Ultimately, it's always about God's glory.

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“I have glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4) . This statement from Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer shows that God’s will for His Son Jesus Christ was not primarily His death on the cross, but rather to glorify God Himself. This does not mean that Christ did not come to die for our sins, but that His entire life was aimed at glorifying God.

The following discussion, using examples from the Old and New Testaments, will demonstrate that ultimately, everything revolves around God's glory. Just as Jesus' life was destined to glorify God on earth, so too are we called to direct all our actions toward God's glory: "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31) .

Glorification – a concept of profound meaning

What does " to glorify " actually mean? The German dictionary defines it as follows: " to praise or extol someone or something effusively." ¹ If we look at the word in the original text of the Bible, we can recognize the depth of its biblical meaning. In the Old Testament, " kábéd " is translated as " to glorify ." Literally, it means: " to be heavy, to be weighty, to acknowledge ."

In the sense of the original text ^, “ glorifying God ” means that we give Him the weight that is due to Him. We glorify God by placing Him at the center of our lives, because this gives Him the weight that belongs to Him.

In the New Testament ^, “ doxazó ” is translated as “ to glorify or honor .” The root word “ doxa ” means “ prestige ” and primarily refers to someone’s reputation or the recognition or honor they deserve. In the New Testament, “ the glory of God ” describes the reputation that God himself has.

Ultimately, it's always about God's glory.

In the Old Testament, we find the story of the three men in the fiery furnace. The lesson usually drawn from this is that God protects us if we trust in Him. I don't doubt this undeniable truth, but it isn't the whole truth we can learn from this event. The biblical account ends with the king's words: “ Nebuchadnezzar began and said: ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel and saved his servants who trusted in him and disobeyed the king's command and gave up their lives to serve or worship no god but their own God . Therefore, this decree goes out from me to every people, nation, and language: Whoever speaks anything contemptible about the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut to pieces, and his house shall be made like a dung heap, for there is no other God who can save like this ’” (Daniel 3:28-29) .

In the end, God was glorified, and that's what it's all about. In the end, it's always about God's honor or glorification.

Even when we look at the life of our Lord Jesus, we see that He always focused on glorifying God. As mentioned earlier, He says in His prayer: “ I have glorified you on earth; I have completed the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4) . We can read again and again that Jesus’ ministry served to glorify God (cf. Matthew 9:8; 15:31; Mark 2:12; Luke 5:26; 7:16; 13:13, etc.) .

How can one glorify God?

The Holy Scriptures show us many ways in which we can glorify God. However, since an extensive discussion would go beyond the scope of this text, I would like to mention only three examples:

1. Good Deeds

“ Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16) . Here, Jesus calls on us to stand up for God’s glory through good deeds. If we consider the meaning of the word “glorify” mentioned earlier, then Jesus is saying that we should lead other people through our works to give God the recognition and honor that is due to Him. Paul also calls on us to glorify God with our strength: “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20) .

2. Thank you

“ Whoever offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies me” (Psalm 50:22) . When we thank God for who and what He is, when we thank Him for everything in our lives, then we glorify Him. If we also take the original text here, then the psalmist says: “ Whoever gives thanks to God acknowledges that everything comes from His hand. ”

3. Give

“ Whoever oppresses the weak insults their Maker, but whoever helps the helpless honors the One who created them” (Proverbs 14:31) . We honor God by helping people in need. This can be done, for example, through our labor or through financial means.

The benefit of focusing our attention on the glory/honor of God

What happens to a person when they focus entirely on the glory of God? First, we must recognize that the Bible clearly calls us to glorify God:

“I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever ” (Psalm 86:12) . “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God ” (1 Corinthians 10:31) . “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God with your body ” (1 Corinthians 6:20).

When we obey the Bible and focus on God's glory, we begin to constantly ask what God wants. Does He want us to go down this path or that path? Should we act this way or that way? We make Him our center, and it will fill us with joy to bring glory to His name because we seek His glory.

By focusing on God himself, our prayer life is also transformed. Mark Batterson, an American pastor, rightly observed: “We pray as if God’s primary goal were our personal comfort. That’s not true. God’s primary goal is his glory.” ⁴

By focusing on God, our self-centered thinking shifts toward God. In our prayers, we ask about God's will and pray specifically for its fulfillment. Furthermore, we are strengthened in our faith when we give glory to God. Paul writes in his letter to the church in Rome: “ Not weak in his faith, he considered his own body, nearly a hundred years old, already dead, and Sarah's womb dying; and he did not waver through unbelief about God's promise, but was strengthened in his faith by giving glory to God ” (Romans 4:19-20).

All in all, we can conclude that we are destined by God to live for His glory. Our focus in everything we do should be on glorifying Him, whether it's proclaiming the gospel, sharing financially with the suffering of others, or simply taking our daily food. In every moment of our lives, we are to honor God, because ultimately, it's always about God's glory!

“I hope that we will catch fire to one another and compete in holy zeal to see who among us will most deeply humble man and most highly exalt the Lord” (George Whitefield). ^5. “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, because of your love and your faithfulness” (Psalm 115:1) .

Raphael Seibel
Municipality of Blomberg

Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations follow the Elberfeld Study Bible (text version no. 30).

¹ https://www.dwds.de/wb/verherrlichen , accessed on 7 July 2021
² Elberfeld Study Bible with language key and hand concordance, text version no. 30, 6th edition 2017, 10th overall edition, SCM-Verlag, Witten, p. 1616
³ Elberfeld Study Bible, p. 1906
⁴ “The Circle Drawer” by Mark Batterson, SCM R. Brockhaus, p. 254
⁵ “George Whitefield - The Awakener of England and America” by Benedikt Peters, CLV, p. 128