Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Soli Deo Gloria - Glory to God Alone

Each of the great solas is summed up in the fifth Reformation motto: soli Deo gloria, meaning "to God alone be the glory." It is what the apostle Paul expressed in Romans 11:36 when he wrote, "to him be the glory forever! Amen." these words follow naturally from the preceding words, "For from him and through him and to him are all things" (v.36), since it is because all things are from God, through God, and to God, that we say "to God alone be the glory."

If the entire creation is "from" God, "through" God, and "to" God, and if the way of salvation is likewise "from him and through him and to him", then you and I as a part of God's redeemed creation, are also "from him and through him and to him." In other words we also exist for God's glory and must give it to him. Paul asks. "Who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" (1 Cor. 4:7). So glorify God with your life. Glorify God for your salvation, for your spiritual gifts, for your spiritual desires, for his protection and deliverance from your spiritual enemies, and for any good thing that he accomplishes in you and through you. To God alone be the glory.

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