Trust Quote by John E. Goldingay
““the order in which Genesis reports on God and Noah is significant. First it tells us Noah found grace with God. Then it tells us Noah was a person of faithfulness and integrity, and someone who walked about with God like Enoch. Then it tells us how God gave Noah instructions for surviving the coming destruction. Messing with any aspect of the order in this story messes up the theology. Noah is indeed a person of faithfulness and unique integrity, but that somehow follows from God’s grace rather than being its cause. There is a link between grace and faithfulness or integrity, but the link is that grace generates faithfulness and integrity, not the other way around. And if faithfulness and integrity had not followed from finding grace, then the story would have miscarried; God would have had to think again. God exempts Noah from the destruction and makes him the head of a new humanity because Noah turns out to be an unexpected exception to that general rule that “all the inclinations of the plans of people’s heart’s was only wrong, all the time”; but that happens only because Noah found grace or grace found Noah.””
About This Quote
Source Bible Commentary: Genesis, 2015
Grace precedes and generates Noah’s faithfulness and integrity; the narrative order shows grace as the source, not the result.
In simple terms: Grace creates faithfulness, not vice versa.
Key Takeaway
Recognize grace as the foundation of virtue.
Themes
theology
grace
faithfulness
integrity
biblical narrative
Mood
thoughtful
encouraging
Type
theological
educational
When to use this quote
- teaching sermons
- personal study
- ethical reflection
Key Concepts
covenant theology
character formation
divine initiative
Questions to Reflect On
- How does recognizing grace first change your view of moral responsibility?
- In what ways can you embody integrity that stems from grace?
A Different Perspective
Grace alone does not guarantee outcomes without response.
![“According to all that God commanded [Noah], so he did. Noah did “according to all that God commanded him, so he did” (Genesis 6:22). Therein lies the key and secret to Noah’s faith. When God told him to do something, he did it. He was a man who took God at His word.” quote by David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e4a/david-jeremiah-990_quote_according-to-all-that-god-commanded-noah_2061384.jpg)
