“Soli
Deo Gloria – For The Glory Of God Alone!”
Text:
1 Peter 4:11
It's
ALL about HIM!
1
Peter 4:11King James Version (KJV)
11 If
any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man
minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God
in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be
praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
- We glorify God! As his creation,
created in His purpose and decree, we glorify Him! -
Isaiah
42:8King James Version (KJV)
8 I
am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to
another, neither my praise to graven images.
- He gives His glory to NO ONE! -
John
17:5King James Version (KJV)
5 And
now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory
which I had with thee before the world was.
- Here we see the Glory revealed
in the Trinity -
Colossians
1:12-19King James Version (KJV)
12 Giving
thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of
the inheritance of the saints in light:
13
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness,
and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even
the forgiveness of sins:
15
Who is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn of every creature:
16
For by him were all things created, that are in
heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were
created by him, and for him:
17
And he is before all things, and by him all things
consist.
18
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is
the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he
might have the preeminence.
19
For it pleased the Father that in him should all
fulness dwell;
- God's glory at it's greatest,
revealed in His dear son through the work of Redemption! -
- Once again as we continue
through the 5 sola's we come to the end, Soli Deo Gloria or For The
Glory Of God Alone! The doctrine of the corrupted
Catholic Church adhered to what Martin Luther called the “theology
of glory” (in opposition to the “theology of the cross”), in
which the glory for a sinner's salvation could be attributed partly
to Christ, partly to Mary and the saints, and partly to the sinner
himself. The reformers responded, “No, the only true gospel is that
which gives all glory to God alone, as is taught in the scriptures.”
-
Glory
belongs to God alone. God’s glory is the central motivation for
salvation, not improving the lives of people—though that is a
wonderful by product. God is not a means to an end—he is the means
and the end.
As
The Westminster Catechism says, the chief purpose of human life is
“to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”
- The reformer's BOLDLY cried Soli Deo Gloria!
Proclaiming that God alone receives glory for Salvation! God alone is
he who choses, he who works, he who justifies, he who sanctifies, he
who glorifies, so HE ALONE receives the GLORY! -
It
is affirmed that because salvation is of God and has been
accomplished by God, it is for God's glory and that we must glorify
him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God,
under the authority of God and for his glory alone. It is denied that
we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with
entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching,
or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self- fulfillment are allowed
to become alternatives to the gospel.
-
Keith Mathison of Ligonier Ministries says -
“Soli
Deo gloria is
not precisely parallel to the other four solas
because
in one sense, it is both the beginning and the end of the other
four. The Holy Spirit inspired the Scriptures to the glory of God
alone. Christ humbled Himself to the point of death and was raised
and exalted to the right hand of the Father to the glory of God
alone. Grace and mercy are offered to rebellious sinners to the
glory of God alone. Justification is by faith alone to the glory of
God alone. Soli
Deo gloria,
therefore, is central.
It is
important to understand that when we talk about God’s glory, we are
talking first and foremost about an attribute of God. As the
Westminster Confession of Faith explains: “God hath all life,
glory,
goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself” (2.2) He is the God of
glory (Acts
7:2). He also manifests His glory in the works of creation and
redemption, most significantly in the person and work of Jesus
Christ, the Lord of glory (1
Cor. 2:8).
God also
glorifies Himself in and through the church. We as believers are
called to do whatever we do to the glory of God (1
Cor. 10:31). We are to use our gifts to serve one another “in
order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ”
(1
Peter 4:10–11). The Psalms are filled from beginning to end
with ascriptions of praise to the glory of God, and this demonstrates
where the focus of the church’s worship should be. Worship does not
exist for our entertainment. Worship exists for the glory of God
alone.
-
What Does This Look Like? -
-
As A Believer, How Do I Glorify God? -
1.)
We Exist For His Glory Alone!
Genesis
1:27King James Version (KJV)
27 So
God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him;
male and female created he them.
-
BUT that image is broken! -
Romans
3:23King James Version (KJV)
23 For
all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
-
YET -
Isaiah
48:9-11King James Version (KJV)
9 For
my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I
refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.
10 Behold,
I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the
furnace of affliction.
11 For
mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should
my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.
-
ALL of Creation and it's existence Glorify God! -
Romans
9:17-24King James Version (KJV)
17
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh,
Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew
my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all
the earth. 18 Therefore
hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he
hardeneth. 19 Thou
wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath
resisted his will? 20 Nay
but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing
formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21
Hath not the potter power over the
clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another
unto dishonour? 22 What
if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known,
endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to
destruction: 23 And
that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of
mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 24
Even us, whom he hath called, not of
the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
-
John Piper says -
The
glory of God is the beauty and excellence of his manifold
perfections. It is an attempt to put into words what God is like in
his magnificence and purity. It refers to his infinite and
overflowing fullness of all that is good. The term might focus on his
different attributes from time to time — like his power and wisdom
and mercy and justice — because each one is indeed awesome and
beautiful in its magnitude and quality. But in general, God’s
glory is the perfect harmony of all his attributes into one
infinitely beautiful and personal being.
Now
when God says that he created us for his glory, it cannot
mean
that he created us so that he would become more glorious, that his
beauty and perfection would be somehow increased by us. It is
unthinkable that God should become more perfectly God by making
something that is not God. It is a staggering but necessary thought
that God has always existed, that he never came into being, and that
everything which exists which is not God is from his fullness and can
never add anything to him which did not come from him. That is what
it means to be God; and it should humble us, O, how it should humble
us, when we ponder his reality!
But
this means that when God says he made us for his glory, he
does not mean he made us so that he could become more glorious in
himself.
Instead what it means is that he created us to display his glory,
that is, that his glory might be known and praised.
-
How? What Does That Look Like? -
2.)
We Are Redeemed For His Glory Alone!
Revelation
5King James Version (KJV)
5 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book
written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
2
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud
voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals
thereof?
3
And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under
the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
4
And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to
open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
5
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not:
behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath
prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
6
And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne
and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb
as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are
the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
7
And he came and took the book out of the right hand
of him that sat upon the throne.
8
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and
four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of
them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of
saints.
9
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy
to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain,
and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and
tongue, and people, and nation;
10
And hast made us unto our God kings and priests:
and we shall reign on the earth.
11
And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels
round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number
of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of
thousands;
12
Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that
was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and
honour, and glory, and blessing.
13
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the
earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that
are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and
power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb
for ever and ever.
14
And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and
twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and
ever.
-
Before the foundations of the earth, He was the Lamb slain! A
Redeemer before we needed redeeming! -
-
In Salvation we express and receive the fullness of God's mercy,
Grace, love, compassion, longsuffering, and righteousness! -
-
Salvation is God's work, we are His workmanship! -
-
It's ALL Him! We are and do NOTHING! -
Ephesians
2:4-10King James Version (KJV)
4 But
God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even
when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,
(by grace ye are saved;)
6 And
hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus:
7 That
in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace
in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God:
9 Not
of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
-
To God Be The Glory! -
If
I'm redeemed for His Glory, what does that mean now?
3.)
Now We Must Live For His Glory Alone!
1
Corinthians 10:31King James Version (KJV)
31
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever
ye do, do all to the glory of God.
-
You are now DEAD, you are alive in Christ! -
Galatians
2:20King James Version (KJV)
20 I
am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by
the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
1
Corinthians 6:19-20King James Version (KJV)
19 What?
know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is
in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For
ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and
in your spirit, which are God's.
-
As we step into Glory, the eternal state, the final kingdom. As God
himself wipes away all of our tears and takes away death and all of
our pain, that will be the beginning of an infinite eternity of
praising God and giving Him GLORY! -
In
Closing:
The
Holy Spirit inspired the Scriptures to the glory of God alone. Christ
humbled Himself to the point of death and was raised and exalted to
the right hand of the Father to the glory of God alone. Grace and
mercy are offered to rebellious sinners to the glory of God alone.
Justification is by faith alone to the glory of God alone.
-
To God Be The Glory, FOREVER and EVER AMEN! -
