Q: In light of Romans 9. I was thinking about this issue about the glory of God. Some Christians when asked - why were they created, with the option either A) relationship or B) to bring glory to God, would probably answer B) to bring glory to God. Now my question is - is it really that we bring glory to God in as much as God makes his glory known to man? or do we really bring God glory - I guess im asking this question in light that we are in total depravity. So therefore, we it seems like are not capable of actually doing anything that is good on our own. The specific verse that I went to was romans 9:22-24 - I guess I should probably read it in the contexts.
A: In Romans 9, I would contend that both "objects of wrath" and "objects of mercy" bring glory to God, but in difference forms. Objects of wrath show God's justice and objects of mercy show God's grace.That being said, now to your question. Is it really that we bring glory to God in as much as God makes his glory known to man? I would say: we can't bring or add to the glory of God necessarily. We must remember, glory isn't a substance. It's not like water in that you can add to or take away. God is not a cup that we fill with glory. Instead, let's think of God's glory as God's reputation. If I have a good reputation, I'm known for good things. Now God, because he is perfect, already has perfect reputation. He has perfect glory. Whether we exist or not, we can't add to his glory. What we can do is display or give examples of his glory. If he shows grace to us, as it is his nature to do so, then he is showing his glory or his reputation for grace. In return, we glorify him, we exalt and praise his name, for what he did for us.So we don't bring glory to God, but we do benefit from God's glory. In addition, we do make God's glory known to man. Our testimonies are examples of that. We share with other about what God did for us and how he loves us, and we tell the world about that. Also, we look at the world filled with sin, and knowing God's perfection, we share his glory in that we tell them about God's perfection.In short: glory is not a substance, but rather it is a question of reputation and fame based upon the object or person it belongs to. God's glory is perfect because he is perfect.
