“God, having all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself, is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature which He hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto, and upon them; He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things, and He hath most sovereign dominion over all creatures, to do by them, for them, or upon them, whatsoever Himself pleases; in His sight all things are open and manifest, His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to Him contingent or uncertain; He is most holy in all His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands; to Him is due from angels and men, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience, as creatures they owe unto the Creator, and whatever He is further pleased to require of them.”
Psalms 96:1-3 NASB
" Sing to the Lord a new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples."
Glory
definition - Merriam Webster
a : praise, honor, or distinction extended by common consent : renown
b : worshipful praise, honor, and thanksgiving
But let us define Glory through the scriptures alone.
John 8:54 NASB
"Jesus answered, “ If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’;"
So Glory proceeds for from the Father.
John 5:22-23 NASB
“For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”
John 5:26-27 NASB
“For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.”
John 8:42 NASB
“Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.”
Through the Law comes the knowledge of sin, but the Glory of God is the standard.
Romans 3:23 NASB
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
What is the Glory of God? What is the standard of God's Glory?
Revelation 1:8 NASB
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
Revelation 22:12-13 NASB
"Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done."I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
John 1:1-5 NKJV
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."
John 1:14 NKJV
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
Colossians 1:15-17 NASB
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together."
Hebrews 1:1-4 NASB
"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they."
Philippians 2:9-11 NASB
"For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Christ Jesus is the Glory of God! He Himself is the manifestation of the Glory of God. For this reason we declare the Glory of God among the nations by proclaiming His salvation, confessing with our tongues before men that Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ is the Glory of God, He is the standard of God’s Glory.
Psalms 96:1-3 NASB
"Sing to the Lord a new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples."
Declare Jesus Christ as Lord among the nations, to the glory of God the Father!
I originally wrote this as part of an assignment I was given for the Texas Missionary Society’s Bible study, which was held last night, 6/13/2013. Today I was thinking about these things; and about the great commission and preaching the gospel in open-air. Living in the Bible belt we will often have people who profess to be Christian revile at our preaching the gospel publicly. Why is that? First of all they are not Christians, they have believed a different Gospel than Paul preached (Galatians 1:8) and I know this because Jesus said, “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” (Matthew 12:23) They revile at the gospel being preached publicly, because they don’t believe the gospel, they have believed a different gospel. Namely that God is love and has a wonderful plan for your life. This past weekend I was preaching the gospel and a woman stopped, walked over to me and said, “God is love, that’s all you need to know”; she then walked away shaking her head in disgust. They believe in a gospel that lifts man up, and puts man on a pedestal; glorifying man rather than God. The gospel of Jesus Christ is preached to the glory of God; the gospel lowers man to nothing but a worm and lifts up God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ as the One worthy of all praise and honor.
Jesus proceeded forth from God and was sent by God to the Glory of God. Christ Jesus after His death and resurrection before His ascension gave us, His disciples a mission, some instructions as to what we are to do, commissioning them to complete a task. Jesus appeared to His apostles after His resurrection in a closed room, this is recorded in the gospels of Mark, Luke, and John. In the Gospel of John Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you; as the Father sent Me, I also send you.” (John 20:21) Jesus was sent by the Father for the glory of God, so Jesus sends His disciples for the Glory of God. Next in the Gospel of Matthew His disciples see Jesus atop a mountain in Galilee that Jesus had designated and proceeds to give them the commission. “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20) Then in Mark inside that closed room he tells them how they are to go about fulfilling that commission. “And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” (Mark 16:15-16) Then from within that same closed room he tells them what that message is, that they are to preach. He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46-47)
So let us put this together; most recognize the great commission as being to make disciples, but do not acknowledge the purpose, the method, or message. Jesus sent out His disciples as the Father sent Him, the Father sent the Son for the Glory of God. (John 20:21) We are commissioned by the Lord Jesus to make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:18-20) The great commission is fulfilled through the preaching of the Gospel. (Mark 16:15) That Christ died for our sins, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be preached in His name to all the nations beginning at Jerusalem. This prophesies are fulfilled in Jesus, He is the Christ, repent and believe in Him for the forgiveness of your sins, to the glory of God. (Luke 24:46-47)
1. The purpose: For the Glory of God
2. The Commission: To make disciples
3. The Method: By Preaching
4. The message: The Gospel
So how can we, sinful human beings, glorify God? By preaching the Glory of God, which is Jesus Christ.
Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ
