Let us now consider the meaning of the words my grace. If we consider this expression in the context of the entire book of Philippians, we shall see that the grace which was Paul’s grace was nothing less than the Triune God whom Paul enjoyed and experienced and of whom Paul was a partaker. Thus, Paul’s grace was not God in an objective way; it was God subjectively and experientially, the Triune God processed to be his portion. Paul truly enjoyed and experienced the processed Triune God. He was rich in his experience of the Father, Son, and Spirit. This processed Triune God was Paul’s grace.
We are familiar with the hymn “Amazing Grace.” Although this is a good hymn, it does not speak of the Triune God as our portion for our enjoyment. When this hymn was written, the experiential knowledge of God among the Lord’s people had not come to this point. Even as recent as fifty years ago, Christians did not have the understanding of grace as the Triune God experienced and enjoyed by us. But standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before us, we have come to know that grace is far more than merely unmerited favor. Grace is the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—processed for our experience and enjoyment.
Today our Triune God is no longer the unprocessed God, or the “raw” God. Rather, He has been processed through incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. Those with a background in systematic theology may be troubled by the expressions “processed God” and “raw God.” They may argue that in the Bible we cannot find such terms. Although these terms are not used, the facts are there. In like manner, we cannot find the terms “Trinity” and “Triune God” in the Bible. However, there is no doubt that the Bible reveals the fact that God is triune. Likewise, we cannot deny that the incarnation was a process. Furthermore, the crucifixion, which led to resurrection, and the resurrection, which led to ascension, were also steps in God’s process. God has passed through a process not only to redeem us, but also to make it possible for us to enjoy Him as grace. Today the One we enjoy as our grace is the Triune God who has passed through incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. As such a One, He is ready for us to take and enjoy.
John 1:17 says that the law was given through Moses, but grace came through Jesus Christ. When this grace becomes ours in our experience, we then enjoy the Triune God, and we can speak of my grace, our grace. Our grace is the very Triune God enjoyed by us.
Recently my wife and I were praying, thanking the Lord for all the enjoyment of Himself that He has given us. How good the Lord has been to us! We can testify that we have experienced Him and enjoyed Him very much. Because we have partaken of Him, He has truly become grace to us. This grace is now our grace.
In your experience do you not also have your grace? Perhaps you have experienced the Triune God as your grace in the church life and in your daily life. A brother may testify that even in helping to arrange the chairs in the meeting hall he experiences God as his grace. Also, a married sister may testify that in her life at home with her husband and children she experiences the Lord as her grace. It is very good to experience the Lord in this way and testify of it. But these situations can hardly be compared to what Paul faced in prison.
Paul experienced God both in his imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. In 1:7 Paul speaks of “the defense and confirmation of the gospel”; he does not here mention the preaching of the gospel. To preach the gospel is not unusual, but to defend the gospel and confirm it are extraordinary things. Paul defended the gospel, on the negative side, from perverting and distorting heresies, such as Judaism, dealt with in Galatians, and Gnosticism, dealt with in Colossians. Paul confirmed the gospel, on the positive side, with all the revelations of God’s mysteries concerning Christ and the church as unveiled in Paul’s Epistles. During Paul’s time, the gospel had been perverted and distorted by Judaism and Greek philosophy. Because he defended the gospel, he was persecuted. Neither the Judaizers nor the Greek philosophers were happy with him. In addition, Paul confirmed the gospel. He made the goal of the gospel clear to people in a positive way.
The goal of the gospel is Christ and the church. Paul preached message after message telling people about God’s economy. He taught that Christ is the mystery of God and that the church is the mystery of Christ. In this way, he confirmed the gospel by making the positive goal of the gospel clear to all who received it.
Today there is also the urgent need for the defense and confirmation of the gospel. Not many Christians are willing to speak concerning the church. As a result, even though they may preach the gospel, many do not know the goal of the gospel. Their goal in preaching the gospel is simply to save sinners, to win souls. Hence, there is the need for us to confirm the gospel by telling others of the goal of the gospel. If we do this, however, we shall meet opposition. Both the defense of the gospel and the confirmation of the gospel are difficult tasks and heavy burdens.