What is common grace?

How good is the Lord even to those who are not His people. Those who are unconverted have much to thank God for, for He gives the sunshine and the rain, He provides their food and clothing, yet how ungrateful oft-time they are.

It delights God as Creator and Governor of the universe, to lavish His bounties upon men, spite of their unworthiness and ingratitude. "Jehovah is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works" (Ps. 145:9). The Lord Jesus, when bidding His disciples to love their enemies, said, "that ye may be the sons of your Father which is in heaven: for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt. 5:45). When the foolish pagans of Lystra desired to offer sacrifices to Barnabas and Paul as gods come down to earth in the likeness of men, these faithful men ran in amongst them, and bore testimony to the one true God. Of Him they said, "He left not Himself without witness, in that He did good, and gave you rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness" (Acts 14:17). The regularity of the seasons, as they come and go, are the abiding evidences of God's gracious interest in His creatures. Faith, perceiving this, cries out: "O Jehovah, how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy riches" (Ps. 105:24). What then does it mean when He forbids showers to fall, or the sun to shine?

The apostle set before the Athenians One who, good in Himself, does good actively, even in the world out of course as it is now, since man's fall brought in sin and death universally. Yet He who needs nothing for Himself makes His sun rise on evil and good, and sends rain on just and unjust. Nor has He left Himself without witness in doing good, and giving from heaven fruitful seasons, and filling hearts with food and gladness. So it was among all the nations whom in times past He suffered to go in their own ways of ignoring Him: He gives to all life and breath and all things. How simple and self-evidencing the plain fact to make known the God whom confessedly they knew not! What a contrast with all the false gods (the real demons) of the world who debased their devotees to their own rebellious evil and mischievous selfishness, enabling also their priests to prey on the guilty fears of mankind.

A precious thought in connection with the meal-table is that the thanksgiving is on the basis of redemption, for we do not receive God's gifts on the original ground of creation, but because of the cross of Christ. God could not, as righteous, bestow the smallest benefit upon a sinner, unless His righteousness in doing so were satisfied. Therefore it is on account of the propitiation of Christ that our daily mercies come to us; and indeed not only to us, but to the world. This is the basis on which God "maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." The man of the world little dreams that he owes his food and raiment and every good that he enjoys to the despised atonement of Christ; but God would be exhibiting indulgence to sin if it were otherwise. It is in this regard that "Christ … is the propitiation … for the whole world" (1 John 2:2). Men are continued in life upon the earth, and afforded the free use of God's magnificent creation (magnificent, though marred), because of the propitiation of Christ; and it is in this sense that God is Saviour (Preserver) of all men, specially of those who believe (1 Tim. 4:10). Temporal salvation, not eternal, is what this text refers to.

With the exception of certain solemn judgments on the wicked, and the establishment for a time of His throne in Israel, God's government of the world has, since the entrance of sin, been of a secret, providential character. All things are, indeed, ordered or controlled by divine power; human wickedness is thus checked, and the violence of man's passions restrained; all things are caused to work together for good to God's people; and generally speaking, iniquity becomes, in the long run, its own punishment: but all this is by a mysterious combination and superintendence of events of which natural men know nothing. Faith recognizes it, discerning the hand of God in many things, and confessing it in all; but the world at large neither discern nor own anything but the actual course of events, and the human agencies to which these are attributed. Such is Providence.

One characteristic of this secret providence which God at present exercises is, that it does not interrupt, but, on the contrary, regulates the ordinary course of events. Any marked deviation from this excites attention; and while there doubtless have been many such, sufficiently striking to appear miraculous, or even in fact to be so, the exceptional character of these interruptions does but confirm the distinction on which we insist. Another feature of God's providential government is, that human wickedness, though often checked, always restrained, and sometimes allowed visibly to work out its own punishment, is, nevertheless, permitted to continue, and very often, for a season, to triumph. God's people, on the other hand, have to suffer. Inwardly sustained by divine grace, they have to manifest its power by "patient continuance in well doing" amid continual temptations to evil, and in the face of difficulties and opposition on every side. Such is the present state of things.

Jesus speaks of it as man’s “hour” (Luke 22:53). From the fall until that hour man had been held in check by the restraining hand of God. Previous to this he had been mercifully prevented from carrying out the full thought of his heart. He had corrupted the earth, filled it with violence, shed innocent blood, broken the law, worshipped demons, slain the servants of God, and hated Christ come into the world in grace and love. But his enmity had been under the control of God, and he was prevented from doing all that he felt inclined to do. Moved by the causeless hatred of his hard and godless heart, he had been often ready to stone Jesus, but somehow he found himself unable to carry out his murderous intention. But now his “hour” was come; the limit which had been assigned to his wrath was removed; the avenues through which his evil nature was to show itself were thrown open; the bit and bridle, which had in measure been a check upon his impious goings, were cast aside. He felt for the first time in his fallen history what real liberty was, as far as freedom from the intervention of God went. From divine control he is free and unfettered, and the universe must be spectators of the use to which his liberty is to be put. Alas, for poor man! His liberty was his ruin, as it ever is. Like the Gadarene herd of swine, his race was down a declivity, reckless, rapid, ruinous; and it was the same power which drove both to destruction.

77 There may be a preliminary work - what the old Puritans call the common operations of the Spirit. There may be appeals to the conscience, which may have reached it, and the soul going on as before. The conscience may be reached, and a man may be quickened, or he may not; and the conscience may be reached and bring out the bitterest enmity against God. The consciences of the people whom Stephen addressed were reached, and made them gnash with their teeth. When God quickens, the conscience is reached, and the man is made to feel he is a sinner. The conscience may be reached, however, without that inward work as well as with it.

Whenever the Holy Ghost works, it produces a want. In Nicodemus's case, it went on to quickening. You have the words, "Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost." It is not His work in the sense of saving or quickening, but the conscience is reached. That is the reason why the Puritans call such the common operations of the Spirit.

"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven" (the J.N.D. Translation gives "sons" rather than "children"). The Lord here presents a high standard. As we have already seen in our study of verses 9 and 16 the word "son" in the "Sermon on the Mount" has a practical meaning. The Lord Jesus is not speaking of the gospel here or how to become a child or son of God. Rather, He shows His disciples, who were already born again, how they could be imitators of their Father in heaven by loving their enemies and therefore practically demonstrate that they were His sons. The proper sonship of the New Testament was only revealed after the redemptive work of Christ had been accomplished (Rom. 8:14-15; Gal. 4:5-7; Eph. 1:5).

The Lord Jesus first of all directs His disciples to love their enemies. By doing so they would demonstrate that they are sons of their Father in heaven. He then reminds them of the attitude of the Creator towards all men's attitude towards men. "He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." It is true that the love of God to His creatures found its highest expression in giving His beloved Son (John 3:16). But everyone who wants to can recognise His undiscriminating love towards all in that He makes His sun to rise both on the evil and the good every morning and sends the vital rain on both the just and the unjust. He has the right to condemn the evil and the unjust. Instead of doing so He shows them His goodness during their life on earth in the same way that He does to the good and the just. The love of the eternal Creator-God for His enemies could not be manifested more touchingly. The disciples of Jesus ought to follow this example. To prevent any misunderstanding let it be mentioned however that God does not show His love without distinction. God is a Saviour (JND: Preserver) of all men, specially of those that believe (1 Tim. 4:10). Believers too are invited to love one another (to have brotherly love) and to love all men (to have love for their fellow-men) (1 Thess. 3:12; Gal. 6:10). And the moment will come when those who despised the goodness of God which was meant to lead them to repentance, will receive eternal punishment.

The common mercies wicked men have, are not loadstones to draw them nearer to God, but millstones to sink them deeper in hell (1 Tim. 6:9). Their delicious dainties are like Haman's banquet; after all their lordly fare, death will bring in the reckoning, and they must pay it in hell.

The reader will notice that, as in verses 1 and 2, we have not a single clause specially characteristic of Christianity. Also in verses 4 and 5, we have not a single clause that rises to the height of the new birth or the sealing of the Holy Spirit. A person might be all that is here spoken of and yet never have been born again, never sealed by the Holy Spirit. How many thousands have been “enlightened” by the gospel without being converted by it! Wherever the gospel has been preached, wherever the Bible has been received and read, an enlightening influence has gone forth, altogether irrespective of any saving work wrought in souls. Look at the nations of Europe since the Reformation. In all those countries that have received the Bible, we see the moral effect produced in the way of intelligence, civilization and refinement, apart altogether from the question of the conversion of individual souls. On the other hand those countries which have refused the Bible, exhibit the depressing results of ignorance, moral darkness and degradation. In a word, there may be enlightenment of the understanding without any divine work in the conscience or in the heart.

But what means the “tasting the heavenly gift?” Does not this imply the new birth? By no means. Many have gotten a taste of the new, the heavenly things set forth in the glorious gospel of God, and yet never have passed from death to life, never have been broken down before God about their sins — never have received Christ into their hearts. Tasting of the heavenly gift and passing, by new birth, into the heavenly kingdom, are totally different things.