Who Said There But For The Grace Of God Go I?

Recently, I came across this quote, “There But For The Grace Of God Go I”. Just like I wanted, if you want to know who said it, why and what it means, I’d gladly share that in a moment.

Meanwhile, I’ve shared an insightful message on What Is The Grace of God, in case you’d want to know that as well.

Who Said There But For The Grace of God Go I?

Actually, I found out two main individuals with “There But For The Grace of God Go I” attribution.

The first and most often attributed according to Wiktionary is St. Francis Assisi. He is believed to have qouted those words as a paraphrase of the statement by Paul the Apostle in 1st Corinthians 15:8-10.

The second individual is known as the John Bradford of the sixteenth century who used the phrase in response to the execution of a group of criminals in around 1553.

This is how it’s being put, “There but for the Grace of God goes John Bradford”.

This John Bradford was an Evangelical preacher and martyr in the “1510 to 1555”. It is believed he was also executed 2years later for heresy.

There But For The Grace of God Go I Meaning

Aside “There, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford”, is “There, but for the grace of God, goes Sherlock Holmes”. The good news is that you can also include your name on the list, but what exactly does the proverb mean.

Going by the statement, one can say “There, but for the grace of God, go I” means that by the grace of God I am exempted. It shows that if not for the grace of God, John would likely have been a criminal and executed likewise. But for the grace of God, he was exempted.

The statement shows a great degree of humility and gratitude to God’s grace and possibly one’s upbringing.

Usage of There But For The Grace of God Go I

The phrase is commonly used to express humility and acknowledge the grace of God as a major factor in the success of one’s life. It is best quoted in this format, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

Although, the exact phrase is not in the scriptures, brother Paul made the best fitting statement for the proverb.

1 Corinthians 15:10 (WEB) “But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was bestowed on me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

Do you have a take on this? Feel free to share with us. But for The Believers Today, always remember that it’s by the grace of God that we are what and who we are, especially in Christ.