John 17:1–5 (ESV)
When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
So, I come back to my basic question—how does all this glorify God?
Since we cannot see beyond this universe, we cannot really know. Thus, our best clues must come from scripture. Two well-known references are Psalm 19: 1 and John 1:14.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. (ESV)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (ESV)
But the strongest example, and the one I want to zoom in on, is His glorious plan of salvation, AKA the gospel. I think the way all the pieces fit together has an impressive elegance. It definitely looks more glorious than the alternative. Here’s the key quote.
When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,” — John 17:1 (ESV)
This is from the prayer that Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane before He went to the cross. It points to a fact that many Christians miss—Jesus’s main reason for going to the cross was God’s glory, not our getting into heaven.
But isn’t the cross the key to Christians getting into heaven?
Yes, but that’s not the ultimate purpose; God’s glory is. Let me show you how the dots connect, and you’ll see why I think it’s glorious. The plan of salvation is what makes Christian charity actually charitable, enabling it to glorify God.
What? How is this connected to charity?
I’ve explained how confessing fealty to Christ is how one becomes a Christian; it’s a profession of faith. The other part of that plan of salvation is that this faith is how one gets into heaven. Jesus’s death on the cross “pays a price” that is our ticket.
The “secret sauce” is that this is the only payment that counts. Our acts of charity, or any other good work, do not, in any way, contribute to our getting into heaven. This is what is known as salvation by faith alone (sola fide). It’s the key to how we can glorify God.
I don’t get it. How does that glorify God? How is that the secret sauce?
Well, consider the alternative. Suppose God was keeping score with our works, and we were trying to earn enough “points” to get into heaven. What happens then?
We’d work as hard as possible to get in.
Yeah, but is it charity? Does it glorify God? Or are we just working for our own benefit?
But aren’t we glorifying God by doing glorifying things? What’s wrong with that?
What’s wrong is that it’s all about me. It glorifies God more if the things I do aren’t for selfish reasons. That’s my point; what’s most glorious is charity that’s actually for others.
Consider this. Why do I put birdseed in my bird feeder?
So the birds won’t starve.
Right. (Maybe it’s so the squirrels won’t starve, but let’s not go there.) I might do it so I can watch the birds, but I mostly feed the birds for the birds’ sake. It’s not about me.
This is what I call simple charity—charity for charity’s sake. My point is that simple charity glorifies God more than charity that actually helps me.
What’s so glorious about that?
It’s not the actions; it’s the transformation behind the actions. The external focus at the heart of simple charity—caring about someone other than yourself—is what’s glorious. This is what Paul was driving at in Romans 12:1–2
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (ESV)
Okay, but how does that glorify God? There’s nothing external to this universe in this. Didn’t you say that ultimate glory has to be external?
But there is something external—God’s own sacrifice. Yes, our transformation into selfless people is internal to this universe, but Christ’s sacrifice behind it is God Himself. That isn’t entirely internal to this universe. Thus, it has a greater potential to glorify God.
Creators suffering for their creations is often hailed as glorious. William Tyndale suffered greatly for translating the Bible into English. It isn’t true that Walt Disney lived in his car to finance the beginning of his studio, but the legend is often told because it sounds so glorious.
But that doesn’t prove that the plan of salvation glorifies God.
You’re right. It only looks—to us—glorious. It makes sense; it’s plausible, but it’s not proof. The plan of salvation—sola fide—only looks more glorious than the alternative.
I still need to clarify one aspect of this sola fide thing. See you tomorrow.
