REFLECTIONS

Written by Stephen Shead

We’ll finish this week returning to where we started: thinking about the holiness of God. Here’s a question that might seem strange. If holiness for a person means being devoted to God, does that definition apply to God’s own holiness as well? Is God devoted to himself – to his own glory and goodness?

Yes, absolutely. He is so devoted to his own glory that his ultimate purpose in sending Jesus as the saviour and judge of the world is to “hallow” or sanctify his name. That is, while it’s true that Jesus died on the cross out of his great love for sinners, it’s equally true that God’s ultimate goal is that the entire universe might honour him as holy, to the praise of his glory and goodness.

In Ezekiel 36, when God was explaining to his wayward people in exile why he was going to rescue them, forgive their sin, and transform their hearts, he said this:

22 “Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. 23 I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.” (Ezekiel 36:22-23)

Does the idea that God is wholly devoted to his own glory make you feel a little uncomfortable? Are you thinking, “Doesn’t that make God self-centred? And isn’t it bad to be self-centred?”

The answers are (1) yes, and (2) that very much depends. In our case, yes, but with God, it’s a very good thing that he is devoted to his own glory and goodness.

Think about when a person acts as if they’re the centre of the universe and everything revolves around them. Why is that so repulsive to us? It’s because they are not the centre of the universe. And that’s because … God is. God IS the centre of all reality. Everything exists for him. Paul says:

For from him and through him and for him are all things.
          To him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:36)

You and I exist for God – to know him and love him.

But there’s another difference between my self-centredness and God’s devotion to his glory. When I’m self-centred, I keep everything for myself. I can’t be self-centred for the good of others. But God’s devotion to his own glory overflows in love and self-giving. In fact, God’s devotion to his glory IS his love.

The key to understanding that is the profound truth we explored yesterday: that God is Trinity. He exists eternally as the three Persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in perfect union. Not only that, God is an eternal fellowship of perfect, complete, pure love between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. That’s why God’s devotion to himself IS love. It’s not like our grasping self-centredness. Within the eternal being of God is a constant, unceasing flow of self-giving love.

Shortly before Jesus was arrested, as he looked towards his death, he prayed an amazing prayer of self-consecration or self-devotion to God and to his saving mission. It is often described as Jesus’ high-priestly prayer. In it, he prayed this:

1 … “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ... 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (John 17:1, 4-5)

God’s devotion to his own glory and goodness, God’s determination to show the holiness of his name, turns out to be the best thing in the universe. It’s good in itself, because God is the reason and purpose of everything that exists. But it’s also the best thing possible for us. God’s devotion to his glory is the entire reason he sent Jesus to deliver us from sin and shower us with his grace and love. In fact, through Jesus, God’s glory and goodness flow to us as a gift. And through Jesus, we are drawn into loving fellowship with God (1 John 1:3).

There’s nothing better than to know you exist to the praise of God’s glory and goodness. That will not only fill you with purpose and joy, it will also launch you – and launch us together – out to the world in mission, for Jesus’ sake.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen is our senior minister.