Today, we continue our series entitled “Living the Grace Life,” where we will learn to embrace and walk in God’s unmerited, unearned, and often undeserved favor throughout 2025.
As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians. Let’s get into it.
Key scriptures for this year:
2 Corinthians? ?9?:?8? ?TPT??
“Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything—every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.”
Galatians? ?5?:?4? ?TPT??
“If you want to be made right with God by fulfilling the obligations of the law, you have cut off more than your flesh—you have cut yourselves off from Christ and have fallen away from the revelation of grace!”
Romans? ?6?:?14? ?ERV??
“Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law. You now live under God’s grace.”
1 Corinthians? ?15?:?10? ?NIV??
“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.”
Scripture(s) we will study today:
Galatians 1:24 TPT
“And they gave glory to God because of me.”
Galatians 1:24 ERV
“And these believers praised God because of what had happened to me.”
Galatians 1:24 NIV
“And they praised God because of me.”
Setting the Stage:
This single verse contains one of the most powerful principles in all of Scripture: the ultimate purpose of God’s grace in your life is to make HIM famous, not you. Paul’s transformation was so dramatic, so impossible, so supernatural that when people heard about it, they didn’t praise Paul—they praised God.
Here’s what we cannot miss: When people heard Paul’s story, they didn’t come up to him saying, “Good job, Paul!” Instead, they said, “Thank You, Lord!” Paul wasn’t getting the credit. God was getting the credit. Paul wasn’t getting the praise. God was getting the praise. Grace doesn’t make you the hero of your story; it makes God the hero of your story.
Paul’s life became God’s advertisement. Every time someone heard Paul’s testimony, they didn’t walk away impressed with Paul. They walked away amazed by God’s power to transform the impossible. That’s the goal of #TheGraceLife: to live in such a way that your life points people to the overwhelming power of God’s amazing grace.
So, what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Your Life Is God’s Billboard—And People Should Be Praising HIM, Not You.
Paul’s transformed life became God’s greatest advertisement. When people looked at Paul, they saw proof that no one is too far gone for God’s grace. His life was a walking, talking billboard that said grace can transform anybody.
The difference between human achievement and grace-powered transformation is that, under human achievement, people see what you are doing and praise you. Under grace-powered transformation, people see what you are doing and praise God!
Your life should be a living demonstration of God’s transforming power where people see God working, not just you working.
How this applies to you:
— When your life transformation is truly supernatural, people won’t praise you—they’ll praise God. If people are congratulating you more than they’re thanking God, you might be operating in human effort rather than divine grace. Or it could be that you are taking credit for things that should be attributed to God.
— The goal isn’t to receive human applause but rather to generate divine appreciation.
— Grace-powered change is so obviously supernatural that it can only be attributed to God. When grace is working, people don’t wonder how you did it; they wonder how God did it.
— The bigger the mess God cleaned up, the louder people will praise Him when they hear your story. Don’t hide your testimony—it’s God’s proof that He specializes in using people the world threw away.
— If your success can be explained by natural ability alone, you’re not showcasing grace. Grace produces results that make people automatically look to heaven for the explanation.
— Your greatest failures can become God’s greatest advertisements when grace gets involved. The areas where you’ve experienced the most shame can become the platforms where God receives the most glory.
— When people see your life, they should be forced to conclude that only God could have done this. That’s when they stop congratulating you and start celebrating Him.
2. Grace-Driven Success Always Redirects Glory to God.
Notice that Paul didn’t try to take credit for his transformation or his success. He made it clear that everything good in his life was the result of God’s grace. This is why people didn’t praise Paul—they praised the God who transformed Paul.
When you’re truly walking in grace, people don’t walk away from your story thinking about how great you are—they walk away thinking about how great God is.
How this applies to you:
— True success under grace comes with built-in humility that redirects all praise to God. When you know everything you have is unearned, unmerited, and clearly undeserved, you can’t help but point people to God as the source of your success.
— Paul said, “I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God.” Those who understand God’s grace always point to God when asked about their success.
— When you’re walking in grace, your success becomes an invitation for others to praise God. People don’t resent grace-driven success because it’s obvious that God did it, not human effort alone. On the other hand, people often resent success when a man/woman is boasting about all the things THEY have done.
— Grace-driven success is so supernatural that people automatically give God the glory. You don’t have to work to redirect praise. The results are so obviously divine that people instinctively thank God.
— Your response to praise reveals whether you’re operating in grace or works. If someone compliments your success and your first instinct is to take credit, you’re not operating in grace. Grace-conscious people immediately redirect glory to God.
— The goal isn’t to downplay your role but to highlight God’s role. Paul didn’t deny that he worked hard; he just made sure everyone knew who gave him the ability to work and the grace to succeed.
— When God gets the glory for your transformation, other people get hope for theirs. Paul’s story didn’t just make God famous; it made grace accessible to everyone who heard it.
— When people see what God has done for you, they begin to believe what God can do for them. Your story becomes their hope, and God gets the glory.
— When you let people know how “messed up” you were and how God changed you, then they can relate to that (because they are not perfect), and it generates hope in their hearts for them to expereince the same. But if you make your story ALL ABOUT YOU, then people may walk away from hearing it with nothing but resentment towards your arrogance.
3. Living #TheGraceLife Means Making God Famous, Not Yourself.
Paul’s entire life became a demonstration of God’s grace. He didn’t just preach grace—he lived it, and his life preached louder than his words. Most importantly, his life pointed people to God, not to himself.
How this applies to you:
— You should live your life in such a way that you are not portraying yourself as perfect. You are actually making God’s grace evident in your imperfections.
— Isaiah 43:7 teaches us that we were created for God’s glory! Therefore, the goal of your success isn’t personal recognition but to bring glory to God’s name.
— When you’re truly living #TheGraceLife, you’d rather hear someone say “Thank You, Lord!” than “Good job!” because you know who really deserves the credit.
— The supernatural results of grace in your life should be so obvious that people have no choice but to thank God. When grace is truly operating, the results automatically point to heaven, not you.
— Living #TheGraceLife means being comfortable with God getting all the credit. I have told you many times that with God, it works this way: He gets the glory, and we get the benefits. There are many benefits to walking with God, but to be clear, getting the GLORY is not one of them.
— Your life should be proof that God is still in the transformation business. But this won’t happen if you are too ashamed to tell your story. Paul was not ashamed to admit that he had persecuted the church. When people see you today, they are seeing somewhat of a finished product. They see the GLORY, but they don’t know the STORY unless you tell them. Please don’t be ashamed of your story becuase it brings God glory!
4. When Grace Gets the Credit, God Gets the Glory.
The reason the churches “gave glory to God because of Paul” is because it was obvious that only God could have transformed Christianity’s greatest enemy into its greatest advocate. Paul’s story was so supernatural that human effort couldn’t explain it.
How this applies to you:
— When people hear your story, they should think, “Only God could have done that!” That’s when they start praising Him instead of applauding you.
— The moment people start giving you more credit than God, you’ve moved from grace back to works. If your success story can be explained by your natural ability alone, you’re not showcasing grace—you’re showcasing yourself.
— God shares His glory with no one—but He loves to bless those who won’t steal it. The key is making sure you’re a conduit for God’s glory, not a container trying to keep it for yourself.
— When you give God credit for your success, it doesn’t diminish you; it actually establishes you as someone who understands the source of true success. People respect leaders who acknowledge divine enablement.
— Grace multiplies when it gets acknowledged, and God gets praised. The more you recognize and give testimony to God’s grace in your life, pointing people to thank Him rather than congratulate you, the more grace you’ll experience.
— Your testimony should always redirect attention from you to God. Every success story, every breakthrough, every victory should make people want to praise God, not applaud you.
— When God gets the glory for your transformation, grace becomes more real to everyone who hears your story. Paul’s testimony didn’t just make God famous—it made grace believable and accessible.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You that my life is designed to make You famous, not me famous.
When I tell my story, I don’t want people to congratulate me—I want them to glorify You.
I don’t want people to say “Good job!” to me—I want them to say “Thank You, Lord!”
I declare that every success, every breakthrough, every victory in my life will point people back to You and make them praise You, not me.
My mess has become my message, and my message makes You famous.
I am not ashamed of what You’ve brought me from because it showcases the power of Your grace and makes people thank You.
I am living #TheGraceLife not to get human applause but to generate divine appreciation.
You get the glory, and I get the benefits. There is no limit to what You will do in, with, and through me because I live to glorify You!
I am living THE GRACE LIFE, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME—not so people will congratulate me, but so people will praise Your holy name!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
