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How can we bring glory to God?
K. Allan Blume, BR Editor
June 06, 2011
7 MIN READ TIME

How can we bring glory to God?

How can we bring glory to God?
K. Allan Blume, BR Editor
June 06, 2011

How do we glorify God? Are there some specific actions or

attitudes which bring Him glory? Is glorifying God limited to the actions of

individuals or is this something a church, ministry or denomination can do?

Since one of my three main goals for the Biblical Recorder is to glorify God,

it will be helpful to initiate some discussion on the subject.

Most students of the Bible are familiar with the first

question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. It simply asks, “What is the

chief end of man?” The response is equally simple, “Man’s chief end is to

glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” While Baptists are not accustomed to

the regular recitation of the catechism, we should not ignore the priority of

glorifying God.

The Holman Bible Dictionary defines “glory” as “The weighty

importance and shining majesty which accompany God’s presence. The basic

meaning of the Hebrew word kabod is heavy in weight… This is not so much

something someone bestows on another as a quality of importance which a person,

group or nation has and which another recognizes.”

The New Testament word for glory is doxa. This Greek word

expresses a kind of glory that is exclusively reserved for God. Since there is

no one or no thing comparable to Him, He alone is worthy of glory.

To ascribe glory and honor to God is to recognize the

superior quality of His importance. Giving Him glory is not contributing

something to Him. It is recognizing what already exists and acting in ways

which demonstrate our awareness of His uniqueness. He is in a category occupied

by no other.

So, how do we go about ascribing glory and honor to Him? The

most common answer is in the verbal expressions of worship. To give glory to

God is to offer praise, worship and rightful recognition of God’s place in

creation, in history and in the personal activity of the individual. Christians

do this powerfully through music — all kinds of music. Expressions of worship

through music comes in many languages and more styles than there is room to

mention. If the text of the music accurately describes the God of the Bible,

and it is presented with a pure heart, He is glorified.

Have you noticed that many religions have no music?

There is no song, because they have no god who is worthy of

worship. Their god is a dead idol or hollow list of rules. If all is in vain,

there is no song.

We sing because of the joy we experience from our living

God. We sing because we have seen His mercy and received His grace.

Another way we glorify God is through prayers of repentance.

The act of repentance gives God glory because the humble sinner is

acknowledging that God is right and the sinner is wrong. God is glorified by

our recognition that He is absolutely correct. He is perfectly truthful. When

confronted with His holy nature, we must be like Isaiah. He heard the seraphim

worshiping God, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth

is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3). His response to God’s glory was

repentance. “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips,

and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the

King, the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5). That is how to glorify God!

Repentance puts us in our place. Even though we have trusted

Christ as our Savior, believers are not immune to the destructive elevation of

self which pride produces. Pride contaminates worship, robbing God of His

glory, while claiming glory for ourselves.

In the first chapter of the letter to the Romans, Paul

described people who intellectually know who God is, but refuse to acknowledge

His supreme nature. In verse 22 he says of such people, “Professing to be wise,

they became fools.” You can read the consequences of their action. God “gave

them up.” He let them follow their dead end road so their misplaced worship

would become obvious. This kind of intellectual arrogance is all around us in

North Carolina, America and the world. In our state there are 5.6 million

people who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Where can

they go to see the glory of God?

We cannot fight intellectual pride. But, we can proclaim the

gospel which sets people free from the bondage of self-worship. Only through

the gospel is misplaced glory corrected by true worship.

The witness of a faithful Christian glorifies God. Jesus

instructed His disciples, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may

see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). There

you have it! Live in such a way that causes others to glorify God. Those in

your sphere of influence look at the way you live. They recognize that it is

impossible for you to live this way without some kind of outside help. God is

glorified as they see Him working in your life.

The same process can be applied to a church or a ministry.

Does the non-Christian world around your church glorify God as they see the

awesome things He is doing in your church family? Are they seeing things that

cannot be explained by human effort? Does the genuine expression of our faith

whet the spiritual appetite of those around us? Lostness is overwhelming in

North Carolina.

Never in history has

there been more unreached, unbelieving people in our state. What an opportunity

to glorify God!

What glorifies God? A complete list is much too long to

cover here, but I want to suggest a few more for your consideration.

  • God loves His word, so when His word is held high,

    internalized in the believer and obeyed deliberately, God gets glory.

  • God is glorified when His people acknowledge Him as Father

    and grow in the intimacy that characterizes a healthy father-child

    relationship.

  • God is glorified when His Holy Spirit indwells His

    children so strongly that His power is displayed in ways that cannot be

    attributed to human ability.

  • God is glorified when His Son is received and subsequently

    proclaimed as the Messiah who died for sinners, was buried and arose from the

    grave.

  • God is glorified when believers acknowledge His ownership

    of our lives. “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your

    body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:20).

  • God is glorified when the resources of His children are

    wisely invested in the priority of building His Kingdom through the local

    church.

I would like to hear your additions to this list. The

Biblical Recorder staff welcomes your feedback ([email protected]).

We want to partner with North Carolina Baptists to glorify God. We want to be

an instrument of encouragement, grace and truth to you and your church.

“Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; Nor are

there any works like Your works. All nations whom You have made shall come and

worship before You, O Lord, And shall glorify Your name. For You are great, and

do wondrous things; You alone are God.”

— Psalm 86:8-10