To the praise of the glory of his grace; with a view to praise being given to the glory of his grace. The purpose of grace quoad man, is to make him perfectly holy; quoad God, is to give to the universe a right conception of his grace, and draw forth corresponding tributes of praise.
It is to show that Divine grace is not a limp, shallow attribute, but one of glorious riches, deserving infinite praise. The idea of the richness, fullness, abundance, of God's grace is prominent throughout the Epistle.
God desires to draw attention, not only to this attribute, but to the boundlessness of it—thus to draw the love and confidence of his creatures to himself and inspire them with the desire to imitate him (comp.
Matthew 18:21-35). Wherein he abounded toward us in the Beloved. Two slight difficulties are found here—one in the text, the other in the interpretation. After χάριτος αὐτοῦ, some copies read ἐν ᾗ, others ηης.
A.V. follows the former; R.V. the latter. χαριτόω usually means to bestow grace; sometimes, to make gracious or beautiful. The former is more in accordance with New Testament usage (Alford) and with the tenor of the passage.
The glory of the grace of which God desires to create a true impression is not an abstraction, not a glory hidden away in stone inaccessible region, but a revealed glory, a communicated glory; it is revealed in the grace wherein he abounded to us, or which he freely bestowed on us, in the Beloved.
The grace bestowed on believers exemplifies the glorious quality of the attribute—its glorious riches. The connection of God with Christ in the bestowal of this grace, and of believers in the reception of it, is again noted by the remarkable term, "in the Beloved."
That the Father's relation to Christ was one of infinite love is a fact never to be lost sight of. His having constituted the Beloved One the Kinsman and Mediator of sinners shows the riches of the glory of his grace.
"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he hot, with him also freely give us all things?" Our union to the Beloved, our participating in all the blessings of his purchase, our becoming heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, further illustrates the glorious riches of his grace.
"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!"