Common grace is a
theological concept in
Protestant Christianity
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
, developed primarily in
Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Reformed/Calvinistic thought, referring to the
grace
Grace may refer to:
Places United States
* Grace, Idaho, a city
* Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois
* Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office
* Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
of
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
that is either common to all humankind, or common to everyone within a particular sphere of influence (limited only by unnecessary cultural factors). It is common because its benefits are experienced by, or intended for, the whole human race without distinction between one person and another. It is grace because it is undeserved and sovereignly bestowed by God. In this sense, it is distinguished from the Calvinistic understanding of
special
Special or specials may refer to:
Policing
* Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force
* Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer
Literature
* ''Specia ...
or saving grace, which extends only to
the elect, those whom God has chosen to redeem.
Aspects of common grace
In the words of
Reformed
Reform is beneficial change
Reform may also refer to:
Media
* ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang
* Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group
* ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine
*''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...
scholar Louis Berkhof, “
ommon gracecurbs the destructive power of sin, maintains in a measure the moral order of the universe, thus making an orderly life possible, distributes in varying degrees gifts and talents among men, promotes the development of science and art, and showers untold blessings upon the children of men,” (Berkhof, p. 434, summarizing Calvin’s position on common grace). The various aspects of God's common grace to all mankind may be generally gathered under four heads:
Providential care in creation - God’s sustaining care for his creation, called divine providence, is grace common to all. The Bible says, for instance, that God through the Son "upholds the universe by the word of his power" (Heb. 1:2-3; John 1:1-4). God's gracious provision for his creatures is seen in the giving of the seasons, of seedtime and harvest. It is of this providential common grace that Jesus reminds his hearers when he said God "makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt. 5:45). We also see evidence of God’s common grace in the establishment of various structures within human society. At a foundational level, God has ordained the family unit. Even pagan parents typically know that they should nurture their children (Matt. 7:9-10) and raise them to become responsible adults.
Providential restraint of sin - In the Bible, Paul teaches that ''civil authorities'' have been "instituted by God" (Rom. 13:1) to maintain order and punish wrongdoing. Although fallible instruments of his common grace, civil governments are called "ministers of God" (Rom. 13:6) that should not be feared by those who do good. God also sovereignly works through circumstances to limit a person's sinful behavior (Gen. 20:6, 1 Sam. 25:26).
In man's conscience - The apostle Paul says that when unbelieving Gentiles "who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, ...They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them" (Rom. 2:14-15, ESV). By God's common grace fallen mankind retains a conscience discerning the moral value of doing good over evil. This may be based on the fact that human beings, though fallen in sin, retain a semblance of the "image of God" with which they were originally created (Gen. 9:6: 1 Cor. 11:7).
Providential blessings to mankind - Human advancements that come through the unredeemed are seen as outcomes of God's common grace. For example, medical and other technological advancements that improve the lives of both the redeemed and unredeemed are seen as initiated by common grace.
In summary, common grace is seen in God's continuing care for his creation, his restraining human society from becoming altogether intolerable and ungovernable, his making it possible for mankind to live together in a generally orderly and cooperative manner, and maintaining man's conscious sense of basic right and wrong behavior.
Opponents agree that such phenomena appear at work in civilizations, and cannot operate outside God's providence, but to call this "grace" leads to a diminution of saving grace in the same way undue emphasis on General Revelation diminishes the ultimate authority of Scripture.
Contrasted with special grace
Special grace, in Reformed theology, is the grace by which God redeems, sanctifies, and glorifies his people. Unlike common grace, which is universally given, special grace is bestowed only on those whom God elects to eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. This special grace is frequently linked with the
five points of Calvinism
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
as
irresistible grace
Irresistible grace (also called effectual grace, effectual calling, or efficacious grace) is a doctrine in Christian theology particularly associated with Calvinism, which teaches that the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those wh ...
or efficacious grace.
Common Grace is God working in the heart of the sinner to emulate the Christian life but not effectually saving that sinner. This is a most important distinctive of Historical Calvinism as it is a distinctive made by John Calvin in his book the Institutes of the Christian Religion and by a number of Confessions of faith for Calvinistic denominations originally in Europe. It is also the distinctive made by later theologians such as
Abraham Kuyper
Abraham Kuyper (; ; 29 October 1837 – 8 November 1920) was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands between 1901 and 1905, an influential neo-Calvinist theologian and a journalist. He established the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, which upo ...
of the Netherlands and
Louis Berkhof
Louis Berkhof (October 13, 1873 – May 18, 1957) was a Dutch-American Reformed theologian whose works on systematic theology have been influential in seminaries and Bible colleges in the United States, Canada, Korea and with individual Christians ...
and
R. C. Sproul
Robert Charles Sproul ( ; February 13, 1939 – December 14, 2017) was an American Reformed theologian and ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America. He was the founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries (named for the Ligonier Va ...
. Following Kuyper, Berkhof sees three categories of common grace:
#Universal Common Grace, a grace that extends to all creatures;
#General Common Grace, a grace that applies to mankind in general and to every member of the human race;
#Covenant Common Grace, a grace that is common to all those who live in the sphere of the covenant, whether they belong to the elect or not.
[Louis Berkhof, ''Systematic Theology'' 4th ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979), pages 434-435.]
Theological issues
Within Calvinism
One of the earliest writers on common grace was the Dutch Reformed theologian
Abraham Kuyper
Abraham Kuyper (; ; 29 October 1837 – 8 November 1920) was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands between 1901 and 1905, an influential neo-Calvinist theologian and a journalist. He established the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, which upo ...
. The specifics of the Reformed doctrine of common grace have been somewhat controversial and at times bitterly contested by some Calvinists. Especially in the Dutch tradition, it has been the cause of divisions. For example, in a 1924 Synod of the
Christian Reformed Church (CRC), the CRC adopted what became known as the "Three Points of Common Grace." Certain ministers within the CRC refused to subscribe to those "Three Points," and they (with the majority of their consistories) were either suspended or deposed from office. Thus began the
Protestant Reformed Churches in America
The Protestant Reformed Churches in America (PRC or PRCA) is a Protestant denomination of 33 churches and over 8,000 members.
History Beginning and formation
The PRC was founded in 1924 as a result of a controversy regarding common grace in the ...
. These ministers, and others after them, wrote responses to the decision that was taken and ever since, the Protestant Reformed Churches have maintained that these "Three Points" were contrary to Scripture and the Reformed Confessions.
The position of
Herman Hoeksema
Herman Hoeksema (13 March 1886 in Hoogezand – 2 September 1965 in Grand Rapids) was a Dutch Reformed theologian. Hoeksema served as a long time pastor of the First Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. In 1924 he refused to accept the three ...
and all leaders of the Protestant Reformed Churches is unique to the denomination, and is based on a high view of the word "grace" as a Biblical concept of favor applied only to the elect. According to Hoeksema (and any PRC writer) God's undeserving gifts of sunshine, rain, etc. are "providence" and while providence serves grace for believers, because it adds to their spiritual growth, it is not sent in love to unbelievers and only adds condemnation to those who never believe, in the same way rain is beneficial to a living tree but causes a dead one to rot. Connected to the first point of common grace, which asserts that God's "common grace" is demonstrated in a "general offer" of the gospel, Hoeksema asserted that such a view is pure Arminianism. While God commands all men to repent and believe and this command must be preached to all, Hoeksema insisted this command, like all other commands to godliness in the Bible, is not a "well-meant offer" since it is impossible for unregenerated, totally depraved man to truly perform apart from God's saving grace.
Between Calvinism and Arminianism
Both Calvinists and Arminians generally accept the concept of common grace in that there are undeserved blessings which God extends to all humankind. However, the Arminian sees this common grace including what has been termed "common sufficient grace" or the Wesleyan "
prevenient grace
Prevenient grace (or preceding grace or enabling grace) is a Christian theological concept that refers to the grace of God in a person's life which precedes and prepares to conversion. It was termed and developed by Augustine of Hippo (354 – 4 ...
" whereby the effects of
the fall are offset such that all persons now have free will and the moral ability to understand spiritual things and turn to God in Christ for salvation. The Calvinist maintains that God's common grace does not improve man's
unregenerate nature, nor does it improve his ability to change his moral standing before God.
See also
*
Divine grace
Divine grace is a theological term present in many religions. It has been defined as the divine influence which operates in humans to regenerate and sanctify, to inspire virtuous impulses, and to impart strength to endure trial and resist temptati ...
*
Irresistible grace
Irresistible grace (also called effectual grace, effectual calling, or efficacious grace) is a doctrine in Christian theology particularly associated with Calvinism, which teaches that the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those wh ...
*
Prevenient grace
Prevenient grace (or preceding grace or enabling grace) is a Christian theological concept that refers to the grace of God in a person's life which precedes and prepares to conversion. It was termed and developed by Augustine of Hippo (354 – 4 ...
*
Abraham Kuyper
Abraham Kuyper (; ; 29 October 1837 – 8 November 1920) was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands between 1901 and 1905, an influential neo-Calvinist theologian and a journalist. He established the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, which upo ...
– author of "De Gemene Gratie" (Common Grace; 1902–1905)
References
External links
Common Graceby Louis Berkhof
by James Montgomery Boice
by Barry Gritters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Common Grace
Salvation in Protestantism
Calvinist theology
Grace in Christianity