written by Davin Hau
In this post I’d like to examine this simple statement: God is worthy. The reason I chose to look into this truth because I firmly believe we can glorify God better when we see His immeasurable worth more clearly. We glorify God through the decisions we make, when our priority in making decisions is to honor God. All our decisions boil down to this very straightforward question: “Is this worth it?” We may not consciously ask ourselves this question, but our choices reflect what we deem to be worthy. A quick example would be my choice to sleep early on Saturday night so that I stay awake during sermons on Sunday morning. In this case, I am choosing to prepare my mental state so I can better focus on the preaching of the Word of God on Sunday morning, over studying or entertainment late Saturday night. However, it would be very difficult for me to choose God over something else if I simply don’t recognize His worth. So if we are to glorify God through the decisions we make, we must see his superior worth to everything else in order to choose that which would glorify him.
Before we dive into this topic, I think it is important to point out the distinction between the objective worth and the perceived worth of an object or person. A person may perceive that a decision is more worthwhile, but that does not change the objective worth of the object. Let’s take another look at the choice of sleeping early on Saturday night. If my apartment mate came over and showed me a video of some cute animal rolling around in the grass, I would probably decide to look for more animal videos to watch. That is because in that moment, I really wanted to entertain myself with animal videos. But if I were to compare staying up late to watch videos, to being alert during a sermon, it becomes obvious that I should sleep early. So keep this distinction in mind, because we are not discussing the perceived worth of God. God’s worth does not depend on our perception; He is objectively worthy, and we know the objective worth of God from what He has revealed Himself to be in the Bible.
How then is God objectively worthy? There are two reasons I want to bring to your attention regarding God’s worthiness.
First, God is worthy because He authored salvation, the redemption of our sinful souls. It is often said that “Christians never graduate from the Gospel,” because there is nothing in the Christian life that can be explained apart from the Gospel. So we find ourselves contemplating these familiar yet wonderful truths again at the foot of the cross.
I take this time to remind us all of our helplessness before we knew Christ (Rom 5:8), our spiritual deadness (Eph 2:1), our apathy towards God (Rom 3:11), our distaste for spiritual matters (1 Cor 2:14) and our passionate desires for worldly and earthly treasures that do not last (Phil 3:19). It is so humbling to be reminded of our character before coming to Christ. Why would God save sinners? Why did God choose to save me? I was, as Paul describes in the book of Titus, “…foolish, disobedient, led astray, [a slave] to various passions and pleasures, passing [my] days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating [others].” (Titus 3:3) Yet God came to save not a lovely or good person, but a broken and terrible sinner. The Gospel leaves us marveling at the goodness of God – His goodness in not only saving us from the dominion and punishment of sin, but also in giving us a life to glorify and honor Him. The author and perfector of our faith is indeed worthy.
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Rev 5:12)
Second, God is worthy simply because He is God. His very character that we see in His actions demonstrates that He is worthy. We see His power in creation (Gen. 1), His transcendent holiness (Is. 6:3), His unsearchable wisdom (Rom. 11:33), His divine omniscience (Rom. 11:33), His absolute sovereignty (Is. 14:24), His authority over everything (Ps. 2), His grace in election (Eph. 1:4), His justice in justification (2 Cor. 5:21), His wrath in punishment (Rev. 6:17), His love in redemption (Eph. 2:4).
“God said to Moses, ‘I AM who I AM.’” (Exodus 3:14)
An innumerable number of books and sermons have been written and preached on each attribute, and words indeed fail to describe the magnificence and glory for even one of His attributes. Hopefully by seeing even just a glimpse of the glory of God and the majesty of His attributes, you will consequently see the infinite worth of God.
And so, if God is indeed worthy, then we should honor and glorify him in everything. He is worthy! So because of this, we are able to suffer well through trials, trusting God and enduring patiently; we are able to serve faithfully because God is worthy of our efforts in service and ministry; we evangelize because people must know of such a glorious God. He is the priority in every aspect of our lives because He is worthy.
“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Cor. 10:31
← All Posts