living-for-the-glory-of-god.pdf

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Living for the Glory of God

“How to Do Good So That God Gets the Glory”

A transcript of a sermon by John Piper

The Goal of God's Glory

Last Sunday we saw from Isaiah 43:7 that God's great goal in creating and governing

the world was to be glorified. That is, he created us for his glory. Not to increase the beauty of

his perfections or fill up some emptiness in God, but rather to display his glory in the way we live

and to win praise for himself. Isaiah 48:9-11 drove the shaft of God's glory deep into our minds:

“For my own sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you that I

may not cut you off. Behold I have refined you, but not like silver; I have tried you in the

furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake I do it, for how should my name

be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.”

To maintain the honor of his name and display his glory—these are the driving motives

in all that God does in history, in the church, and in individual lives. [...]

How We Bring Glory to Our Heavenly Father

Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your

good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

Three observations go a long way to answering our question. First, Jesus clearly

commands that the goal of our lives should be to behave so that God gets the glory. Live so that

men will see your life and give your Father in heaven glory, not you. So it should be very clear

that glorifying God is not merely an act of worship on Sunday. It is a peculiar kind of living.

Second, in order for God to get glory from the way we live, we must be engaged in good

deeds. It is not so much by avoiding gross sins that God's people display his glory, but rather in

the pursuit of good deeds, acts of generosity, works of kindness, ways of love. Since it is God's

goal to be glorified in his people, and since Jesus says this happens when his people do good

deeds, we would expect the Bible to tell us that God's goal in redeeming a people is that they

might do good deeds. And this is exactly what we find. Paul says in Titus 2:14 that Christ “gave

himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are

zealous for good deeds.” Christ died that we might do good deeds and so bring glory to our

Father in heaven.

God created us for his glory, says the prophet. We bring him glory through our good

deeds, says the Lord Jesus. So we are not surprised when we hear the apostle say, God

created us for good deeds. Ephesians 2:10: “We are God's workmanship, created in Christ

Jesus for good deeds, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Created

for his glory, and created for good deeds, because it is by our good deeds that God gets glory.

One final observation from Matthew 5. It is possible to be a kind of do-gooder that brings

no glory to God. There are philanthropists and benefactors and others who for one reason or

another spend time and money to alleviate suffering, but who may not even believe in God let

alone do it all for his glory. So when Jesus says, Let your light shine that men may see your

good deeds and glorify God, the light must include more than the mere action of the good deed.

“You are the light of the world!” (5:14). Not just your bodily motions but your attitude and your

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motivation also. There is a spirit from which the good deeds must flow if they are to bring God

glory and so be pleasing to him. [...]

Serving in the Strength That God Supplies

To answer that question, we turn to 1 Peter 4:10-11. Probably no other New Testament

book besides James reflects an acquaintance with the teachings of Jesus as clearly as 1 Peter.

In 2:12, Peter gives a loose quotation of Matthew 5:16, “Maintain good conduct among the

Gentiles so that in case they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds

and glorify God on the day of visitation.” But in chapter 4, verses 10 and 11, Peter shows more

explicitly what it is about the good deeds of Christians that makes them a means to God's glory.

He says:

As each has received a gift, employ it for one another as good stewards of God's varied

grace: whoever speaks [let him speak] as one who utters oracles of God; whoever

renders service [let him render it] as one who renders it by the strength which God

supplies, in order that in everything God might be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him

belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Here we have one of the clearest answers in the Bible to the question: How do we serve

or do good so that God gets the glory? The answer is, in order for God to get the glory we have

to do good as one does it who is depending on God's strength. Not mere good deeds, but good

deeds done in a spirit that comes from a joyful dependence on God's help—this is what glorifies

God.

Picture two people this afternoon pondering whether to come help clean the church

tomorrow night. One is young and healthy and says, “O, I suppose I'll go. Be worth a few

brownie points with the leaders. Maybe they'll have some snacks. Besides, I'm pretty good at

that sort of thing, maybe I can give the rest a few pointers.” So he comes and he grumbles

about the tools, he criticizes the way things are planned, he talks on and on about his abilities

and his experience, and in general exudes a spirit of vanity. But he works. He may even get

more done than some others. Some employers may want such a man if they judge him solely

by his efficiency or productivity. But God looks on the heart and takes the whole man into

account. And his assessment is: I have received no glory from this supposedly good deed of

service, for it was not done in reliance on my power. There was not about it the spirit of joy and

gratitude and humility that comes from being borne along on the wings of mercy.

But there is another person this afternoon who is planning his Monday night. He is older

and has been quite ill lately—a good deal of pain and stiffness in the knees. There was a time

when he worked hard in the church and loved every minute of it and never made a big to-do

about inconvenience or sacrifice. “O,” he thought to himself, “how I would love to help out on

Monday night. I could encourage some of the downhearted maybe. Or maybe just keep the

coffee poured.” So he prayed. And lo and behold, Monday morning there was no pain and no

stiffness. So he came. With bells on. He did what he could with a rag and broom and he did it

well. But above all he exuded a joy and a sense of gratitude for life and strength that cheered

everyone and pointed them to God. He knew that what strength he had was a precious gift of

God, and his whole bearing and demeanor gave God the credit. That's what it means to let your

light shine.

Everyone of us owes every ounce of strength we have to

God, just as much as that sick man did. We owe every fiber of intelligence to God, and the

slightest resolve to do good is a gift from him. Apart from him we are all cripples. And worse

than cripples. We would fly into nothingness without his sustenance, and we would degenerate

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into devils without his grace. If the totality of our dependence on God would hit us full force, O,

how differently we would live and do good. We would “serve as one who renders service by the

strength which God supplies.” We would not boast in our achievements, nor criticize the speck

in our brother's eye, nor grumble about inconveniences, nor be presumptuous in any way, as if

even existence itself could be taken for granted! No, a person who truly owns up to the fact that

he exists by the word of God, that all his strength and moral resolve is a gift of God, that person

will have a spirit of joy and gratitude and lowliness. And in serving this way God gets the glory.

O, how I want to make sure that the image in your mind of how to glorify God is not

wrong. For many it's like waking up in the morning, looking up to God and saying, “You are

worthy to be glorified today, Lord, and I will do my best.” Then they look over and on their Bible

is a big block of lead with shoulder straps. And on the block is inscribed: “The duty to glorify God

all day.” They strap it on, muster their strength and resolve, and head off to glorify God.

If that image, or one like it, is the way you feel about glorifying God, please look and see

that 1 Peter 4:11 shatters such an image. May I suggest a more biblical image? There is a man,

and I know him well (he is the husband of my wife and father to my sons), who wakes up in the

morning and looks up into heaven and says, “You are worthy to be glorified today, Lord, but

there is in me—that is in my flesh—no good thing. I have no strength, no wisdom, no resolve to

do good but what comes undeserved from you, O God. And I love you. It would be to my

greatest fulfillment, my highest pleasure, my richest treasure, my popcorn and my chocolate ice

cream if at the end of this day I could believe that someone has come to cherish your power and

wisdom and love more intensely because of me. God, let it be.”

And then he looks over and on his Bible there is this strange contraption of straps like a

harness. And on the back of this harness there is a rope attached that runs up through the roof

and into heaven. And he gets up, straps on the harness, gives a little jerk, leans into it, and God

supports him all day. On the broad, brown leather strap across the front you can see the

lettering: “My harness is easy and my burden is light.”

God gets glory not from our heroic exertion but from our reliance upon his strength—

when we serve as one who serves with the strength which God supplies. [...]

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy:

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

Relevant Scriptures

Psalm 29:1-2 Ascribe to the LORD, you heavenly beings...

Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not yield my glory...

Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others...

1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do...

Questions for Discussion

• What does living for the glory of God mean to you specifically? Have you ever heard of

that terminology before?

• We were created for the glory of God—as Creator, he created us for his glory. We get

the chance to live our lives in such a way as to show Him glory. But what sort of things

can we do so that God gets the glory?

• How has this article changed your idea of how to glorify God?

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• It’s easy to glorify God when we score a “touchdown,” but how can we glorify God in

suffering? Which seems like a stronger testament to faith: glorifying in trials or in joys?

• Read 1 Corinthians 10:31

o Have you ever experienced doing something purposefully for the glory of God?

o Does this verse imply more of an attitude, a way of life, or guidelines to stand by?

o What would be the effects of thinking and living this way?

• How does living for God’s glory as a Christian put you in a position of humility?