Glory Never Derived

In paragraph 2 of Chapter 2 of the The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, there’s an important clarification about the glory of God that I want us to know. I think this is something worth being on the front of our minds and even the tips of our tongues. It’s under the topic, “God and the Holy Trinity.” The Confession says, 

God, having all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself, is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature which He hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto, and upon them. (II.2)

In other words, there is no such thing as any creature “giving” God glory.

Now I call this a clarification because sometimes in the Bible we might see the language of “giving God glory.” We might even speak that way together — we might say, “Let’s give God glory!” 

And it’s okay to speak that way, but only as long as we’re clear about what the Bible means when it uses that language — which is what the 1689 Confession is clarifying. 

The truth is: we never “give” God glory as if he needed it. We never give glory to God as if he is deriving glory from us. 

The Confession explains that because God is God it means he is all-sufficient — he has all life, glory, goodness, blessedness in and of himself —  which means he does not stand in need of any creature which he has made. God does not need us for anything. Which means: He doesn’t have any room in his glory cup that we’re supposed to fill for him. He does not have any glory missing that we’re supposed to add. We do not fill or add or give God glory, but instead, God only manifests his own glory in, by, unto, and upon us. 

God’s all-sufficient eternal glory can only be shown. 

So when God glorifies his name — or we speak of glorifying God — we mean that God’s glory is displayed, and we become the occasion or the means through which God displays it. We become instruments through which the all-sufficient glory of God is magnified. That’s why we exist.

My exhortation is: let’s get this right about the glory of God. 

Prayer of Confession,

Father in heaven, you are the only living and true God. You are self-existent and depend on nothing outside yourself. You are infinite in being and perfection. Your essence cannot be comprehended by any but yourself. You are immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute, working all things for your own glory. You are most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgressions, and sin. You reward those who diligently seek you and you are perfectly just and terrible in your judgments. 

Father, you don’t need anything. You don’t need us. Forgive us, this morning, for ever thinking otherwise, even in subtle ways. We are entirely dependent and desperate for you, and it’s in that truth that we come to you now in a time of silent confession …

Father, would that you manifest your glory in, by, unto, and upon. In your freedom, from the sheer goodness of your heart, be pleased to show your glory to us and through us. Even in this moment when we remember that we are saved by grace. Thank you for the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all sins. The Lord Jesus Christ is our only hope. In his name, amen.