Lesson 25
Live a Life that Exalts Me
The ultimate goal – the glory of God
Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you,
and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me.
Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, ….
You are the salt of the earth; …. You are the light of the world. …
Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Matt 5:11-16
Introduction: What is God’s overarching goal?
God created us for his own glory.
Isa 43:6-7
6 I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth--
7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."
God called Israel for his own glory.
Jer 13:11 For as a belt is bound around a man's waist, so I bound the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to me,' declares the LORD, 'to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.'
Isa 49:3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
God rescued Israel from Egypt for his own glory.
Ps 106:7-8
7 When our fathers were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake, to make his mighty power known.
God raised up Pharaoh to display his power.
Rom 9:17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."
Exod 14:4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the Israelites did this.
God defeated the Egyptians at the Red Sea to display his glory.
Exod 14:17-18
17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.
18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen."
God spared Israel in the wilderness for his own glory.
Ezek 20:13-14
13 "'Yet the people of Israel rebelled against me in the desert. They did not follow my decrees but rejected my laws-- although the man who obeys them will live by them-- and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and destroy them in the desert.
14 But for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
God forgives us for his own glory.
Isa 43:25 "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.
We do good works so that God may receive glory.
1 Pet 2:12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Jesus answers our prayers so that God gets the glory.
John 14:13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.
We are to serve in a way such that God gets the glory.
1 Pet 4:11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
God’s plan is to fill the earth with a knowledge of his glory.
Hab 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Everything that happens will ultimately exalt God’s glory.
Rom 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
The light of all heaven for eternity will be the glory of God.
Rev 21:23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
What is God’s glory?
“In one sense of the word glory it simply means “honor” or “excellent reputation.” This is the meaning of the term in Isaiah 43:7, where God speaks of his children, “whom I created for my glory,” or Romans 3:23, which says that all “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” It also has that meaning in John 17:5, where Jesus speaks to the Father of “the glory which I had with you before the world was made,” and in Hebrews 1:3, which says that the Son “is the radiance of God’s glory.” In this sense, the glory of God is not exactly an attribute of his being but rather describes the superlative honor that should be given to God by everything in the universe (including, in Heb. 1:3 and John 17:5, the honor that is shared among the members of the Trinity).
In another sense, God’s “glory” means the bright light that surrounds God’s presence. Since God is spirit, and not energy or matter, this visible light is not part of God’s being but is something that was created. We may define it as follows: God’s glory is the created brightness that surrounds God’s revelation of himself.
This “attribute” of God is really not an attribute of God in the sense that the others are, for here we are speaking not of God’s own character but of the created light or brilliance that surrounds God as he manifests himself in his creation. Thus, God’s glory in this sense is not actually an attribute of God in himself. Nevertheless, God’s glory is something that belongs to him alone and is the appropriate outward expression of his own excellence.
It is very appropriate that God’s revelation of himself should be accompanied by such splendor and brightness, for this glory of God is the visible manifestation of the excellence of God’s character. The greatness of God’s being, the perfection of all his attributes, is something that we can never fully comprehend, but before which, we can only stand in awe and worship. Thus, it is appropriate indeed that the visible manifestation of God be such that we would be unable to gaze fully upon it, and that it would be so bright that it would call forth both great delight and deep awe from us when we behold it only in part.
Quite amazingly, God made us to reflect his glory. Paul tells us that even now in our Christian lives we are all being “changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor 3:18; Matt 5:16; Phil 2:15). Though we do not now find ourselves surrounded by a visible light, there is a brightness, a splendor, or a beauty about the manner of life of a person who deeply loves God, and it is often evident to those around such a person. In the life to come, such brightness will be intensified, so that as we reign with Christ, it seems that we also will receive an outward appearance that is appropriate to that reign and to our status as image bearers of God and servants of the Lord Jesus Christ (Prov 4:18; Dan 12:3; Matt 13:43; 1 Cor 15:43)”
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology; Zondervan, 1994.
Prov 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.
Dan 12:3 And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
Matt 13:43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
1 Cor 15:42-43
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;
43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
How did Jesus glorify God?
John 17:4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.
The brightest light that ever shined
How do we glorify God?
“We cannot glorify the Father as Jesus did, perfectly or by substitutionary atonement, but we can honor God by the way we attempt to accomplish his purposes for us – through obedience.”
James Montgomery Boice
I. Let your light glorify God
A. It is who you are
Matt 5: 13 You are the salt of the earth. … 14 You are the light of the world. …
B. It is what you do
Matt 5:16 let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds ...
1. Why you would want to
a. if taste is flat – salt brings it to life
b. if people are stumbling in darkness – light brings hope
2. How it is done
a. by obedience to God’s will
“God seeks his glory in our lives, and he is glorified in us only when we obey his will. It follows that, as a means to his own end, he must be ready to teach us his way, so that we can walk in it.
The true way to honor (glorify) the Holy Spirit as our guide is to honor the Holy Scriptures through which he guides us. The fundamental guidance which God gives to shape our lives—the instilling, that is, of the basic convictions, attitudes, ideals, and value judgments, in terms of which we are to live—is not a matter of inward promptings apart from the Word but of the pressure on our consciences of the portrayal of God’s character and will in the Word, which the Spirit enlightens us to understand and apply to ourselves.” J. I. Packer
b. for the purpose of God’s glory
“For us to be loving we must exalt God, and for God to be loving he must exalt God.
Love is helping people toward the greatest beauty and the highest value and the deepest satisfaction and the most lasting joy and the biggest reward and the most wonderful friendship and the most overwhelming worship—love is helping people toward God. We do this by pointing to the greatness of God. And God does it by pointing to the greatness of God.” John Piper
1. In the way we live
a. Context of the command – the nearest beatitude
Matt 5:11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
b. The beatitude attitudes: humble - meek – merciful – pure - peaceable
c. The climactic beatitude attitude : joy in suffering
“I conclude that what is most salty and bright in this insipid and dark world is the almost incomprehensible joy of Jesus’ followers in the midst of persecution and the hardships of life.” John Piper
When the world would be self-centered, complaining, self-pitying, angry, rude, and mean, Christian will, …
Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, …. Matt 5:12
2. By what we treasure
Matt 13:44-46
44 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.
46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
3. In the way we die
a. the ‘when’ and ‘how’ is God’s
Matt 10:29-31
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
b. the legacy is ours
John 21:18-19
18 I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."
19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"
3. A present commission
Phil 2:14-15
14 Do everything without complaining or arguing,
15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
4. An eternal vocation
Matt 13:40-43
40 As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.
41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.
42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
The light of all heaven for eternity will be the glory of God.
Rev 21:23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
2 Cor 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
TNBS Study Questions preparation for lesson 26
From last week’s lesson, what actions did you take this week that your life might intentionally glorify Christ ?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read Matthew 9:37-38; 28:18-20; Luke 14:16-24
1. From the scriptures above, on what basis would you presume to tell someone of another religion that they must repent and become followers of Jesus?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________