BEHIND THE BOOK Connecting to the Bible (Observation) SOLI DEO GLORIA (READ VARIOUS TRANSLATIONS) OCTOBER 25, 2017 John Calvin on God s Glory By John Piper (From Here We Stand, Day 23 The Genius of Geneva In the fall of 1539, John Calvin wrote to Sadoleto, an Italian cardinal seeking to win Geneva back to the Roman Catholic Church: [Your] zeal for heavenly life [is] a zeal which keeps a man entirely devoted to himself, and does not, even by one expression, arouse him to sanctify the name of God. He goes on to say that Sadoleto should set before [man], as the prime motive of his existence, zeal to illustrate the glory of God (Selections from His Writings, 89). This would be a fitting banner over all of Calvin s life and work zeal to illustrate the glory of God. The essential meaning of Calvin s life and preaching is that he recovered and embodied a passion for the absolute reality and majesty of God. Mastered by Majesty Calvin was born on July 10, 1509, in Noyon, France, when Martin Luther was 25 years old and had just begun to teach the Bible in Wittenberg. The message and spirit of the Reformation would not reach Calvin for twenty years, and in 1
the meantime he devoted his young adult years to the study of Medieval theology, law, and the classics. But by 1533, something dramatic had happened in his life through the influence of Reformation teaching. Calvin recounts how he had been struggling to live out the Catholic faith with zeal when God, by a sudden conversion subdued and brought my mind to a teachable frame.... Having thus received some taste and knowledge of true godliness, I was immediately inflamed with [an] intense desire to make progress (Selections from His Writings, 26). Suddenly, Calvin saw and tasted in Scripture the majesty of God. And in that moment, both God and the word of God were so powerfully authenticated to his soul that he became the loving servant of God and his word the rest of his life. Genevan Pastor Calvin knew what sort of ministry he wanted. He wanted the enjoyment of literary ease so he could promote the Reformed faith as a scholar. But God had radically different plans. After escaping from Paris and finally leaving France entirely, Calvin intended to go to Strasbourg for a life of peaceful literary production. But while Calvin was staying the night in Geneva, William Farel, the fiery leader of the Reformation in that city, found out he was there and sought him out. It was a meeting that changed the course of history, not just for Geneva, but for the world. Calvin remembers, Farel, who burned with an extraordinary zeal to advance the gospel, immediately learned that my heart was set upon devoting myself to private studies,... and finding that he gained nothing by entreaties, he proceeded to utter an imprecation that God would curse my retirement, and the tranquility of the studies which I sought, if I should withdraw and refuse to give assistance, when the necessity was so urgent. By this imprecation I was so stricken with terror, that I desisted from the journey which I had undertaken. 2
The course of his life was irrevocably changed. Never again would Calvin work in what he called the tranquility of studies. From now on, every page of the 48 volumes of books and tracts and sermons and commentaries and letters that he wrote would be hammered out on the anvil of pastoral responsibility. For the next 28 years (apart from a two-year hiatus), Calvin gave himself to expositing the word to displaying the majesty of God in Scripture to his Genevan flock. Glory Recovered The need for the Reformation was fundamentally this: Rome had destroyed the glory of Christ in many ways (Portrait of Calvin, 9). The reason, according to Calvin, the church was carried about with so many strange doctrines was because the excellence of Christ is not perceived by us (Portrait of Calvin, 55). In other words, the great guardian of biblical orthodoxy throughout the centuries is a passion for the glory and the excellency of God in Christ. The issue is not, first, the well-known sticking points of the Reformation: justification, priestly abuses, transubstantiation, prayers to saints, and papal authority. Beneath all of them at stake in them all for Calvin was the fundamental issue of whether the glory of God was shining in its fullness, or was somehow being diminished. From the beginning of his ministry to the end of his life, his guiding star in vision was the centrality and supremacy and majesty of the glory of God. Unlocking the Treasures of Scripture Geerhardus Vos has argued that this focus on the glory of God is the reason the Reformed tradition succeeded more fully than the Lutheran tradition in mastering the rich content of the Scriptures. Both had cast themselves on the Scriptures. But there was a difference: Because Reformed theology took hold of the Scriptures in their deepest root idea, it was in a position to work through them more fully from this central point and to let each part of their content come to its own. This root idea which served as the key to unlock the rich treasures of the Scriptures was the 3
preeminence of God s glory in the consideration of all that has been created. (Shorter Writings, 243) The true genius of Geneva was not the mind of John Calvin, but passion for the glory of God. Every generation needs to unlock the treasures of Scripture for the peculiar perils and possibilities of its own time. Our generation no less than any. I think we will only do this well if we have been profoundly and joyfully mastered by the greatest reality the Scriptures reveal the majesty of God s glory. Introduction Soli Deo Gloria Only God s Glory The Reformation was founded on five solae. Sola is Latin for alone or only. The five solas teach that We are saved, sola gratia - by grace alone, solus Chrisus (Solo Christo) - on the basis of Christ alone, sola fide - through the means of faith alone, soli Deo gloria - to the ultimate glory of God alone, sola Scriptura - as taught with the final and decisive authority of Scripture alone. The Protestant Reformation was a controversy with the Roman Catholic Church over what saves us. It defines how helpless we really are in our deadness and guilt and, therefore, it was a controversy over what it takes to save us from God s wrath, give us life and to turn our hearts to God. 4
The only answer of the Reformers was that the Bible alone taught that only grace could raise us from the dead; and only Christ could become our punishment and our perfection; and these two miracles, of life from the dead and wrath removed, could only be received as a gift through faith, not merited or earned all so that the entire transaction would lead ultimately to the glory of God alone. 1. What is the glory of God? Isaiah 6:3 - Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory! Holiness is the intrinsic nature and character of God. But it is not, in and of itself, visible. It can be seen however, as God s glory. The glory of God is the holiness of God made visible The basic meaning of holy is separated from the common. So, when you carry that definition all the way to the infinite separation of God from all that is common, the effect is to make him the infinite one of a kind unique, and perfect. God s God-ness is uniqueness. This holiness or uniqueness makes him infinitely valuable. And from cover to cover, the great dominating reality of the Bible is that this infinitely valuable, infinitely pure and beautiful divine uniqueness this God-ness shines forth through creation and through all the acts of God in history and in redemption as the glory of God. The glory of God is the outward radiance of the intrinsic nature, Worth, beauty and greatness of his manifold perfections. 5
God s glory is the radiance of the worth and beauty and greatness of God himself the God-ness of God manifest to be spiritually seen and savored and shown by his redeemed people. All that is ever spoken of in the Scripture as an ultimate end of God s works is included in that one phrase, the glory of God.... The refulgence shines upon and into the creature, and is reflected back to the luminary. The beams of glory come from God, and are something of God and are refunded back again to their original. So that the whole is of God, and in God, and to God, and God is the beginning, middle and end in this affair. - Jonathan Edwards 2. Why is the glory of God the goal of everything? There is nothing more perfect, hence deserving than God s glory. To center everything that exists on anything else would be unrighteous of God. Anything other than God s glory as the ultimate aim of God or us, is a waste of our lives. This was his plan from eternity. This was his purpose and design in creation and in all of history and in all the work of redemption. God created, sustains, governs, and saves in such a way as to reveal his glory. That s his goal. It all began with his purpose in creation: That s why the heavens exist Psalm 19:1 - The heavens declare the glory of God. That s why we exist Isaiah 43:6-7 - Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made This purpose extends to everything God does: 6
Ephesians 1:11-12 - God works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory Romans 11:36 - From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen God s glory is the central story in everything he does in redemption. Romans 9:23 - Paul tells us that all of it is in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory Romans 15:7 Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God Romans 15:9 - Christ became a servant... in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy God planned all creation, all history and all redemption for his glory. Isaiah 2:11 - The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. Isaiah 42:8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols Everything that exists is for God s glory. Everything God does is for his own glory. Question: Why is there such a meaningless, vastness of uninhabited galaxies and only one tiny dot of human existence? Answer: This universe is not intended to portray the importance of humanity. It is intended to give man some inkling of the grandeur of God. And it is an understatement. 7
God created and sustains and governs and justifies the ungodly for his glory alone. This leads us to the third question. 3. Isn t God s desire for his own glory, selfish? If we centered everything on us, it would be wrong because we cannot satisfy ourselves much less everything and everyone else If God alone is perfect, it would be unrighteous of God to glorify anything else It is righteous of God to glorify himself because his glory is best for everything and everyone in creation Since God is one God in three persons, the persons glory in each other, making God s glory other-centered and not self-centered 4. How is God glorified most fully by his justified people? God is most glorified in his justified people when those justified people are most satisfied in him. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him Man s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Westminster Catechism Humanity does not exist for two purposes: to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Humanity exists for one purpose: to glorify God by enjoying him forever. God is glorified not only by His glory s being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it. 8
- Jonathan Edwards Psalm 16:11 - You make known to me the path of life; in your presence, there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Matthew 13:44 - The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. In the end, God s glory and our joy run together into everlasting fullness. What it will be then, it should be now. 5. If God alone gets the glory, what about our glorification? The Bible is stunningly clear that the children of God will be glorified with the glory God 2 Corinthians 3:18 We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. 1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. Romans 8:30 Those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 6. Isn t God s desire for his own glory, selfish? If we centered everything on us, it would be wrong because we cannot satisfy ourselves much less everything and everyone else If God alone is perfect, it would be unrighteous of God to glorify anything else 9
It is righteous of God to glorify himself because his glory is best for everything and everyone in creation Since God is one God in three persons, the persons glory in each other, making God s glory other-centered and not self-centered Conclusion Something dominates our lives. We center our lives on something. When God s glory isn t first, other things will dominate our lives. The glory shifts from God to become centered on ourselves. Self-esteem replaces humble esteem of Christ above all. To feed what seems most important to him, the fallen soul tries to boost that self-esteem. The honoring of God is suppressed. A self-centered person becomes a god to himself. His own mind and feelings become the test of truth. Some come to think of their salvation as depending upon their own efforts, accomplishments, and choices. What benefits them in this life becomes the goal and measure of everything else. He imagines his self-esteem, possessions, popularity, and power to be his best hope for happiness. He, his children, and all those he influences, miss out on the greatest hope for happiness which is: living for the honor and glory of his Creator, and submitting to and loving the truth that sets us free. If God through Christ isn t appreciated above all else everything becomes empty, unsatisfying. On the other hand, The Hebrew word for glory kabod and the Greek word for glory doxa is a fabulous word. This word belongs to God, and it originally carried the idea of weight, substance, or even burden. The idea is the glory of God gives weight, meaning, and significance to life and creation. All of life matters. Your life matters. All because of the weight of God s glory in it. Small Groups: 10
1 How would you define the glory of God? 2 What scriptures point to God desiring glory? 3 What would it mean for your life if you were mastered by majesty? 4 How is God s desire for his own glory not selfish? 5 How and why is it right for God to make his own glory the ultimate aim of all creation? 6 How would it be unrighteous for God to make anything other than his glory that aim? 7 Why is it unwise for us to make anything other than God s glory the ultimate aim of our lives? ------------------------------------------------------------------ Behind the Book is only one aspect of Heritage s teaching ministry which seeks to employ our church s mission statement: Connecting to God, Growing with Others and Impacting the world. On Wednesday evenings we connect to Sunday morning s Bible passage and discover what it says through in-depth Bible study. Sunday morning in corporate worship (9:30am) we grow from the passage by learning what it means for our daily living. In Community Groups (10:45am) we practically apply the text, being impacted by it and learning to impact the world with it. CGI provides a balanced approach to life and Bible study; an upward look (Connect), an inward look (Grow) and an outward look (Impact) ensuring that our mission fulfils our vision to be a God-centered, Great Commission congregation. It s a wellknown and beneficial way to approach the Bible Connect/Observation, Grow/Interpretation, Impact/Application. It s also a Trinitarian approach to Scripture: Connecting to the Father, Growing in Christ and Impacting the world by the Spirit, so that the way we study the Bible daily reminds us about who our God is and how he is unique among all religions of the world. 11
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