire universe is sustained by the grace of God, I can only assume a sort of heresy of secularism by such a statement – the notion that anything can exist apart from God’s grace. For His own mysterious reasons, God even sustains the fallen angels by His grace. If it were not so, they would cease to exist. Only God has existence in and of Himself. I can say “there is no grace outside the Church” only if I also say that everything in all of creation is inside the Church. In fact, I believe this to be true. The Church came into existence when God said, “Let there be light.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“We may be a grandmother, a doctor, a student, a prisoner, a parish Priest, a childcare worker, an attorney; but we all receive God’s grace in the circumstances in which He calls. How much patience is needed where we serve! Seek energy from God! Since God’s grace comes “by the Holy Spirit,” it is totally open-ended and vast, being ready to increase purity, knowledge, longsuffering, kindness, and sincere love within us (2 Cor 6:6). But we must draw on grace “by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left” (vs 7). This is not some magic ritual, but a way of life that requires working “together with Him” (vs 1). The issue is: do we choose respond and cooperate or not? In this world, the results of receiving grace need to be lived…” (Dynamis 7/11/2018)
“I am always leery when asked about various spiritual undertakings. Whether it’s a rule of prayer or a rule of fasting, the true struggle is never found in doing what is extraordinary. It’s the very difficult matter of enduring what is given to us. God, in His providence, allows us all that is necessary for our salvation. Grace is primarily found within the ordinary faithfulness of our life.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“We are meant to be so filled with grace and love that these qualities will spill over to everyone around us…the unity of grace, faith, and works…for grace is uncreated and infinite, whereas our faith is limited and can grow; good works flow out of authentic faith.” (Father Barnabas Powell, Orthodox Study Bible, Ephesians 2:8-10)
“Salvation comes by grace through faith. It is the gift of God that does not come from doing good works. Yet the recognition of such grace instills humility that leads to works of gratitude. Grace opposes merit, but it also induces the hard work of holiness.” (Brock Bingaman and Bradley Nassif) "...justification is being empowered by grace to live according to God’s will. By living according to God’s will, we effect our sanctification, thereby participating in God’s life." (Archimandrite Sergius)
“God our Savior wants all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). Grace does not compel anyone. Men have the God-given freedom to accept it and to work with it or to reject it. Those who embrace it are saved and those who withdraw from it are lost.” (Elder Cleopa of Romania)
“In his disobedience and expulsion from Paradise, man lost the grace of the Holy Spirit (My Spirit shall not remain)…Without the grace of the Holy Spirit, man is easily overcome by the devil, for his willpower alone is incapable of resisting the devil's temptations. Furthermore, his will was weakened through his disobedience and expulsion from Paradise. But he willfully refused God's helping grace (every intent . . . was only evil continually)…Nevertheless, His grace was always available to man, but man continually refused it…” (Orthodox Study Bible, Genesis 6:3,5)
“ ‘Their refusal brought judgment upon themselves, for they had no excuses for not responding to the grace of God…’ When we reject the grace of God it is not God who is punishing us. We are in fact punishing ourselves.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Genesis 6:7, Sacramental Living Blog)
“It is true, such is our weak and wavering nature, we have no sooner received grace, but we are ready to fall from it." (Richard Hooker)
“…God’s grace does not cancel out free will…[but] Self-reliant hearts are fully ready to abandon the grace of God…What keeps grace in the soul more than anything else? Humility. What makes it withdraw more than anything else? Feelings of pride, a high opinion of oneself, self-reliance." (Dynamis 7/20/2014, Orthodox Study Bible, Deuteronomy 7:1-3, St. Theophan the Recluse)
“Grace (Titus 2:11) is the uncreated energy of God, the gift of the Holy Spirit, through which He gives His gifts to man in tender mercy and good will. It is a formative power… requiring our determined participation. To belong to God is to become like God. To be ransomed, or “owned,” by God (Titus 2:14) is not simply legal and static, but means to live in solidarity with Him: a blessed, victorious struggle.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Titus 2:11-15)
“I can say “there is no grace outside the Church” only if I also say that everything in all of creation is inside the Church. In fact, I believe this to be true. The Church came into existence when God said, “Let there be light.” The sacraments do not make us to be what we are not, but reveal us to be what we truly are. Baptism and Chrismation are indeed required of those coming to Holy Communion, for they are fundamental realities in the medicine of immortality and the path of life God has given us. But the person who is Baptized does not somehow become other than what they are. They become more fully human, more truly what they were created to be. “The Holy Spirit completes that which is lacking,” it is said in our prayers.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“Grace has liberated us from the temporal nature of earthly happiness and has taken up residence in our hearts, from which springs forth the healing that transforms us. This grace makes us whole..." (Abbot Tryphon)
“Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to Him and if they were to allow His grace to mold them accordingly.” (St. Ignatius Loyola)
“Authentic living in the light of God’s glory is not about being perfect but about living grace filled lives." (Chip Ingram)
“The gift of God is the grace of the Holy Spirit...This grace fills up what is lacking...But it is not automatic. We must stir up and rekindle it.” (Orthodox Study Bible, 2 Timothy 1:6)
“God’s grace or favor toward us is known or experienced as a personal encounter. “Grace is not just a ‘gift’ of God, not just an object which God bestows on men, but a direct manifestation of the living God Himself, a personal confrontation between creature and Creator.” (Metropolitan Kallistos Ware)
“Initially grace arouses the conscience in a divine manner. That is how even sinners have come to repent and so to conform to God's will.” (Saint Kosmas Aitolos)
“In order to kindle in yourself Divine Grace make it a practice to read the Holy Scripture. For the Word of God is a hammer that breaks up and softens our stony hearts; it is fire that burns out sinful impulses and warms our cold hearts (Jer. 23:29)…Make it your rule to read the Word of God daily, and read it with reverent attention. Then what seemed to you long ago evident what earlier did not impress you greatly, will acquire suddenly a new and great meaning and significance; it will seem to you that you are hearing it for the first time; your soul will be stirred and your heart will be filled with peace, happiness and compunction.” (St. Tikhon)
“Our Lord is only with those who need Him. When we lose our daily need for Him, then our souls become satisfied with the world. A man who does not hunger does not eat, and so one who does not hunger for God cannot partake of His goodness. This is why the Church has always urged us to participate in spiritual exercises like fasting and almsgiving, that we might stir up within ourselves the hunger for God. This hunger, this desire for God, will draw us closer to Him.” (Metropolitan Joseph)
“In Matthew 16:16-18 Peter declares Christ is the ‘Son of the Living God’ and Christ calls him blessed and says He will build His Church on this confession. Yet only a few verses later, in Matthew 16:23, right after Christ declares He must go to Jerusalem and die, Peter tries to stop Him and Christ says ‘Get behind Me, Satan!’ Isn’t it that way with all of us? One moment we are with God in our hearts and actions and the next we are not, locked in our own rationale, even thinking we are doing the right thing like Peter, yet we are far from God. To me, it is a simple reminder of how dependent we really are on God’s grace for our growth and well-being, not our own ways and thoughts.” (Sacramental Living Blog)
“We carry a host of contradictions within ourselves…A single and simple heart are rare and difficult to achieve.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“Jesus saw not only who Simon was, but who he would become. That is why he gave him a new name—Cephas in Aramaic, Peter in Greek (the name means “a rock”). Peter is not presented as rock-solid throughout the Gospels, but he became a solid rock in the days of the early church, as we learn in the book of Acts. By giving Simon a new name, Jesus introduced a change in character.” (Life Application Study Bible, John 1:42)
“The discernment we receive in Christ guides every phase of our struggle against evil – another blessing from true Wisdom….God gives us strength to love righteousness rather than evil ways.” (OCPM 1/25/2016)
“No one is so good that they don’t need grace, nor so bad that they can’t receive grace.” (Pastor Timothy Keller)
“Grace is Christ's uncreated energy given to us through His love and mercy…The] grace of God sustains us in the trials of life….God’s grace saves the willing.” (Orthodox Study Bible, John 1:14, 1 Peter 1:3, Romans 11:1-10)
“Grace is God himself, his loving energy at work within his church and within our souls.” (Evelyn Underhill)
"No single act will uphold or condemn us before the dread Judgment Seat of Christ, for the Lord Jesus looks into our hearts. To the Lord’s eye, each of our actions reflects our heart’s desire. He seeks to find the smallest trace of faith and love within us. And often grace follows our efforts to be faithful…” (Dynamis 8/24/2015)
“When grace is with us, we do not see the defects of others; we only see the sufferings and the love of our brethren…Under grace, we no longer serve God one day a week, but we are to direct our whole desire toward God..." (Archimandrite Sophrony of Essex, St. John of Damascus)
“Adoption as a child of God is not a matter of ethnic descent (of blood)... nor are we children of God simply by natural birth (the will of the flesh), nor by man's own decision (the will of man). Becoming a child of God is a spiritual birth by grace, through faith, and in the Holy Spirit." (Orthodox Study Bible, John 1:13)
“God sends His grace to all people, but it is those who have receptivity who enjoy it.” (Father Anthony Coniaris)
“We get upset at [people] who fail to appreciate small gifts, yet we undervalue God’s immeasurable gifts of grace and peace... Compared to the big and bright"packages” of our culture, grace and peace appear insignificant. But when we unwrap them, we discover God’s wonderful personal dealings with us. Inside the tiny package marked"grace and peace” we find an inexhaustible treasure of God’s daily presence in our lives.” (Life Application Study Bible, Philippians 1:2)
“”Give us this day our daily bread.”…Daily is a misleading translation of the Greek epiousios, which is literally"above the essence” or"super substantial”….In the Lord’s Prayer we are not merely asking for physical health, but for [daily] spiritual nourishment.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Matthew 6:11)
"In this life there is not a perfection of a person but there can be a perfection of his or her faithfulness that leads to the fullness of grace." (A.K. Frailey)
"God’s grace is neither a feeling nor an understanding so much as the very presence of God moving within us and strengthening our feeble spirits.” (Dynamis 6/26/2014)
“God's righteousness is actually given to mankind by grace. This righteousness transforms the whole person, internally and externally...God's righteousness is a gift that indeed becomes our own, leading us to godliness." (Orthodox Study Bible, Romans 4:11-12
“In Christ, God's children become gods by grace (10:34, 35) without ceasing to be human. As metal thrust into fire takes on properties of fire (such as heat and light) without ceasing to be metal, so human nature permeated by God takes on properties of the divine nature.” (Orthodox Study Bible, John 1:16)
"The more you see your own flaws and sins the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God's grace appears to you.” (Pastor Timothy Keller)
“It is clear that all of our care should lie in the preserving of Grace, for in this Grace lies all of our happiness and our salvation; without it, our souls are dead…" (St. Seraphim of Sofia)
“Christian freedom does not mean anything goes. It means that our salvation is not obtained by good deeds or legalistic rules; it is the free gift of God.” (Life Application Study Bible, 1 Corinthians 8:10-13)
“People are so busy trying to reach God that they completely miss the truth that God has already reached down to them. We cannot earn God’s mercy—if we could, it would not be mercy.” (Life Application Study Bible, Romans 9:16)
"There is nothing but God’s grace. We walk upon it; we breathe it; we live and die by it; it makes the nails and axles of the universe.” (Robert Louis Stevenson)
“God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.” (Reinhold Niebuhr)
"The doctrine of grace and redemption keeps us from seeing any person or situation as hopeless." (Pastor Timothy Keller)
"Grace is God's unlimited, unconditional, uncreated love, freely given to those who do not deserve it."(Orthodox Study Bible, 1 Corinthians 1:3)
“[Grace is] the gift of God’s own presence and action in His creation. Through grace, God forgives sins and transforms the believer into His image and likeness…A Christian is saved through grace, which is a gift of God and not a reward for good works. However, because grace changes a person, he or she will manifest the effects of grace through righteous living.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Glossary)
"We must work with the grace of the Holy Spirit to try and live out the lives God has intended for us.” (Father Kirrill Gvosde)
"And remember, grace is undeserved favor. By giving an enemy a drink, we’re not excusing his misdeeds. We’re recognizing him, forgiving him, and loving him in spite of his sins—just as Christ did for us.” (Life Application Study Bible, Romans 12:17-21)
"All the powers of evil inside of you and all the powers of evil outside of you cannot separate you from the love of God. Once you give yourself to God through Christ, He is yours and you are His. Nothing can ever change that.” (Pastor Timothy Keller)
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