Last time we looked at the motives of God in saving sinners, which is at the heart of real and biblical grace and thus sola gratia. While it may be popular to look at grace from a man-centered perspective, the heart of man as fallen will never arrive at a true view of grace. As long as theologians look at theology from a man-centered view of God’s perspective, they will never see the real beauty of grace. Even more, as long as theologians, Bible teachers, and pastors think they are God-centered because they speak much of God but really as it has to do with man first, the professing Church will not repent of its self-centeredness and see the glory of God in Christ. We must return to think, love and serve the God who is centered upon Himself first of all and calls and commands all men to share in His God-centeredness.
In the past few posts I have taken pains in an effort to show that true grace is always God-centered in the sense that it is God’s love for Himself that moves Him to show grace. If there is any motive in God that is from something that man is or has done, then God has a motive that is not from Himself and God makes grace to be no longer grace. If man trusts in his own worth or as having done works that he thinks will motivate God to save him or to receive something from God, then man has made grace out to be something other than grace. But it is also true that if God has a motive in Himself that is not love for Himself then God makes grace to be something other than grace. This is an absurdity as God is perfectly holy and is perfect in His love for Himself (how He is love in perfection and holiness) and can never be motivated by anything greater than love for Himself. The teaching of grace as God-centered is simply glorious as it shows the true beauty of God in His determination and decree to do all to His own glory in all things. Grace must always be to the glory of God or it is not true and pure grace.
In order for biblical theology to protect the teaching of God and of grace, it must teach a grace that flows from the one and true God that loves Himself as triune and can only share that love from a motive that is out of His love for Himself. The God-centeredness of God is not just an optional teaching; it is a necessary teaching in order for biblical teaching to be pure in its theory and in its practical application. In one sense, there can be no teaching of grace apart from a God-centered God and yet there can be no truly God-centered God apart from a God that operates and saves on the basis of grace alone. I will give five verses below that weigh mightily on this thought.
Isaiah 42:8 – “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images.”
Isaiah 48:11 – “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; for how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.”
These two verses show the biblical God who will not give His glory to another. God acts for His own sake and will not let His name be profaned. Over and over in Scripture we see that God does all for His own glory, for His name’s sake, and for His own sake. If God did something for another that was not for His name’s sake that would be giving His glory to another. God operates according to His name’s sake and so grace must always be motivated by God’s doing all for His own glory.
Acts 12:23 – “And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.”
Revelation 16:9 – “Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.”
These two verses show us the severity of God when men do not give Him the glory and also what true repentance is. If a person has an outward repentance from external sin and is now given over to good works, that does not mean that they have repented in truth so as to give glory to God. True repentance is when a person turns from seeking his or her own glory to living to the glory of God, which is God in the human soul working His own glory in and through that person. True grace, therefore, will never work in a person a motivation or desire to do anything apart from true repentance and doing all to the glory of God. The grace that works repentance will always turn the soul to love the glory of God and do all by that grace to the glory of God.
Ephesians 1:6 – “to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”
When we see this verse tied in with God doing all for His name’s sake and not giving His glory to another, we can see that grace will not share the glory, praise, and honor for salvation with any human being. Salvation is always by grace alone because it is always to the glory of God alone. He will not give His glory to another. We see that repentance is to turn to give Him glory. Repentance is by grace and so grace always shines the love of God for Himself. It is grace alone because God always loves Himself as His true motive and so always does all to manifest His glory.
God Loves... Himself 
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