Why Are We To Glorify God?

God created humanity for His glory. God the Father gives you as a gift to the Son.

Why does God put us through "life" when He already knows what will happen?

We received an email asking about God's glory. It raises several excellent questions. Here it is:

Question:

God is independent, okay. However, he made me to Glorify Him; here is where my confusion stems from. He is independent, why would he need me to glorify Him?

Pick something else. Why would an all knowing God create a human, knowing all the time he/she would sin just to send His own son down to earth to reunifying humans to Him through Jesus? Why not just have Angels glorify him? Why again put his own creations through all the hell on earth that started with Adam and Eve or God?

It doesn't make sense. I didn't ask for this and neither did you. I feel wedged in by God and Satan. God new how Jesus would end up; he is the one that had his son crucified, right? He knows how I will end up. I keep asking myself, why set and watch a movie or read a book knowing all time how things will end, sounds like a waste of time. Here is my question to you: WHY

Thanks

Answer:

Hi:

You have asked some excellent questions and I wanted to answer them with excellence also and show the scripture behind my answers.

We need to go back before the beginning and see the reason why God created us. God's plan for us, and for redeeming us, started before creation.

2 Timothy 1:9 - "...who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,"

Ephesians 1:4-5 - "...just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him."

Before man was created there the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were in a relationship. The Father wanted to show His perfect love for the Son. He did this by promising the Son a redeemed humanity who would serve and glorify Him forever.

John 17:23,24,26 - Jesus is praying in these verses, talking to the Father: "I [Jesus] in them, and You [The Father] in Me, that they [believers] may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."

"...and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which you loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

Jesus affirmed the promise of the gift of redeemed souls when He publicly stated:

John 6:37 & 40 - "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."

One day in the future, when Jesus Christ has received the full promise of the Father to Him, and all the saved are glorified and made like Jesus to serve and praise Him forever, the Son, in a gesture of divine love will give everything back to the Father.

1 Corinthians 15:28 - "When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all thngs to Him, so that God may be all in all."

Those who are redeemed by God are a part of a covenant between two of the members of the Godhead to demonstrate their infinite love for each other. For the Father to show His love for the Son, and the Son to show His love for the Father is the purpose underlying why we were created.

A part of this gift of love is that the Father gave the Son to redeem believers from the penalty of sin. And the Son willingly gave Himself, paying the price and therefore glorifying the Father, for our redemption. We've done nothing in this. We are dead in our sins and as dead men we can do nothing to bring ourselves to life. When Jesus, through His death on the cross and His giving us the faith to believe, gives us life He is glorified.

When The Father holds off on destroying the world for the wickedness that is in it, so that more of humanity might be saved, He is glorified.

When a Christian goes out and shares the gospel with a non-believer, giving them the good news that saves, God is glorified.

This is why God created us. God created us in His image, making us His representatives to all the powers and authorities in heaven (who He also created). In creating us in His image God gave us many of the characteristics He has (but to a much lesser degree), such as love, mercy and free will -- meaning we have the ability to choose right from wrong. If He did not give us that ability, we'd be nothing more than per-programmed robots. If, with our free will, we had always chosen to do right. God would have been glorified. If we chose wrong (as we did), God is glorified through the sacrifice o His Son for humanity who does not deserve to be saved. God used this plan because it was the only plan... the perfect plan, the plan that shows perfect love for the Son and glorifies God. There i no alternative.

Yes, God knew what would happen, and from before the beginning the Son was prepared to be the sacrifice that saved us.

The angels do glorify God (Revelation 4:8). They were created for that purpose. But, the angels are not created in God's image. The angels do not have the characteristics of God. In some respects the glory they give God is built into them by God. It is their nature.

God has not put His creations through "all hell on earth." We have done that ourselves. Any misery, pain, suffering on earth is the result of what we have done. We see this over and over in the Old Testament. God continually tells the Israelite people what they need to do to have a good life. But eventually they disobey and things get worse. That there is anything good on earth is the result of God's common grace. (Matthew 5:45). If we lived according to the way God wishes us to live, this world would be very different. But we have chosen a different path.

Why does a parent discipline a child? What if the parent allowed the child to do as they wish and left them on their own? Then the child would pay the consequences. Something the child would find painful and undesirable. God lets us pay the consequences for some of our choices. He protects us from many of the consequences (that's called His common grace), but we also must face many of the consequences for our own actions. That's why there is pain and suffering in the world.

God did not have His Son crucified. It was His plan, but the plan required that the Son give Himself. It was the Son's choice and desire, and He went to the cross willingly. Matthew 26:53)

I don't know if you have a son. I do. It is beyond my comprehension to give my son to die to benefit someone who hates me. That's what God did. That is love. That the Son willingly gave Himself for those who hated Him... that is love beyond comprehension. It is the love God has.

Yes, God knows the end. This is not a "film" that has been made for His pleasure. Before He created the universe God knew you and knew whether you would choose life (choose Jesus) or choose death (reject Jesus). But that is still your decision to make. God isn't watching our lives like we watch a movie. He is giving you time to chose Him. Every moment you are getting a "second" chance to trust Jesus as having paid your penalty for sin. That is the only reason God is waiting. He is waiting until all who will accept the gift He has given us, have done so. The world is going downhill. We will reach a point when all who will accept that Jesus died to pay their penalty for sin (breaking God's laws) have done that. Then the end will come.

That is why... that is why He is waiting... being incredibly patient with us.

Jesus died to pay the penalty you have earned for breaking God's laws. Do you trust that is true? Will you turn away from sin and desire to obey God? Say yes to both of these. Take the gift God has offered to you. Take the gift of eternal life by accepting only Jesus, who is God, can fully pay the penalty you owe for breaking God's laws. Trust Jesus as the one who has saved you.

I hope I have answered your questions. I'm glad to help in any way I can.

Steve
Move To Assurance

go to the "Why Am I Here" page