I haven't read Philip Yancey's What's so Amazing About Grace? but I want to. Though I don't know what the book is about I am tempted to steal his title for this post.
You can't be active in a bible-teaching church for too long without hearing some teaching on grace. I have accumulated various sayings and acronyms pertaining to grace such as "God's Riches At Christ's Expense," or, grace is "unmerited favor." The word grace is used in the Bible to describe the disposition to give, the act of giving, or the gift itself. It is also used to describe power, but, in this post I want to limit myself to the giving aspect of grace.
Specifically, I want to look at what makes giving possible. It is said that God is gracious, meaning that in some way He is disposed to give. Giving is part of who God is. God is of course the first giver, being the source of all things. He has being in Himself and bestows it through His word. He is not under obligation to create. God freely gives of what is His; existence, life, intelligence, etc. These things may be properly termed God's property. He is able to give freely because it all belongs to Him. When He gives land to Abraham and his descendants even though the Canaanites were there first, it is His to give.
So, in order for God to give He must first be disposed to give, then He must have something to give. In order to give it, whatever it may be, He owns it free and clear. This means that God has no need to consult with anyone outside the fellowship of the trinity for the disposal of what is His.
This is to me the most amazing thing about God's grace. That Almighty God, dwelling in happy fellowship with Son and Spirit should first, want to create all things and persons. Further, after creating He sustains and provides for them, (He didn't have to). A part of God's providing is giving to all men things like parents, liveable climates, useful bodies, intelligence, and friends. He gives these things to those who are thankful and want to obey Him, as well as to those who refuse to give thanks or obey.
Further yet, after angels and men rebelled and the sentence against sin was passed God graciously postponed the execution of damnation while sending forth His gospel of His Son, and with His Spirit, changing the hearts of rebels into the hearts of loving children. The question of "why" continues to echo in the grateful minds of His redeemed people. The reason it continues to echo is that there was no obligation upon Him but His own freely-made promise.
As one of His redeemed ones in Christ I have constant access to the Lord of all through prayer. I have the reminding voice of The Holy Spirit to correct an accusing conscience, and empowerment to lovingly obey God's commands. I have all of this and more because it pleased The Father to give it to me in His Son.
God gives of what He owns. God's authority to give comes from His property rights.
