What Is Common Grace?

A Word from Bob 

Since 2022, I’ve been collating quotes from Reformed theologians on the doctrine of common grace. I combined all of those quotes into the post:

Common Grace and Biblical Counseling: Wisdom from Reformed Theologians.

A Brief Introduction to Common Grace 

In those posts, I’ve introduced the doctrine of common grace with these words.

In Reformed Christian theology, unregenerate persons are totally depraved and all of their thinking is seen as under the noetic (mind) impact of sin and fallenness.

Yet, also in Reformed thinking, the unregenerate/unsaved person can make valid contributions to society, culture, the arts, research, science, and more.

How can these two truths be held together at one time?

The Reformed doctrine of common grace explains how we can hold to both these biblical truths. It also explains how to engage with and evaluate common grace resources using the lens/spectacles of God’s all-sufficient Word.

Some Introductory Definitions of Common Grace 

How do Reformed theologians define the doctrine of common grace?

1. “But if the Lord has willed that we be helped in physics, dialectic, mathematics, and other like disciplines, by the work and ministry of the ungodly, let us use this assistance. For if we neglect God’s gift freely offered in these arts, we ought to suffer just punishment for our sloths” (Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, II.ii.16).
2. “Whenever we come upon these matters in secular writers, let that admirable light of truth shining in them teach us that the mind of man through fallen and perverted from its wholeness, is nevertheless clothed and ornamented with God’s excellent gifts…. Shall we deny that the truth shone upon the ancient jurists who established civic order and discipline with such great equity? Shall we say that the philosophers were blind in their find observations and artful descriptions of nature? Shall we say that those men were devoid of understanding who conceived the art of disputation and taught us to speak reasonably? Shall we say that they are insane who developed medicine, devoting their labor to our benefit? What shall we say of all the mathematical sciences? Shall we consider them the ravings of madmen? No, we cannot read the writings of the ancients on these subjects without great admiration. We marvel at them because we are compelled to recognized how preeminent they are…. Those men whom Scripture (1 Cor. 2:14) calls ‘natural men’ were, indeed, sharp and penetrating in their investigation of inferior things. Let us, accordingly, learn by their example how many gifts the Lord left to human nature even after it was despoiled of its true good” (Calvin, Institutes, II: 2.15, 273-275).
3. “There remain, however, in man since the fall, the glimmerings of natural light, whereby he retains some knowledge of God, of natural things, and of the differences between good and evil, and discovers some regard for virtue, good order in society, and for maintaining an orderly external deportment” (Canons of Dort).
4. “There is thus a rich revelation of God even among the heathen—not only in nature but also in their heart and conscience, in their life and history, among their statesmen and artists, their philosophers and reformers. There exists no reason at all to denigrate or diminish this divine revelation. Nor is it to be limited to a so-called natural revelation” (Herman Bavinck’s ‘Common Grace, 41).
5. “From this common grace proceeds all that is good and true that we still see in fallen man. The light still shines in the darkness. The Spirit of God lives and works in everything that has been created. Therefore there still remain in man certain traces of the image of God. There is still intellect and reason; all kinds of natural gifts are still present in him. Man still has a feeling and an impression of divinity, a seed of religion. Reason is a priceless gift. Philosophy is an admirable gift from God. Music is also a gift of God. Arts and sciences are good, profitable, and of high value” (Bavinck in his 1894 Lecture, Common Grace, quoted in Hoekema, Created in God’s Image, 190-191).
6. “The state has been instituted by God…. There is still a desire for truth and virtue, and for natural love between parents and children. In matters that concern this earthly life, man is still able to do much good…. Through the doctrine of common grace the Reformed have, on the one hand, maintained the specific and absolute character of the Christian religion, but on the other hand they have been second to none in their appreciation for whatever of the good and beautiful is still being given by God to sinful human beings” (Bavinck in his 1894 Lecture, Common Grace, quoted in Hoekema, Created in God’s Image, 190-191).
7. “We are well aware of the fact that non-Christians have a great deal of knowledge about this world which is true as far as it goes. That is, there is a sense in which we can and must allow for the value of knowledge of non-Christians. We do not make this point as a concession but rather as a fact taught directly by Scripture itself and as such observed in daily experience” (Common Grace and the Gospel, 195).
8. Common grace “enables man to do many positive things which he would otherwise not be able to do. And the principle of continuity presupposed in all this is the idea of the image of God as itself revelational of God. The Holy Spirit testifies to man through his own constitution as well as through the facts of the universe around him, that he is God’s offspring and should act as such (see Acts 17:28). The sinner seeks to suppress this revelation within himself and around him. He cannot do so fully. He continues to be an image bearer of God; even the lost hereafter will be image bearers of God. They will continue to receive the revelation of God within their own constitution; they cannot be devoid of ethical reaction…. Common grace is therefore a favor to sinners by which they are kept from working out to the full the principle of sin within them and thereby are enabled to show some measure of involuntary respect and appreciation for the law of God that speaks to them even through their own constitution as well as through the facts of the world outside” (Common Grace and the Gospel, 238).
9. Common grace is “that act of God by which negativelyHe curbs the operations of Satan, death, and sin, and by which positively He creates an intermediate state for this cosmos, as well as for our human race, which is and continues to be deeply and radically sinful, but in which sin cannot work out its end” (Abraham Kuyper, Principles of Sacred Theology, 279).
10. “Common grace is God’s restraint of the full effect of sin after the Fall, preservation and maintenance of the created order, and distribution of talents to human beings. As a result of this merciful activity of God through the Holy Spirit’s work in creation, it remains possible for humans to obey God’s first commandment for stewardly dominion over the creation (see Gen. 1:28)” (Abraham Kuyper, Wisdom and Wonder, 26).
11. “Anyone who ignores common grace can come to no other conclusion than that all science done outside the arena of the holy, lives off appearance and delusion, and necessarily results in misleading anyone listening to its voice. Yet the outcome shows that this is not the case. Among the Greeks, who were completely deprived of the light of Scripture, a science arose that continues to amaze us with the many beautiful and true things it offers. The names of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle have always been esteemed among Christian thinkers. It is no exaggeration to insist that the thinking of Aristotle has been one of the most powerful instruments leading themselves to still deeper reflection. In modern times as well, no one can deny that in the disciplines of astronomy, botany, zoology, physics, and so on, a rich science is blossoming. Although being conducted almost exclusively by people who are stranger to the fear of the Lord, this science has nevertheless produced a treasury of knowledge that we as Christians admire and gratefully use” (Wisdom and Wonder, 52-53).
12. Common grace is “every favor of whatever kind or degree, falling short of salvation, which this undeserving and sin-cursed world enjoys at the hand of God” (“Common Grace,” in the Collected Writings of John Murray, II:96).
13. In common grace, God grants even the non-Christian “gifts, talents, and aptitudes; he stimulates them with interest and purpose to the practice of virtues, the pursuance of worthy tasks, and the cultivation of arts and sciences that occupy the time, activity and energy of men and that make for the benefit and civilization of the human race. He ordains institutions for the protection and promotion of right, the preservation of liberty, the advance of knowledge and the improvement of physical and moral conditions. We may regard these interests, pursuits and institutions as exercising both an expulsive and impulsive influence. Occupying the energy, activity and time of men they prevent the indulgence of less noble and ignoble pursuits and they exercise an ameliorating, moralizing, stabilizing and civilizing influence upon the social organism (“Common Grace,” in the Collected Writings of John Murray, II:102–03).
14. “The Bible therefore teaches that the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth, of holiness, and of life in all its forms, is present with every human mind, enforcing truth, restraining from evil, exciting to good, and imparting wisdom or strength, when, where, and in what measure seemeth to Him good. In this sphere also He divides ‘to every man severally as He will.’ (1 Cor. xii. 11.) This is what in theology is called common grace” (Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, II:667).
15. “Common grace is God’s favor and gifts given to those who will not be finally saved” (John Frame, Systematic Theology, 68, n 16).
16. Frame includes six categories related to the biblical doctrine of common grace: 1. God restrains sin (Gen 4:15; 11:6; 20:6; 2 Kings 27:28; 2 Thess 2:7). 2. God restrains his wrath (Matt 19:8; Acts 17:30; Rom 3:25). 3. God gives temporal blessings to all (Matt 5:45; Ps 65:5-13; 104; 136:25). 4. Unregenerate people do good (2 Kings 10:29-31; Luke 6:33). 5. Unregenerate people know truth (Rom 1:20; Matt 23:3-4). 6. Unregenerate people experience the blessings of the Holy Spirit (Num 22:1-24:25; 1 Sam 10:9-11; Matt 10:5-8) (John Frame, Systematic Theology, 247-248).
17. “The doctrine of common grace helps us to acknowledge God’s goodness in all of creation and enables us to pursue mission with love in a fallen world. The Bible consistently teaches what theologians have come to call ‘common grace,’ a non-saving grace that is at work in the broader reaches of human cultural interaction. This gift of God’s grace to humanity in general demonstrates a desire on God’s part to bestow certain blessings on all human beings, believer and non-believer alike. Understanding common grace provides the basis for Christians to cooperate with and learn from non-Christians” (Tim Keller, What Is Common Grace?).
18. “We affirm that God’s providential common grace brings many goods to people, both as individual kindnesses and as social blessings: e.g., medical treatment, economic help, political justice, protection for the weak, educational opportunity. Wise counseling will participate in and encourage mercy ministries as part of the call to love. We affirm that numerous disciplines and professions can contribute to an increase in our knowledge of people and how to help them. Scripture teaches a standpoint and gaze by which believers can learn many things from those who do not believe” (David Powlison, Affirmations & Denials).

The Complex, Comprehensive Nature of the Doctrine of Common Grace

Often we seek to distill common grace into two related concepts: the noetic effect of sin on fallen humanity and God’s work within sinful humanity. While that is a legitimate brief summary, the common grace discussion is not nearly as simple as discussing those two topics. Instead, there are two sets of “complimentary” doctrines that we must consider:

1. Sin: 

• Total Depravity: This doctrine does not teach that fallen human beings are as bad as they could be. Instead, total depravity is the biblical truth that every aspect of fallen humanity is impacted by sin.
• The Noetic Effect of Sin: This discusses sin’s impact on the fallen mind/heart. This includes theological concepts such as fallen humanity being dead in sin, and the darkened minds of fallen human beings.
• The Spiritual Antithesis: Antithesis conveys the idea of difference or distinction. The spiritual antithesis is used to discuss many categories, including the difference between the mind of fallen human beings and the mind of regenerate human beings. In Reformed conversations about common grace, the spiritual antithesis includes the conflict between the fallen worldview and the redeemed worldview.

2. Grace: 

• Common Grace: Common grace is the source of all human virtue and accomplishment, even that of unbelievers who have not been regenerated by the saving grace of God. Common grace includes God’s favor toward all humanity; God’s restrain of sin; God’s preservation of the cosmos, of humanity, and of culture; and God’s distribution of talents to all humanity. The biblical doctrine of common grace addresses God’s non-saving blessings on all humanity—saved and unsaved alike.
• The Imago Dei: The image of God in humanity, including biblical passages that teach that the imago Dei continues in humanity after the fall.
• The Creation Mandate/Cultural Mandate: God’s call for all humanity for all time to study and shepherd creation, having increasing dominion over creation.
• The Unity of All of God’s Revelation: The Reformers did not bifurcate God’s revelation, instead, they united all forms of revelation: special revelation, general/natural revelation (God’s revelation around humanity) God’s revelation in the human conscience (Romans 2) (God revelation in humanity).
• General Revelation/The Book of Nature: Addressing the comprehensive biblical teaching on God’s ongoing purpose and use of nature/creation to reveal truth; God has implanted in creation/nature His very DNA, His fingerprints, His reality. God’s Creation Mandate commands that all humanity for all time study His creation, and God’s common grace enables humanity to do so.
• God’s Revelation to Humanity in the Conscience/The Book of Conscience: The biblical reality that while fallen human beings seek to suppress the truth of God, God continuously reveals Himself by His Spirit to/in every human being (Calvin, Bavinck, Kuyper, Van Til were all insistent no one can totally resist God’s sovereign revelation of Himself—they know God, but seek to suppress this internal knowledge of God.
• God’s Providential Control of History: God’s affectionate sovereignty in assuring the continuance of history and culture. If not for God’s common grace providence, humanity left to itself would destroy one another, but God sovereignly maintains control of humanity and human history to bring about His eternal decree/purposes.
• The Contribution of Non-Christians: Examining biblical passages on the contributions of the non-Christian to life, knowledge, society, science, and culture.
• The Christian’s Engagement with Non-Christian/Extra-Biblical Sources: Examining biblical passages and Reformed quotes on the Christian engagement with, use of, and evaluation/assessment of non-Christian information, findings, science, philosophy, research, etc.
• The Relationship Between Scripture and Extra-Biblical Sources: The use of special revelation to assess and evaluate common grace findings. How God’s sufficient Scripture provides the lens or spectacles for the Christian to assess non-Christian sources.
• Nature and Grace: The biblical and historical (church history) study of the relationship between nature and grace. This includes the complex discussion of the extent of the fall in nature. It also includes the biblical truth that nature needs restoring and perfecting. Grace alone does that. Yet, grace restores and perfects nature not by replacing or destroying it but by correcting its directionality.
• Etc.: These categories are simply a summary of some of the corollary doctrines that relate to the doctrine of common grace.

Discussing Common Grace 

Keep this in mind:

If someone talks about sin, fallenness, total depravity, the noetic effect of sin, the spiritual antithesis, the non-Christian being spiritually dead, and the darkened mind of the unregenerate person, they are not discussing common grace.

Too often, especially in the biblical counseling world, people will say they are discussing the application of common grace to the question of whether or not Christians should use non-Christian resources. However, if that discussion only or primarily quotes Reformed theologians and biblical passages about sin, then they have not addressed common grace. Remember this:

“Cherry-picking” quotes or Bible passages about sin, depravity, and the noetic effect of sin is not discussing common grace. Instead, it is discussing the spiritual antithesis. It is discussing only half of what the Bible and church history says about how Christians discern what to do with non-Christian resources.

To address the question of whether or not Christians could use non-Christian resources, one would also explore what the Bible says, and what Reformed theologians say, about common grace; God’s favor toward all humanity; God’s restrain of sin, God’s preservation of the cosmos of humanity, and of culture; God’s distribution of talents to all humanity; the imago Dei; the Creation Mandate/Cultural Mandate; the unity of God’s revelation; general revelation/the book of nature; God’s revelation to humanity in the conscience/the book of conscience; God’s providential control of history/God’s affectionate sovereignty; the contributions of non-Christians to knowledge society, science, and culture; the Christian’s engagement with non-Christian sources; the relationship between Scripture and extra-biblical sources; and the relationship between nature and grace.

One Summary of Common Grace: The Three Points of Common Grace (Christian Reformed Church – 1924) 

In the 1920s, the Christian Reformed Church debated the doctrine of common grace. In 1924, they developed their official doctrinal statement regarding the Bible’s teaching on common grace.

1. The First Point: “Relative to the first point which concerns the favorable attitude of God towards humanity in general and not only towards the elect, Synod declares it to be established according to Scripture and the Confession that, apart from the saving grace of God shown only to those that are elect unto eternal life, there is also a certain favor or grace of God which He shows to His creatures in general. This is evident from the Scriptural passages quoted and from the Canons of Dordrecht II:5 and III-IV:8,9, which deal with the general offer of the Gospel, while it also appears from the citations made from Reformed writers of the most flourishing period of Reformed Theology that our Reformed writers from the past favored this view. Scriptural proof: Psalm 145:9; Matt. 5:44, 45; Luke 6:35-36; Acts 14:16-17; I Tim. 4:10; Rom. 2:4;Ezekiel 33:11; Ezekiel 18:23.”

1. The Second Point: “Relative to the second point, which is concerned with the restraint of sin in the life of the individual man and in the community, the Synod declares that there is such a restraint of sin according to Scripture and the Confession. This is evident from the citations from Scripture and from the Netherlands Confession, Arts. 13 and 36, which teach that God by the general operations of His Spirit, without renewing the heart of man, restrains the unimpeded breaking out of sin, by which human life in society remains possible; while it is also evident from the quotations from Reformed writers of the most flourishing period of Reformed Theology, that from ancient times our Reformed fathers were of the same opinion. Scriptural proof: Ps. 81:11-12; Gen. 6:3; Acts 7:42; Rom. 1:24; Rom. 1:26, 28; II Thess. 2:6-7.”

III. The Third Point: “Relative to the third point, which is concerned with the question of civil righteousness as performed by the unregenerate, Synod declares that according to Scripture and the Confessions the unregenerate, though incapable of doing any saving good, can do civil good. This is evident from the quotations from Scripture and from the Canons of Dordrecht, III-IV:4, and from the Netherlands Confession, Art. 36, which teach that God, without renewing the heart, so influences man that he is able to perform civil good; while it also appears from the citations from Reformed writers of the most flourishing period of Reformed Theology that our Reformed fathers from ancient times were of the same opinion. Scriptural proof: II Kings 10:29-30; II Kings 12:2;14:3; Luke 6:33; Rom. 2:14.”