grace in Christianity

Also known as divine grace, grace

concept in Christianity that is understood very differently in Eastern and Western Christianity as either the partaking of the Divine Nature or the free and unearned help given to us by God

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In Western Christian beliefs, grace is God's favor, and a "share in the divine life of God". It is a spontaneous gift from God – "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" – that cannot be earned. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, grace is the uncreated energies of God. Among Eastern Christians generally, grace is considered to be the partaking of the divine nature described in 2 Peter 1:4 and grace is the working of God himself, not a created substance of any kind that can be treated like a commodity.

As an attribute of God, grace manifests most in the salvation of sinners, and Western Christianity holds that the initiative in the relationship of grace between God and an individual is always on the side of God.