SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON

Topic: OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Title: Glorifying God
Memory verse: 1 Chron. 16:29—"Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an
offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."

Since God is faithful, good, just, all-powerful, gracious, and wise, we should glorify Him.
Therefore, glorifying God is another responsibility of the believer to God.

1. Why should we glorify God?

A. God is worthy of all glory. Rev. 4:11—"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and
honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were
created."
When used of God, "glory" (O.T. tip’eret or tip’arah) emphasizes God's rank, renown,
and inherent beauty. To glorify God (N.T. doxazo) means "to magnify, extol, praise"
God, i.e. ascribing honor to Him, acknowledging Him as to His being, attributes and acts.
(Vine) The glory (N.T. doxa) of God is the revelation and manifestation of all that He has
and is.
B. God will not share His glory with anyone or anything else. Isaiah 42:8—"I am the Lord:
that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven
images." The song of heaven will be, "Blessing and honor, and glory, and power, be unto
him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever" (Rev. 5:13).
C. We are commanded to glorify God. 1 Chron. 16:28-29—"Give unto the Lord, ye
kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. [29] Give unto the Lord the
glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the
beauty of holiness." (cf. Psa. 29:1-2; 96:7-8)
D. However, the unsaved do not glorify God. Romans 1:21—"Because that, when they knew
God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their
imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." (cf. Rev. 16:9)
2. What should we glorify God for?
A. We should glorify God for our blessings in Christ. Isaiah 61:1-3—"The Spirit of the Lord
God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the
meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; [2] To proclaim the acceptable year
of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; [3] To
appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy
for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called
trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified."
B. We should glorify God for His lovingkindness and faithfulness. Psalm 115:1—"Not unto
us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's
sake." (cf. Psa. 63:3) The word "mercy" here is the Old Testament word for
lovingkindness (chesed), which also implies faithfulness.
C. We should glorify God for His wisdom and knowledge. Romans 11:33-36—"O the depth
of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his
judgments, and his ways past finding out! [34] For who hath known the mind of the
 Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? [35] Or who hath first given to him, and it shall
be recompensed unto him again? [36] For of him, and through him, and to him, are all
things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen." (cf. Rom. 16:27)
D. We should glorify God for His power to answer prayer. Ephes. 3:20-21—"Now unto him
that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the
power that worketh in us, [21] Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus
throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."
E. We should glorify God for His holiness and justice. Rev. 15:4—"Who shall not fear thee,
O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and
worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest." (cf. Rev. 14:7) God's
judgments upon the wicked will vindicate his justice and holiness.
F. We should glorify God for His mercy in saving us. Romans 15:9—"And that the Gentiles
might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee
among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name."
G. We should glorify God for His greatness and great works. Psalm 86:8-10—"Among the
gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy
works. [9] All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord;
and shall glorify thy name. [10] For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art
God alone."
H. We should glorify God for answered prayer. Psalm 50:15—"And call upon me in the day
of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me."
I. We should glorify God for the salvation of others. Acts 11:18—"When they heard these
things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the
Gentiles granted repentance unto life." (cf. Gal. 1:24)
3. How do we as believers glorify God?
A. We glorify God when we trust Christ as our Savior. Ephes. 1:12—"That we should be to
the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ."
B. We glorify God when we worship Him. Psalm 29:2—"Give unto the Lord the glory due
unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."
C. We glorify God when we give thanks to Him. Psalm 69:30—"I will praise the name of
God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving."
D. We glorify God when we magnify and exalt His name. Psalm 118:28—"Thou art my God,
and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee." David went against Goliath so
that all the earth would know that there was a God in Israel (1 Sam. 17:46), and Elijah
called down fire from heaven so that Israel would know that the LORD was God (1 Kings
18:36-37). Their desire was to exalt the Lord and glorify Him before the people.
E. We glorify God when we give offerings to Him. Psalm 96:8—"Give unto the Lord the
glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts." Giving to God
shows that we honor, value, and exalt Him for who He is. It also shows our faith in Him to
provide our needs.
F. We glorify God when we declare His great works to others. Psalm 96:3—"Declare his
glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people."
G. We glorify God by praising Him. Luke 2:13-14—"And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, [14] Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Philip. 4:20—"Now unto God and our
 Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (cf. Gal. 1:5; Heb. 13:20-21; 1 Pet. 5:11; 2 Pet.
3:18; Jude 1:25; Rev. 7:12)
H. We glorify God by being fruitful Christians. John 15:8—"Herein is my Father glorified,
that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." Part of this fruit is the fruit of
righteousness (Philip. 1:11)—"Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by
Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." This fruit could also include the fruit of
the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) and the fruit of winning souls to Christ.
I. We glorify God by living to please Him. 1 Cor. 10:31—"Whether therefore ye eat, or
drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." (cf. 2 Thes. 1:11-12)
J. We glorify God by our good works. 1 Peter 2:12—"Having your conversation honest
among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your
good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation."
K. We glorify God by believing His promises. Romans 4:20—"He staggered not at the
promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God."
L. We glorify God when we suffer for Christ. 1 Peter 4:14—"If ye be reproached for the
name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their
part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified." God is glorified in our lives
when we patiently endure persecution and trials by trusting Him and following the
example of Christ.
M. We glorify God when we have unity among ourselves. Romans 15:5-6—"Now the God of
patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to
Christ Jesus: [6] That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ."
N. We glorify God by exercising our spiritual gifts. 1 Peter 4:11—"If any man speak, let him
speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God
giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen." God is glorified when we use the spiritual gifts He
has given us to benefit the rest of the body of Christ.
O. We glorify God when we obey the gospel and give to help others. 2 Cor. 9:13—"Whiles
by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection into
the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men." When
we give to help other believers and to spread the gospel around the world, those who
receive the benefit will glorify God on our behalf.
P. We glorify God when we confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Philip. 2:11—"And that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." "Confess"
here means to profess before others.
Q. We glorify God when we confess our sin to Him. Joshua 7:19—"And Joshua said unto
Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession
unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me."
R. We should glorify God with all our heart forever. Psalm 86:12—"I will praise thee, O
Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore."