➡️ To the Glory of God
In previous posts, we’ve seen that Jesus came, he lived, he died, he rose, he rules, and he’s returning. We’ve looked at how he came:
fully God,
fully human,
living a sinless life in full obedience to God.
And we’ve even seen why he came:
to die in our place for our sins,
to defeat death and bring everlasting life,
to rule all things at God’s right hand,
to judge and bring us home.
However, the reasons given so far as to why he came have been penultimate. In other words, they are second to something else, a greater reason for which he came.
What is that greater, ultimate purpose for which he came?
➡️ The Glory of God
Everything Jesus does is about God’s glory.
By “glory”, we mean his unimaginable brilliance, transcendent splendour, unconquerable power, and insatiable awesomeness. It’s something that’s pretty much impossible to define.
Elsewhere, I’ve defined his glory as his:
Goodness
Love
’Oliness (bit of a stretch)
Righteousness
Yeah—all that kind of stuff and more!
So, everything Jesus does, he does it to point to God’s goodness, love, holiness, righteousness, and all that kind of stuff. He does it point to God’s unimaginable brilliance, transcendent splendour, unconquerable power, and insatiable awesomeness.
And how does he do this?
He Came for God’s Glory 🌎
Shortly after Jesus’ birth, we hear of a large group of angels singing:
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”
Luke 2:14 (NIV)
Jesus’ birth points the angels to God’s glory. How? Well, by being glorious himself. In John 1:14, we read:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
When Jesus (aka “The Word”) came, taking on human flesh, he was glorious to those who saw him. They saw Jesus’ glory in his grace and truthfulness, which pointed them to the God from whom he came.
And then, In John 12:27-28, Jesus prays:
27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”
Rather than avoiding his hour of death, he seeks to glorify the Father’s name. This was the very reason for which he came.
2. He Lived for God’s Glory ✅
His life, teaching and ministry likewise pointed to God’s glory. In John 7:18, we read:
Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.
Jesus’ teaching was intended not to bring personal glory but to point to the glory of the one who sent him.
We see this in action when he raises Lazarus from the dead. In John 11:3, Mary and Martha tell Jesus that Lazarus is very sick. In verse 4, Jesus tells them:
“This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
Lazarus dies, but then Jesus miraculously raises him from the dead. This demonstrates Jesus’ power, which, in turn, points to God’s power and, thus, his glory. In this act, the Father will also glorify the Son. But I take it that this is not the ultimate end. Why?
3. He Died For God’s Glory ⬇️
Next up, we see that Jesus died for God’s glory. Jesus prays a similar prayer to the one he prayed in John 12:27–28 just moments before his arrest:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. … I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.”
John 17:2, 4
His hour has come—it’s time to die. Like in the Lazarus episode, Jesus asks the Father to glorify him. He wants to be glorified so that, through his death, he can ultimately glorify the Father.
We read of a similar reality in Ephesians 1. In 1:7–8a, we read:
In him [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.
And why does he offer redemption through his blood? Why does he offer forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God’s grace? Answer:
in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his [the Father’s] glory.
Ephesians 1:12
Jesus endures everything for God’s glory. We see the same in Ephesians 1:6 and 1:14.
4. He Rose for God’s Glory
In 1 Peter 1:21, we’re told that God “raised him from the dead and glorified him”. So, Jesus glorifies God in his death, and God glorifies Jesus in raising him to life. But then, in Romans 6:4, we discover that as God is glorifying Jesus through raising him from the dead, it is actually God’s glory that raises Jesus:
Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father.
5. He Rules for God’s Glory
Now that he has risen, Jesus sits at God’s right hand in heaven, sustaining the world. In Hebrews 1:3, we read:
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
As he rules over “all things”, the Son radiates God’s glory, kind of like how Moses radiated God’s glory in Exodus 34:29–35 (cf. Exodus 33:18-22). By ruling, he is showing people the glory of his Father.
6. He’s Returning for God’s Glory
Finally, Jesus will return for God’s glory. In Matthew 25:31, Jesus tells us:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.”
He will return in glory, and he will sit on a glorious throne.
Jesus will receive a lot of glory. Check out these passages:
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honour and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
Revelation 4:9–11 (NIV)11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!” 13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!”
Revelation 5:11–13 (NIV)
When Jesus returns, he will be glorified by all living creatures, elders, angels, and thousands upon thousands.
But from Jesus’ perspective, his return is not about seeking his own glory. That’s not something he does.
In Philippians 2:9-11, we read that Jesus was exalted—raised from the dead to the highest place—so that every tongue in heaven and earth might acknowledge his Lordship:
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord …
The word “that” might seem to indicate that the acknowledgment of Jesus’ Lordship is the ultimate reason God raised Jesus from the dead. But it’s not!
The verse finishes:
… to the glory of God the Father.
It’s all about God’s glory. In fact, the whole of Philippians 2:6-11 points to this reality.
It’s why Jesus came (Philippians 2:6-7), lived (Philippians 2:8a), died (Philippians 2:8b), rose (Philippians 2:9a), rules (Philippians 2:9b) and is returning (Philippians 2:10-11a): to bring glory to God the Father (Philippians 2:11b). To point to his glory. To radiate his glory. To reflect his glory.
What this means for us
This has significant implications for our mindset. In Philippians 2:5, we’re encouraged to have the same mindset as Jesus. This means a humble and obedient mindset, but I take it that it also means a mind fixed on bringing glory to God.
Living as Christians means becoming like Christ.
⏰ God’s plan in eternity
In eternity, God had a plan to conform us to the very image of Jesus. In Romans 8:29, we read:
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
📍God’s work now
Now that Jesus has come, God is now transforming us into Jesus’ image. We do this as we focus on Jesus’ glory and as the power of his Spirit enables us. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, we read:
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
We’re being transformed by the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2) and made into our creator's likeness (Colossians 3:9-10).
🥅 God’s final plan
And when Jesus returns, the transformation will be complete. In 1 John 3:2, we’re told that “when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” Jesus, “by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). We will “bear the image of the heavenly man” (1 Corinthians 15:49).
In other words…
So, in other words:
Jesus does everything for God’s glory,
We are being made like Jesus,
Therefore, we should do everything for God’s glory.
This means that we should do everything we do for the purpose of bringing God glory. As we read in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”. This is what we were created to do (Isaiah 43:7). That is to be our mindset now.
In the next two posts, we’ll see how this ties in with the ideas of repentance and faith.
