The spirit of wisdom utters, “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me” (Prov 8:17); in another place, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found” (Isa 55:6). As Jesus instructed the people after he taught them to pray, “seek, and ye shall find” (Luke 11:9).

Like wisdom, the Grace of God must be sought and it too can be found, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16). Moses spoke to God as a man speaks face to face with his friend; yet even Moses had to find the grace of God, “the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight” (Ex 33:17). Do you know how to find grace? As we begin to detect the grace of God lets first learn to recognize it when we see it.

But some may ask, “Aren’t we all ‘justified freely by his grace’ (Rom 3:24). Why should I seek something that is already freely given? Doesn’t everyone have access to grace, ‘But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ’ (Eph 4:7)?” We all receive initial grace; yet, more is available, “he giveth more grace” (James 4:6)! God increases grace, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6).

The concept is that more grace is available from God! There are 55 verses (We will more closely examine this number later.) in Scripture that have either the word “find” or “found” along with the word “grace” in the same verse. The fifty-fifth occurrence says, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16). The clear implication of the phrase “in time of need,” is that grace is available for the humble who seek after it whenever needed.

Like a fingerprint expert in a modern police department we must learn to discern the fingerprint patterns of grace. Notice the three different types of fingerprints in the graphic to the left. The top picture represents a fingerprint labeled as a loop; the middle fingerprint is called an arch and the bottom fingerprint is known as a whorl. Experts have categorized these three major characteristics of fingerprints as a base line from which to begin. (Look at your thumbprint and see if you can determine the type of print that you have; combinations are known as composites).

As intricately as the Almighty has fashioned the print on your fingers, He has fashioned His grace upon us all. In our attempt to find grace, let’s begin to discover the major Biblical patterns associated with the Grace of God! Through association, it appears that there is a relationship between (1) “grace;” (2) the number five; (3) the Biblical concept of “rest;” (4) the Biblical concept of “redemption;” and (5) the Biblical concept of “righteousness.” What are these five seemingly disjointed associations? And why would the Almighty create such relationships? We mentioned the number five as being a part of that association.

Notice that the fifth occurrence of the name Noah in the Bible has a direct association with the concept of grace, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Gen 6:8). Noah is also somehow associated with grace, righteousness, rest, redemption, and the number five! Is it interesting or merely a coincidence that the name Noah first appears in chapter five of the Bible?

We humans all experience our surroundings by the five quintessential senses (That prefix “quint” relates to five.): (1) sight, (2) sound, (3) touch, (4) taste, and (5) smell. Humans possess hands with five fingers and feet with five toes. Human beings are formed in the figure of a five–pointed entity (see image at right) with the two hands, two feet, and a head as the ordinal points. You will recall that Jesus demonstrated His grace upon His disciples by washing their feet; it may interest you that the words “wash” and “feet” are used together in the same verse five times in John chapter 13. Peter was hesitant at first when Jesus washed his feet; but when he learned the significance of the act he said, “Lord, not my feet (five toes) only, but also my hands (five fingers) and my head (location of five senses)” (John 13:9). What is the special Biblical significance that is associated with the number five? Why has the LORD made us with such an undeniable stamp of quintessence?

Let’s begin to answer those questions by observing Noah who was 500 years old when he first began the lineage which would repopulate the earth after the flood, “ Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth” (Gen 5:32). The waters covered the earth five months while Noah was in the Ark, “the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty (5 * 30) days” (Gen 7:24).

The Authorized Version (King James Version – Which will be our main reference during this study.) of the New Testament is interesting in that the English spelling of Noah’s name is alternatively rendered as Noe, “as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man” (Luke 17:26). Although Noe is the spelling in both the Greek and Latin, I have found no one who can explain why this alternate spelling shows up in the Authorized Version. What is most interesting is that spelling of the name occurs exactly five times! References to the forty-day period of rain upon the earth in the days of Noah is found five times in the Book of Genesis and the last occurrence is surprisingly located in chapter 50!

Since that number seems to be so prominent, what else can we find in the Bible associated with the number five? Primarily, our Savior is undeniably linked with the number five! Notice the prophesy of Jesus and the number of titles He is going to have in the future; Isaiah writes, “his name shall be called (1) Wonderful, (2) Counseller, (3) The mighty God, (4) The everlasting Father, (5) The Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6).

Amazingly, the Lord’s title, “Christ” is found exactly 555 times in scripture! Christ is our righteousness, “he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jer 23:6). The various forms of the word “righteous” which include “righteous,” “righteously,” “righteousness,” and “righteousnesses” occurs 555 times in Scripture! It is through grace that Christ is our righteousness, “even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 5:21).

The 555^th verse in the Bible is an allusion to the need for a sacrificial Lamb, “And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” (Gen 22:7). The word “Isaac” occurs five times in this chapter alone and is the only verse in that specific chapter where Isaac speaks. His first two words were, “my father;” that utterance is a powerfully amazing revelation when we consider that Jesus (Of whom Isaac is a type.) spoke those exact same words fifty times while He was in the flesh!

Abraham responded to his son with five words, “here am I, my son” (Gen 22:7). The two parts of that phase separated by a comma “here am I” and “my son” occur together in the same verses of scripture exactly five distinct times!

The fifth time that the phrase, “love of God” appears in the bible it is associated with grace, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen” (2 Cor 13:14). In much the same way, the phrases “grace of God” and “grace of our God” appear 25 times (5²). In the fifth book of the New Testament we observe the phrase “grace of God” appearing exactly 5 times; the very next place that the phrase is found is in the fifth chapter of Romans (whom some consider to be the fifth Gospel), “much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many” (Rom 5:15).

The title, “Christ Jesus our Lord” shows up exactly five times in scripture and the fifth time it is associated with grace, “Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (2 Tim 1:2). The title of, “only begotten son” occurs exactly five times in the New Testament.

Jesus fed 5,000 with five loaves and two fishes. It is interesting that He commanded the people to sit in groups of 50 and 100 and he took the five loaves and two fishes and he performed five things over them: “And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, (1) he looked up to heaven, and (2) blessed, and (3) brake the loaves, and (4) gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes (5) divided he among them all” (Mark 6:41). Luke writes of this same account and brings out yet a separate occurrences of five different things. Notice Jesus’ instruction to feed came in the form of a five word command, “he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people” (Luke 9:13). The Apostle John records that Jesus gave a ten word command, “When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost” (John 6:12). The concealed element of God’s Grace is subtly woven throughout this entire episode.

Twenty-five (5²) times we find an association between the words “grace” and “sight” or “grace” and “eyes;” such as in the following two verses: “I have found grace in your eyes” (Gen 50:4); and “thy servant hath found grace in thy sight” (Gen 19:19). Ten times or (5*2) in the New Testament we find the phrase, “the grace of our lord Jesus Christ!” Interestingly, the phrase, “his promise” is found exactly five times in Scripture. The word “life” occurs 450 times in the Bible or (90 * 5). The words “grace” and “life” appear 7 times in common verses together. It is amazing that the fifth time they appear together in the New Testament, Peter is speaking to husbands and wives as, “being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered” (1 Peter 3:7). The concept of husbands and wives being “heirs together of the grace of life” is also intricately woven into the Lord’s garment of written grace. Notice the 55^th verse in the Bible, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Gen 2:24). Amazingly, that same concept is mentioned a second time in the fifth Epistle in chapter five! “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh” (Eph 5:31). Clearly, our marriages are a significant element in the mystery of God’s grace!

Let me ask you a question. Is it possible to deduce which rib the Lord took from Adam when he created Eve, “the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman” (Gen 2:22)? Is there a specific rib that we can rightly infer based upon what is found in the scripture? Amazingly, the answer is, “Yes!” The word “rib” occurs exactly five times in scripture. Every occurrence except the first specifically mentions the fifth rib! Notice all five of those instances of the word rib:

1. “the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman” (Gen 2:22);

2. “Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib” (2 Sam 2:23);

3. “and smote him there under the fifth rib, that he died” (2 Sam 3:27);

4. “they smote him under the fifth rib: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped” (2 Sam 4:6);

5. “he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels” (2 Sam 20:10).

What we discover is that there are four instances where the fifth rib is mentioned in the Bible; it may be of significance that all of these occasions are recorded in the Book of 2^nd Samuel. In each of these instances, the person is consistently struck “under the fifth rib” and quickly dies. Why is the fifth rib of such significance that it bears four specific references? Encyclopedias regularly describe the heart in terms such as: “the heart is located in the chest cavity between the fifth and sixth ribs.” Therefore, the fifth rib would be the most vulnerable point of entry into the heart. In a figurative sense, the heart is often used as the seat of a person’s emotions. God determined to make a helper for Adam who would become his mate. Whether a mother, a wife or both, every male since Adam has held some woman close to his heart. God obviously opened Adam’s side and took a rib from which He made the woman. In the light of every other scripture mentioning the fifth rib, it is not unreasonable to conclude that God opened his side and took the fifth rib! Just as life was consistently taken from man at the location of the fifth rib, so life began in the woman using that same rib. We will conclude this concept with one last but related question. Where do you think Jesus was pierced? “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water” (John 19:34).

The number five is indelibly stamped on Abraham who is the Father of the faithful:

(a) Five animals are sacrificed as part of the unconditional covenant, “And he said unto him, Take me an (1) heifer of three years old, and a (2) she goat of three years old, and a (3) ram of three years old, and a (4) turtledove, and a (5) young pigeon” (Gen 15:9);

(b) Abram’s name changed from four letters to five! () to ().

(c) The fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the hey “” was added to Abram to make Abraham. The fifth letter “hey” can only be uttered by exhaling breath; this represents the Hebrew (Ruwach Ha Qadosh) known in the English as the Holy Spirit!

1) Psalm five ends with a manifestation of grace or favor: “For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield” (Ps 5:12);

2) David took five smooth stones (1 Sam17:40);

3) “And five of you shall chase an hundred” (Lev 26:8);

4) Five is the all prevailing number in the Tabernacle:

• All measurements divisible by 5;

• Pillars that held up curtains 5 cubits high;

• Pillars five cubits apart;

• Outer curtains were squares of 25 cubits;

• Each pair of pillars held up (supported) 5² cubits if fine white linen;

• 5 X 5 is the measure of the brazen altar;

• The gate of entrance was 5 cubits high and hung on five pillars;

5) The Holy Anointing Oil was composed of five parts:

• Myrrh;

• Sweet Cinnamon;

• Sweet calamus;

• Cassia;

• Olive Oil;

6) The Holy Incense (Perpetual-prayers of the saints) was composed of five parts:

• Stacte;

• Onycha;

• Galbunum;

• Frankincense;

• Salt;

7) The second Temple lacked five things that were in the first Temple:

• The Ark with Mercy Seat of the Cherubim;

• The fire from heaven on the altar;

• The Shechinah glory of God;

• The Spirit of Prophecy;

• The Urim and Thummim.

The number five is also closely associated with “redemption;” in fact, the word occurs 20 times (Relating to the total number of fingers and toes on a human). We find an interesting association with five and the word “redeem;” in fact they occur five times together and all in the same chapter; notice one occurence, “if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation” (Lev 27:13). According to the Law of Moses, male children had to be redeemed; essentially, the parent would take five shekels to the priest and thereby fulfill the redemption. The entire Book of Ruth is a story of redemption. Note the five occurrences of the word redeem in Ruth chapter four verse four as follows:

“And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt (1) redeem it, (2) redeem it: but (3) if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none (4) to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I (5) will redeem it” (Ruth 4:4).

Beyond the concept of redemption grace is associated with the idea of rest. Noah’s name means “rest.” The word “rest” occurs 275 times in Scripture or (55 * 5). Notice the two times that the word “rest” occurs along with the concept of “grace,” “The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest” (Jer 31:2); “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor 12:9). The seasoned Christian has learned that we rest in His grace!

The word “rest” appears in the Hebrew as “tn;” and sounds like “Noach.” The original Hebrew is read from right to left. Those two letters are pronounced “Nun” and “Het;” they express two significant Hebrew concepts as observable in the table below! If you have not yet read/listened to the Rivkah Ministries, Bible Study entitled, “The Mysterious Hebrew Aleph—Bet and The Bible” you can obtain a copy of the study and/or the sound file from Http://www.Rivkah.org. Notice from the table that the two letters of Noah’s name when added together result in the sum of 58! Fifty-eight is also the value of the Hebrew word for Grace, while five is the number representing the concept of Grace. The Hebrew word translated into the English word Grace is, “chen;” the “c” is silent. “Chen;” is spelled “nt.” You might note that “chen” is spelled using the same Hebrew letters as Noah; however in reverse order. The Hebrew word “chen” is translated into the English as “grace,” “gracious,” “kindness,” “favor,” “pleasant,” and “precious.” It is an interesting digression to note that saying the name “Benny Hinn” to a Hebrew means, “the son of Grace!” We will note just three specific yet related Hebrew letters in the following table:

Through this study we will become more familiar with the simplicity of grace while investigating several of its varied aspects. Next we are going to ask “How many different expressions of Grace are there?” The five specific types of Grace identified in the Bible are as follows: (1) “Saving Grace;” (2) “Justifying Grace;” (3) “Teaching Grace;” (4) “Exempting Grace;” and (5) “Enabling Grace!”

We are probably all most aware of “Saving Grace!” Paul wrote in two separate verses, “by grace are ye saved” (Eph 2:5 & Eph 2:8); and on two other distinct occasions he taught about salvation through grace (Acts 15:11 & 2 Tim 1:9). We all know the famous words, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me; I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.” It is normal and perhaps predictable that one would come to the conclusion that the principal expression of grace is “Saving Grace!”

However, there is yet another form of Grace known as “Justifying Grace!” Paul wrote, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24). Paul taught that we have peace and are justified freely by God’s grace! To help you remember the Biblical significance of the word “justified;” memorize the following simple phrase, “Just if I’d never sinned.” In Leviticus the Israelites were clearly instructed to take a lamb to the priest for their sins, “he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD for his sin which he hath sinned . . . a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin” (Lev 5:6). When the sacrificial lamb was brought unto the priest, he examined it to insure that it was indeed without blemish, “if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish” (Lev 1:10). Realize that the priest would examine the lamb, not the man who was guilty of sin! If the Lamb was “without blemish” and therefore usable, the priest would pronounce over the Lamb, “Worthy is the Lamb therefore your sins are forgiven!” The fifth petition in the Lord’s Prayer asks, “And forgive us our sins” (Luke 11:4). When Christians are justified by grace it is, “Just if I’d never sinned!” The man’s sin was transferred to the Lamb. When God looks at us through the Lamb we are justified, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain” as John wrote (Rev 5:12). Some have a hard time comprehending the Lamb’s role in the atonement of our sin! Nevertheless, its role is according to God’s word just as John the Baptist said, “behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)! One of Webster’s definitions of the word “justify” is, “to release from the guilt of sin.” Notice Jesus’ two individual five-word Justifying Grace phrases which He spoke to the woman taken in adultery, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:11).

When we trust in God’s Justifying Grace, we are then permitted to use Jesus’ name with authority and we are persuaded to embrace rather amazing things, “unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Eph 3:20). Obviously, His Justifying Grace covers our sins! But is that all there is to grace? Are there other attributes of “charis” beside “saving” and “justifying” grace? The answer is absolutely YES!

Third, the Bible shows us that there is a “Teaching Grace.” Again Paul writes, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:11-12). Once the grace of God begins to change our lives it teaches us of the new righteousness and awesome spiritual capabilities that we are endowed with! Through “Teaching Grace” we learn how to overcome impossible problems from the past! These added abilities are revealed to us through God’s, “Teaching Grace!”

The fourth type of Grace is “Exempting Grace,” “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually . . . But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD (Every man in the pre-flood world was evil except for Noah.) . . . Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God” (Gen 6:5-9). We often express to one another the non-biblical phrase, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” When we use that expression the phrase does properly demonstrate a form of “Exempting Grace.” We have observed Exempting Grace in the life of Noah. Other personalities delivered through the “Exempting Grace” of God were Moses who was the only male Hebrew child of his time who was not drowned in the Nile; and Jesus who was the only Hebrew child under three years of age who was born in the area of Bethlehem that was not slain by Herod’s soldiers.

The fifth and last expression of grace is the “Enabling Grace” of God! Paul asked God three times to remove a thorn from his flesh! Yet, Paul did not receive his precise appeal from God. Instead he obtained the “Enabling Grace” of God, “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:8-9). Through “Enabling Grace,” God made it possible for Paul to supernaturally take advantage of God’s power in his life! In essence God told Paul, “No, I am not going to remove your thorn; instead, I am going to enable you through my Enabling Grace to succeed by overcoming the problem! Naturally, anytime we encounter a thorn in our flesh it causes great discomfort and we want it removed immediately!

The Scripture itself relates to us a five-fold method of understanding the Bible. We learn the Scripture through two different five-fold methods. First, we learn the Scripture through the five-fold ministry, “And he gave some, (1) apostles; and some, (2) prophets; and some, (3) evangelists; and some, (4) pastors and (5) teachers” (Eph 4:11). Secondly, we learn the Scripture through the five-fold method of Biblical understanding: (1) hearing; (2) reading; (3) studying; (4) memorizing; and (5) meditation.

If you would like to know the word of God even better, the following are five methods identified in Scripture, which yield understanding. Note the following verses:

1. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10:17);

2. “Blessed is he that readeth” (Rev 1:3).

3. “they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily” (Acts 17:11);

4. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart” (Ps 119:11);

5. “in his law doth he meditate day and night” (Ps 1:2).

Just like the modern art/science of fingerprinting, the grace of God has its tell tale signs. Somewhere very closely related to Grace are the three R’s of redemption, rest, and righteousness. One of these three concepts will form a pattern, which along with the number five will always exhibit the Grace of God! We must learn to discern the patterns of the fingerprints of grace. Grace is the fingerprint of God! Whenever you detect its presence in your life you need to realize that the Hand of God is upon you!

Just like your individual fingerprints, there is order and intricate structure in the fingerprints of the Word of God. Like fingerprints, there are patterns associated with every concept. God wants to reveal these secrets to his people. However, this order and structure can be found only by those willing to study and take a close-up look and they may