(c) Is. 43:7—“whom I have created for my glory”; 60:21 and 61:3—the righteousness and blessedness of the redeemed are secured, that “he may be glorified”; Luke 2:14—the angels' song at the birth of Christ expressed the design of the work of salvation: “Glory to God in the highest,” and only through, and for its sake, “on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased.”
(d) Ps. 143:11—“In thy righteousness bring my soul out of trouble”; Ez. 36:21, 22—“I do not this for your sake ... but for mine holy name”; 39:7—“my holy name will I make known”; Rom. 9:17—to Pharaoh: “For this very purpose did I raise thee up, that I might show in thee my power, and that my name might be published abroad in all the earth”; 22, 23—“riches of his glory” made known in vessels of wrath, and in vessels of mercy; Eph. 3:9, 10—“created all things; to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God.” See Godet, on Ultimate Design of Man; “God in man and man in God,” in Princeton Rev., Nov. 1880; Hodge, Syst. Theol., 1:436, 535, 565, 568. Per contra, see Miller, Fetich in Theology, 19, 39-45, 88-98, 143-146.
Since holiness is the fundamental attribute in God, to make himself, his own pleasure, his own glory, his own manifestation, to be his end in creation, is to find his chief end in his own holiness, its maintenance, expression, and communication. To make this his chief end, however, is not to exclude certain subordinate ends, such as the revelation of his wisdom, power, and love, and the consequent happiness of innumerable creatures to whom this revelation is made.
God's glory is that which makes him glorious. It is not something without, like the praise and esteem of men, but something within, like the dignity and value of his own attributes. To a noble man, praise is very distasteful unless he is conscious of something in himself that justifies it. We must be like God to be self-respecting. Pythagoras said well: “Man's end is to be like God.” And so God must look within, and find his honor and his end in himself. Robert Browning, Hohenstiel-Schwangau: “This is the glory, that in all conceived Or felt or known, I recognize a Mind, Not mine but like mine,—for the double joy Making all things for me, and me for Him.”Schurman, Belief in God, 214-216—“God glorifies himself in communicating himself.”The object of his love is the exercise of his holiness. Self-affirmation conditions self-communication.
E. G. Robinson, Christian Theology, 94, 196—“Law and gospel are only two sides of the one object, the highest glory of God in the highest good of man.... Nor is it unworthy of God to make himself his own end: (a) It is both unworthy and criminal for a finite being to make himself his own end, because it is an end that can be reached only by degrading self and wronging others; but (b) For an infinite Creator not to make himself his own end would be to dishonor himself and wrong his creatures; since, thereby, (c) he must either act without an end, which is irrational, or from an end which is impossible without wronging his creatures; because (d) the highest welfare of his creatures, and consequently their happiness, is impossible except through the subordination and conformity of their wills to that of their infinitely perfect Ruler; and (e) without this highest welfare and happiness of his creatures God's own end itself becomes impossible, for he is glorified only as his character is reflected in, and recognized by, his intelligent creatures.” Creation can add nothing to the essential wealth or worthiness of God. If the end were outside himself, it would make him dependent and a servant. The old theologians therefore spoke of God's “declarative glory,”rather than God's “essential glory,” as resulting from man's obedience and salvation.
2. The testimony of reason.
That his own glory, in the sense just mentioned, is God's supreme end in creation, is evident from the following considerations:
(a) God's own glory is the only end actually and perfectly attained in the universe. Wisdom and omnipotence cannot choose an end which is destined to be forever unattained; for “what his soul desireth, even that he doeth” (Job 23:13). God's supreme end cannot be the happiness of creatures, since many are miserable here and will be miserable forever. God's supreme end cannot be the holiness of creatures, for many are unholy here and will be unholy forever. But while neither the holiness nor the happiness of creatures is actually and perfectly attained, God's glory is made known and will be made known in both the saved and the lost. This then must be God's supreme end in creation.
This doctrine teaches us that none can frustrate God's plan. God will get glory out of every human life. Man may glorify God voluntarily by love and obedience, but if he will not do this he will be compelled to glorify God by his rejection and punishment. Better be the molten iron that runs freely into the mold prepared by the great Designer, than be the hard and cold iron that must be hammered into shape. Cleanthes, quoted by Seneca: “Ducunt volentem fata, nolentem trahunt.” W. C. Wilkinson, Epic of Saul, 271—“But some are tools, and others ministers, Of God, who works his holy will with all.” Christ baptizes “in the Holy Spirit and in fire” (Mat. 3:11). Alexander [pg 399]McLaren: “There are two fires, to one or other of which we must be delivered. Either we shall gladly accept the purifying fire of the Spirit which burns sin out of us, or we shall have to meet the punitive fire which burns up us and our sins together. To be cleansed by the one or to be consumed by the other is the choice before each one of us.” Hare, Mission of the Comforter, on John 16:8, shows that the Holy Spirit either convinces those who yield to his influence, or convicts those who resist—the word ἐλέγχω having this double significance.