The subject of giving God glory is one of those very, very
basic subjects that we have to go back to from
time to time so that we understand this very, very essential area of the Bible.
For some it is a review. But the
bible makes mention of us rehearsing His word.
For others, this may be brand new information. In either case, it is exciting and wonderful simply because it speaks of our Heavenly Father!
We worship God
for who He is and
glorify Him for
what He has and is doing.
Glorifying God is the avenue that gets us to a lifestyle of worship. We are given assignments from God that are individually unique, and we have a universal assignment to witness God, however, there is also a purpose that each of us has and that is to glorify God in our actions. To “glorify” God means to exalt God, to extol God, to lift Him, to revel in Him, to rejoice in Him and yes, you can gloat on Him as the sovereign God that He is – in our thoughts, prayers, words, actions and deeds.
The word glory as related to God in the Old Testament bears witness to the idea of greatness, majesty and splendor. In the New Testament, the word “glory” translated relates to "dignity, honor, praise and worship." Putting the two together, we find that
Him honor by praising and worshiping Him,
- primarily because He, and He alone, deserves to be praised, honored and
worshipped. God’s glory is
the essence of His being, and we give glory to Him by recognizing that essence.
The question
that comes to mind is if God has all the glory, which He does, how then do we
“give Him” glory? How can we give God something which is His in the first
place? The answer is found in His word:
Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of
the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his
name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of
holiness. 1 Chronicles 16:28-29
How can we thank God for what He has done for us? By glorifying God in our actions. To give God the glory is far more than just a
verbal proclamation. In other words, we can
say ‘thank you’, but we can show our thanks better in our actions.
In this passage of scripture, two actions on our part are presented that
make up the action of glorifying God.
I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another,
neither my praise to graven images. Isaiah 42:8
The offering we bring to God as we come before Him in the splendor or beauty of His holiness involves:
¨ Agreement
with Him,
¨ Obedience to Him,
¨ Submission to,
¨ Rehearsing His
attributes and
¨ Extolling Him.
It is through these elements of glorifying God that we enter in and stay
in a lifestyle of worship.
Glorifying God begins with agreeing with everything He says,
especially about Himself. Isaiah
declared of God as he prophesized of Him that was to come. This declaration covered all of creation and
we must agree with it all.
Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them
out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that
giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: Isaiah 42:5
Because of who He is, holy and perfect and true, His proclamations and
statutes are holy and perfect and true. King David says:
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of
the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Psalm 19:7
We have to learn to be in complete agreement with what God says!
Secondly, we glorify Him by listening
to and agreeing with His proclamations and statues. The Bible is His Word to us and it is all
that we need for life in Him.
Listening to and agreeing with Him, though, will not glorify Him unless
we also submit to Him and obey the commands contained in His Word.
But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them
that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep
his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. Psalm 103:17-18
Jesus reiterated the sentiment that glorifying and loving God are one
and the same.
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:15
We also glorify God by rehearsing His attributes and His deeds.
Stephen, in his final sermon before he
was killed for his faith, retold the story of God’s dealings with Israel from
the time Abraham left his country in obedience to God’s command, all the way to
the coming of Jesus, the “Righteous One,” whom Israel betrayed and murdered.
When we tell of God’s work in our lives, how He saved us from sin, and the
marvelous works He does in our hearts and minds every day, the miraculous works
of healing, seeing us through difficult situations, we glorify Him before
others. Even though others don’t always want to hear our glorifying God, God
himself is more than pleased by it. The crowd who heard Stephen hated what he
said, covering their ears and rushing at him to stone him. “But Stephen, full
of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus
standing at the right hand of God”
But he, being full of the Holy Ghost,
looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing
on the right hand of God,
Acts 7:55
Imagine that, while in
the midst of glorifying God, Stephen sees the glory of God! To glorify God is to extol His attributes—His
holiness, faithfulness, mercy, grace, love, majesty, sovereignty, power, and
omniscience, to name a few—rehearsing them over and over in our minds and
telling others about the singular nature of the salvation only He offers.
Biblical Studies
02/28/22
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