Lesson 12: A Humanitarian by Giving Us a Wonderful Status
Art & Music That Matters
Grace
Performed by CityAlight
Song Lyrics
Your grace that leads this sinner home
From death to life forever
And sings the song of righteousness
By blood and not by merit
Your grace that reaches far and wide
To every tribe and nation
Has called my heart to enter in
The joy of Your salvation
By grace I am redeemed
By grace I am restored
And now I freely walk
Into the arms of Christ my Lord
Your grace that I cannot explain
Not by my earthly wisdom
The prince of life, without a stain
Was traded for this sinner
Let praise rise up and overflow
My song resound forever
For grace will see me welcomed home
To walk beside my Saviour
Once for All
Song Lyrics
Our God He bridged the great divide
To offer us eternal life
Sending hope within a Man
Oh His love it never fails
and His love it never ends
He came in flesh to fight our cause
With power to tame the oceans roar
Taking on our sin and shame
He has opened up the way,
He has overcome the grave
Once for all, our King has paid it all
All the glory to His name
By His blood, the curse of man undone
All the glory to His name
Now we live forever free
Because of Christ, the offering
No fear in life, no sting in death
For our God has come for us
and our God has paid the debt
Once for all, our King has paid it all
All the glory to His name
By His blood, the curse of man undone
All the glory to His name
All the glory to His name
All the glory to His name
All the glory to His name, Jesus
All the glory to His name
All the glory to His name, Jesus
All the glory to His name
All the glory to His name, Jesus
All the glory to His name
Once for all, our King has paid it all
All the glory to His name
By His blood, the curse of man undone
All the glory to His name
All the glory to His name
All the glory to His name
Words and music by Niki Shepherd, Jonny Robinson, Rich Thompson
Questions to Consider
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“Grace” simply and strikingly takes the theme of grace through a believer’s life.
Verse 1 introduces the theme that grace comes from Jesus’ blood and not our merit.
Verse 2 celebrates the Gospel call going out to every tribe and nation. The chorus is our response:
By grace, I am redeemed
By grace, I am restored
And now I freely walk
Into the arms of Christ my Lord
Though all four verses are personal, verse three most directly celebrates its application to our life: “The Prince of Life, without a stain, was traded for this sinner.”
And verse four celebrates the end of this journey of grace. For the moment, we have to walk by faith and not by sight. For the moment, we see Jesus through a glass, dimly. But the day is coming when we will see Him face to face. So this verse celebrates the grace that will “see me welcomed home to walk beside my Savior.”
No matter where or when you are from, all humans have an equal problem sin. No matter where or when you are from, all humans have an equal solution grace. By grace, not by my works or merit, I am redeemed and restored.
“The Prince of Life, without a stain, was traded for this sinner.” I can’t say it better or more simple than that.
Illustrating Our Sin & Our Savior
Artwork by Chris Powers
The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
Zephaniah 3:15-17
Questions to Consider
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The Love of God—as definitively manifest in Christ, crucified, and risen—quiets the hearts and minds and souls and lives of God’s people.
Ultimately, the judgment that hangs over all people is God’s judgment against sin (Romans 3:19), and ultimately, the supreme enemy is death (1 Corinthians 15:26). Both are taken away in God’s redemption, worked in Jesus Christ on the cross and the empty tomb. Christ bears away the judgment against his people. The spear of the cross pointed at the bride is stopped from piercing her by piercing the hand of Christ. He destroys the enemy of death through his death and resurrection and secures everlasting life for all those in him (indicated by the open tomb and partially rolled-away stone in the background). In all of this, he shows himself to be “the King of Israel,” crowned with the glorified wounds of his steadfast love and faithfulness.
The celebratory joy of God over his people is that of a Groom over his Bride. This joy is depicted in the spiraling pattern of Christ and the Church, whose right hands are clasped in a whirling circular dance.
