I have encountered many people over the years – Christians and non-Christians – who have questioned me about faith, God and the meaning of life. And heaps more. Only just recently one man asked me, as we were having a coffee at the local caffeine dispensary, “So what’s in all this for God? What’s in it for Him, if He is the boss of everything? Like, He doesn’t need anything, right?” And that was a very, very good question.
What is “in it” for God? What does He get out of this whole big Bible narrative thing? Well, as I see it, it all has to do with who God is, and what makes Him tick, so to speak. What is it that drives God, that is God? Well, that is a huge question that cannot possibly be adequately answered here. However, I can say a couple of things that will hopefully point you in the right direction. Here goes!
We know from Scripture and, in particular, from the words and ministry of Jesus, that God’s number one priority on the earth is the establishment of His Kingdom. Remember His prayer?
Matthew 6:9-10 (NIV)
[Jesus] "This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, 10 Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’”
This prayer, which we call “The Lord’s Prayer”, states right up front that God’s priority is that His kingdom be fully established and fully operational on the earth. In fact, as fully operational and sovereign as it is in heaven right now. And this priority, of course, is at the heart of the Gospel that Jesus came preaching.
Matthew 4:23 (NIV)
“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”
The Kingdom of God was not yet fully established on the earth (and for good reason), but it was at hand and everyone to whom Jesus preached was invited to repent and believe this good news, and enter into it. The Kingdom of God was not fully established on the earth just yet because, in the grace of God, He held off (and still is holding off) until people have had time to repent of their sins, accept the salvation He offers in Christ, and then enter into it. Had the Kingdom of God been fully established right there and then, no one would have survived the experience and everyone would have been destroyed along with their sins. The Kingdom of God is holy – sin cannot exist in it. And this is why Jesus came – to deal with the sin issue before the Kingdom of God became fully operational on the earth.
While we await the coming again of Jesus, the advancement of God’s Kingdom through the message of the Gospel (and what it does) is God’s number one priority on the earth. And this priority in this stage of history is the one major thing that will see His ultimate objective achieved. So, what is God’s ultimate objective towards which His Kingdom priority is working?
His glory!
God’s glory is His ultimate objective. And it will be achieved. But why? That’s the other great question here. God is holy – an extremely difficult thing for us mere humans to fully comprehend. But He is. Holiness is the essence, nature and character of God, and although I will use certain adjectives here to try and describe God’s holiness, they will be infinitely inadequate. God’s holiness is the complete absence of all that is not holy. It is all that is infinitely pure, and beautifully, wonderfully, breathtakingly majestic, pristine and glorious. And that doesn’t begin to do God justice. His holiness is the ultimate expression of life and, as a result, He is the only eternal life source. Now, that’s hard to imagine because we humans equate holiness to morality but these are different things. There is no morality in heaven at all – it is all holy. Morality is merely human measurement of what is good and righteous. But holiness is God’s exclusive category of beauty, life, love and joy. He has no equal.
But here’s the thing: what does holiness have to do with God’s glory? That’s our third great question this week. In simple terms glory is the visible manifestation of God’s holiness. His holiness is the most magnificent, infinite thing in any realm and it is reflected as glory. And so, in the visible realm (whether earthly or heavenly) this is seen as the most radiantly bright spectacle in existence. In a nutshell, holiness is the absolute purity, set-apartness, and unique, incomparable divine nature of God, whereas glory is the outward manifestation, display, and radiance of that inward holiness. Essentially, holiness is God's hidden, essential perfection, while glory is that same perfection revealed, seen, and praised. Whenever the holiness of God is revealed whether on earth or in heaven every creature that sees that glory is so overcome by it that worship is the result.
Glory in Scripture refers to the visible or tangible expression of God's divine character. It is the beauty, majesty, and weight of His perfections displayed for others to perceive. And so, for all humanity, and all the universe and everything else in all creation beyond earth, to see the glory of God is the most beautifully stunning thing to experience. As God’s holiness is infinite, so is the radiant glory of it. In the Book of Revelation there is a scene in heaven of worship. There is a throne and twenty-four elders who are surrounding it and they are worshipping along with angels, seraphim and other strange creatures – all worshipping non-stop. And from the throne come flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. It is a stunning scene, and then this is seen by the apostle John …
Revelation 4:9-11 (NIV)
Whenever the living creatures give glory, honour and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and Honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
What is happening here is that every so often in heaven, some new revelation of God’s glory is seen. And despite every other experience of the glory of God everyone there has previously seen, each new experience of it is overwhelming. It is so stunningly magnificent that the elders throw off their crowns, fall on their faces and worship in awe of Him who sits on the throne. They worship with even more passion and fervour than before. But there is more! The glory of God is what touches and fills creation and sustains it. The glory has power! The glory is the richness and divine expression of eternal life.
So, why should this not be God’s number one objective when everything else has been redeemed, renewed and made holy? There is nothing more life-giving and beautiful than God’s glory. He wants it to be seen and experienced, and for everything to be bathed in it.
1 Chronicles 29:11 (NIV)
“Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all.”
And He wants the church to shine with His glory so that the world might see it and be drawn to Him. This is the “city on a hill” Jesus spoke about.
Think on these things. Pursue holiness and God’s glory is reflected in you.
Ps Milton