“To The Praise of His Glory”

There is a phrase that the Apostle Paul uses, in varying forms, three times in Ephesians 1. In verse 6, the phrase is, To the praise of the glory of his grace; in verse 12, it is to the praise of his glory; and finally in verse 14, it is unto the praise of his glory. What is the significance?  No one says it better than Martyn Lloyd-Jones: “The first and greatest truth concerning salvation is that it is a revelation of the glory of God.”

Some commentators view these phrases as a Hebraism, that is, simply Paul borrowing a concept from the Hebrew to praise God’s grace in general. But as Greek commentator John Eadie, puts it, this is a “feeble exegesis.” It’s not God’s grace in general that’s being praised, “but this one special element of that grace” that’s being praised.  In other words, Paul is specifically praising the aspect of God’s grace that brings salvation.

The reason for Paul’s repetition is obvious—he wanted to emphasize the significance of this Truth. God did not save us just because He loved us, but He saved us, first and foremost, to bring glory to Himself. This is not “divine arrogance” as some have irreverently suggested, for God is totally worthy of praise. The word glory (doxas) came to mean “brightness, splendor, and majesty.” All that God does is designed to further manifest His brightness, splendor, and majesty.

Modern evangelism is permeated by the idea of telling people what salvation can do for them: it will solve all their problems, make them rich, make them better athletes, and a mountain of other such man-centered nonsense. But rarely do we ever hear a pastor or so-called “evangelist” talk about the glory of God being the ultimate result of salvation.

So, the final result (or goal) of God’s work in salvation (including election, adoption, redemption, sealing, and all else) is that we will praise Him. This is the reason for Paul’s words, To the PRAISE of the GLORY of His GRACE! This is not the praise of the worshipper of a pagan god, who worships to appease his god. Neither is this praise to man, for man can do nothing worthy of praise. Rather this is genuine adoration for what God alone has done. A footnote in the Geneva Bible of 1599 reads: “The uttermost and chiefest final cause is the glory of God the Father, who saves us freely in his Son. That as his bountiful goodness deserves all praise, so also it should be set forth and proclaimed.”

Oh, Dear Reader, do you see this marvelous truth? God did all the work of salvation so that we will praise Him. Are you praising Him? Puritan pastor and commentator Matthew Henry encourages, “We should live and behave ourselves in such a manner that his rich grace might be magnified, and appear glorious, and worthy of the highest praise.” Are we doing this?

Many times during the preparation of these studies, I stopped to meditate on these three phrases. As a result, the Holy Spirit burned them into my heart and mind and forever changed me. I would likewise encourage you to stop here, put the newspaper down, and simply meditate for a few minutes. Let the words ring in your mind, sing to your heart, roll off your tongue, and permeate your life. Praise be to God—our salvation is all of grace.

This prompts us to consider once again one of the most important thoughts of our study of Ephesians, namely, What is God’s ultimate purpose? In short, as verses 3-12 declare, God’s ultimate purpose in human history is to restore the unity be­tween man and God so that man can glorify Him.