”To God Be the Glory”

(Phi1ippians 4:201

Introduction: We are now just about to the end of Paul’s letter to the
Philippians, and we have seen and learned many valuable lessons from it.
And yet, Paul wants to teach us a couple of more lessons before the book is
done. Last week, we saw Paul thanking the Philippians for their generous
support of his ministry, both financially and through the service which
Epaphroditus gave him. Paul reminded them that when they gave to help him
further the preaching of the Gospel, they were not in fact giving to man,
but to God. God receives the gifts that we give to further the work of His
gospel as sacrifices to Him, when we offer them to Him in obedience. And
God also promises that He will richly reward those who give by supplying all
of their needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.
As Paul thinks about the tremendous blessings that his God bestows, he
cannot help but break out in doxology to God. This is something which is very
common in Paul’s writings. A doxology is the speaking of a word of praise to
God. Sometimes he is so overcome with the glory of God, and with His
goodness, mercy, grace and love, that he breaks out in worship. For instance,
in 1 Timothy 1:17, after writing about the grace which Christ had given to
him, calling him into the ministry of His Word, even though he was formerly a
blasphemer and violent aggressor against Christ, he pauses to express his
heartfelt praise, ”NOW TO THE KING ETERNAL, IMMORTAL, INVISIBLE, THE ONLY GOD,
BE HONOR AND GLORY FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN.” And now, at the end of this
letter, having just contemplated the wonderful provision which God made for
him through the Philippians, as well as the tremendous blessing which he knows
that God will give to them for their generous gift, he writes, ”NOW TO OUR GOD
AND FATHER BE THE GLORY FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN.” He wishes to draw no
attention to himself, for he is merely a servant of this great God. Rather,
he desires that all glory be directed to the One who made Him, saved him,
provided for him, and who will keep him unto the day of Christ. There is a
valuable lesson for us to learn here, one that we should pay close attention
to if we have not already learned it, and it is that

God alone is worthy of all the glory and praise and honor that we
could possibly give Him for the rest of eternity.
First, I want you to see what Paul means by the word glory and how
we can give glory to God; secondly, that God alone is worthy to receive
all glory; thirdly, that if God is to receive any glory from us, it must
be through His Son; and lastly, that we who are in Christ will have the
privilege of giving glory to God forever.

I. First, I Want You to See What Glory Is and How It Is Given.

A. Glory Is the Ascribing to God the Praise and Adoration Which Is
Rightfully His.
1 . The Word in the Greek originally meant ”opinion.”
2. From there it was but a small step to the meaning of a ”good
opinion” concerning someone. Hence it means praise, honor and
homage (Hendriksen 62x1).
3. It is true that glory can also refer to the shining effulgence
of God, the brightness of His appearing in glory. But here it
means to adore Him or to ascribe to Him honor.

B. We Give Glory to God When We Attribute to Him Whatever Is Worthy of

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Praise in Our Lives, as Well as in the Lives of Others.

1 . Whatever good thing comes into our lives or is produced in our
lives comes from God.
a. Paul said, "FOR I KNOW THAT NOTHING GOOD DWELLS IN ME, THAT
IS, IN MY FLESH; FOR THE WISHING IS PRESENT IN ME, BUT THE
DOING OF THE GOOD IS NOT" (Rom. 7:18). Considering himself
apart from Christ, he found nothing good.
b. Jesus said, "I AM THE VINE, YOU ARE THE BRANCHES; HE WHO
ABIDES IN ME, AND I IN HIM, HE BEARS MUCH FRUIT; FOR APART
FROM ME YOU CAN no NOTHING" (JOW i5:5).
c. We, as well, may also not pat ourselves on the back for any
good that comes into our lives, for it all comes from God.
"EVERY GOOD THING BESTOWED AND EVERY PERFECT GIFT IS FROM
ABOVE, COMING DOWN FROM THE FATHER OF LIGHTS, WITH WHOM
THERE IS NO VARIATION, OR SHIFTING SHADOW" (James 1 : 1 7 ) .
d. It comes from God, it does not come from us.

2. Also, whatever is done by our brethren in the world, or whatever

praiseworthy thing is done by anyone, comes from God.
a. That every good thing comes from God is not only true for
us, but for all others as well.
b. As a matter of fact, the world, and everything in it, was
created only for the purpose of giving glory to God. John
writes in Revelation 4:11, "THOU ART WORTHY, 0 LORD, TO
RECEIVE GLORY AND HONOR AND POWER: FOR THOU HAST CREATED
ALL THINGS, AND FOR THY PLEASURE THEY ARE AND WERE CREATED."
c. We are even told that some of the sicknesses which men
suffered at the time of Christ, was for the glory of God.
When word came to Jesus of Lazarus' sickness, He responded,
"THIS SICKNESS IS NOT UNTO DEATH, BUT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD,
THAT THE SON OF GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED BY IT" (John 11:4).

3. Therefore, to give God glory means to ascribe to Him the credit

for His wonderful blessings.
a. This is one of the main purposes for praise, namely to give
glory to God.
b. I think that perhaps we really don't understand what the
Bible means when it says, "ASCRIBE TO THE LORD, 0 SONS OF
THE MIGHT, ASCRIBE TO THE LORD GLORY AND STRENGTH. ASCRIBE
TO THE LORD THE GLORY DUE TO HIS NAME; WORSHIP THE LORD IN
HOLY ARRAY" (Ps. 29: 1-2).
C. Perhaps you think that when you cry out, "Praise the Lord!"
you are in fact praising the Lord. But this expression is
really a call or command to give praise to Him, not the
praise itself.
d. So then, what does it mean to glorify God? What does it
mean to praise Him?
(i) We see examples throughout the Scriptures, but let me
give you a couple.
(ii) After the ark was brought into the Temple, the priests
began to praise the Lord, saying, "HE INDEED IS GOOD
FOR HIS LOVINGKINDNESS IS EVERLASTING" (2 Chr. 5:13).
(iii) In 1 Chronicles 29:lO-13, we read, "SO DAVID BLESSED
THE LORD IN THE SIGHT OF ALL THE ASSEMBLY; AND DAVID
SAID, 'BLESSED ART THOU, 0 LORD GOD OF ISRAEL OUR
FATHER, FOREVER AND EVER. THINE, o LORD, IS THE
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GREATNESS AND THE POWER AND THE GLORY AND THE VICTORY
AND THE MAJESTY, INDEED EVERYTHING THAT IS IN THE
HEAVENS AND THE EARTH; THINE IS THE DOMINION, 0 LORD,
AND THOU DOST EXALT THYSELF AS HEAD OVER ALL. BOTH
RICHES AND HONOR COME FROM THEE, AND THOU nosT RULE
OVER ALL, AND IN THY HAND IS POWER AND MIGHT; AND IT
LIES IN THY HAND TO MAKE GREAT, AND TO STRENGTHEN
EVERYONE. NOW THEREFORE, OUR an, WE THANK THEE, AND
PRAISE THY GLORIOUS NAME.”
Giving glory to God, praising Him, means to ascribe to
Him the honor and renown and fame for His mighty works.
It is the recognition of them, that they come from Him,
and it is the rehearsing of those great deeds. Even as
the kings of old would have heralds going before them
to proclaim their mighty acts, so the Lord would have
His people proclaim His.
This is something that God wants from you as well. He
wants you to acknowledge what He has done; He wants you
to give Him the credit for these things; He wants you
to rehearse then not only in His hearing, but also in
the hearing of the world, telling what great things He
has accomplished for His people. God wants you to give
Him glory.
And so when you pray, rehearse the wonderful works of
God; ascribe to Him the credit for making all things,
and of making you; ascribe to Him the glory for sending
Christ to redeem fallen humanity and for changing your
heart to make you willing to come to Him; give Him the
credit for every blessing that you have in life, from
your material blessings, to each and every one of your
spiritual ones, to say as Jacob did when he was
returning from Haran, ”I AM UNWORTHY OF ALL THE
LOVINGKINDNESS AND OF ALL THE FAITHFULNESS WHICH THOU
HAST SHOWN TO THY SERVANT; FOR WITH MY STAFF ONLY I
CROSSED THIS JORDAN, AND NOW I HAVE BECOME TWO
COMPANIES” (Gen. 32:1 0 ) .
So first, this text teaches you that you must give all
glory to God!

11. Secondly, I Want You to See That God Alone Is Worthy of Glory.
A. God Said that He Would Not Share His Glory With Another.
1 . He says through the prophet Isaiah, ”I AM THE LORD, THAT IS MY
NAME; I WILL NOT GIVE MY GLORY TO ANOTHER, NOR MY PRAISE TO
GRAVEN IMAGES” (42:8), and again, ”FOR MY OWN SAKE, FOR MY OWN
SAKE, I WILL ACT; FOR HOW CAN MY NAME BE PROFANED? AND MY GLORY
I WILL NOT GIVE TO ANOTHER” (48:11 ).
2. Seeing that God is the source of all blessing and blessedness,
He alone must be the One to receive the adoration and praise for
it.

B. To Give to Ourselves, or to Any Other Created Being, the Glory for

Anything, Is to Rob God of What Is Rightfully His and to Incur His
Wrath.
1 . In this life, the penalty for giving God’s glory to another is
very severe.
a. In Romans I, there is a very sad commentary on the
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sinfulness of men due to their refusal to give God the

glory. Paul writes, "FOR THE WRATH OF GOD IS REVEALED FROM
HEAVEN AGAINST ALL UNGODLINESS AND UNRIGHTEOUSNESS OF MEN,
WHO SUPPRESS THE TRUTH IN UNRIGHTEOUSNESS, . . . FOR EVEN
THOUGH THEY KNEW an, THEY DID NOT GLORIFY HIM AS an, OR
GIVE THANKS; BUT THEY BECAME FUTILE IN THEIR SPECULATIONS,
AND THEIR FOOLISH HEART WAS DARKENED. PROFESSING TO BE
WISE, THEY BECAME FOOLS, AND EXCHANGED THE GLORY OF THE
INCORRUPTIBLE GOD FOR AN IMAGE IN THE FORM OF CORRUPTIBLE
MAN AND OF BIRDS AND FOUR-FOOTED ANIMALS AND CRAWLING
CREATURES. THEREFORE GOD GAVE THEM OVER . . . TO IMPURITY.
FOR THIS REASON GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO DEGRADING PASSIONS . .
. AND JUST AS THEY DID NOT SEE FIT TO ACKNOWLEDGE GOD ANY
LONGER, GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO A DEPRAVED MIND, TO DO THOSE
THINGS WHICH ARE NOT PROPER" (Rom. 1:18, 21-24, 26, 28).
b. There is another example from the book of Acts, where Herod,
on an appointed day, delivered an address to the people
which was so blessed of the Lord that the people cried out,
"THE VOICE OF A GOD AND NOT OF A MAN! AND IMMEDIATELY AN
ANGEL OF THE LORD STRUCK HIM BECAUSE HE DID NOT GIVE GOD THE
GLORY, AND HE WAS EATEN BY WORMS AND DIED" (Acts i2:22-23).

2. And even though God severely judges those who refuse to give Him
glory, yet they still will not repent.
a. In Revelation 16:8-9, we read, "AND THE FOURTH ANGEL POURED
OUT HIS BOWL UPON THE SUN; AND IT WAS GIVEN TO IT TO SCORCH
MEN WITH FIRE. AND MEN WERE SCORCHED WITH FIERCE HEAT; AND
THEY BLASPHEMED THE NAME OF GOD WHO HAS THE POWER OVER THESE
PLAGUES; AND THEY DID NOT REPENT, so AS TO GIVE HIM GLORY."
b. The pride and arrogance in the heart of man is so great,
that he would rather endure anything than bow the knee to
the only Sovereign Lord from whom he received any good in
life.

3. Are you willing to acknowledge that all of your good in life

comes only from God and are you giving Him all the glory?
a. Do you arrogantly assert that everything you have comes from
your own labors and your own hands?
b. Are you like king Nebuchadnezzar who so pridefully said, "IS
THIS NOT BABYLON THE GREAT, WHICH I MYSELF HAVE BUILT AS A
ROYAL RESIDENCE BY THE MIGHT OF MY POWER AND FOR THE GLORY
OF MY MAJESTY?" (Dan. 4:30). Remember that the Lord judged
him by removing his reason for seven seasons so that he was
humbled by becoming like the wild beasts of the earth.
C. Do you give yourself the credit, or glory, for what you
have, or do you give it to someone or something other than
God?
d. Don't you know that if God had not given you your gifts, or
your physical strength, or your opportunities, or your life,
that you could do nothing?
e. And don't you realize that anything you might have
accomplished in the spiritual realm, as well, is all because
of God's goodness to you?
f. Peter said, "AS EACH ONE HAS RECEIVED A SPECIAL GIFT, EMPLOY
IT IN SERVING ONE ANOTHER, AS GOOD STEWARDS OF THE MANIFOLD
GRACE OF GOD. WHOEVER SPEAKS, LET HIM SPEAK, AS IT WERE,
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THE UTTERANCES OF an; WHOEVER SERVES. LET HIM no SO AS BY

THE STRENGTH WHICH a n SUPPLIES; SO THAT IN ALL THINGS a n
MAY BE GLORIFIED THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, TO WHOM BELONGS THE
GLORY AND DOMINION FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN” ( 1 Peter
4:10-11).
g. Therefore, you must give all glory, praise and adoration to
God for every good thing that you have done, are doing, or
will ever do, and for that good which you have received from
Him.

III. Thirdly, I Want You to See That Any Glory We Give to God Must Be Given
Through the Only Mediator Between God and Man.
A. The Separation which Occurred Between God and M a n in the Garden Was
a Complete One.
1 . When Adam sinned, he fell entirely away from the Lord and lost
any access to Him whatsoever.
2. Adam could no longer do anything pleasing to God; he could not
even approach Him and expect to be heard. He was severed from
his relationship with God.

B. Now the Only Way that Anyone May Come to God for Any Reason
Whatsoever Is Through the Only Mediator that He Has Provided for Us.
1 . Though we could not approach God, God in His mercy provided a
door of access to Him through His Son.
2. Now we can approach God, but only in the name of His Son.
a. Our prayers are only acceptable through Christ.
b. Our works are only received through the Mediator.
c. And even any praise, honor, or glory that we would offer to
Him must come through the Son as well.

3. People of God, we must never forget that outside of Christ we

are poor and helpless sinners who deserve nothing but wrath at
the hands of a righteous God!
a. Have you ever-held the opinion that God gives to you what is
good because you are deserving of it?
b. Do you confuse what God makes of you through His grace with
what you are in reality apart from His grace?
C. When we begin to look at ourselves in this way, we may begin
to think that we can approach God apart from the only One
who can give us that access. And to come any other way is
to be turned away.
d. No one can approach God except through Christ!
e. No one of you can have any blessedness or participation in
the work of Christ except you come to God through faith in
His Son.
f. He is the only way to God; He is the only way to truth; He
is the only way to life.
g. And unless you or anyone comes in the way of faith in
Christ, you cannot come at all.
h. To try and come to Him apart from faith in Christ also robs
God of His glory, for thinking that you can come to Him by
your own good works, you cast aside the glory of God in
Christ, and do spite to His glorious work of redemption.
i. Therefore, when you offer to God your praise, your
adoration, your prayers, or whatever you may offer Him, make
sure that you are always aware of your absolute dependence
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on Christ, and not on yourself, to be accepted by Him.

IV. Lastly, I Want You to See That This Text Calls Us to Give God All the
Glory Throughout the Rest of Time.
A. The Work of God in Redemption From Which Flows All of His Blessings
Is that Which Will Require an Eternity of Praise from Those Who
Receive It.
1 . Our obligation to glorify God will not be exhausted in this
life.
2. Even if we had a thousand lifetimes, we could never give Him
enough praise. ”WHO CAN SPEAK OF THE MIGHTY DEEDS OF THE LORD,
OR CAN SHOW FORTH ALL HIS PRAISE?” (Ps. 106:2). The implied
answer is no one!
3. The rest of eternity therefore must be filled up with glory and
honor to God for the vast riches of His blessings of redemption.
B. And God Promises That He Will Sustain His Saints Throughout All Time
So That They May Give Him the Praise that He So Richly Deserves.
1 . He will never allow us to perish because of His unchanging plan
to bring us to the everlasting dwellings. Paul said that when
the Lord returns for us and causes us to be caught up together
in the clouds with Him, ”THUS WE SHALL ALWAYS BE WITH THE LORD”
( 1 Thes. 4:17).
2. And when we are with the Lord forever in glory, then we will
have the great privilege of giving to God our whole heart and
soul in everlasting thanksgiving and praise for what He has done
for us.

C. And as We Consider the Blessings Which God Has Given Us in Christ

this Morning, It Should Stir Us Up to Thankfulness, Especially as We
Come to the Lord’s Table.
1 . The Lord’s Supper represents to us what Christ had to endure in
order to give this life to His people.
2. It reminds us that we were lost and on our way to everlasting
perdition, until the Lord interceded to save us.
3. It was through His shed blood and His broken body that we were
snatched from the jaws of hell and given an everlasting
inheritance in the heavens.
4. Therefore, prepare now to come to the table with a heart
purified by faith, and to partake of the Lord’s goodness with
joy.
5. And give God the glory and honor which is His due, by
recognizing that it is only because of His unfathomable mercy
and love that you are allowed to come to His table this morning.
Amen. Let us pray.