Q: What is the chief end of man?
A: Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
This question and answer come from the opening of the Westminster Catechism. According to this teaching tool, God created human beings for two purposes, the first of which is to glorify Him. Isaiah 43:7 backs this up, and in 1 Corinthians 10:31, we are commanded to do “all for the glory of God.” This concept of glory appears throughout the Bible. A keyword search of the NIV Bible for the words glory/glorify/glorifies returns over 300 results. Giving glory to God is a central theme of Christian worship too, as in this first verse of the hymn “We Will Glorify” by Twila Paris:
“We will glorify the King of Kings
We will glorify the Lamb
We will glorify the Lord of Lords
Who is the great I AM.”
And in “Glorify Thy Name” by Donna Adkins. With each member of the Trinity, each stanza repeats,
“Father/Jesus/Spirit we love You,
We worship and adore You,
Glorify Thy name in all the earth.”
I’ve sung these songs many times, but, I realized, do I actually know what giving glory means?
We talk about it. We sing about it. The purpose of our worship, of our very existence, is bound up with the idea of giving glory to God. What is it?
What is glory?
As used in the Bible, glory has several different but connected meanings:
- Praise, honor, admiration
- “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD” (Exodus 14:4).
- “Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious” (Psalm 66:2).
- “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples” (1 Chronicles 16:24).
- Great beauty, majesty, splendor
- “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1).
- “Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty” (Job 40:10).
- God’s immediate manifested presence
- “To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain” (Exodus 24:17).
- “Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking” (Ezekiel 1:28).
- Eternity with God
- “You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory” (Psalm 73:24).
- Take pride in
- “Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God” (Romans 15:17).
- “The righteous will rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him; all the upright in heart will glory in him!” (Psalm 64:10).
How can we give God something He already has?
As we’ve seen above, glory is both an attribute (splendor, majesty) and something that is actively given (praise, admiration). I have best heard glory described as agreeing with God about what is true and part of His nature. For example, 1 Chronicles 16:28-29 and Psalm 29:1-2 repeat the phrase “ascribe to the LORD glory and strength,” and “ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name.” Ascribe means to recognize that something comes from or belongs to someone or something, like when we ascribe a written work to an author. We don’t add anything to God’s attributes by glorifying Him, we simply recognize that He has earned our praise by who He is and what He’s done. In other words, we glorify God because He is glorious.
Does God need glory?
No. God doesn’t need glory. He doesn’t siphon strength or power from the worship of His followers. In the same way, He doesn’t need us humans, but He created us because He wants us and loves us. But, He also will not allow credit to be given to false gods and idols:
“I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols” (Isaiah 42:8); “For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another” (Isaiah 48:11). God will not allow Himself to be “defamed” by having His own attributes and glory ascribed to “images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles” (Romans 1:23).
Isn’t it prideful of God to want glory?
In human beings, glory-seeking behavior is a sign of unhealthy pride, and even of deep-rooted insecurity. Any glory we have is granted to us temporarily (1 Peter 1:24). As it is, we tend to overinflate ourselves and misuse whatever power we gain through prestige. God is the only one who can be trusted not to misuse glory and the only one who is truly worthy of it.
Even so, He willingly set it aside. John 17:5 says that Jesus shared the glory of the Father “before the world began.” And yet, he chose to embrace humility and become human so that He could share that glory with us: “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:22). Knowing and recognizing the Lord’s glory changes us and fits us for life with Him, where we will share in His glory: “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” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Is God worthy of being given glory?
Yes. He is God, and He deserves honor for what He’s done and Who He is. We can be confident that when He reveals himself at the end of time, everyone will see and agree that He is worthy…
…because He is the Creator God: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being” (Revelation 4:11).
…because of His sacrifice: “In a loud voice they were saying: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’” (Revelation 5:12).
…because of His righteous character and holiness: “Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Revelation 15:4).
How do we glorify Him?
The Bible gives us many examples of how to glorify God. Here are a few things that God’s Word describes as glorifying to Him:
- The redemption God works in people (Ephesians 1:14)
- When believers produce the fruit of being Christ’s disciples (Philippians 1:11, John 15:8)
- People telling the truth about who Jesus is (Philippians 2:11)
It all comes down to two things:
- telling the truth about God, ascribing to Him the attributes that are His. We do this in worship, evangelism, and other countless ways.
- and obeying His teachings and commandments, fulfilling His purpose for us. We are to do this in everything we do, and in this way our whole life may glorify Him as we become more like Him.
We don’t worship just a powerful being, we worship a holy, good one—one who does right, who is self-sacrificial, and who loves us more than we could ever love Him. Recognizing what makes Him worthy of worship and obedience, we can become more like Him, teach others about Him, and show love to Him in return for what He’s done for us. He isn’t a miserly, glory-hoarding tyrant demanding worship. He enjoys us and loves us; He wants us to know Him and recognize Him for who He is, which can only result in glory. When we give Him glory, we reflect that love back to Him.
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