What is God most concerned with?

In discussing the Trinity last Wednesday, I posed a question at the very end of our time.  We established from Scripture that the Holy Spirit’s main task is to glorify Jesus, the Son (John 16:14), and that the Son’s main task is to glorify the Father (John 12:27-28).  That sets into place a chain of glorification inside the Trinity.  Now the question is this:  Who does the Father glorify?

Let’s look at John 12:27-28.  This passage occurs in the week before the crucifixion of Jesus.  He knows it is coming, and He says this, “Now is my soul troubled.  And what shall I say?  ‘Father, save me from this hour?’  But for this purpose I have come to this hour.  Father, glorify your name.“  Jesus is saying that He came to earth for the purpose of glorifying his Father. 

Now look at the Father’s response:  “The a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”  When Jesus says that He wants his Father’s name to be glorified, God the Father responds by saying that He, Himself, has already glorified it.  And He will glorify himself again. 

You see, throughout Scripture we find that God’s main purpose in all that He does is his own glorification.  He created the world for his own glory.  He chose Abraham out of a nation of pagans for his own glory.  He made the nation of Israel his own people for his glory.  He sent them into captivity for his own glory.  He sent his Son into this world for his own glory.  He planned for his Son to die a tortuous death on the cross for his own glory.  He raised him from the dead for his own glory.  And He saves sinners like you and me for his own glory. 

But here’s the problem with our thinking about this.  If I were to say, “I am the most important person to me,” you’d say that I was a megalomaniac.  And you would be right.  That would tell you that I am overly obsessed with myself to the point of grievous sin.  When I place myself above God in my value system, I violate the first commandment.  I count myself as more valuable than God, and that is rightly reprehensible to a believer. 

But is it the same when we see that God is most concerned with garnering praise for himself?  John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN, preached a very helpful sermon dealing with this.  He said it much better than I can say it, so here is the link to that sermon.  It’s available to read or listen to for free.

Here are some Scriptures to read and meditate on concerning this idea:  Isaiah 48:9-11; Jeremiah 13:11; Ephesians 1 (the whole chapter, but note particularly the repeated phrase in verses 6, 12, and 14).