“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

In contrast to its meaning today, the term grace—springing from a translation of the Greek word charis—held quite a different meaning in its original usage in Greco-Roman times, the era in which Paul and the other apostles and New Testament writers lived and worked.

Paul wove the word charis more than 100 times into his letters to individuals and different congregations around the Roman Empire. Greek and Roman converts reading or hearing this word would have understood it in a considerably different context than we would in the 21st century. And their understanding of what Paul and others meant by the “grace of God” could have potentially been quite different from ours. Understanding this first-century context helps illuminate what “grace” and being “under grace” actually means to a follower of Jesus Christ. Let’s see why.

Charis (grace) as a standalone word in the Bible could be used as a greeting with high meaning (“Grace and peace be upon you”), as a descriptor of how God conveys powerful favor, as an expression of an undeserved divine act of goodness, and more. That may not sound foreign to us. But to the ears of a Greco-Roman citizen or a Greek-speaking Jew who would be hearing or reading this word in a biblical context, the meaning would describe something we probably don’t typically consider today—a powerful relationship between a giver of gifts and the recipients of those gifts. The point? Paul and other New Testament writers often reflected this meaning when they mentioned the word charis (grace). Learning more about this relationship gives us greater insight into the meaning of grace in Scripture.

Patrons and clients

Here’s some critical background. In the time of Jesus and the apostles, a system known as “patronage” existed in the Roman Empire—the physical and cultural setting in which much of the New Testament was written.

In the 21st century, the word patronage often evokes a sense of vulgar nepotismor underhanded gifts obtained in an unsavory way (as in “political patronage,” where gifts may be bestowed in exchange for illegal or inappropriate acts).

However, while such political patronage also existed in Paul’s time, patronage generally meant something far different then. When they heard the word charis, citizens of the Roman Empire would have understood it positively. In addition to meaning gifts of an undeserved nature, a situation involving charis (grace) would typically have been regarded as a goodrelationship with lasting mutual benefits, expectations and a new set of powerful dynamics.

Here’s a contrast to consider: In today’s modern world, if someone wanted to start a business or build a home, he or she would probably go to a commercial bank (or similar institution) to secure a loan. The expectation would be for the loan to be paid back with interest. In the Greco-Roman world of the first century, sophisticated commercial banking as we know it today didn’t exist. Wealth in Roman society was concentrated among about 4 percent of the population. These people were the upper-class wealthy aristocrats known as patricians. The poorer common citizens were called plebeians.

Often wealthy moneylenders would take advantage of others in charging high interest. But there was a better way for help in getting ahead in life. A commoner seeking financial assistance or similar help, such as securing a job, could perhaps find a wealthy person to enter into a relationship with involving charis (grace)—the giving of an undeserved benefit or gift from the greater person to the lesser. The person providing the money, support or benefit was known as a patron (Latin patronus). The person receiving the money or support was then known as a client (Latin cliens).

Such patronage was even part of the life of the early Church. For example, no separate physical “church” buildings existed during the early decades after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Some early Church members served as spiritual and physical patrons by opening their private homes to provide meeting spaces for gatherings and Sabbath services.

Paul actually refers to the deaconess Phoebe as “a patron of many and of myself as well” (Romans 16:1-2, ESV)—indicating her generous attitude and service to him and others. Luke’s writing of the books of Luke and Acts seems to have been supported by a patron named Theophilus (see Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1).

A lasting relationship with defined roles

Becoming the client of a patron in Greco-Roman society was not a light commitment. According to societal rules (recorded by a number of influential citizens of the day, including Roman notables such as Tacitus and Cicero), when a new client entered into a relationship of dependency with a Roman patron, they entered an agreement and relationship “based on mutual trust and loyalty” (Paul Sampley, editor, Paul in the Greco-Roman World: A Handbook, Vol. 2, 2016, p. 206). 

Once that social contract was established, a new set of dynamics came into play. The new client “was expected to show respect and gratitude to the patron, to render certain services to him . . . and to support his political, economical and social activities” (ibid.). 

What did the patron do for his client? “The influential patron protected the client’s economical, social and legal interests by letting him profit from the patron’s social connections and by allowing him access to the patron’s resources” (ibid.).

In short, the new client might receive needed funding or other important benefits, but he was now in a lifelong relationship with the patron, who expected a certain mindset from his clients, as well as acts of gratitude (works) in return.

The book Relational Grace: The Reciprocal and Binding Covenant of Charis explains it this way in its cover introduction: “Charis (grace) is the word New Testament authors, especially Paul, sometimes used to explain Christ’s gift to people. But what is the nature of the gift? Since the fifth century, a number of Christian scholars have taught that grace is something bestowed by God freely, with little or nothing required in return . . . [Yet] ‘free grace’ is not what Paul and others intended.

“The practice in the ancient world of people granting and receiving favors and gifts came with clear obligations. Charis served New Testament authors as a model for God’s mercy through the atonement of Jesus Christ, which also comes with covenantal obligations . . . 

“Being saved by grace means coming to Christ, being baptized and joining the community of saints [or Christians], and continually living with thanks and praise for God’s gift. All of these expressions of grace are found both in the Greek and Pauline use of the word. Knowing what charis means helps us understand what God expects us to do once we have accepted his grace” (Brent Schmidt, 2015, back cover).

Grace and faith

What were the benefits in this relationship to both patron and client? The charis (gift of good, translated grace) would be made with the understanding that the gift could never be repaid (in the sense of simply repaying a loan). The expectation of the patron was that the client would maintain a high degree of loyalty and gratitude toward the patron. That aspect of the relationship is contained in the Greek word pistis, which is the same word translated faith and faithfulness in the English versions of the New Testament.

In other words, a client under the Roman patronage system would receive a gift (charis) that likely could never be fully repaid in money or goods. The client’s role was to exhibit and demonstrate faithful loyalty (pistis), including public demonstrations of gratitude. The exercise of pistis reflects grateful trust—a powerful, energetic, living belief—that the patron will actually do what he promises to do. This charis relationship was important for survival and advancement in the first-century Greco-Roman world—and, as historians confirm, the practice was widespread. 

What might be a challenge for a 21st-century reader of the Bible to grasp is this: Any first-century Roman or Greek or even Jewish Christian in that world who read or heard a letter from Paul or other apostles mentioning the Greek word charis would have instantly understood that word in the relationship of a patron and a client.

So it’s important to distinguish the first-century meaning of grace in terms of patronage from the 21st-century definition.

It’s also important to understand that the complex relationship formed in the giving of charis or grace was not a mere transaction. A first-century giving and receiving of charis created a powerful and dynamic relationship—a positive connection that lasted a lifetime. In the New Testament, this charis relationship is underlined by faith or trust on the human side, as expressed in Hebrews 11:6, that we “must believe that he [God] exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (English Standard Version)—and there must be continuing faithfulness on our part.

The proper response to receiving grace

When the New Testament speaks of grace it reflects elements and applications of this patronage system. This understanding brings out the real power and obligations of a grace-filled relation-ship with God. The cultural analogy is plain and translates well into our time today: God serves as our divine patron, providing us with undeserved forgiveness, favor and the matchless gift of eternal life, gifts we cannot possibly repay. 

What should we do in return as clients, recipients of those gifts? Dr. David deSilva, professor of Greek and the New Testament and an authority on first-century culture, explains in the article “Grace” in the Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible what was expected of the clients of a patron then, and how it applies to us today:

“. . . The proper response of those who have benefited from God’s gift . . . involves the offering up of the believers’ whole selves to God’s service, to do what is righteous in God’s sight (Rom[ans] 12:1; 6:1-14). As in the [Old Testament], this response centers not only on honoring God, but on love, generosity, and loyal service toward fellow believers (Gal[atians] 5:13-14; 6:2; Rom[ans] 13:9-10). The giving is free and uncoerced, but the ancient hearer knew that to accept a gift meant accepting also obligation to the giver” (2000, p. 525).

Putting this together with what we have seen earlier, a Christian is expected to commit to becoming a new person, casting off old sinful ways in this new relationship formed from charis (grace). As Paul wrote in Romans 12:1 (NIV): “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

How faith fits into this picture

The pathway leading toward the righteous behavior God wants from us is illuminated by His law, which serves as the divine standard of conduct. We as fallible human beings often violate this standard of conduct, no matter how well-meaning we are (Romans 7:18). We also constantly face the unrelenting spiritual pressure of an adversary, Satan the devil, who wants us to step off the path. 

But the application of charis (grace) saves us when we stumble and fall. When we repent, we are cleansed of sin and restored to a right relationship with our divine patron, God. Thus, reciprocating in divine faith (pistis)—trusting belief and faithfulness—toward our divine patron, we are truly “not under law [under its penalty] but under grace” (Romans 6:14, ESV).

Not abolished in the slightest, the law of God—summarized in the moral code of the Ten Commandments—retains its authority and, as Paul states, is “holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:12, ESV). And as Jesus Christ Himself affirmed, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4; quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3).

God’s law thus points the way for us to act in faith and faithfulness— pistis—in our relationship begun by our patron who “first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Paul tells us that “when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 6:10).

Paul profoundly understood that “by grace [charis] you are saved through faith [pistis] . . . it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8, ESV). Anyone hearing these words or reading them in the first century would have made an instant connection to the powerful relationship implied—of God as our patron and giver of gifts and we as His clients—which requires believing trust and our response of remaining faithful to Him in grateful appreciation.

So grace, we see, is not contrary to God’s law in the slightest. Grace requires God’s law to define the standard of conduct for the deep relationship inherent in a bond established by charis. In fact, it is through grace that God has given His law, forgives us for breaking it and empowers us to continue in it. The relationship of charis is evident in God’s “incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:19, NIV).

What a fantastic illumination of the profound depth of a grace-powered relationship with God Almighty, one that will last for all eternity! No wonder then that the Bible itself closes with this encouragement from Revelation 22:21 (NLT): “May the grace [charis] of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people. Amen.”