Psalm 115:1 (NKJV) 1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth.
1 Corinthians 10:31 (NKJV) 31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
What cannot be missed when we read the Scriptures is that it is a revelation of who God is, what He has done, what He is doing, and will do. The first four words in the Bible set the stage; “In the beginning God…”(Genesis 1:1). But because of the fall which corrupted humanity to self-love, even for the believer, to live for the glory of God is no small feat. The only one who accomplished that was Jesus Christ (John 1:14). His life was not only sinless but gloriously lived for and in obedience to His Father (John 4:34; 5:36; 14:11). Genesis 1:1 makes it clear, and thunders out, that the whole of creation was not only a work of God but for His glory (Psalm 19:1; Isaiah 6:3). All the wonders of the created universe are His and designed to point to His glory. His creative work is so self-evident and declares his “hidden attributes and his power that man is left without an excuse (Romans 8:20). In the end, the culmination of all things, the whole of creation will once again singularly express His glory (Habakkuk 2:4).
This is also the thrust of God’s redemptive plan. While we, who are in Christ, are recipients of God grace in redemption, we are not the ultimate subject but rather it is God and His glory demonstrated in His grace and mercy (Ephesians 1:4-11). But often when we think of the Gospel message, the emphasis changes and the Gospel message becomes about us and our needs and desires. The gospel becomes a pernicious message that is man centered, where our needs and desires are elevated, and our so-called “lost condition” is about our lack of self-fulfillment. How can I become a better me, a more fulfilled me, one who can reach my natural potential, etc. This kind of gospel message makes God and Jesus Christ our servants to greater self-awareness and happiness. We were not made or saved to live independent, self-directed lives. Nor were we made or redeemed so that we could exist to live according to our own little self-oriented plans, living for our own moments of glory. No, we were created and redeemed to live for Him. We were saved “according to the good please of his will” (Ephesians 1:5), to the praise of the glory of his grace (vs.6a), according to the riches of his grace (vs.7), which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence (vs.8), “according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself” (vs.9), and “being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.”
Unger’s Bible Dictionary defines God’s glory as: “the manifestation of His divine attributes and perfections…glory is the correlative of his holiness . . . is that in which holiness comes to expression. Glory is the expression of holiness, as beauty is the expression of health.” In respect to man, His glory is found in the things that reveal His honorable state and character, such as wisdom, righteousness, superiority to passion, or that outward magnificence that is expressive of what, in the lower sphere, bespeaks the high position of its possessor.”
His glory is also seen in His majesty (Job 37:22; Ps 93:1; Ps 104:1; Ps 145:5; Ps 145:12; Isa 2:10), His power (Ex 15:1; Ex 15:6; Rom 6:4), His works (Ps 19:1; Ps 111:3), His name (Deut 28:58; Neh 9:5) and in Christ (John 1:14; 2Co 4:6; Heb 1:3), just to name a few.
To live for His glory is to live Godward. This would mean the fulfillment of the first commandment to love the Lord God with our whole heart mind a soul, the very thing we find impossible without God’s enablement. It is when we admit that there is nothing natural about our living for His glory, that we open the door to His grace and a Christ honoring life begins and is sustained to His glory.
-Michael Holtzinger