For God’s Glory Before Our Good

I got a surprise this morning. I started to read 1 Timothy and came across a verse I’d never noticed much before: "sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God” - 1 Timothy 1:11.

What surprised me was the clear statement of what the gospel is about: ‘the glory of the blessed God’. The gospel of Jesus is all about glorifying God. When I think about the gospel, I might think it is about my salvation, about my sins forgiven, about my entry into heaven… i.e. I think of the benefits for me. But this verse is so clear. It is about God. It is about God’s glory.

Of course, there are great benefits for us. But these come second to the ultimate purpose of glorifying God. “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13).

Think about the Lord’s Prayer… What is the first thing we pray? We pray ‘Hallowed be Your Name’. This is our daily concern - that God’s Name be recognised as holy, that He is treated as He deserves. His Name, His glory, and His reputation are paramount. And the gospel itself is all about that, too.

So, there you have it. The gospel is about God’s glory before it is about our good! We’ll think about this more in a sermon early next term and the implications of living for the glory of God. We’ll explore what we can do to glorify God in our lives individually and corporately.

May all we do at DAC be for the glory of God!

"At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” - Philippians 2:10-11

Grace and peace,
Mark