In the last post we started looking at what the phrase “God is love” might mean. We must also realize that any discussion of an attribute of God must also include His sovereignty and so all love must be sovereign. We must know that God only operates toward human beings by grace and so all of His love toward a human being is by grace. While there is much talk in the modern day of grace coming by works, Scripture tells us that if it is of works it is not of grace (Romans 11:6). In fact, if it is by works it is no longer of grace. Many Reformed people see that but still hang on to certain aspects of it in their quest for holiness, and appear to make grace contingent on holiness. What we forget or don’t understand is that it is grace that makes us holy in the first place rather than works. Rather than our works for holiness making us fit instruments of grace it is grace that makes us truly holy.
Romans 3:24 is a key to this thought: “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” In English the words do not convey the same thought as in the original. What the NAS translates as “gift” others have translated “freely.” But when God justifies freely, what does that mean? It does not have the idea of no cost involved, but the idea of being free of cause within human beings. In other words, for grace to be truly grace, the sinner has no cause within him or herself for God to show him or her grace. The cause for grace is within God Himself. It is only when there is no cause within the human being that grace can really be grace. In that case grace is totally glorious grace.
Ephesians 1:4-6 sets out the same concept in different language: “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” God chose people before the foundation of the world. Now what would move Him to choose people before the world began? Would it have been their holiness or good works eons before they were born? In contrast to that the text tells us that He chose “us” so “that we would be holy and blameless before Him.” Notice that His choice came before the holiness here. We were chosen to be holy rather than us being holy in order to receive something. In light of the fact that He chose some to be holy, it is in love that He predestined sinners through Christ to Himself. We can simply note at this point that saving love is always in Christ the true Beloved. But now notice that the text itself tells us why He did this. He did it “according to the kind intention of His will.” That is not the best of translations. It literally means that He chose according to His own good pleasure or to the good pleasure of His desire or will. Saving love is given according to His desire.
Predestination or choosing to holiness that is done out of love is according the good pleasure of the desire or will of God and the purpose for that is “to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” The text mounts one phrase on top of another to get it through thick skulls and hard hearts that grace is always according to the purposes of God rather than the works or merit of man. The text then goes on to drive another nail in the coffin of the works or merit for grace crowd. That grace is “freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” Grace is graciously given or given without cost or cause within those who receive it. Grace is given only in the Beloved which shows us that it is given us for His sake. The term “freely bestowed” in Ephesians 1:6 is not the same words in the original as Romans 3:24. In this text the word “freely” is from the same root as grace and has the idea of giving without cost or bestowing on free of cost. But to bestow it on freely does not mean simply without cost or merit, but as with true grace it has the idea of being given with the cause of it found in God alone.
It may appear as if the conversation has moved from “God is love” to the grace of God, but it has not. If all grace from God is from God as its cause and man cannot earn or merit grace from God in any way, then this is very instructive as to the nature of true love as well. All love from God comes to human beings by grace rather than it being earned or merited. If love comes by grace and rather than something the human being has done, then why are we loved and what is the basis for the love of God? The basis for the love that God gives human beings by grace is His own love for Himself. The causes of grace and of love are from within the triune God rather than from the human being. In order for grace to be truly grace, the cause for it must be from within God and not man. The cause of love, therefore, can only be found in God rather than anything man is or has done. When we think of what it means for God to be love, therefore, we must take into account that His love is such that it is moved from within the Trinity rather than anything human beings are or have done. In order to receive the love of God, then, we must be broken from any hope or merit within ourselves. Anything less is to base it on ourselves rather than God alone.
God Loves... Himself 
Leave a comment