Transformed By His Glory – Part 1: God’s Grand Purpose

The glory of God means the awesomeness, splendor, and importance of God seen in some way…God has a number of facets to His character, and His glory may be seen sometimes through one facet and sometimes through another. But whenever even one of the aspects of His being is seen, He is glorified. – Charles Ryrie

God has a great and grand purpose operating in the fulfillment of His sovereign will throughout His created universe. It is a purpose which employs and yet transcends the ages and dispensations, good and evil, sin and salvation, election and predestination, regeneration and sanctification, and even time and space. God’s purpose through the ages and for eternity is to manifest His glory to His created beings.

The revelation of God’s glory, viewed as the singular and final cause of all His purposes and activities, is a long-held biblical doctrine of the Christian church. The Westminster Shorter Catechism, written in the year 1646, states it like this:

The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.

The great American theologian Charles Hodge (1797 – 1878), in his Systematic Theology, states the same doctrine a little more succinctly, citing Revelation 4:11 as one of his proof texts:

The final cause of all God’s purposes is His own glory – “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

And, from the apostle Paul, we have this remarkable statement taken from his great doctrinal epistle to the Roman church:

For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen. Romans 11:36 NLT

This incredible purpose of God is not wrought in vanity and pride, as would be the case if He were human or even a lesser god. Rather, it is the outpouring of His unfathomable grace and love – for “God is love” (I John 4:16). So much so that, knowing in His infinite wisdom that the only true joy for any of His created beings lies in the sharing of that unique fellowship which exists between the three Persons of the Godhead, He moves progressively to make Himself known in all His glory in order that we may know Him, walk in His light, and abide eternally in His glorious fellowship. All things in this life and the next are reducible to this one simple yet overwhelming end: to know God, to behold His glory to an ever greater degree, and to allow the glory of God to transform us – not just in this life but for all of eternity.

In chapter 17 of John’s gospel, on the eve of His crucifixion, Jesus, in His great High Priestly Prayer to the Father, makes this remarkable statement regarding the nature and purpose of eternal life:

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3

In the original Greek the phrase ‘that they may know You’ is structured in a form known as a “purpose clause.” It consists of the conjunction hina (that) with the subjunctive form (denotes supposition, desire, or possibility) of ginosko (to know). Hina with a subjunctive verb is always a purpose clause. In addition, the verb ginosko is in the Greek present tense, which indicates continual action (this is different than the English present tense). The idea here is that the purpose of eternal life for believers is continual pursuit of the knowledge of God!

Greek scholar Marvin Vincent (1834 – 1922) described this revelation as “striking.” It is, indeed, staggering to realize that those of us who have put our trust in Jesus will spend eternity continually learning more and more about God, forever learning, as we attain a greater and greater perception of His glory in Christ – a never ending progression throughout eternity. This is the very purpose for which we exist! 

Is Christ worthy of our consideration? The scriptures answer with a resounding “Yes and Amen! He is worthy, indeed”!