Grace is a person. Grace is the presence and power of the Lord Jesus Christ as he acts upon us graciously. Grace is the presence of the living person of our Lord as his mercy and truth become effectual within us. We use the word in church-conversations in such a way as to imply that grace is a substance, stuff, matter, something that resembles the contents of a hypodermic needle. The foundational affirmation of scripture is that our Lord himself has appeared for the salvation of everyone.
Grace is the cornerstone of the gospel-message.
The word appears on every page of the epistles. Yet the word scarcely appears at all in the written gospels. Zaachaeus is perched in a tree. He wants to be close enough to see what's going on, yet far enough away to escape detection and avoid being put on the spot. Zaachaeus's heart melts.