10a But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus.
It is with great fondness we remember that our God is “God of all grace”. This designation of God denotes more than just God being gracious by His nature. It also depicts Him as the reservoir, source, and supply of grace in all its manifestations. In Him is the fullness of grace. To all who come to His throne of grace by faith in Christ Jesus – who is His gracious provision for their salvation – He will make available the exceeding riches of His grace.
It is by His grace that we are saved (Ephesians 2:5). We are justified freely by His grace (Romans 3:4; Titus 3:7). He grants us forgiveness of our sins according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7). The apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:8, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” So like Paul, each of us can say, “by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Our gracious God will continue to impart all needful grace to us, day by day.
Because of the abundance of His grace, our text says that God “hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus”. The word “called” indicates that God has invited us to what He has prepared for us. It is God’s effective work in our heart to convict us to go to Him by Jesus Christ for salvation and all His blessings. The Westminster Shorter Catechism explains the calling of God thus: “Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered to us in the gospel.”
Peter here says that by Jesus Christ, God has called us to “his eternal glory”. Peter has used the word “glory” in this epistle several times to refer to our future realities in heaven. Peter refers to this glory as the “glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1:7). Later in chapter 4, verse 13, he says that “when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” This wonderful truth – that God of all grace has called us by Christ Jesus to eternal glory – assures us that our salvation is secured and sure forever! All those who are called unto salvation shall be glorified.