Ways Believers Give God Glory in Their Lives
Believers give God glory in their lives through various means, primarily by living a life that reflects God's character and by acknowledging His sovereignty. The biblical basis for this concept is rooted in passages such as 1 Peter 1:21, which states that believers have faith and hope in God through Christ, who was raised from the dead and given glory [1, 3].
One way believers glorify God is by praising Him for His majesty, holiness, and mercy. Torrey's Topical Textbook highlights that God is glorified by praising Him for His attributes and works, such as His holiness, wisdom, and power [5, 7]. This is echoed in the Psalms, where believers are encouraged to bless God and give thanks for His mercies [6].
Living a life of obedience and trust in God is another means by which believers glorify Him. According to John Calvin, believers are accepted by God not because of their works, but because of God's free love and the righteousness of Christ [9]. Nevertheless, believers' good works are a means of glorifying God, as they demonstrate the work of God's Spirit in their lives [12].
The Reformed tradition emphasizes that believers glorify God by living unto the Lord, whether in life or in death. John Gill notes that believers live and die unto the Lord, magnifying Him in their actions and finding their strength in Him [10]. This understanding is also reflected in the Westminster Confession of Faith, which states that believers may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God [11].
Furthermore, believers glorify God by relying on His promises and exercising faith in Him. Romans 5:2 indicates that believers rejoice in hope of the glory of God, and 2 Corinthians 1:12 suggests that their glory is in the knowledge that their way of life has been holy and true in the eyes of God [2, 4].
The act of giving glory to God is not limited to individual actions but is also a corporate expression within the church. According to John Gill, glory is to be given to God in the church by Christ Jesus, celebrating His perfections and works [8].
Sources
- I Peter “I Peter 1:21 (LITV) — the ones believing in God through Him, He raising Him from the dead, and giving glory to Him so that your faith and hope may be in God.”
- Romans “through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. -- Romans 5:2”
- 1 Peter “1 Peter 1:21 (NASB) — who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”
- II Corinthians “II Corinthians 1:12 (BBE) — For our glory is in this, in the knowledge which we have that our way of life in the world, and most of all in relation to you, has been holy and true in the eyes of God; not in the wisdom of the flesh, but in the grace of God.”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Praise — God is worthy of -- 2Sa 22:4. Christ is worthy of -- Re 5:12. God is glorified by -- Ps 22:23; 50:23. Offered to Christ -- Joh 12:13. Acceptable through Christ -- Heb 13:15. Is due to God on account of His majesty. -- Ps 96:1,6; Isa 24:14. His glory. -- Ps 138:5; Eze 3:12. His excellency. -- Ex 15:7; Ps 148:13. His greatness. -- 1Ch 16:25; Ps 145:3. His holiness. -- Ex 15:11; Isa 6:3. His wisdom. -- Da 2:20; Jude 1:25. His power. -- Ps 21:13. His goodness. -- Ps 107:8; 118:1; 136:1; Jer 33:11. His mercy. -- 2Ch 20:21; Ps 89:1; 118:1-4; 136:1-26. His loving-k”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Bless — (1.) God blesses his people when he bestows on them some gift temporal or spiritual (Gen. 1:22; 24:35; Job 42:12; Ps. 45:2; 104:24, 35). (2.) We bless God when we thank him for his mercies (Ps. 103:1, 2; 145:1, 2). (3.) A man blesses himself when he invokes God's blessing (Isa. 65:16), or rejoices in God's goodness to him (Deut. 29:19; Ps. 49:18). (4.) One blesses another when he expresses good wishes or offers prayer to God for his welfare (Gen. 24:60; 31:55; 1 Sam. 2:20). Sometimes blessings were uttered under divine inspiration, as in the case of Noah, Isa”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Glory of God, The — Exhibited in Christ -- Joh 1:14; 2Co 4:6; Heb 1:3. Exhibited in His name. -- De 28:58; Ne 9:5. His majesty. -- Job 37:22; Ps 93:1; 104:1; 145:5,12; Isa 2:10. His power. -- Ex 15:1,6; Ro 6:4. His works. -- Ps 19:1; 111:3. His holiness. -- Ex 15:11. Described as Great. -- Ps 138:5. Eternal. -- Ps 104:31. Rich. -- Eph 3:16. Highly exalted. -- Ps 8:1; 113:4. Exhibited to Moses. -- Ex 34:5-7; 33:18-23. Stephen. -- Ac 7:55. His Church. -- De 5:24; Ps 102:16. Enlightens the Church -- Isa 60:1,2; Re 21:11,23. Saints desire to behold -- Ps 63:2; 90:16. God”
- Ephesians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Ephesians 3:20: Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus,.... This is a doxology, or an ascription of glory to God, with which the apostle concludes his prayer; glory is to be given to God on account of his perfections, which are to be celebrated; and on account of the works of creation and Providence, which are to be commended and acquiesced in; and on account of temporal mercies, for which thanks should be given; and especially for spiritual mercies, and above all for Jesus Christ: the glory of salvation, from first to last, is to be ascribed to his free grace; and his wo”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 69: of the divine goodness may be fully displayed. When we see that all the parts of our salvation thus exist without us, what ground can we have for glorying or confiding in our works? Neither as to the efficient nor the final cause can the most sworn enemies of divine grace raise any controversy with us unless they would abjure the whole of Scripture. In regard to the material or formal cause they make a gloss, as if they held that our works divide the merit with faith and the righteousness of Christ. But here also Scripture reclaims”
- Romans (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Romans 14:8: For whether we live, we live unto the Lord,.... As natural, so spiritual life is derived from the Lord, and believers live by faith upon him, and according to his will revealed in the word; find to his honour and glory; at least they desire so to do: and whether we die, we die unto the Lord; resigning up life unto him, whenever it is his pleasure; magnifying of him, as by life, so by death; dying to be with him, to be raised again by him, and live with him for evermore; in the faith and hope of this, the believer both lives and dies, and so glorifies Christ both in ”
- Westminster Confession of Faith (Reformed) “Westminster Confession of Faith (Reformed, 1646), CHAPTER 18 (part 1): CHAPTER 18 Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation 1. Although hypocrites and other unregenerate men may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions of being in the favor of God, and estate of salvation (which hope of theirs shall perish): yet such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus, and love him in sincerity, endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before him, may, in this life, be certainly assured that they are in the state of grace, and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, which hope sh”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 72: the good qualities which he produces in them by means of his Spirit. But we must always bear in mind, that the only way in which men are accepted of God in respect of works is, that whatever good works he has conferred upon those whom he admits to favor, he by an increase of liberality honors with his acceptance. For whence their good works, but just that the Lord having chosen them as vessels of honor, is pleased to adorn them with true purity? And how are their actions deemed good as if there was no deficiency in them, but just t”