We often define “grace” as “undeserved favor.” But the grace of God has another meaning in the Bible that is filled with encouragement and comfort. What is grace? It seems like a simple question, but the answer has a lot of different angles to it. It is a recent email from a podcast listener named Heather. “Hello, Pastor John! I’m shy to ask this question because I’m embarrassed to admit that I struggle to understand one of the most commonly used words in the church today. That word is ‘grace.’ I often hear it defined as ‘unmerited favor’ or ‘getting what you don’t deserve.’ And I do understand it this way in the context of Ephesians 2:8: 8 for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, `it is' the gift of God; ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.’ “But I don’t understand it in the context of texts like 2 Corinthians 12:9: 9 And he hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for `my' power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Or 1 Corinthians 15:10: 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not found vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. ‘But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.’ I don’t understand ‘grace’ in these verses. Can you explain it to me?” Read or listen to this interview at our website: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-is-grace Find other recent and popular Ask Pastor John episodes: https://www.desiringgod.org/ask-pastor-john