In a recent discussion with a friend of mine, we very briefly disagreed over God’s ultimate desire. He suggested that God’s greatest desire is to be relational with God’s people. I countered and suggested that God’s greatest desire is to bring glory to God’s self. Now this language is already problematic. Can God desire? When we speak of desire, we tend to imply need, or the longing to attain something previously unattained. So with this understanding, God could not desire because God does not need, nor does God lack anything from a previous time or moment. There is no Time for God and there is nothing that God does not already possess. When we speak of desiring, I suppose we mean the purpose of existence, or natural expression of one’s self.
For God, therefore, what is the purpose of God’s existence? What is the natural expression of God’s self upon all of reality, sensible and insensible? To clarify this we must understand who God is. What is God’s nature? For only in understanding God’s nature can we express that nature’s expression upon reality. As a result we must be careful in what we use to understand God. One individual may equate God with a negative experience involving a former pastor or minister. One may understand God through health and wealth, viewing the blessings of their life as being from God. With all these various experiences, one must be careful in what they deduct concerning who God is. For this reason, Scripture remains the most important source of revealed information involving God.
From Scripture we know that God is many things. God is relational, but God is also the greatest good. God does not desire relationship with us because we have anything to bring to God. If God is the greatest good, then God loves perfectly. If God loves perfectly, then God’s love for us will lead God to reveal to us the greatest good. God’s love will result in God revealing God’s self to us. In addition to this, because God is the greatest good then God will also love that which is good. With nothing greater to love than God, God loves God’s self. If we say that God loves the good, then God must first love God’s own good nature. So the question remains. If God is the greatest good, then would the greatest good love what is most good or what is not mostly good, namely humanity? This is common sense. The good would love the good. Humanity is not more good than God. Therefore, God will always love God’s goodness before God loves us.
But…because Christ died for humanity, the elect before God assume the aspect of Christ, thus becoming the greatest good in the form of Jesus, the Word of God. God’s love for us issues from a love for God’s own self in the form of Jesus. I realize this is a very God-centered soteriology, but I cannot see how it could be any other way. The universe is not concerned with us. We are not its center. We are merely a pin-prick on the scale of infinite magnitude; I believe this to be for a reason. We are not the ones who matter, as much as we like to think the opposite. From birth to death, the ages of humanity are like dust before an eternal God.
Praise be to the Father for allowing us to matter. Praise be to the Son for making us lovable in the eyes of the Father. Praise be to the Holy Spirit for sanctifying our souls and communicating the perfect relationship between Father and Son. Praise be to the Trinity for loving the greatest good, and allowing us be loved as a result.
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What would you say is the reason for God requiring glory from his creation? I understand that God is without need. He is infinitely satisfied in the glory from Himself for he is infinitely satisfying and glorifying.
ReplyDeleteWhy then does God require glory from his creation? I can understand a facet of it in that he loves us and that we will only be satisfied in Him, and he knows this. But what about those that are not saved? Why is it so important that at final judgement every knee will bow, including Satan? I do not think that God needs an ego boost (obviously, for he needs nothing).
I guess all in all my question is, since God needs nothing and is completely satisfied in Himself, why does God desire Glory and worship from his creation?