What is the biblical answer to that question? "God's chief end is to glorify and enjoy Himself forever."
In the Scriptures, while God certainly expresses His love for His people, we always seem to gloss over His expressions of love for Himself. We read of God's calling out of Israel to be His special covenant people (such as Deuteronomy 7:7). However, when was the last time that you heard anyone read this verse: "I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt" (Ezekiel 20:9)? Or this one: "I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came" (Ezekiel 36:21)? While Israel was certainly the beneficiary of God's covenantal love, that wasn't the reason that He gave it. It wasn't for their sakes, but for the sake of His own glory.
That's why God says, through His prophets, twice, "I will not give my glory to another" (Isaiah 42:8, 48:11). And that is whether we are talking about another deity, another man, or even to the state. He reserves it to Himself. Both atheists and Arminians attack that concept as an ego trip. However, the accusation shows an irrational hatred of the sovereignty of God. Isn't an ego trip thinking of one's self as greater than is actually the case? Yet, how can God think of Himself - or we think of Him - more highly than He deserves? The accusation is self-refuting!
No comments:
Post a Comment