What does grace mean in the Bible?

Grace means a gift you did not earn, given because of the giver’s love. In the Bible it is our Father’s favour toward people who could never repay Him, and His power at work in them. It is not a reward for good behaviour and not a loophole for bad behaviour. It is the Father giving Himself.

Paul puts it at the centre of the gospel: “For by grace you have been saved through faith—not your own doing; it is the gift of our Father. Not from works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). Grace is the “gift” in that sentence, and the giver is named.

The New Testament word is the Greek charis, the ordinary word for a favour freely given or a gift that delights. Our word charity and the Greek word for “gift,” charisma, come from the same root.

In the Old Testament two Hebrew words carry the idea. Chen is favour, as when someone “finds favour” in another’s eyes. And hesed is the great covenant word: loyal, steadfast, never-letting-go love. Father’s Heart Bible™ renders hesed as “covenant love.” When our Father describes Himself to Moses He uses both ideas at once: “your Father—compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and overflowing with covenant love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6).

John says that in Jesus we saw “the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14), and “from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16). Grace is not first an idea; it is the Son, given by the Father.

Paul describes what that cost: “You know our Lord Jesus Christ’s grace: though rich, he became poor for you, so his poverty could make you rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). And he explains what it does: all “fall short of the glory of our Father, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23–24).

Grace is not only how the story begins. When Paul begged to be rid of a weakness, the answer was, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Grace meets us where we are not strong.

It also changes how we live. “For the grace of our Father has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, teaching us to reject wickedness and worldly desires” (Titus 2:11–12). That is why the letter to the Hebrews can say, “Let us then approach the throne of grace boldly, so we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Children do not approach a Father’s throne afraid.

A simple way to hold the two together: mercy is not receiving the punishment we deserve; grace is receiving the gift we do not deserve. Hebrews 4:16 names both in one breath, “receive mercy and find grace.” Our Father does both, because He is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in covenant love” (Psalm 103:8).