The doctrine of glorifying God, Part 1, John 15:8

Title: The doctrine of glorifying God, Part 1, John 15:8.

 

John 15:8"By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

 

Doctrine of glorifying God.

 

Point 1: Definition: Glorify - to make glorious by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration. (Webster’s Dictionary)

 

We honor God by honoring His word, His plan, and His Spirit as our top priority in life.

 

We praise God by taking in doctrine daily and to a lesser extent through proper prayer and correctly motivated singing.

 

Ps 86:11 Teach me Thy way, O Lord;

I will walk in Thy truth;

Unite my heart to fear Thy name.

 

Ps 86:12I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart,

And will glorify Thy name forever.

 

Ps 86:13For Thy lovingkindness [grace] toward me is great,

And Thou hast delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol [the grave].

 

 

We admire God through continued positive volition and a desire to fully comprehend all the doctrines of His revealed word.

 

Ps 22:23 You who fear [respect] the Lord, praise Him;

All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,

And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.

 

Yet we must always remember a very important point that will keep us from the legalistic interpretation that God needs us for His glory. God does not need to be glorified by His creatures. God alone is worthy of praise and glorification whether there are creatures to give Him glory or not.

 

EPH 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

 

 “Blessed” - eulogetos [eulogetos] = worthy of praise and glorification. This is true of God whether there are creatures or not or whether they glorify Him or not.

 

The point is that God doesn’t need us but we need Him. Glorifying Him therefore becomes a greater benefit to us. God is glorified either way.

 

Point 2: The description of how does a Church-age believer glorify God.

 

Since God is glorified when the believer produces much fruit, which we have come to understand as divine good production, fruit production is the believer’s destiny.

 

EPH 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

 

The production of divine good by the mature believer is the normal Christian way of life; therefore it is the attainment of spiritual maturity that glorifies God.

 

1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is at hand [dispensation of the fullness of times]; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer [if you abide in Me and My words abide in you, if you desire to ask it will come to pass for you].

 

Sound judgment and sober refers to spiritual adulthood that results from abiding in Christ and His words abiding in you.

 

1 Peter 4:8Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

 

1 Peter 4:9Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

 

1 Peter 4:10As each one has received a special gift [spiritual gift], employ it in serving one another [for the common good], as good stewards of the manifold [multifaceted] grace of God.

 

1 Peter 4:11Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies [omnipotence of the Trinity]; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ [He is the head and we are the body; He is the dependable vine and we are the branches], to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 

Then Peter reminds us of what is necessary to bear more fruit - suffering for blessing.

 

1 Peter 4:12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing [pruning by the vinedresser - suffering for blessing], as though some strange thing were happening to you;

 

1 Peter 4:13but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation [at the judgment seat of Christ].

 

Again, the key to fruit production that brings maximum glory to God the Father, the Author of the plan is spiritual growth to adulthood.

 

There are three categories of spiritual adulthood.

 

1. Spiritual self-esteem which is cognitive self-confidence.

2. Spiritual autonomy which is cognitive independence.

3. Spiritual maturity which is cognitive invincibility.

 

In spiritual growth all glory goes to God since it is dependent upon positive volition towards doctrine and the filling of the Holy Spirit.

 

There is no merit to the believer who says yes to the greatest mind in the history of the universe (the mind of Christ) nor is there any merit to saying yes to the controlling of one’s soul by God the Holy Spirit.

 

Every time the believer rebounds he is saying yes to the filling of the Holy Spirit. Every time the believer submits to the guidance and teaching of the Holy Spirit he is saying yes to the authority of the Spirit over his soul and so he avoids human good and evil.

 

Glorifying God is attaining the life beyond gnosis and the life beyond dreams, EPH 3:19-20.

 

EPH 3:19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God.

 

EPH 3:20Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,

 

EPH 3:21to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.