God's Zeal for His Glory | Sermon 12/26/2021

Soli Deo Gloria, to the glory of God alone, was born out of the Protestant Reformation. This truth is very much intertwined with the doctrine of salvation. Essentially, from the biblical understandings that God is the one who justifies, God is the one who gives faith in accordance with His grace, and imparts belief to the unbelieving, we see that there is no room for man to boast. God alone gets the glory.

The saved man is merely a beneficiary of that glory in which God is out for Himself. God’s glory is the infinite beauty and eternal majesty of His perfection. It emanates from Him. It shines from His throne room and is bright from the fire on top of Mt. Sinai. His glory fills the tabernacle in a radiant cloud. All creation displays His glory. The Lord is glorified in the administration of His holy justice and wrath upon sinful humanity as well as in His mercy and grace given to His elect who deserve the former not the latter.

Jesus Christ is said to be the glory of God embodied as the Word took on flesh and dwelt among us. God is now greatly glorified in Christ’s Church who proclaims the glory of the King in every corner of the world. And because God is chiefly concerned for His own glory and namesake, the saints may enjoy Him forever.