I’m simply penning some conclusions from my devotional readings this morning. First, two statements from the ESV Study Bible article on Biblical Doctrine:
“Knowledge without devotion is cold, dead orthodoxy. Devotion without knowledge is irrational instability. But true knowledge of God includes understanding everything from his perspective. Theology is learning to think God’s thoughts after him. It is to learn what God loves and hates, and to see, hear, think, and act the way he does. Knowing how God thinks is the first step in becoming godly.”
“Good theology is based in the belief that God exists, is personal, can be known, and has revealed himself.”
Then, this conclusion that John Piper draws from Jonathan Edward’s sermon:
God created us for his glory, and he does not become glorified if we (his creation) do not find joy in glorifying him. Therefore, God created us to experience joy as we glorify him.
In other words, we cannot have joy of the most satisfying, deepest kind if we do not make glorifying God our single aim in everything we do.
To John Piper’s mind, the purpose of glorifying God seemed perfectly right, and the purpose of getting happiness for himself seemed inevitable. We creatures simply seek to be happy. But it remained profoundly frustrating for him as long as he thought seeking happiness for himself meant doing things that were simply not going to glorify God.
But now, the more we know God as he has revealed himself, the more we understand God is the Creator. The first principle. The One who alone gives cause to everything we can see. And since he created us for his glory, and he does not get glory from a creation that does not rejoice in glorifying him, it follows that we only get joy by glorifying him.
What a relief to discover that the two purposes are one and the same! God is in fact “most glorified when we are most satisfied in him”. So we could safely and freely pursue the one true aim of life: to glorify God, because in that process we will also be achieving our personal joy!
What better reason do we need to apply ourselves to seeking and knowing God?
