BILL’S BLOG ENTRY #67

From “Discipleship and Discipline” by William H. Hicks, copyright March, 2005:

“”How were we dead and yet breathing? Explain that, will you! “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)… For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;” (Ephesians 2: 1 – 5, 8).

In the scale of our life’s experiences, the grace of God far outweighs any sin we have committed. Yes, we were dead, sowing dead seed, engaging in lifelessness. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5: 8).””

About THE DISCIPLE

William H. “Bill” Hicks is a graduate of Wesleyan University, BA, Religion, 1971 who also holds a Masters in Public Health Degree (MPH) from the University of Oklahoma Hudson College of Public Health (1973). Bill also has studied at the Dallas Theological Seminary. He grew up in Harlem, New York City, USA during the 1950s and 1960s, graduating from high school before attending Mount Hermon Preparatory School and undergraduate school in Connecticut. He has spent most of his professional life in the public health arena, while being constantly in ministry. He received his license to preach the Gospel at Oklahoma City, OK in 1971. He has written extensively on Christian topics. He enjoys life in Chattanooga, TN with former District Public Defender Ardena Garth Hicks, his wife of 30 years. They have two daughters, Rachel (BA, University of Memphis magna cum laude, 2014) and Sarah (Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude, Global Scholar, University of Tulsa, 2017).

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1 Response to BILL’S BLOG ENTRY #67

Israel Olaore says:

February 2, 2014 at 7:52 pm

I recently started exploring the subject of grace and spent time to meditate on the book of Ephesians. Stopping in chapter 3 for a little while, here’s what the Holy Spirit shared with me: captioned “Unwrapping Grace”
“To me, though I am the very least of all the saints (God’s consecrated people), this grace (favor, privilege) was granted and graciously entrusted: to proclaim to the Gentiles the unending (boundless, fathomless, incalculable, and exhaustless) riches of Christ [wealth which no human being could have searched out], (Ephesians 3:8 AMP)

The Grace of God as manifested in Christ Jesus our Lord is like the vast oceans, the vast expands of space, the deep chasms of the universe that human technology is yet to explore. The infinite nature of the grace of God (the inexhaustible volume) is available and totally sustainable for everyone living, those dead and those will yet to be born of all creed, persuasion, color, ethnicity or gender.