The Keys to Spiritual Growth E-Book

John MacArthur

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 287

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2001

Beschreibung

John MacArthur explores a range of biblical passages to reveal the riches of God in Jesus Christ, riches that will help us continue to grow in faith and spirit.

Leseprobe

The Keys to Spiritual Growth

Revised and expanded edition copyright © 1991 by John F. MacArthur, Jr.

Originally published by Fleming H. Revell Company, 1976.

Crossway Books first edition published 2001

Published by Crossway Books a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers 1300 Crescent Street Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by USA copyright law.

Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, © The Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995.

Scripture quotations identified KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

“The Fizzie Principle” is reprinted from Found: God’s Will by John F. MacArthur, Jr., published by Victor Books, copyright © 1973, revised 1977, by SP Publications, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60187

Quotation from Peanuts reprinted by permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

Cover design: Cindy Kiple

First Crossway printing, 2001

Printed in the United States of America

___________________________________________

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataMacArthur, John, 1939-  The keys to spiritual growth : unlocking the riches of God / John F. MacArthur.—Rev. and expanded.

       p. cm. Includes biographical references and index. ISBN 13: 978-1-58134-269-7 ISBN 10: 1-58134-269-1 (TPB : alk. paper) 1. Christian life. 2. Spiritual life—Christianity. I. Title.

BB4501.3.M23      2001 248.4—dc21

2001001181

_________________________________________

CH            19     18     17     16     15     14     13     12     11     10     09 21     20     19     18     17     16     15     14     13     12     11     10      9

To Matthew, Marcy, Mark and Melinda

my beloved children, whose spiritual growth is my constant concern and whose maturity will be my highest earthly joy

Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.

Ephesians 4:13-15

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

2 Peter 3:18

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 THE MASTER KEYA Presupposition

2 THE MASTER PURPOSEThe Glory of God

3 THE MASTER PLANHow to Glorify God

4 OBEDIENCEUnlocking the Servants’ Quarters

5 THE FILLING OF THE SPIRITUnlocking the Power Plant

6 CONFESSIONUnlocking the Chamber of Horrors

7 LOVEUnlocking the Bridal Suite

8 PRAYERUnlocking the Inner Sanctum

9 HOPEUnlocking the Hope Chest

10 BIBLE STUDYUnlocking the Library

11 FELLOWSHIPUnlocking the Family Room

12 WITNESSINGUnlocking the Nursery

13 DISCERNMENT Locking the Security Gate

Notes

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to Dr. Lowell Saunders, who edited the first edition of this book many years ago. Thanks also to Dave Enos, Allacin Morimizu, and Phil Johnson, who helped with this revision.

INTRODUCTION

We don’t hear much about spiritual growth these days. Many Christians in our society have been diverted by various teachings that promise power, spiritual energy, and success without the process of growth into spiritual maturity. They look for dramatic experiences, climactic turning points, instant solutions to their spiritual problems; but real, lasting victory doesn’t come through those means. God’s design is that we be seasoned to maturity through a continual process of growth.

The contemporary church’s de-emphasis of spiritual growth has reaped a bitter harvest. Millions of professing Christians suffer from arrested development. Churches are filled with people who are spiritually immature, undiscerning, weak, and fragile. Spiritual underdevelopment is the rule, no longer an exception. Thousands—perhaps millions—are now addicted to “therapy,” evidently preferring the dependency of a counseling relationship to the rigors of true discipleship and growth in grace.

This is a severe threat to the church. Frankly, it may be a sign that something is terribly wrong, for growth is one of the essential signs of life—in both the physical and the spiritual realms. Where there is no growth, no true life exists. Where there is no spiritual growth, there is good reason to question whether spiritual life exists.

Are you growing? If you are not, or if you are not satisfied with your rate of growth, this book is for you!

Be sure of this: God intends every Christian to grow into spiritual maturity. His Word commands us, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). That’s our obligation—and our privilege. Each day we can progress in our spiritual life toward a fuller, higher, personal, experiential knowledge of God and Christ. We can go past His Word to the God who wrote it and know Him more personally.

I find that many people entertain mistaken ideas about what spiritual maturity involves. They’re not growing as rapidly as they could, or they’re caught on a level far below where they should be, because they misunderstand what spiritual maturity is and how one grows in grace. Here are a few reminders to help keep us on track.

Spiritual growth has nothing to do with our position in Christ. God sees us in His Son as already perfect. We are complete in Him (Colossians 2:10). We have everything we need pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). We are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). Positionally we are perfect. Practically, however, we fall far short. Growth is the process by which that which is true of us positionally becomes more and more a reality in practice as well.

Spiritual growth has nothing to do with God’s favor. God doesn’t like us better the more spiritual we become. Sometimes parents threaten their children, “If you don’t behave, the Lord won’t like you.” How ridiculous! God’s love for us is not conditional upon our behavior. Even when we were “helpless,” “ungodly,” “sinners,” and “enemies” (see Romans 5:6-10), God showed His great love for us by sending His Son to die for our sins. God cannot love us more just because we grow.

Spiritual growth has nothing to do with time. Maturity in the spiritual realm is not measured by the calendar. It is possible for a person to be a Christian for half a century and yet remain a spiritual infant. Several years ago I saw a report in Time magazine about a Bible quiz given to high-school students. According to the students, Sodom and Gomorrah were lovers; the Gospels were written by Matthew, Mark, Luther, and John; Eve was created from an apple; and Jezebel was Ahab’s jackass! Don’t think those high-school students were unusual. I know some retired persons who might do even worse!

Spiritual growth has nothing to do with knowledge. Facts, data, information, and intelligence cannot be equated with spiritual maturity. You might score perfectly on Time magazine’s quiz, but unless your knowledge results in conforming you to Christ, it is useless. Truth that fails to change your life and behavior may in fact be hurtful, hardening you instead of bringing you to maturity.

Spiritual growth has nothing to do with activity. Some people make the mistake of assuming that the most mature Christians are always the busiest ones. But busyness doesn’t necessarily bring maturity, nor can it be substituted for maturity. Excessive activity may, in fact, even hinder what is really vital and important in the Christian life. Matthew 7:21-23 tells us of a group who will plead acceptance with Christ on the basis of their many wonderful works, but He will cast them out. Busyness can’t earn salvation, let alone bring about spiritual maturity.

Spiritual growth has nothing to do with prosperity. “Well, look how the Lord has blessed me,” some people exclaim. “I have so much money, and I have a wonderful house and a nice car and a secure job. See how God has blessed me because I’ve honored Him?” Don’t believe it. God may have allowed you to prosper, but that is not a mark of spiritual growth. (See 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.) Some people so dedicate themselves to the pursuit of prosperity that they neglect everything else. That is not spiritual maturity, but just the opposite.

Spiritual growth, as we have noted, is simply matching up our practice with our position. Our position in Christ is majestic. God has “raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). Our position could not be more lofty. Positionally, we are perfect. Now God wants us to reflect that position in our progressive experience. That’s what growth is all about.

Spiritual growth is critical. Call it what you will: pursuing righteousness (1 Timothy 6:11), being transformed (Romans 12:2), “perfecting holiness” (2 Corinthians 7:1), pressing toward the goal (Philippians 3:14), or being built up in the faith (Colossians 2:7). The goal is the same for every Christian: to be “. . . transformed into [the Lord’s] image . . .” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Spiritual growth is not mystical, sentimental, devotional, psychological, or the result of clever secrets. It comes through understanding and practicing the principles that are given in the Word of God. Its boundless blessings are in a divine vault that is easily unlocked by a series of unique keys. Those keys are the theme of this book. Get ready to unlock the riches of God in Christ Jesus!

1THE MASTER KEY A Presupposition

The Bible is alive: “The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Peter speaks of God’s Word as that which is “imperishable . . . living and enduring” (1 Peter 1:23). Paul refers to the Bible as “the word of life” (Philippians 2:16).

THE BIBLE’S VITAL SIGNS

In what sense does the Word of God live? We can best see that by comparing it with the decay, destruction, and corruption that surround us. Death is the monarch of this world. This earth is nothing but a large cemetery; everyone is dying. Some people think they are living it up. Actually, they’re living on the downside, for their bodies and their glory soon wither and fade away like the grass (1 Peter 1:24).

In contrast, the Bible is inexhaustible, inextinguishable, and life-giving. The death and decay of the world system cannot touch it.

The Bible is alive in itself. The Bible is perennially fresh. In every generation and every age, the Bible proves itself to be alive and relevant. Its riches are inexhaustible, its depths unfathomable.

A few years ago I decided to choose a book of the Bible and read that same book every day for thirty days. I figured at the end of a month I would really know that particular book. I started with a rel- atively short book—1 John. At the end of thirty days, I discovered there were still things that I did not know about the book; so I read it for another month. Even after that I felt I didn’t know 1 John as well as I wanted to; so I read it for another thirty days. Do you know something? First John still holds mysteries for me that I haven’t even tapped. Every time I read it, I get excited!

Another reason we say the Bible lives is that it is up-to-date. Have you ever looked at your old high school or college textbooks? Most of them are obsolete. The march of progress and discovery has left them behind. But the Bible speaks as perceptively and definitively to the twenty-first century as it did to the first century.

The Bible discerns hearts. It has insight that shakes us up. It is a sharp, two-edged sword that dissects our innermost beings. It judges the thoughts and intentions of our hearts (Hebrews 4:12). It reveals to us exactly what we are, which is why those who cling to their sin don’t read it—they don’t want to be convicted. Those are some of the reasons we say the Word of God is alive.

The Bible is life-giving. The Bible not only has life—it also gives life. The power to reproduce is a fundamental characteristic of life. Mere human thoughts and words cannot impart spiritual life. But the living Word of God can. James 1:18 says, “In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth.” The Holy Spirit uses the Word to bring about new birth. The only way to become a child of God is through the living Word: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). We are “born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).

Consider the parable of the sower in Luke 8. The Word of God is the seed scattered over the world (v. 11). Some falls by the wayside and is snatched away by the devil so people won’t believe and be saved. What is the germ of life that people must believe to be saved? The life-giving Word.

Jesus stressed the importance of the Word in the process of regeneration. “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63). The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to produce life.

The Bible sustains spiritual life. As the Puritan Thomas Watson said, Scripture is both the breeder and the feeder of life. By it we are spiritually born, and by it we are nourished to maturity. Peter said, “Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Peter 2:2).

Have you ever seen a hungry newborn baby? That baby isn’t interested in hearing you talk, in playing with you, or being cuddled. Nothing short of being fed will satisfy. Peter tells us that our desire for the Word should be that strong.

Many Christians do not strongly desire the Word. As a result they are emaciated and improperly nourished, suffering from spiritual malnutrition. They need to remember the words of Jeremiah, “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16).

Paul reminded Timothy of that truth: “In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following” (1 Timothy 4:6).

The Word of God nourishes believers. We need it just as a baby needs milk, but we also need to grow up so we can take in solid food (Hebrews 5:13, 14).

The Bible transforms lives. Paul encouraged the Ephesians to be renewed in the spirit of their minds (Ephesians 4:23). In Romans 12:2 he said that the renewing of our minds transforms us. Even as believers, we need to let the Word change us. We do not become perfect when we become believers. The Holy Spirit still has a lot to do to mold us into Christlikeness. We still struggle with our old sinful patterns of living (see Romans 7:15-25). Only through filling our minds with the Word and living in obedience to its principles can those patterns be changed.

Many Christians struggle with the problem of how to be more committed to the Lord. They attend seminars, read books, seek certain spiritual gifts, see counselors, listen to talk shows—just about everything except turning to the Bible. Yet if they neglect the Word, little if any change will result. Only the Holy Spirit, working through the Word, has the power to bring us to maturity in Christ.

Paul reminded the Corinthians of that truth: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). What is the “mirror” he speaks of? Scripture. James wrote, “If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was” (James 1:23, 24). How do we become transformed to be like Christ? As we see the glory of Jesus Christ revealed in the mirror of Scripture, the Spirit of God transforms us into the image of Jesus Christ. That is the master key to spiritual growth.

The Puritan Philip Henry wrote:

Conversion turns us to the Word of God, as our touchstone, to examine ourselves . . . as our glass, to dress by (James 1); as our rule to walk and work by (Galatians 6:16); as our water, to wash us (Psalm 119:9); as our fire to warm us (Luke 24); as our food to nourish us (Job 23:12); as our sword to fight with (Ephesians 6); as our counselor, in all our doubts (Psalm 119:24); as our cordial, to comfort us; as our heritage, to enrich us.

THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS TO SPIRITUAL MATURITY

Many Christians try to figure out some kind of shortcut to spiritual maturity, but none exists. As we gaze into the mirror of the Word of God and behold the glory of God, as we allow the sword of the Spirit to do surgery on our souls, as we permit the water of the Word to cleanse us, the Holy Spirit will transform our lives.

The most significant step in my personal spiritual development took place when I committed myself to intense study of the Bible. Bible study has become the passion of my life. Nothing in this world consumes me like the desire to study and communicate the Word. While I haven’t arrived at the goal of perfect Christlikeness (Philippians 3:13, 14), I have learned that the Holy Spirit uses the Word to transform me into the image of Christ.

The Bible is central to our spiritual lives. It is instrumental in our regeneration and crucial to our spiritual growth. In it God “has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). And we pay a high price for neglecting it.

USING THE MASTER KEY

Let me suggest five specific ways to use the master key of spiritual growth—the Word of God.

Believe It

Today many voices compete with the Scriptures for our allegiance. Science, psychology, humanism, and mysticism are all rival sources of authority to the Bible, clamoring loudly for our attention. Don’t follow the majority. Too many in the church seem willing to abandon God’s Word for supposed shortcuts to maturity. But Peter’s response must be ours: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Accept the Bible for what it is— the divinely inspired, infallible, inerrant, all-sufficient Word of God. Doubting the truths God has revealed in Scripture will rob us of our joy and may ultimately destroy our faith altogether.1

Study It

All Christians should make it their goal to be, like Apollos, “mighty in the Scriptures” (Acts 18:24). Too many Christians are content with shallow, superficial Bible study or even no Bible study at all. Such neglect of serious study can result in doctrinal error as well as misconceptions on how to live the Christian life. The Bible rewards diligent study. And through study of the Scriptures, we can show ourselves approved of God (2 Timothy 2:15).

Honor It

The citizens of Ephesus honored the statue of Diana because they thought Jupiter had sent it down from heaven. So they worshiped it—ugly, obscene, and horrible as it was. But something of true beauty has come down out of heaven from God—His precious Word, which is more valuable than gold or jewels (Proverbs 3:14, 15). Don’t pay lip service to the Bible while in reality you give your life in pursuit of the world’s substitutes—including things like entertainment, politics, philosophy, psychology, mysticism, and personal experience.

Love It

“O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day,” wrote the psalmist (119:97). Can you say that? Do you give the Word as much of your time and attention as you do other, less-deserving objects of affection? Do you read the Bible as a love letter sent to you from God? Is the Word of God your passion, something to which you are drawn in quiet moments, or do you turn instead to diversions that actually hinder your growth?

Obey It

Obedience is ultimately the only appropriate response to God’s Word. It will do us no good to believe, study, honor, and love the Bible unless we also obey it. The commands of God aren’t optional; they are obligatory. We can’t approach the Bible like a smorgasbord, whimsically choosing what we wish to obey and bypassing the rest.

Our obedience must be implicit. Samuel told the disobedient Saul, “Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22).

So you will find God’s Word to be a master key that opens everything else in the spiritual realm! No chamber of spiritual privilege is closed to this key. Despite what many believe and teach today, nothing apart from the Word—no spiritual experience, no mystical key, no supernatural secret, no transcendental formula—can unlock the way to some spiritual power unavailable through Scripture.

Certainly there are other keys, each unlocking a unique, treasured principle of spiritual growth. But they are all based on this one great master key: Each one is a principle from the Word.

The great revival of Nehemiah’s day began when the people urged him to read the Scriptures to them (Nehemiah 8). As they listened, their hearts were awakened. They were convicted, cleansed, built up—and they responded in obedience.

Perhaps you are hungry for personal revival. I urge you to allow the Word of God to be the key that will unlock for you the vast repository of spiritual riches that are yours in Christ.

2THE MASTER PURPOSE The Glory of God

If you were to go out on the street and ask ten people at random to name what they considered to be the greatest theme in all the world, you would probably get a variety of answers: money, love, marriage, sex, freedom, security, status, pleasure, peace, happiness.

But from God’s viewpoint, there is only one answer. It is the greatest theme in all the universe. It is the purpose of creation, the primary goal of the Christian life, and the reason for everything God has done or will do.

What is it? The answer is found in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. The first question asks, “What is the chief end of man?” And here’s the answer: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” The writers of the catechism believed every Christian should understand that he exists for God’s glory and God is for his enjoyment.

Someone may object that we are basing too much on the catechism, even though it is based on Scripture. But the paramount importance of the glory of God is not just someone’s idea. It is supported directly by the Word of God. In Psalm 16:8 David writes, “I have set the LORD continually before me.” That refers to giving God glory. In making this statement David is saying in effect, “In everything I do, my attention is given to God. All that I do, I accomplish with my focus riveted on God. It’s all for His glory and His honor and His will.”

The result of such a focus is found in verse 9: “Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices.” That is another way of saying that he found great joy in God. So here was David’s goal—to live always to the glory of God and consequently to enjoy God forever. That is the same point that the catechism is making.

The supreme objective in the life of any man or woman should be to give God glory. And the consequence of doing that will be unbounded joy. Spiritual maturity comes from concentrating on the person of God until one is caught up and lost in His majesty.

GOD’S INTRINSIC GLORY

What do we mean by glorifying God? We can look at this practically from two aspects. The first concerns God’s intrinsic glory, the glory that God has in Himself. In Isaiah 6:3, the seraphim cried out, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.”

God’s intrinsic glory is a part of His being. It is not something that was given to Him. If men and angels had never been created, God would still possess His intrinsic glory. If no one ever gave Him any glory, any honor, or any praise, He would still be the glorious God that He is. That is intrinsic glory—the glory of God’s nature. It is the manifestation and combination of all His attributes. We cannot give it to Him; we cannot diminish it. He is who He is—“the God of glory” (Acts 7:2).

Human glory is quite unlike that—it is not intrinsic; rather, it is imparted to a person from outside his or her essential being. We speak of people being exalted and honored. But if you take off a king’s robes and crown and put him next to a beggar, you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. The only glory a human ruler enjoys is that which is given him by the trappings of his office.

All of God’s glory is part of His essential being. It is not granted to Him, nor does it derive from any source outside of Himself. So the glory God possesses is thus very different from any form of human glory.

In addition to various Old Testament references, such as Psalm 24:7-10, the New Testament also teaches that God is a God of glory. The Gospels tell us that during His earthly life, the Lord Jesus Christ was divine glory incarnate (John 1:14).

The raising of Lazarus illustrates the Savior’s glory. When Jesus ordered the removal of the stone that sealed Lazarus’ grave, Martha protested. But Jesus answered, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40).

How was God’s glory displayed in that instance? In the manifestation of His power—the same power He used to create the universe. Martha did not give the Lord Jesus that glory; He already had it. In raising Lazarus, He put it on display.

Jesus later prayed, “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” (John 17:24). The answer to that prayer will be realized in the time described in Revelation 21:23. The New Jerusalem will have no need of sun or moon, “for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” How beautifully that shows God’s glory as an essential, intrinsic part of His very nature! Since the glory of God is part of His essential being, it is something He does not give to anyone else. In Isaiah 48:11 He says, “My glory I will not give to another.” God never divests Himself of His glory.

But believers can reflect God’s glory, as Moses did when he came down from the mountain (Exodus 34:30-35). More than that, God’s glory shines from within every Christian (2 Corinthians 3:18). But God never imparts His glory to anyone apart from Himself. That is, His glory is in believers only because He Himself indwells them. The glory never becomes ours; God never divests Himself of His glory.

This is similar to the relationship between Pharaoh and Joseph in Genesis. Pharaoh gave Joseph his ring, symbolizing royal authority. He also gave him a gold chain (Genesis 41:42). Joseph became Pharaoh’s representative, with full imperial privileges. Joseph essentially ruled Egypt. His word was law. But there was one thing Pharaoh did not give up—his glory. He told Joseph, “Only in the throne I will be greater than you” (v. 40). He did not give up his glory.

Likewise, God’s glory is something that He does not share with any created being. It is intrinsic to Him—the sum of His attributes. It cannot be added to or diminished.

MAGNIFYING GOD’S GLORY BEFORE OTHERS

You might ask, if God’s glory cannot be added to or increased in any way, why do we speak of bringing glory to God? How can one give God glory if God’s glory is absolute and intrinsic?

Actually, when we speak of glorifying God, we’re talking about magnifying God’s glory before the world. We can, of course, add nothing to the glory that is His very essence, but we can reflect and amplify God’s glory to others.

That was Paul’s point in Titus 2:10, where he wrote that Christians should seek to “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.” That verse is not speaking of adding anything to God’s attributes. By living a holy life, we affect the testimony about God in the world. We don’t adorn God; we adorn the doctrine, or teaching, about God by allowing people to see His glory reflected in the way we live. Jesus told His disciples to live so that people can “see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). So while we cannot add anything to God’s intrinsic glory, our lives can reflect His glory and magnify it in other people’s comprehension. That’s how we bring glory to God.

We can also give God glory through spoken testimony. In 1 Chronicles 16:24 David says, “Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.” When we declare the great things God has done in our lives, He is glorified.

We also give God glory when we praise Him. David said of God, “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all” (1 Chronicles 29:11). After making that declaration, David summed up: “Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name” (v. 13). David recognized that God possessed intrinsic glory and that He ought to be praised because of it.

The New Testament also speaks of praising God for His glory. Paul does so in 1 Timothy 1:17: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” At the end of his epistle, Paul praises God for being the One “who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen” (6:16).

Jude echoes that same theme: “To the only God our Savior . . . be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (Jude 25). And in Revelation we find great hosts of people proclaiming God’s glory (5:13). The New Testament commands us to lead lives that glorify God. Paul prayed that “Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body” (Philippians 1:20). He desired to exalt Christ in the eyes of the world. He exhorted the Corinthians to “glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20). In other words, use your body in such a way as to give glory to God. Finally, Paul gave this all-inclusive command in 1 Corinthians 10:31: “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Everything we do, even something as mundane as eating and drinking, is to be done to glorify God.

GOD’S GLORY THROUGH THE AGES

God’s plan for the ages involves successive manifestations of His glory. History is the unfolding of God’s glory in the past. Prophecy foretells the future revelation of its fullness. And the church is the arena where God has chosen uniquely to display His glory in the present.

Creation

The created universe silently witnesses to the glory of its Creator. The psalmist writes, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1).

Isaiah informs us, “The whole earth is full of His glory” (6:3). Even the animal world glorifies its Creator (Isaiah 43:20).

Did you ever wonder why God created the universe? Colossians 1:16 gives the answer: “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.” The universe was created to bring glory to God.

Everything in the universe, from the smallest subatomic particles to the biggest stars, gives Him glory, with two exceptions—fallen angels and fallen men. Since the purpose of everything is to give God glory, that which doesn’t is cast from His presence. Hence fallen angels and unredeemed men will spend eternity away from the presence of God. Although God takes no pleasure in such punishment (Ezekiel 33:11), it nevertheless brings Him glory by revealing His holiness.

The Garden of Eden