The Selflessness of the Self-Centered God

God’s Commitment To His Own Glory

At the very center of Christianity is the triune God’s unwavering commitment to his own glory. Throughout the sacred pages of Holy Scripture, God is unashamed to declare:

“I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols,” (Isaiah 42:8).

“For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another,” (Isaiah 48:11).

Three times in the opening doxology of Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church we read that God sovereignly works all things:

“…to the praise of his glorious grace…to the praise of his glory…to the praise of his glory.” (v6, 12, 14)

Perhaps there is no clearer declaration of God’s commitment to his own glory than the words he spoke through the prophet Habakkuk:

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea,” (Habakkuk 2:14).

Wait, Can That Be Right? Isn’t That Selfish?

This unrelenting self-focus from God is troubling for many people. They rightly recognize that if any other being were to be self-centered in this way, it would be considered a serious moral flaw. We even have special names to describe such people; the monikers “narcissist” and “megalomaniac” certainly come to mind. So why is God’s self-centeredness not considered selfish and sinful? That is an important question, and one which has a very good answer.

Part of being holy, wise, and good is demonstrated in committing ourselves to holy, wise, and good things. For example, a person who devotes their life to storing up acorns in order to sell them to the squirrels as a means of funding their future retirement cannot be considered wise. While that notion might be a great story-line for a children’s book, we all know it would be a disastrous strategy for attaining a secure financial future. As silly as this “acorn 401k strategy” may be, the imaginary image helps make an important point: Our commitments reveal our character. The things we choose to devote ourselves to are inseparably connected to our deepest values.

So, if our commitments reveal our character, what kinds of commitments should we expect from a God who is said to be infinitely holy, wise, and good? The answer is somewhat obvious: If God is truly holy, wise, and good—as he has revealed himself to be in Holy Scripture—we should expect that he would only devote himself to that which is most holy, most wise, and most good. In other words, we would expect God to be devoted only to that which is absolutely perfect and best. For God to devote himself to anything less than perfect or less than best would reveal some lack in God; a deficiency in his judgment; a blemish upon his character.

What Is the Greatest Object To Which God Could Devote Himself?

This leads us to an important question: What, then, is the holiest, wisest, and best object to which God could devote himself? If the whole universe were searched through, what object, being, or purpose would be supremely worthy of God’s unwavering devotion and commitment? What is the absolute pinnacle of perfection to which God should marshal all his loyalty and commitment?

The answer is HIMSELF.

There is no higher, or better, or wiser object to which God could apply his devotion than to his own thrice holy self, (Isaiah 6:3). For God to devote himself to anything other than his own eternal glory would be for God to devote himself to something less than highest, less than holiest, less than wisest, and less than that which is supremely best.

If the God of the Bible truly is who he has revealed himself to be—(and I believe he is!)—then, for that God to make the kinds of perfect and infallible judgments that we would expect of him, requires that this God must devote himself to his own glory.

The Holy Selflessness of God’s Self-Centeredness

What is most marvelous about this self-centered devotion from God is that it is, at the very same time, the most self-less commitment that could ever be made. Perhaps that statement makes you wonder, “How can that possibly be true? That sounds like a blatant contradiction.” It is true because the being to whom God is supremely devoted, (i.e. himself), is the God who is altogether pure and righteous through and through.

As the Apostle John once declared, “God is light and in him is no darkness at all,” (I John 1:5). He is the God who is love, and who gives life and hope and joy and peace to his people. He is the God who bears the guilt of the guilty and takes away the curse of the cursed. He is the God who binds up the broken, heals the incurable, and spreads the good news of his gospel unto every tribe and tongue. He is the God who, day after day, holds forth a hand of mercy and salvation to the wretched and guilty. He is the God who never lies, never sins, and never fails to keep his promises. He is the God who always does right, whose judgments are unimpeachable, whose mercies are beyond measure, and whose steadfast love can never be exhausted.

Because of who God is in his infinitely holy character, God’s unwavering devotion to himself is the purest possible object of his devotion, and the highest possible good of his beloved people. When God devotes himself to his own glory he devotes himself to that which is highest, greatest, and best of all.

If you or I were to live this way—that is, to devote ourselves to our own glory—it would be supremely arrogant, narcissistic, and patently evil. The difference is, you and I are not the holiest, wisest, and best object of devotion. In fact, you and I (without Christ) are the exact opposite of all those things. But consider this truth: It is for lowly sinners like you and I that the God who is unashamedly devoted to his own glory has willingly laid down his life that we might be redeemed. In other words, the selfless redemption of the undeserving is what God’s commitment to his own glory looks like in practice.

Truly, the song of heaven is right and proper:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped, (Revelation 5:12-14).

Let us learn to add our voice to this everlasting song as we “rejoice in the hope of the glory of God!” (Romans 5:2).