Questions To Articulate

I'm posting a few questions to start a discussion as I would like to hear how people articulate these questions.

What is grace, what does it cover, and how far does it go. Is it conditional or unconditional?

Are the miracles produced by the Apostles still active today? For example, do we have the authority to heal? And what if someone isn't healed? Are the gifts something to be gained? Is it by faith we are healed?

Mark 10:52
New International Version
52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.


1 Corinthians 12:27-31
English Standard Version
27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts.
And I will show you a still more excellent way.

Grace is the Greatest gift we humans could ever receive from God ------it is Enormous --- Mind Blowing and Powerful in our weakness ---- it is undeserved Favor given FREELY to us ---no strings attached ----

Strong's Concordance
charis: grace, kindness
Usage: (a) grace, as a gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ, (b) favor, (c) gratitude, thanks, (d) a favor, kindness.
is preeminently used of the Lord's favor – freely extended to give Himself away to people (because He is "always leaning toward them").

pre-eminently of that kindness by which God bestow: favors even upon the ill-deserving, and grants to sinners the pardon of their offences, and bids them accept of eternal salvation through Christ

is used of "the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues

it is styled 'the grace of Christ,' in that through pity for sinful men Christ left his state of blessedness with God in heaven, and voluntarily underwent the hardships and miseries of human life, and by his sufferings and death procured salvation for mankind


There are actually different kinds of Grace that God gives ----

There is ----Common Grace -----which God gives to unbelievers and believers ----when we open our eyes in the morning after sleeping ---that is God's Grace --

Matthew 5:45 AMP
45 so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for
He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him]


There is----- Saving Grace -----By Grace you have been saved through Faith in Jesus Christ

There is ----Sanctifying Grace ------Philippians 1:6 AMP
6 I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].

There is -----Provisional Grace------Philippians 4:19 AMP
19 And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

There is -----Miraculous Grace -----Acts 6:8 ---Amplified Bible
Now Stephen, full of grace (divine blessing, favor) and power, was doing great wonders and signs (attesting miracles) among the people.

There is ----Serving Grace ------True Believers are freely given Spiritual Gifts to serve others and strengthen Faith

There is Sustaining Grace ------ God told Paul ---My Grace is Sufficient ---in your weakness my Grace abounds and gives strength -----

So God's Grace is Huge and Wide ----and we should voice our Gratitude and Thankfulness to God every day for this great Free Gift He has bestowed on us as we do not deserve any of His Grace ----we humans have blamed God for many things the we have caused ourselves ---we have mocked God ---we have disgraced God ---and yet He still pours out His Grace on both the just and unjust when we deserve nothing but His wrath -----

The answer to these questions can be found by searching out which scriptures are descriptive and which prescriptive. Just because something is described in the New Testament that doesn't automatically mean it's prescribed for us.

An even better way to answer these questions is to take a good hard look at the so-called miracles that are performed these days and the miracle workers behind them. There are people who will make very eloquent arguments from scripture for why miracles are still active; but what about the "miracles" themselves? Are they really miracles? Is it simply one person's word against another. Did a miracle actually occur at all. Bethel Church, for example, claims that miracles are still active; they even claim to have people who can raise the dead. But to date, though valiant efforts have been made, not a single resurrection.

Faith by itself does not heal you ------We have to have Faith and trust In Jesus Christ who is the source of our healing and that we will be healed -----when Jesus said in scripture your Faith has healed you ----

if you read the Scripture you will see that the people He healed believed that He was the Messiah and that He could heal them --they didn't doubt ---

Healing is already in place for the True Believer today -----as Isaiah 53:5 tells us -----that by the stripes Jesus took on His back we ARE HEALED ----past tense ------

So our healing is accomplished for us -----we have to believe and receive it -----

so what does Receive mean in the Greek ---

Strong's #2983: lambano (pronounced lam-ban'-o)
a prolonged form of a primary verb, which is use only as an alternate in certain tenses; to take (in very many applications, literally and figuratively (properly objective or active, to get hold of; accept, , attain, bring, to take with the hand, lay hold of, any person or thing in order to use it
to receive what is offered ,catch at, reach after, strive to obtain

Grace makes healing available -----Faith in Jesus to heal us brings it in to us ----

If you doubt ---the doubt will block your healing -----because your doubting Jesus has the power to heal you ---Jesus could't heal many in his home town because of their lack of faith in Him ----