THE first quality of the Christ which John the Baptist heralded as expressing the divine nature, was grace. Because the Light had come into the world, this manifestation of radiance and gentleness was to reveal itself to men as their own true being. "And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace."
How outstandingly gracious was the Nazarene! From his childhood, it is recorded of him that he was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him. And grown to manhood, when men listened to him as he addressed them in the synagogue, they wondered at his graciousness. So inseparable was he from the virtue of graciousness that the habitual benediction of the apostles, found throughout the epistles, is in the words, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ." The writers of the Old Testament, praying for peace and prosperity, had had the humble, yet exalted desire that God might be gracious unto them. And now Christ Jesus came assuring them that this was so; and further to prove also that man is not only the beneficiary, but the actual expression of graciousness. This is not something merely to be received in gratitude; it is that which men utilize as evidence of their divine sonship.
This outward expression of the nature of God in graciousness must always announce the presence of the Christ, bearing witness to itself in that which brings with it strength and gentleness, compassion and forbearance, to all who are in need. While, because of its very nature, it never deviates from Principle in the standpoint from which it regards every claim of evil, and may sometimes therefore appear stern, yet it is never harsh or intolerant; neither does it ever forget that the graciousness of the Christ expresses itself not in condemnation, but in salvation.
