The worldly definition of grace is quite different from the biblical definition. The worldly synonyms for grace include courtesy, and elegance. The on-line Merman-Webster dictionary defines grace as “a virtue from God”, and “an unmerited divine assistance”
From the biblical perspective, Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians, “But God is so rich in mercy, He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) Ephesians 2:4-5 (NLT)
Ephesians 2:8 states, “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” Ephesians 9-10 go on to say, “Salvation is not a a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Jesus Christ, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” (NLT)
In my opinions, grace is the unmerited favor that God gives as a free gift for those who believe that we are sinners, Christ died for our sins, and rose again. Walking in God’s grace is best described as following God’s unique path he has for each of us and, as Paul described in Ephesians 2:10, “do the good things He planned for us long ago.”
Heaven. I would like to know more about Heaven. Like what is it really like?
With todays technology i cannot conceive what technology would go into Heaven. When we die are we saved i to some giant hard-drive. Does or become some 4-dimensional piece of data that is uploaded into our eternity? I would love to hear your thoughts
No one who is living today knows what Heaven is really like. There are many Scripture references that can tell us what the physical Heaven be like. Here are a few: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and old earth had disappeared. An the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among His people. He will live with them, and they will be His people. God, Himself, will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” Revelation 21:1-4 It goes on to say in verse 16 that “When he{the angel} measured it [the new Jerusalem} he found it was square, as wide as it was long. in fact, it’s length and width and height were all 1,400 miles. Then he measured the walls and found the to be 216 feet thick (according to the human standard used by the angel). All this Scripture reference is quoted from from the New Living Testament Bible.
There is much discussion about Heaven in both Old and New Testaments. I will be happy to post some more references and if you have any more specific questions, I will do my best to answer them for you.
I believe that when we die, as Paul states, “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (than is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made of God Himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will ut on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, be it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these does that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God Himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee that he has given us his Holy Spirit.
So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, , for then we will be at home with the Lord. So whether we are there in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please Him. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.”
2 Corinthians 5: 1-10 (NLT)
Here i another reference that Jesus prepares a place for us in heaven. “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God and trust also in Me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” John 14: 1-3
I think if it this way in as story. There was a family who lived in a tenant house along with others on a large Estate. One day he owner of the mansion asked all the tenants to come live with him. It was greater than anything the family had ever known.
Another example: Heaven is a place where there is no sin. Heaven has perfect love. It will probably be like The Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve had in beginning, where that was no sin (before the fall). God provided all their needs. There will be praising and singing and testifying of the love of God. There will be food and fellowship and a perfect relationship with everyone there.
As in your first post, I will be happy to post more references and if you have any more specific questions, I will do my best to answer them.