The Grace and the Glory

The Grace and the Glory

Ephesians chapter 1:3-14 is one of the most majestic passages in the Bible. Two of the primary emphases are the glory of God and the grace of God. We will look first at the glory of God, and the first verse in relation to this is 1:6, “to the praise of His glorious grace”. In 1:12 we are told that the Jews putting hope in Christ is “for the praise of His glory”. Then in 1:14 it says that our receiving the Holy Spirit is “to the praise of His glory”. A recurrent theme in the whole Bible, but especially here, is that everything is to the praise of God’s glory. If we want to understand anything of how and why God operates then we need to understand that dominant aim is that His name might be glorified. But many find this idea offensive. Some atheists react by saying God is acting like a tin pot dictator, that He is a narcissist demanding praise and glory. There are many things that can be said about this, but I will stick to just two. First, and very briefly, God is the creator of all things. He created the whole universe, He created space and time. This puts God on a slightly different plane from us mere men and women! So interpreting everything being for the praise of His glory from a purely human perspective is bound to lead to a complete misunderstanding or at best a hopelessly inadequate understanding.

The second point is the one I want to focus on is encapsulated in Eph 1:6, “to the praise of His glorious grace”. The glory of God and the grace of God are intertwined with each other. Ephesians chapter 1 is all about how great God is, but look at how that greatness is expressed, how it is displayed. First, “He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (1:3). He predestined us to be adopted as sons, and He did this “in love” (1:4,5). He has freely given us His grace (1:6). We have been redeemed and forgiven (1:7), and His grace is “lavished” upon us (1:8). He has given us the Holy Spirit (1:13,14). In short, we seem to come out of this rather well! 

There are basically two ways we can live. One is in a man-centered way. This has been the way the whole human race has gone since Adam and Eve first fell, and we see the results all around us. Or we can go a God-centered way, with the glory of God being the underlying ethos. Then the grace of God abounds and all sorts of healing and blessings start to flow. 

The grace of God and the glory of God are intrinsically linked If we deny the glory of God, or run away from it, then we only impoverish ourselves. If we embrace it then we will find His grace lavished upon us, and flowing out from us to many others.