"Visible Grace, Invisible Grace"

 

(Ephesians 2:8–9)                                                       Pastor. Songsoo Park

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--

not by works, so that no one can boast.

One of the most commonly used words among believers is “grace.”
That’s right. When we pray to God... when we praise Him... again and again, the word grace comes out of our mouths. Some even name their children "Grace."

But friends, what is this grace that we pray for and sing about so often?
Yes, grace is God’s gift. A free, unearned gift from God — that is grace.

So what does Ephesians 2:8, which we read today, say?

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—”

But notice: in Ephesians 2:8, it doesn’t just say “grace.”
It says “this grace,” using a demonstrative pronoun to indicate a specific grace.
“That grace…”

Yes, “that grace” refers to Jesus Christ, mentioned just one verse earlier in verse 7.
So what does John 1:16 say when introducing Jesus Christ?

“Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.”

What is the greatest gift, the greatest grace God has given us?
Yes, it is Jesus Christ.

Friends, if God had not sent Jesus to this earth, how could we have resolved the issue of sin?
Without Jesus, could we have ever received salvation?

That’s why Jesus is the greatest grace—the greatest gift.

There’s a popular gospel song titled “I Will Never Exchange You for Anything.”
What does the lyric say?

“I will never exchange You for anything, I will not seek any other grace...
For only You are my help in life. I want to see Your face…”

This is a confession that more than any other grace, we want to see Jesus.

We don’t know who wrote this song, but whoever it was clearly had a deep, biblical understanding of grace:
Jesus is the most precious grace above all.

Now, do you understand what the Bible means by grace?

But here’s where the problem begins:
There are times when we don’t properly recognize the grace God gives us.
There are times when, not knowing it’s grace, we complain about it or reject it.

Paul explains this in 1 Corinthians 2:7–8:

“No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

The greatest grace—Jesus—was not recognized by a single one of the rulers of that generation.
And by "rulers," he doesn’t just mean political leaders, but also those at the highest levels in fields like politics, economy, culture, art, religion, education, and philosophy.

Not one of them recognized Jesus Christ, the greatest gift and grace from God.

If they had known He was God’s greatest gift and grace, they would never have crucified Him.

Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 2:9:

“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived—the things God has prepared for those who love him—”

What are these things?
Yes — they are grace.

So as we live in this world, there are times when we miss this grace.
Just like the Jews who knew the Law and were zealous in religion — yet crucified Jesus —
we too, though we know the Bible and attend church diligently, can miss out on God’s grace and end up complaining about or rejecting it.

That’s why we need help to recognize whether something is truly a gift from God.

Who helps us with that?

Yes — the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:12 says:

“What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.”

Let’s look at an example.

One day, God gives Noah a command.
Genesis 6:14–15:

“Make yourself an ark of cypress wood... The ark is to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high.”

That’s about 130m x 23m x 13m — a massive ship. If you visit the replica in Kentucky, you’ll see that it’s far too big for one person to build.

No Home Depot, no modern tools — just preparing materials would take a lifetime.
No vacations, no hobbies. And God didn’t even provide the building costs. It was all a huge financial burden.

Yet Noah obeyed without complaining.

How does the Bible begin Noah’s story?

Genesis 6:8:

“But Noah found favor (grace) in the eyes of the Lord.”

Now here’s something fascinating:
The word "found" (favor) in the original Hebrew is מַצָּא (matsa) — it means “to meet” and is used in personal encounters.

In other words, the grace God gave Noah was personal.

And who is the personal grace that God gives us?

Yes — it is the Holy Spirit, who has thoughts, emotions, and will.
John 14 describes how the Spirit reminds us of God’s Word, leads us to Jesus’ heart, and helps us choose truth and righteousness.

It’s not a visible meeting, but a spiritual encounter, so the Bible says “he found grace”—meaning the Spirit came upon him, guiding his thoughts, feelings, and decisions.

So Noah could recognize that the task of building the ark was God’s precious plan, and he obeyed.

This same pattern appears in Nehemiah’s story.

Nehemiah was a diaspora Jew, born in Babylon after Israel had been exiled for 70 years.
When Babylon fell to Persia, King Cyrus issued a decree allowing the Jews to return and rebuild the temple.

Many Jews returned to Jerusalem. But some remained behind — and among them was Nehemiah, born and raised in exile, more fluent in Persian than Hebrew, living and working comfortably in Susa, one of Persia’s capital cities.

Then one day, Nehemiah hears that Jerusalem is in ruins, and the people are suffering.
He fasts and prays earnestly for days.

Then he prays this in Nehemiah 1:11:

“Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant... Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”

And then it says:

“I was cupbearer to the king.”

Look carefully at this prayer.
What does Nehemiah ask for in order to rebuild Jerusalem’s wall?

He says: “Grant me favor (grace) before this man” — asking for visible, worldly grace.
But note: the Hebrew expression is again similar to Noah’s — it doesn’t mean mere worldly favor. It suggests a divine encounter with grace.

So Nehemiah’s prayer is interesting — he seems to ask for both practical and spiritual grace.

What was the result of his prayer?

Let’s look again at Nehemiah 1:11:

“...Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”
“I was cupbearer to the king.”

Becoming cupbearer to the king means he was promoted.
Back then, kings were often assassinated — and poison was common. So cupbearers were deeply trusted and sometimes even gave political advice.

Nehemiah gained a position of influence.
Who gave him this favor? King Artaxerxes of Persia.

Then Nehemiah boldly asks the king for help rebuilding Jerusalem.
Read Nehemiah 2:5–8, where he asks for letters, supplies, and permission.

And in verse 8, he says:

“Because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests.”

So Nehemiah understood two things:

1.   To do God's work in the world, worldly strength and resources are needed — visible grace.

2.   But all of those things — power, influence, provision — are still under God’s control.

He received everything from the king — passage rights, materials, protection.
But he never forgot: it was God’s good hand guiding it all.

Nehemiah could have easily started trusting King Artaxerxes instead of God.
But he didn't.
He understood: while worldly power matters, God is sovereign over all of it.

Even though Nehemiah never hears God's voice directly, never sees a miracle, he discerns God's hand in the political, economic, and historical events around him.

So how did Nehemiah gain such spiritual discernment?

Nehemiah doesn’t say, “I was filled with the Holy Spirit.”
But in Nehemiah 7:5, he says:

“So my God put it into my heart…”

That’s the work of the Holy Spirit—bringing thoughts, conviction, and insight to Nehemiah’s heart.

And 1 Corinthians 2:13 confirms:

“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.”

It is the Spirit who helps us discern spiritual things — like how God moves behind the scenes of history and life.

So friends, let us ask for the power of heaven — the grace of God.

Let us discern the grace we have received.

And may the Holy Spirit, who gives us discernment to see God's hand even in worldly things, remain present and active in our lives as we stand firmly on God’s Word.

Then I believe that the invisible gift of God’s grace will become a visible grace to the world through you.

Amen.