The Glory of God and God's Ultimate Goal

I'm preparing to preach on Ezekiel 36 and one of my main points will be the centrality of God's glory in his actions of salvation.  Ezekiel 36.22-23 states:

"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God, "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.  I will vindicate the holiness of my great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst.  Then the nations will know that I am the LORD," declares the Lord God, "when I prove myself holy among you in their sight."'"

This text, and others like it (i.e., Isaiah 48.9-11), shows that God pursues his glory in the salvation of his people.  This is standard Reformed teaching which has been wonderfully brought into prominence by the ministry and work of John Piper.  This is all well and good.

Recently over at the Gospel Coalition website Christopher Morgan published a short piece entitled Is Glory God's Only Goal?  Morgan's words are well timed and should be widely read.  He is especially concerned about the possibility of misunderstandings and imbalances.  Here are some of Morgan's words:

While there is a healthy resurgence in teaching that glory is God's ultimate end, many inadvertently equate God's ultimate end with God's comprehensive motivation (Edwards and Piper do not make this mistake, but many who read them do). As a result, we rarely hear that God often acts with multiple ends in mind.

Many Reasons

Take the exodus, for instance. Why did God redeem his people from slavery in Egypt? One might quickly reply, "For his glory." Certainly God redeems his people from slavery to glorify himself. But the book of Exodus presents God's reasons for deliverance in a multifaceted way:

• Concern for his oppressed people (3-4)
• Faithfulness to the covenant promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (3:15; 4:5; 6:8; 32:13; 34:6; cf. Deut. 7:6-10)
• That Israel would serve the Lord (4:23; 6:5; etc.)
• That you should know I am the LORD (6:7; 10:2; 13:1f)
• To give the promised land (6:8)
• That the Egyptians will know I am the LORD (7:5; 14:3-4; 14:15-18)
• That Pharaoh will know the LORD as incomparable (7:17; 8:10-18)
• To display his power (9:16)
• That his name might be proclaimed in all the earth (9:16)
• To pass down a heritage to the children (10:1-2)
• That his wonders might be multiplied (11:9)
• To get glory over Pharaoh and his army (14:3-18)
• For Israel's sake (18:8)

So God delivered his people for a variety of reasons, not merely one. The incomparable God acts out of love, holiness, goodness, faithfulness, and jealousy. This is critical to notice because if we equate God's ultimate end with God's comprehensive motivation, we end up subsuming his attributes under his glory. But God acts according to who he is. He loves because he is loving. He acts rightly because he is righteousness. Certainly, as he acts, he displays himself; and as he displays himself, he glorifies himself. But we must not say that God acts for his glory without simultaneously stressing that God acts out of his love, goodness, faithfulness—out of who he is.

Note also that God delivers his people for his glory, for their good, for judgment on Egypt, and for the continuance of his covenant people. Recognizing and stressing these multiple ends does not detract from an emphasis on God's glory but actually underlines it. Indeed, in the exodus, God displays his love, covenant faithfulness, jealously, providence, and power through his wonders, salvation, and judgment, in which he manifests himself and thus glorifies himself.

Morgan goes on to speak of why God saves us and ends his piece with these Scripture-saturated words:

Why Does God Save Us?

Or we can consider the doctrine of salvation and ask, "Why does God save us?" One might hastily retort, "For his glory." Again, that is right and critical. But the Bible provides a wide range of reasons. Powerfully and regularly, God himself explains his motive for saving.John 3:16 states, "For God so loved the world that he gave . . ." (cf. 1 John 4:9-10).Ephesians 1:4-5 extols, "In love" God predestined us (cf. Deut. 7), and Ephesians 2:4 ties our salvation to God's love, mercy, and grace (cf. Titus 3:4-5). John 17 records Jesus' high priestly prayer, interweaving God's glory and the good of his people, praying and acting in part, "for their sake" (17:19). Romans 8:28 also makes it clear that redemptive history is, in large part, for the good of God's people.

So why does God save? For many reasons, but in and through all of them, God displays who he is and thus glorifies himself. God manifests his glory because in saving us he displays his wisdom (Rom. 11:33-36; 1 Cor. 1:18-31; Eph. 3:10-11), righteousness, justice (Rom. 3:25-26), love, mercy, kindness, (Eph. 2:4-7; Rom. 9:20-23), freedom, wrath, and power (Rom. 9:20-23).

"The Gospel" Must Be More Than a Slogan

We can be thankful for the re-emphasis on the gospel of Jesus Christ within the ranks of segments of the evangelical church.  The Gospel Coalition has been a powerful influence for good in this re-capturing of the gospel.  Along the way, though, there has been a tendency on the part of some (both in leadership and some of the followers) to project truncated versions of the gospel message.  It's instructive and heartening that one of the council members of The Gospel Coalition, Thabiti Anyabwile, has written a provocatively entitled piece "I'm Tired of Hearing 'The Gospel'."

Here a few selections from Anyabwile:

It doesn’t matter what the topic is.  Men and women struggling to get along in their marriages?  ”The gospel.”  Someone struggling to find work in this economy?  ”Believe ‘the gospel’.”  The mechanic just “fixed” your car–again–and charged you–again–for the same problem you noticed last week?  Think of “the gospel.”  The Russian high court sentencing a punk rock band to two years in prison for a flash mob performance in a Russian Orthodox cathedral?  ”They need the gospel.”  Want rock hard abs?  Try “gospel” aerobics.  I smashed my little toe against the dresser?  All together now, “the gospel.”

It’s ubiquitous.  And it’s becoming an inflexible law.  We dare not face any issue without the requisite hat tip to “the gospel.”  If we do, there’s bound to be someone to write us a ticket for our verbal violation, to insist we missed a “gospel” opportunity.  Are Christians unable to have an intelligent conversation about some issue or confront some problem in life without using the phrase “the gospel” or pointing people to “the gospel”?  Or, is it that our own grasp on Jesus’ life and ministry are so slippery that we’ve not yet learned to naturally turn any conversation to a legitimate discussion of the Lord’s redemptive work on our behalf?

Anyabwile is quick to point out that he loves the gospel as properly understood.

Of course, I’m not tired of hearing the actual gospel.  Let us all determine to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  But let us also learn that the apostle taught a lot of things about Jesus Christ, His crucifixion and resurrection without lackadaisically tossing out a few cliched references to “the gospel”.  He meditated on and expanded the message of God’s redemption through His Son in many varied arguments, tropes, and statements.  But that’s not what’s trotted out in today’s situations of human need.  We’re not getting deep reflections on the Person of Christ–His offices, nature, and work.  We’re not given robust explanations of the cosmic renewal of all things in Christ as the grounds of hope and joy no matter the circumstance.  We’re not having very many conversations that explore the dynamics of repentance and faith when we’re tempted to blast our mechanic.  Too many Christians lazily tell us we need “the gospel” the way little kids answer every spiritual question with a reflexive “Jesus.”

As blasphemous as it sounds, “the gospel” is not the answer to every question.  It’s not enough.  What about Jesus do I need to know that I’m unaware of when the medical report comes back?  I’m sure there’s something I’m likely to miss, but “the gospel” doesn’t communicate it.  What about joblessness is addressed by Jesus when I’ve sent out the 132nd resume with no response?  What specific promises should I hold onto in order to persevere through life without income in a monied economy?  Help me by telling me the actual message.  Bury my nose in the text of Scripture if you can.  My husband of 50 years just died?  Can you not tell me at length something about the resurrection–Jesus’ and ours–and the adoption the entire creation awaits to be fulfilled?  Can you not reduce the entire scope and swoop of Christ’s redemptive work to the mere facts of the gospel, but along with those facts sketch and paint something of the goodness of this news?  I know I need Jesus.  I know the news is good.  I need reminders specifically enumerating the reasons why.  That’s what plants, roots, and grows enduring faith.  That’s how we actually get to know Jesus more personally–by finding out what He’s like in the crucible of life.

I wonder if the cliff notes references to “the gospel” doesn’t blunt our understanding, meditation, application, and enjoyment of the incredible realities accomplished for us through the Son of God.  Are we inoculating people against the actual gospel with our frequent but unexplained references to “the gospel”?