Getting Glory for God—or for Ourselves?
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31
I THINK THAT WE OUGHT TO BE MATURE enough to confess that many have
been converted to Christ and have come into the church without wrestling
with that basic human desire for honor and praise. As a result, some have
actually spent a lifetime in religious work doing little more than getting
glory for themselves!
Brethren, the glory can belong only to God! If we take the glory, God
is being frustrated in the church.
The work of the ministry which the saints are to do will bring about
the edifying of the Body of Christ—and this is not just in reference to
the ordained ministry as we know it. It is the ministry of all Christians
to have some share in the building up of the Body of Christ until we all
come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God
unto a perfect man, with a measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Surely in this sense God desires to use the Body of Christ for doing
His final work—His eternal work.
But Christian believers and Christian congregations must be thoroughly
consecrated to Christ’s glory alone!
This means absolutely turning our backs on the modern insistence for
human glory and recognition.
Natural gifts and talents are not enough in God’s work. The mighty
Spirit of God must have freedom to animate and quicken with His overtones
of creativity and blessing.
You can write it down as a fact: no matter what a man does, no matter
how successful he seems to be, if the Holy Spirit is not the chief energizer
of his activity, it will all fall apart when he dies!