--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By the grace of God I am what I am" description: "\"By the grace of God I am what I am\" — Mark Dever" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/mark-dever-3175_god_by-the-grace-of-god-i-am-what-i-am-21993_2199390.png" --- # By the grace of God I am what I am ![“By the grace of God I am what I am” quote by Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/mark-dever-3175_god_by-the-grace-of-god-i-am-what-i-am-21993_2199390.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/mark-dever-3175_god_by-the-grace-of-god-i-am-what-i-am-21993_2199390.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/mark-dever-3175_god_by-the-grace-of-god-i-am-what-i-am-21993_2199390.png) > “By the grace of God I am what I am” [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One’s identity is shaped by divine grace, acknowledging a higher purpose and humility. **In simple terms:** God’s grace defines who we are. Key Takeaway Live with humility and purpose. Themes faith identity spirituality Mood contemplative reverent Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal worship - community service - ethical decision-making - counseling Key Concepts theology grace self-concept Questions to Reflect On - How does grace influence your daily choices? - What does humility mean in your life? A Different Perspective Interpretations of grace vary across traditions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Grace God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace-god/) [Grace of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace-of-god/) [I am what i am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-am-what-i-am/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [But by the grace of God I am what I am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/but-by-the-grace-of-god-i-am-what-i-am/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/i-am-not-what-i-ought-to-be-i-am-not-what-i-want-to-be-i-am-not-what/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [“THE GRACE OF GOD.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-grace-of-god/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“May John Newton’s prayer for himself be our prayer to God for our churches: “I am not what I ought to be. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/may-john-newton-s-prayer-for-himself-be-our-prayer-to-god-for-our/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [“Let circumstances take you where they will, but keep drawing on the grace of God in whatever condition you may find yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/let-circumstances-take-you-where-they-will-but-keep-drawing-on-the/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“The gift of God is grace. The grace of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-gift-of-god-is-grace-the-grace-of-god-is-eternal-life-in-christ/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“By the grace of god I feel you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/by-the-grace-of-god-i-feel-you/) [Truth Devour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truth-devour/) > [The grace of God is the thing that is needful. One should pray for the grace of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarada-devi/the-grace-of-god-is-the-thing-that-is-needful-one-should-pray-for-the/) [Sarada Devi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarada-devi/) > [I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-everett-hale/i-am-only-one-but-i-am-one-i-can-t-do-everything-but-i-can-do/) [Edward Everett Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-everett-hale/) > [“Do not take the grace of God for granted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/do-not-take-the-grace-of-god-for-granted/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [With God, I can do all things! But with God and you, and the people who you can interest, by the grace of God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-semple-mcpherson/with-god-i-can-do-all-things-but-with-god-and-you-and-the-people-who/) [Aimee Semple McPherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-semple-mcpherson/) > [I am not what I ought to be! Ah! how imperfect and deficient! - I am not what I wish to be! I 'abhor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/i-am-not-what-i-ought-to-be-ah-how-imperfect-and-deficient-i-am-not/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [It is grace at the beginning, and grace at the end. So that when you and I come to lie upon our death beds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-grace-at-the-beginning-and-grace-at-the-end-so-that-when-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truly changed, truly converted, truly Christian heart can say with John Newton, “I am not what I ought to be. I am not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/the-truly-changed-truly-converted-truly-christian-heart-can-say-with/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [“As we draw on the grace of God He increases voluntary poverty all along the line. Always give the best you have got every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/as-we-draw-on-the-grace-of-god-he-increases-voluntary-poverty-all/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) ## More by Mark Dever > [“not the writings that come from prophets inspired by the one true God revealed in Jesus Christ, then why do we find those passages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/not-the-writings-that-come-from-prophets-inspired-by-the-one-true-god/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I think it's unhelpful to suggest that the task of evangelism is essentially the responsibility of ministers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/i-think-it-s-unhelpful-to-suggest-that-the-task-of-evangelism-is/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [What really concerns me is for Christians to understand the fundamentals of evangelism in a way that is helpful in the contemporary scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/what-really-concerns-me-is-for-christians-to-understand-the/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Prayer is the preview of God's action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/prayer-is-the-preview-of-god-s-action/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I assume that normally the Lord will be bringing people to himself through the instrumentality of the preached word. However, we have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/i-assume-that-normally-the-lord-will-be-bringing-people-to-himself/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [“The motive for discipling others begins in the love of God and nothing less. He has loved us in Christ, and so we love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/the-motive-for-discipling-others-begins-in-the-love-of-god-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [If joy or urgency are missing from our presentation of the gospel, then our testimony to Christ will be missing that sort of fullness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/if-joy-or-urgency-are-missing-from-our-presentation-of-the-gospel/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [“Yet the Bible teaches that the local church is the natural environment for discipling. In fact, it teaches that the local church is itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/yet-the-bible-teaches-that-the-local-church-is-the-natural/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Sin claims to free but in fact it kills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/sin-claims-to-free-but-in-fact-it-kills/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Some believers are faithful in the way that they live, but at the end of the day, they will not share the gospel with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/some-believers-are-faithful-in-the-way-that-they-live-but-at-the-end/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [We do not fail in our evangelism if we faithfully tell the gospel to someone who is not subsequently converted; we fail only if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/we-do-not-fail-in-our-evangelism-if-we-faithfully-tell-the-gospel-to/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Once we see more of our need and understand more of what Christ has done for us, he will become more precious to us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/once-we-see-more-of-our-need-and-understand-more-of-what-christ-has/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Unfortunately, many of our churches calibrate their life to these nominal Christians. The predictable result is that you get fake, hypocritical churches that confuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/unfortunately-many-of-our-churches-calibrate-their-life-to-these/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) [Explore all 137 Mark Dever quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) ## More God quotes > [I don't drink much anymore, but when I traveled with Frank Sinatra, God rest his soul, I used to drink like I could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/i-don-t-drink-much-anymore-but-when-i-traveled-with-frank-sinatra-god/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“am not suggesting that successes in academics, athletics, or vocation somehow stand outside God’s good plan. Learning and play are joys that God himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-paul-jones/am-not-suggesting-that-successes-in-academics-athletics-or-vocation/) [Timothy Paul Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-paul-jones/) > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The faster you go, the shorter you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-faster-you-go-the-shorter-you-are/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A lot of people have been saying 'The 100' reminds them of 'Lord Of The Flies,' 'Lost' and 'Battlestar Galactica,' and all of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-avgeropoulos/a-lot-of-people-have-been-saying-the-100-reminds-them-of-lord-of-the/) [Marie Avgeropoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-avgeropoulos/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wonder: when a Jehovah's Witness dies and goes to Heaven, does God hide behind the door and pretend He's not home?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-celio/i-wonder-when-a-jehovah-s-witness-dies-and-goes-to-heaven-does-god/) [Brian Celio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-celio/) > [What would God have me do with my life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/what-would-god-have-me-do-with-my-life/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [God always gets the glory when Jesus comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-giglio/god-always-gets-the-glory-when-jesus-comes/) [Louie Giglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-giglio/) > [“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/do-all-the-good-you-can-by-all-the-means-you-can-in-all-the-ways-you/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [You are a God Act like one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/you-are-a-god-act-like-one/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) [Browse all 37,707 God quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "By the grace of God I am what I am", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Dever" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/by-the-grace-of-god-i-am-what-i-am/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "God" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/by-the-grace-of-god-i-am-what-i-am/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/mark-dever-3175_god_by-the-grace-of-god-i-am-what-i-am-21993_2199390.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/mark-dever-3175_god_by-the-grace-of-god-i-am-what-i-am-21993_2199390.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/mark-dever-3175_god_by-the-grace-of-god-i-am-what-i-am-21993_2199390.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“By the grace of God I am what I am” — Mark Dever", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mark Dever", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "By the grace of God I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/by-the-grace-of-god-i-am-what-i-am/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/by-the-grace-of-god-i-am-what-i-am/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```