The
good news is truly good. But, it is even better after following such
bad news; when seen in the light that scripture shines onto sinful
humanity. Oh, this is good news. This is great news. The gospel is
so stellar because, as we have considered, mankind is depraved and
has zero chance at saving himself. He is lost, doomed, damned,
condemned, hopeless, ruined, wretched, guilty, and on the broad way
which leads to destruction.
But
God. God intervened and began to do a mighty work among sinners.
This is so sweet after something so bitter. The gospel is a lush
oasis in a dry wasteland. It lifts us up from depths so deep and
dark. Believers are enraptured and captured by the omnipotent,
efficacious, splendiferous, ineffable, loving grace and mercy of our
amiable God. He did not leave mankind to its demise. No! He
rescues the lost; adopts the discarded; cleanses the filthy; makes
whole the incomplete; pardons the guilty; justifies the unrighteous;
redeems the enslaved; reconciles the estranged; brings near those who
are distant; gives new life to the dead; and glorifies himself by
bringing piteous rebels to glory! That is good news.
God
chose to save
That
God chose to save, to enact deliverance, is astounding. He did not
have to, but he chose to before the creation of the world. Which
means that both the fall of man and angels was all part of his
sovereign and good plan. How do we explain this? What we as
believers know is this: God designed to glorify himself. In order to
due this, God ordained the Fall and the redemption of some to magnify
his attributes. Since he is sovereign, just, righteous, good, and
holy, God acted how he pleased and only according to his will. It
was God’s prerogative. He orchestrated everything with his own end
in mind. He was and is motivated by one factor- his glory.
The
gospel glorifies God. “For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my
guilt, for it is great” (Ps. 25:11). “Help us, O God of our
salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our
sins. For your name’s sake” (Ps. 79:9). “Yet he saved them for
his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power” (Ps.
106:8). Read closely the words of Isaiah and John,
For
my name’s sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I
restrain it for you, that I might not cut you off. Behold, I have
refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of
affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how
should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another (Is.
48:9-11).
And
they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you
ransomed a people for God from every tribe and language and people
and nation, and you have made them a kingdom of priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.’
Then
I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and
the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and
thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the
Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!’ And I heard every creature in
heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that
is in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’ And
the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell down
and worshiped (Rev. 5:9-14).
And
they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the
Lamb, saying, ‘Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the
Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who
will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are
holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts
have been revealed (Rev. 15:3-4).
These
verses make it clear that God chose to save to glorify himself. From
the deliverance of the Israelites, to Christ sacrificing himself on
Calvary, God does all things for the fame of his name. All things.
For his glory.
Another
aspect of God glorifying himself in the salvation of sinners through
the gospel is the magnification of his attributes. Because of the
love for himself and his glory, God sent his Son as a substitute to
die in the stead of his chosen so they could relish in his love and
enjoy his glory. It was the mercy of God that provided redemption.
God’s grace is on display by drawing sinners unto himself. We see
his power in the resurrection. Note his wisdom in contriving the
plan of salvation. His faithfulness is demonstrated in the
covenants. His wrath is seen in punishing the Son. The holiness of
God is witnessed in his forsaking of the Son. Justice is satisfied
by the imputation of sin to the Son in his propitiatory atonement.
And mark the sovereignty of God in ordaining all things and bringing
them to fruition.
If
God does all things for his glory, then we can assume that his
actions extol his attributes. Since God’s attributes are who he
is, his characteristics, then they are put on display whenever he
works. In other words, we read, experience, or see God’s work.
Whether in creation, redemption, or his word, he reveals himself; he
unveils his character and properties. He tells mankind who he is.
All the world is his stage and he brilliantly acts out his attributes
in all that he does. If he does not give a person what they deserve,
God shows himself to be merciful. If he gives an individual
something that they do not deserve, he makes known his grace.
God “predestined us for adoption as sons through
Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of
his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved”
(Eph. 1:5-6). “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been
predestined according to the purpose of him who 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” (Eph.
1:11-12). The Holy Spirit is “the guarantee of our inheritance
until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory”
(Eph. 1:14). God saved his elect “so that in the coming ages he
might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us
in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7). God “saved us... according to his
own mercy” (Tit. 3:5). “According to his great mercy, he [God]
caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet. 1:3). “The Lord passed
before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and
gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and
faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving
iniquity and transgression and sin” (Ex. 34:6-7).
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