The word is fairly straightforward. It means "to give, to bestow". Not complicated. To grant means to give. In the examples above, God gave Isaac what he prayed for, gave him success, gave Israel salvation, gave Hannah her child. God gave Jesus life in Himself, gave the lives of those who sailed with Paul to live through the storm, and so on. Not complicated.
When we start to look at what God grants, it gets interesting.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire (2 Peter 1:3-4).Not hard to follow, but good stuff. God, by His power, has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. That is, we didn't earn them, obtain them, merit them, accumulate them, seize them -- nothing of the sort. They were a gift. Past tense, by the way. He already gave all things that pertain to life and godliness. His power, indeed, gives us His precious and very great promises. That is, that which He promises He supplies, even so far as making us "partakers of the divine nature". Really good stuff. And none of us are likely to think, "I did that by my own effort and will." No, it was granted.
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of His own purpose and grace, which He granted us in Christ Jesus before the ages began (2 Tim 1:8-9).Would anybody really doubt that God's grace is a gift, granted to us in Christ? We don't earn His favor. He gives it. And that gift of grace includes salvation and "a holy calling". Wonderful stuff.
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake (Php 1:29).That one is a little touchier, I think. Paul says that God grants that we "suffer for His sake". It's a gift from God. We don't earn it. He gives it.
Writing to Timothy about being a pastor, Paul tells him be careful to correct his opponents with gentleness. He gives the reason:
God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will (2 Tim 2:25-26).Well, now, that's interesting, isn't it? Apparently Paul thought that repentance was something that was granted. Indeed, it was something that may or may not be granted. Now that one I'm pretty sure we typically think of as supplying on our own. Apparently Paul disagrees.
And, hold on a second. That previous one there, over in Philippians. We skipped right over part of it. Yes, clearly, suffering for Christ is granted, a gift from God. But Paul also says that believing in Him is granted. That is, we don't muster it up, drum it up, produce it on our own. It is a gift.
In light of all that, what do we make of Jesus's words when He says, "This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father" (John 6:56)? Do we assume that actually coming to Christ is something that is a gift rather than something we accomplish? Well, it would seem so unless we want, at this late date, to redefine "grant".
So, if the things granted to us include grace, salvation, a calling, suffering, repentance, faith, even being able to come to Christ in the first place, I suppose Peter wasn't kidding when he said, "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness." We don't supply the faith, repentance, or even ability to come. Now that really is impressive gifting from God.
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