Prevenient Grace

Definition and Meaning

Prevenient grace translates the Latin gratia praeveniens, meaning "grace that comes before." In the Korean term seonhaeng eunchong, seonhaeng does not mean "good deeds" (善行) but "going before" (先行). The concept is also rendered as "antecedent grace" or "preparatory grace." It expresses the idea that God acts first, before a person responds in repentance and faith. The term refers to one aspect of grace.

Biblical and Historical Background

Passages frequently cited in explaining this doctrine include John 1:9, "the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world," as well as John 6:44 and Titus 2:11.

• Augustine opposed Pelagianism, which held that the human will could initiate good on its own. He stressed that grace precedes the human will. The Council of Orange in 529 likewise affirmed that the beginning of salvation lies in grace.
• The Arminian tradition understands this grace as given to all people. It holds that this grace restores the ability to respond to God to human beings rendered powerless by the Fall, while maintaining that a person can also resist this grace.
• John Wesley called it "preventing grace." He described the process of salvation as a progression from prevenient grace to the grace of justification and the grace of sanctification. He also regarded the working of the human conscience as an operation of this grace.
• Calvinism holds that humanity is totally depraved by sin, a position articulated in the Canons of Dort and other confessions. This tradition does not recognize a universal prevenient grace that restores the ability of all people to respond. Instead, it teaches that effectual calling and regeneration, given to those whom God has chosen, precede faith. Grace given to all people is treated separately as common grace, distinct from saving grace.
• Roman Catholicism also teaches the concept of a grace that goes before the beginning of salvation.

Practice in Korean Churches

• Methodist and Holiness traditions: Denominations in the Wesleyan tradition, such as the Korean Methodist Church, the Korea Evangelical Holiness Church, the Jesus Korea Sungkyul Church, the Korea Nazarene Church, and the Salvation Army Korea Territory, teach it as a core concept of Wesleyan theology. In seminary education and preaching, it is used to explain that salvation is open to all people and that human beings are called to respond responsibly.
• Presbyterian traditions: The Reformed denominations that make up the majority of Korean Presbyterianism generally present the term as an Arminian concept. In theological education, it is treated mainly in comparison with the doctrine of predestination.
• Other denominations: Among Baptist and Pentecostal churches, the emphasis varies by denomination and seminary.

The topic is frequently discussed as one of the main issues in the predestination and free will debate.