Grace in the Bible: What Does It Mean?

The Christian faith is built on grace. In fact, we believe we’re saved by faith through grace. But what does grace mean? To better understand grace, let’s dive into Hebrew, one of the first languages of the Bible.

The Hebrew word for “grace” is ḥēn, pronounced like “hen.” This word is commonly translated as “favor,” which means acceptance and goodwill regardless of whether we’ve earned it.

In other words, grace is undeserved favor. Grace can’t be earned; it is something freely given to us by God. Jesus is the perfect example of grace. Because of God’s love for us, he sent Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins, showing us undeserved goodwill, forgiveness and kindness. How beautiful is that?

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45 Bible Verses About Grace

Scriptures on grace abound throughout the Bible. From the Old Testament, we learn that grace is a part of God’s character. Then, in the New Testament, we learn about the role of grace in our faith and salvation.

All Bible verses about grace are written in the NIV translation unless otherwise noted.

Grace Verses in the Old Testament

1. Numbers 6:24-26: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

2. Psalm 103:8: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

3. Isaiah 30:18: Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

4. 2 Chronicles 30:9: “If you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.”

5. Joel 2:13: Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

6. Nehemiah 9:31: But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

7. Isaiah 55:7: Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

8. Psalm 145:8-9: The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

9. Jeremiah 31:2-3: This is what the Lord says: “The people who survive the sword will find favor in the wilderness; I will come to give rest to Israel.” The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”

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Grace Verses in the New Testament

1. Hebrews 4:16: Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

2. 1 Peter 5:10: And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

3. 2 Corinthians 8:9: For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

4. John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

5. Acts 4:33: With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all.

6. 1 Corinthians 15:10: But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

7. Revelation 22:21: The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

8. Philemon 1:25: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

9. Romans 1:7: To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

10. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17: May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

11. 2 Corinthians 12:9: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

12. Romans 6:14: For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

13. Acts 14:3: So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.

14. James 4:6: But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

15. 1 Peter 4:10: Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

16. Romans 1:5: Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.

17. Ephesians 4:7: But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

18. John 1:16: Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.

19. 2 Peter 3:18: But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

20. 2 Timothy 2:1: You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

21. Romans 16:20: The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

22. Ephesians 2:4-5: But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved.

23. Titus 2:11-12: For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.

24. 2 Timothy 1:9: He has saved us and called us to a holy life — not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.

25. Romans 3:23-24: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

26. Ephesians 2:8-9: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.

27. Romans 5:15: But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!

28. Romans 5:21: So that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

29. Acts 20:24: However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

30. Romans 11:6: And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

31. Galatians 2:21: I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!

32. Romans 6:1-2: What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

33. Ephesians 1:7: In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.

34. 2 Corinthians 8:7: But since you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you — see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

35. 1 Peter 1:13: Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

36. Hebrews 13:9: Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so.

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What Else Does the Bible Say About ... ?

Wondering what the Bible has to say about other things, such as faith, hope or poverty?

Read more Scripture about the topics you care about.

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