Eph. 2:8 - "For by grace you are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it (grace) is the gift of God."
Just what is "grace"? An "unmerited favor or gift"? Yes - however, that is a characteristic, not definition, of it. But does that merely mean that God feels sorry for us and is nice to us? Far, far from it! I believe that "grace" denotes Christ dwelling and living within us. Grace is a strong concept of a gift, whereby the giver imparts of himself, of his very nature or essence, to the receiver; and furthermore, whereby the receiver responds dynamically by taking that very nature of the giver into his own nature, assimilating it, and being imbued by it. Grace describes Christ, via His Holy Spirit, coming to dwell in us, we containing Him, and letting Him permeate all aspects of our beings!
