Why Does God Do All Things to His Glory?

[TheInquirer]

I am looking for some sources of discussion on this topic and the related question - Why does God do all things to His glory?

Here are some component parts to the question I am wrestling with:

1) We know that we are speaking of God's extrinsic glory (the glory He manifests to the world) since His intrinsic glory (the glory He has in Himself by nature and essence) cannot be added to. If God works, designs, and decrees all things ultimately for His extrinsic glory, why?

2) I have heard some simply answer this question with "It is His good pleasure" and stop there. That might possibly be as far as we can go with the question but perhaps not? Others have said He does it out of love for His creation and a desire to share His goodness.

3) If God is self-sufficient and does not need His creation for His happiness, pleasure, or satisfaction, is it correct then to say that the extrinsic glory of God must be meant for the benefit of the elect (humans and angels) and not for Himself? I get this sense from reading Augustine in particular.

The question I believe is important because it is the foundation of the meaning of life and the purpose of mankind. Sometimes, the phrase "glorify God" can sound like we are doing God favors as if He needs us for something. It can sound like we are attempting to add to His intrinsic glory (or something else He does not need) which is not possible. The same question can be extended to why God asks us to love Him, worship Him, serve Him, etc. - Is He asking these things for His benefit or ultimately for ours?

 

[Ryan&Amber2013]

I can clearly see the benefit for humans in glorifying God. We get to live for something greater than ourselves, we have a much higher purpose in life to be devoted to, we are able to love someone and infatuate ourselves to someone in a pure and righteous way, and we were designed to worship and this is a soul-satisfying way to express that desire. Our deepest longings are satisfied in glorifying God, and I'm convinced our lives reach their highest potential in doing so.

As far as why God desires to be glorified, I thought about it for a few minutes, and I honestly couldn't come up with a good answer using morality as I understand it. It must be a distinction between God as creator, because any creature desiring such glory would be prideful and egotistical. I suppose the one who creates all is entitled to such glory.

 

[C. M. Sheffield]

Why does God do all things to His glory?

While it is not my intention, I fear my response may be taken as an overly simplistic response. Notwithstanding this, I will answer...

“Because to do otherwise would be ungodly.”
​

 

[TheInquirer]

While it is not my intention, I fear my response may be taken as an overly simplistic response. Notwithstanding this, I will answer, "Because to do otherwise would be ungodly."

Agreed. I am wondering if we can go further than that and come to a greater understanding of God.

I can clearly see the benefit for humans in glorifying God. We get to live for something greater than ourselves, we have a much higher purpose in life to be devoted to, we are able to love someone and infatuate ourselves to someone in a pure and righteous way, and we were designed to worship and this is a soul-satisfying way to express that desire. Our deepest longings are satisfied in glorifying God, and I'm convinced our lives reach their highest potential in doing so.

As far as why God desires to be glorified, I thought about it for a few minutes, and I honestly couldn't come up with a good answer using morality as I understand it. It must be a distinction between God as creator, because any creature desiring such glory would be prideful and egotistical. I suppose the one who creates all is entitled to such glory.

I should have said there is no argument concerning God's desire to glorify Himself as to whether or not He is justified in doing so (He absolutely is). I am trying to understand why He does so.

 

[83r17h]

As far as why God desires to be glorified, I thought about it for a few minutes, and I honestly couldn't come up with a good answer using morality as I understand it. It must be a distinction between God as creator, because any creature desiring such glory would be prideful and egotistical. I suppose the one who creates all is entitled to such glory.

I have always considered the doctrine of the Trinity to solve this problem. God's desire to glorify himself is only self-directed (one God) because it is also selfless (three Persons).

 

[Ryan&Amber2013]

I should have said there is no argument concerning God's desire to glorify Himself as to whether or not He is justified in doing so (He absolutely is). I am trying to understand why He does so.

Sorry if what I said came across in a way I didn't mean it to. I believe God is justified in desiring to be glorified, I was just trying to express that in my limited understanding and moral framework from a human perspective I couldn't understand why a human would ever want such glory, but because God is God, he must be right and good in doing so. So I think there needs to be an appeal to mystery unless somebody has a really good explanation.

Also maybe God's works of creation and salvation play a big role in this.

 

[TheInquirer]

Looks like Bavinck attempts to address my question in volume 2 of Reformed Dogmatics (434-5) where, in the preceding context, he attempts to go beyond the reason "because God willed it." Bavinck writes:

"Another objection is that, in seeking his honor, God does need his creature after all. Since the world serves as an instrument of his glorification, there is something lacking in his perfection and blessedness. Creation meets a need in God and contributes to his perfection. This objection seems irrefutable, though in all kinds of human labor there is an analogy that can clarify God's creative activity for us."

Bavinck then uses an analogy that some humans pursue their labors, and devotion to God, out of free impulses of genius or love rather than any kind of coercion. The devout person loves God because he delights in Him. In a greater way, God uses the creature to seek Himself through them. The creature does not give God anything in a sense, they are a conduit by which God seeks Himself which is always His ultimate end.

I am not sure what I think about Bavinck's answer. Though the creature is not God's ultimate end, they are still a means or an instrument to achieve that end. In Bavinck's analogy, is there not still some form of dependency of God upon His own creation? Perhaps not. Maybe the answer "God willed to do all things to His glory in His creation because of His good pleasure" is simply as far as we can go. Or is it?

Another part to this story is the interplay between the persons of the Trinity - the Father giving to the Son and the Son giving back to the Father - yet I still run into the issue of "why?" if God is already perfectly satisfied. God may demonstrate His love between the Father and the Son in this interplay but who is He demonstrating His love to? Himself? It doesn't seem that an eternal, all-knowing God, where the members of the Trinity know one another perfectly would need to demonstrate anything to Himself whatsoever.

 

[py3ak]

I don't think it follows that because creation is a means to an end, therefore God needs it. In light of His decision to glorify Himself in, unto, and upon creatures, of course creatures are supposed; but that is a free decision.

 

[dhh712]

Could it be that it is like a "property" of God (pretty much what Christopher said, to do otherwise would be ungodly)--for instance a crystal can reflect light and appear shiny, not because it needs to or wants to or feels lacking if it doesn't, but that's just part of what it is. Maybe part of the problem is we, as created beings, exist in time and can only think of God as "doing" something when he creates; but perhaps God doesn't actually "do" things the way we think of it (of course he wouldn't, it would seem now when I write that out), but that is the only way we can understand it because of how we exist in the limits of time. Like even the act of God creating is beyond our capacity to fathom how he can do this since we as the creature can only compare it to the way we create things; but with God that would be something totally different. I'm mainly just thinking out loud, speculating.

I've pondered on something related to this when I would think of how non-believers would think something like, "What's so great about God? What's so glorious about him?" They're not understanding that God defines glory--he is the only being worthy of it. Other things may be (or try to be) imitations of the glory of God or reflect something of his glory, but he is the only one who consumes this identity. Like when we say anything is glorious, we are imparting to it an attribute of God [in thinking of that word my mind always turns to the battlefields of the Civil War and the heroic efforts of the soldiers who took part in that--some of their deaths have been defined as "glorious" (a Civil War book I have in fact is titled, What Death More Glorious)]. But that sense of "glory" only God defines completely and entirely. And I wouldn't say this is necessarily sinful, as I would think there needs to be some adjective to describe such weighty things and feelings, but these types of things are mere reflections of God's glory (and I wouldn't think when we consider something to be glorious that we are defining that as the glory that is ascribed to God). It's a difficult thing to express and I'm merely rambling now, but I've often wondered, when I thought of the glory of God, what that actually was experientially.

 

[RobertPGH1981]

To answer this question you have to start by defining glory. What does it mean that God would not share his glory. I never fully could pin down what Glory meant to be honest.

 

[Taylor]

To answer this question you have to start by defining glory. What does it mean that God would not share his glory. I never fully could pin down what Glory meant to be honest.

The Hebrew word concept behind "glory" is that of weightiness. There is weight to God's being. I would imagine, to make it more tangible, that it would be like walking into the throne room of a great king. Upon doing so, one becomes palpably aware of the weightiness of where he is and, ultimately, in whose presence he is. This would explain, then, Isaiah's reaction to seeing the Lord in his throne room (Isa. 6).

 

[TheInquirer]

There are two aspects to God's glory - the glory He has in Himself by virtue of His essence (intrinsic glory) and the glory He shows to His creatures (extrinsic glory). Since God does not change and is already perfect, His intrinsic glory cannot be added to (since the divine essence itself cannot be enhanced in any way). The extrinsic glory of God can always be added to since the creature will never fully comprehend the divine being and there will always be more of God to learn about, marvel in, and praise.

The glory of God is simply the majesty of His divine nature. As Thomas Watson put it, the glory of God is as what light is to the sun. The extrinsic glory of God is God simply making Himself known. We only see that of God which He chooses to make known.

Going back to why God makes Himself known through His creatures - the question is very similar to why did God create the world. The answer is to glorify Himself. But which type of glory and why? Again, it must be His extrinsic glory since His intrinsic glory cannot be added to. And when we are talking about God's extrinsic glory, we are talking about God making Himself known to His creatures. He already fully knows Himself and fully comprehends His own glory.

All of which leads me to think that God glorifies Himself for the sake of blessing His elect angels and humans. Yes He takes pleasure in it. He loves His own glory. Since He is the greatest and highest good, He must value Himself above all things. To do otherwise is ungodly and a violation of His character. But He already did all that before creation existed. He already loved Himself and fully knew His glory. I believe He glorifies Himself in creation (extrinsic glory - makes Himself known) to share the incredible value of who He is with His elect.

I don't think this makes the elect humans and angels the ultimate end, God's glory is the ultimate end, but it does make us the primary beneficiaries. God is already fully blessed and fully satisfied in Himself without His creation. He does not need His creation for increased pleasure or satisfaction or as a vehicle to behold His own glory. We are the ones who need, and are blessed by, the glory of God.

Additionally, God will not, and cannot, give His glory to any other since His glory is the manifestation of the divine essence. However, if we are talking about glory here in the sense of human response to God (Watson lists appreciation, adoration, affection, and subjection as aspects of man glorifying God in A Body of Divinity) then also no other being is worthy of such a response. Whether the verse is speaking of actual glory, or merely the human response, no being rightly qualifies for either. To give to the creation what rightly and only belongs to God is idolatry.