For most of my ministry life, I taught grace the way most preachers do — as a theological concept, a category of divine kindness, the reason we are not immediately judged for our failures. And while all of that is true, I want to offer you something much more substantial. Grace is not simply a doctrinal position. It is a mantle — a special covering from heaven — and it was placed on you the moment you accepted Jesus Christ. The revelation I want to lay before you in these pages is this: you were designed to wear that mantle every single day, in every single situation, at every level of your life. And when you learn to do that consistently, nothing in this world can actually take you down.
The word mantle means a special covering. And when the apostle Paul opens the book of Ephesians, he is not writing an abstract theological treatise. He is describing the reality of what belongs to every believer right now. Verse 3 of chapter 1 says this: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Notice the tense — not who will bless us, but who has blessed us. Past tense. Completed action. The blessing is not on its way. It is already done. And the word grace, which appears throughout the first chapter of Ephesians, is the vehicle through which all of those blessings are delivered to your life.
Grace, properly understood, carries two powerful meanings: ownership and divine favor. Ownership means that what Christ purchased at the cross belongs to you. Health is yours. Wealth is yours. Long life is yours. Joy and peace and victory are yours. They are not rewards you are working toward — they are property you already hold title to through the blood of Jesus. Divine favor means that you are marked from heaven in a way that the natural world cannot explain and cannot override. When 3,000 people are competing for the same opportunity, you step forward with a knowing — not arrogance, but revelation. I know something. I know Someone. I am covered by a supernatural mantle that the average person is not walking in. That is grace.
Ephesians 1:7 says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Notice that forgiveness of sins flows from the riches of grace, not from your effort, not from your consistency, not from your performance. Grace is so wealthy that it covers everything — and it does so because it is rooted in what Christ did, not in what you have managed to do. The mantle of grace is on you right now, whether you acknowledge it or not. But I can tell you from 53 years of experience: it is far better when you know it. Because when you know what you are wearing, you carry yourself differently.
Apostle's Daily Meditations 