Point of Focus

Common Grace

Nathan Tiemeyer
August 2012

What do you think of when you think of the word “grace”?

Hopefully, Christians associated with a Christ-centered church or ministry regularly call to mind the grace that God has shown us in Christ through the gospel. Rather than paying the penalty for the grievous wrong we’ve committed against God, our sin has been paid for on the cross of Christ. We have been set free from sin’s power, are in the process of being remade after the image of our Creator, and will one day be with Christ in glory.

Certainly, we should never neglect these truths. However, we would also do well to add to them an understanding of what theologians have often called God’s “common grace.” Biblically speaking, God’s gracious activity is not limited to the salvation of his people through the work of Christ. In fact, God bestows some good gifts to humanity in its entirety, including those who have rebelled against him.

Biblical Examples of Common Grace

Numerous biblical passages that demonstrate the reality of common grace. A few examples:

• God continues to provide the essential gifts of light and heat from the sun and sustaining rain to those who do not follow him (Mat. 5:43-45).


• God has crowned fallen man—despite his sinfulness—with “glory and honor.”  Similarly, man is still entrusted with dominion over the earth (Psa. 8:3-6). ¹ 


• More specifically, God’s common grace allows those who do not follow him to exhibit positive character traits. Jesus notes that those whose lives are not oriented toward God still reciprocate love and goodness toward one another (Luke 6:32-34) and know how to give good gifts to their children (Luke 11:11-13). This principle is abundantly confirmed over and over again in our own experience by many non-Christians who demonstrate qualities like integrity, generosity, courage, compassion, etc.
  


• Wisdom is another specific gift that God dispenses liberally to mankind. The Book of Proverbs asserts that any who rule justly do so through the wisdom that God ultimately provides (8:15-16). But the principle that non-believers possess genuine wisdom does not rest on this passage alone. In fact, Proverbs provides us with another intriguing example. Robert Johnston explains:


The compiler of Proverbs makes use of the thirty sayings of the Egyptian Instruction of Amenemope, for example, as he proffers God’s wisdom in 22:17-24:22. The sayings are freely adapted and put into the larger context of trust in Yahweh, but a reliance on pagan sources is evident. ²

Proverbs, then, indicates that the authors of Scripture were not afraid to recognize wisdom and truth wherever it could be found, readily adapting it (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) for the purposes of the One in whom it originated


• A similar dynamic can be seen in the ministry of the apostle Paul. Consider this portion of his address to the Aeropagus, a governing council in Athens:



And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your own poets have said, “For we are indeed his offspring.” (Acts 17:26-28)




Both of the quotations Paul employs in these verses originate from pagan sources. The first is likely attributed to Epimenides of Crete, and the second from a poet named Aratus. ³ As is the case in the book of Proverbs, we find Paul acknowledging the insight and wisdom of those outside of God’s people and adapting it for his purpose.



• The Book of 1 Kings tells us that Solomon, when making preparations to build God’s temple, sent to Hiram, king of Tyre, saying: “Now therefore command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. And my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants such wages as you set, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians” (5:6). 



Solomon asserts that, in this particular respect, the craftsman of Tyre exceeded those belonging to God’s people. And he willingly employs them in the service of building Israel’s place of worship. 

Implications of Common Grace

The reality of common grace has significant implications for the way we should approach people in general, as well as the art and culture all around us.

1. While we should never forget the reality and pervasiveness of sin, we need also to remember that the image of God in humanity—with all that it entails—is not totally defaced by humanity’s fallen nature. ⁴ Because of God’s restraining grace, mankind is not as bad as it could be. Each fallen human being is a “glorious ruin”—given to all forms of depravity, yet still capable of goodness, beauty, and truth. For this reason, 17th century mathematician/philosopher/theologian Blaise Pascal wrote: "What a chimera, then, is man! What a novelty! What a monster, what a chaos, what a contradiction, what a prodigy! Judge of all things, imbecile worm of the earth; depositary of truth, a sink of uncertainty and error; the pride and refuse of the universe!"


2. In our various interactions with non-Christians—whether through personal relationships or the wider culture—we are obligated to keep both aspects of man in mind. We must discern that which is contrary to God’s will and respond appropriately depending on the situation, but we should also be prepared to recognize God’s gracious handiwork wherever it may be found. And in doing so, we may be delighted, entertained, instructed, corrected, and encouraged in surprising ways.



No less a theologian than John Calvin offers these challenging words:




Therefore, in reading the profane authors, the admirable light of truth displayed in them should remind us, that the human mind, however much fallen and perverted from it’s original integrity, is still adorned and invested with admirable gifts from its Creator. If we reflect that the Spirit of God is the only fountain of truth, we will be careful, as we would avoid offering insult to him, not to reject or condemn truth wherever it appears. In despising the gifts, we insult the Giver. How, then, can we deny that truth must have beamed on those ancient lawgivers who arranged civil order and discipline with so much equity? Shall we say that the philosophers, in their exquisite researches and skillful description of nature, were blind? Shall we deny the possession of intellect to those who drew up rules for discourse, and taught us to speak in accordance with reason? Shall we say that those who, by the cultivation of the medical art…were only raving? What shall we say of the mathematical sciences?  Shall we deem them to be the dreams of madmen? Nay we cannot read the writings of the ancients on these subjects without the highest admiration; an admiration which their excellence will not allow us to withhold. But shall we deem anything to be noble and praiseworthy, without tracing it to the hand of God? Far from us be such ingratitude; an ingratitude not chargeable even on the heathen poets, who acknowledged that philosophy and laws, and all useful arts were the inventions of the gods. ⁵



3. It’s worth mentioning that most of us intuitively embrace the doctrine of common grace in other contexts. After all, when we want a good meal, we don’t think first to seek out a “Christian” cook or restaurant. We look for one capable of making good food. The same principle holds true for any number of other fields and situations, certainly including art. 


4. Again, our ability to discern the good will be dependent upon our spiritual wisdom and understanding (Col. 1:9-10; cf. Rom. 12:2), which itself will be developed by the word of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17). I would only add that, as our wisdom grows, we are likely to discover not less, but more that in some way reflects excellence, insight, beauty, etc