All Is Grace

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says,

“When He ascended on high He led a host of captives,  
and He gave gifts to men.”  

(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that He had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:7-12

This summer, PCPC’s young adults are reading and discussing John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. First, a confession—this is my first time reading through this classic, and it has been a bit of a slog at times. Yet, there are reasons why this allegory is so popular and has made such a significant impact on readers for centuries—Bunyan has a skill for painting vivid pictures that help us better visualize the spiritual reality of life. 

As I was discussing Sunday’s sermon with my boss, he reminded me of a passage from Pilgrim’s Progress. Christian, the protagonist, visits the House of the Interpreter. The Interpreter shows Christian different rooms in his house, each room illustrating a spiritual truth. In one room, Christian sees a fire burning in a fireplace that has water continually dumped on it, yet the fire is not put out. Christian asks the Interpreter what it means:

The interpreter answered, “This fire is the work of grace that’s been ignited in the heart. The man trying to extinguish it with water is the devil, but even with all his effort, the fire continues to burn higher and hotter. Let me show you why.”

He took Christian behind the wall of the fireplace, where there was a man holding a container of oil and secretively throwing oil on the fire.

      “Who is this man, and what’s he doing?” Christian asked.

The interpreter pointed at the man. “This is Christ, who, with the oil of grace, continually maintains the work already in the heart. The grace He supplies ignites the soul of His people like a roaring fire that, despite the devil’s best efforts, will never be extinguished. This is a difficult concept for man to understand—that event when we are tempted, Christ is doing all the work by supplying the grace we need to stand firm.”¹ 

So much of the struggle I have in my Christian walk, so much of the angst and anxiety I experience, stems from this—that I forget the truth Bunyan explains, the truth Mark McDowell highlighted on Sunday, and the truth Paul points to in Ephesians 4. Through grace, I know that Christ has won my salvation, but functionally, I act as if the rest is up to me. I think that I’m responsible for my sanctification; I’m responsible for keeping myself in God’s grace. How small I make the work of Christ when I forget His ascension. 

Brothers and sisters, the ascended Christ’s work for us is not done. He lives to intercede for us before the Father. He supplies grace to help us resist temptation. He equips us for ministry. All of the Christian life is grace. I pray this week that each of you is able to bask in the warmth of God’s grace—His saving grace, His sustaining grace, His equipping grace. 

 

 

END NOTES:

1. The Pilgrim’s Progress: A Readable Modern-Day Version of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, revised by Alan Vermilye.