Grace WITH God

Amazing Grace,
How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch
Like me!

God's grace is amazing! He forgives all our sins, even though we do not deserve it. But this morning I realized that I always think of grace by God and through God... but never grace with God. Nevertheless, chapter 2 of Colossians repeats the word 'with' 3 times, suggesting our participation in God's grace, our place in the redemptive work He does with us.

⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

⁹ For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. ¹¹ In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, ¹² having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:8-15)

Praise be to God who invites us to participate in His redemptive work, to be part in the marvelous grace He extends in our lives.