Grace Upon Grace

 The scriptures this week invite us to move beyond a simple admiration of the Christmas story toward an active participation in the life of Christ, drawing from his endless and lavished fullness. This Christian journey is characterized by a three-fold movement of grace that replaces a life of scarcity with one of abundance. It begins with prevenient grace, which is the initiating work of God that seeks and “goes before” individuals even before they are aware of his presence. When one responds to this seeking, justifying grace saves them, providing not only forgiveness but the power to become a new creation. The process continues through sanctifying grace, the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit that shapes and conforms a believer’s character to the image of Christ over a lifetime. Ultimately, we are invited to cooperate with the Spirit and live fully into this grace that never runs dry as we enter a new year.

Grace Upon Grace - January 4, 2026, Ebenezer & Black Creek UMC

Jeremiah 31:7-14; Ephesians 1:3-14; John 1:1-18

1. From Admiration to Participation

We are still close enough to Christmas that the glow of the manger hasn’t quite faded. The lights may be dimming and the decorations may be coming down, but the story still lingers in our hearts. Christmas invites us to admire the beauty of the Word made flesh, to marvel at the humility of Christ’s birth, and to wonder at the angels’ song. But John’s Gospel doesn’t let us stop at admiration. John pushes us toward participation.

He tells us that the coming of Christ is not simply something to look at, but something to live from. It is not just a story to remember, but a reality to receive. And then John says this:

“From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”

This is not a trickle. It is not a drop. It is not a seasonal sample like one you might get while walking through Sam’s Club or Costco, where they have those little plates and you can pick the little sample off and taste it. This is an endless supply. It is grace upon grace. Paul echos this in his letter to the Ephesians: we are redeemed “according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us.”

Lavished. Poured out. Overflowing.

The Christian life is not a life of scarcity; it is a life lived from the fullness of Christ. Today, we will explore that fullness through our faith tradition, defining “grace upon grace” as grace that seeks, grace that saves, and grace that sanctifies.

Let us begin with the grace that first comes to us.

2. A Grace that Seeks

Before we can ever respond to God, God is already at work. This is what our tradition calls prevenient grace—the grace that “goes before.” It is the foundational, initiating work of God in a person’s life, reaching out to us long before we ever think of reaching for him. It is the grace that is at work in us even before we are aware of God’s presence.

The scriptures bear witness to this initiating love. John tells us, “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” And Paul writes in Ephesians, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing.”

The meaning here is profound. Before we chose Christ, he chose us. He chose to bless us. Before we ever spoke God’s name, God was speaking ours. John says the true light enlightens everyone. No one is left out. No one is beyond the reach of this seeking grace. It awakens, it stirs, it whispers to the soul, “Come to me. Come home. Come to the embrace of my arms.”

Prevenient grace is the gentle hand that shakes us awake in the morning; we do not wake ourselves, but someone calls us into the day. In the same way, God calls us into life. If we look back over our stories, we can see its signature—those moments when God was drawing us long before we recognized it. It may have been a specific conversation, a crisis we were experiencing, a deep and persistent longing, or a restlessness of heart. It is the tug at the heart that we cannot quite explain.

Grace upon grace begins here: God seeks us.

From this universal seeking, grace moves toward a personal reception.

3. A Grace that Saves

The grace that seeks us is an invitation, and when we respond to that invitation, it becomes a grace that saves. This is the moment of reception, what we call justifying grace, and it fundamentally alters our relationship with God.

John continues his account with these powerful words: “To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.” Paul echoes this, proclaiming, “In him we have redemption through his blood… according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us.” This grace is not given reluctantly or sparingly; it is lavished.

To understand what this means, think of the parable of the sower. He goes out sewing his seed everywhere. He sows that seed onto rocky soil, onto asphalt and concrete, into weedy and thorny ground, and into good ground where it will take root and produce fruit. The point is this: the seed is cast everywhere. In the same way, God lavishes his grace and his love upon us indiscriminately.

Justifying grace is the grace that pardons, forgives, reconciles, and restores. It is the moment when the door that prevenient grace has been gently nudging finally swings open, and we step into the life God has been preparing for us.

John Wesley insisted that justifying grace is more than just pardon from sin; it is also the power to begin again. Justification goes with regeneration. Forgiveness of sins goes along with being a new being in Christ. It is a new birth, a new identity, and a new belonging. As John wrote, to all who received him, he gave power to become children of God. This is not a sentimental Christmas card; this is a new creation.

Grace upon grace continues: God saves us.

Yet, this saving moment is not the end of the story, but the beginning of a lifelong transformation.

4. A Grace that Sanctifies

After seeking and saving, grace continues its work by sanctifying. This is the ongoing, transformative work of the Holy Spirit that shapes a believer’s character over a lifetime, conforming us to the image of Christ.

Scripture points us toward this purpose. John writes, “We have seen his glory… full of grace and truth,” and the glory of Christ is not static; it is transformative. When we behold Christ, we are changed by him. Paul reinforces this by stating that God’s ultimate purpose is that we “might live for the praise of his glory.” We are called to be not just forgiven people or rescued people, but holy people—people shaped by love, who reflect the character of Christ.

This is sanctifying grace: the force that creates, shapes, sustains, and perfects the Christian life. It is a grace that doesn’t just forgive, but creates; a grace that doesn’t just save, but shapes. Wesley believed that sanctifying grace is the very heartbeat of discipleship. Do you want to be a Christian? Then we follow Jesus. And it is the Holy Spirit that enables us to do that. It is the Spirit’s daily work of renewing our minds, purifying our desires, strengthening our wills, and empowering our obedience.

And here is the good news: Christ’s fullness never runs out. There is always more grace. Because of this, none of us are ever stuck. None of us are finished. None of us are beyond the reach of transformation by the power of God.

Grace upon grace continues: God sanctifies us.

This three-fold movement of grace leads us to a new way of living.

5. Living in Fullness

So where does this leave us today, as we stand at the beginning of a new year? It leaves us with a Christ who is not just to be admired but received; not just celebrated but trusted; not just worshiped or to say we believe in him, but to be followed, to follow him.

It leaves us with a grace that seeks us, saves us, and sanctifies us. It is a grace that keeps creating us, a grace that never runs dry. As we reflect on the message of the gospel, we are reminded of those foundational truths that anchor our faith. John says, “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” Paul reminds us that “this grace is lavished upon us.”

Therefore, as we step into this new year, we do not step into scarcity. We step into abundance. We step into fullness. We step into grace upon grace.

So receive it. Live into it. And may we cooperate with the Spirit who is still creating us in the image of Christ.

+ In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.