The Attributes of God: God’s Glory (Part 2)

The greatest need for humanity, those inside the church and outside, is to know who God is. If we are ever to honestly know ourselves or the world around us, we must first understand who God is and what God is like because everything in life hinges on that vital truth.

As Christians, we must never forget the importance of knowing God and His glory. So, what does God’s glory mean? How can we say God is infinitely glorious, yet He also receives glory from His creation? How can something infinite receive more? Last week, I unpacked the first aspect of God’s glory, which is His intrinsic glory (or the sum total of His majesty), while the second, which we will cover today is God’s ascribed glory.

1 Chronicles 16:28 states, “Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness…” To ascribe God’s glory is to give honor to the name of the Lord and give Him the worshipful reverence He is owed.

How Do We Ascribe Glory to God?

To ascribe glory to God is to give honor to the name of the Lord and give Him the worshipful reverence He is owed.

Ascribing glory to God is the primary purpose for which we are created. The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man?” to which the response is “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

In response to God’s presence with him, Moses wasted no time and “bowed his head toward the earth and worshipped” (Exodus 34:8). He prostrates himself in total surrender before God. He could not even stand in God’s presence—he falls before God in acknowledgment of the heaviness of God’s intrinsic glory.

Simply put, we glorify God through our worship. Worship is the only proper response a Christian can give to their Creator. Whenever we gather together, worship ought to be our first priority—to exalt Jesus Christ, whom the Father has exalted “by giving him a name that is above every name” (Philippians 2:9). Worship is a yielding to God’s majesty. It is an act of humility under the mighty hand of God.

What Difference Does It Make?

Sadly, many Christians today fail to acknowledge the purpose of Worship. We base it on style, rather than substance, preference rather than praise, adulation of self rather than adoration of the Savior. We place a higher value on the method than the message, on the glitz and glamour of the lively production than on the glory of the One who produces New Life in poor sinners.

Even more tragic is that some have completely abandoned worship of their Creator, choosing instead to worship an idol of their own creation. Many pagan religions of this world have resorted to worshipping hand-crafted idols representing various creatures of this world. But here in America, I’m not necessarily talking about a statue. Many Americans, even those who call themselves Christian, have traded their worship of God to worship something less—namely, themselves, their own lifestyles, or a false god who is OK with their sin. When these people stand before the Lord at the final judgment, they will be shocked when they hear Jesus say, “I never knew you, depart from me…” for they professed faith in the Lord, however the lord they served was not the Lord of heaven and earth.

If you have been serving a god of your own creation, I urge you to REPENT and BELIEVE in the one true Lord, Jesus Christ, and COMMIT your life to grow in Him!

As our view toward God grows, the higher our worship becomes. In other words, the more we grasp the heaviness of God’s intrinsic glory, the more we will desire to ascribe Him glory. God is jealous for His glory, and we should likewise be consumed with a desire to glorify and exalt Him. True worship is caused by a deeper knowledge of who God is and for what He has done through Christ. By God’s Goodness, we have been redeemed through Jesus Christ, and we should respond by worshipfully proclaiming “the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

For, He is good all the time. And ALL the time, He is GOOD!

For the Truth,

Pastor Billy