activity is Himself in action. Only when the Savior, Jesus
Christ, is functionally operative in the Christian do we
participate in the salvation process, being made safe from
dysfunctional and misused humanity in order to function as
God intended by His Being functioning in mankind.
Salvation must be conjoined ontologically with the living
Savior.
"Grace"
If we accept the popular definition of "grace" as a "gift"
or an "undeserved favor," the factor of epistemological
separation is again obvious. The divine Giver is set apart
from the gift. An ontological consideration of grace
recognizes that all that God gives is Himself, His own
Being in action.
Grace is sometimes perceived as a mechanical
instrument of causality, the "force" God employs to
accomplish His desires. Grace has been viewed as the
"threshold factor" that effected redemption which then
allows for the individual effect of conversion. Some have
explained grace as some "thing" God imparts as the parcels
of His sufficiency are needed. Theologians have referred to
the "infusion of grace," "the means of grace," the