Created for His Glory

“Each of the four living creatures had six wings; they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God, the Almighty, who was, who is, and who is coming. Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One seated on the throne, the One who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before the One seated on the throne, worship the One who lives forever and ever, cast their crowns before the throne, and say: Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created.” (Revelation‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)

We have arrived at the last of our three observations about the One seated on the throne: 1) in “No Problems, Only Plans” we considered how He is the sovereign King; 2) then in “Holy, Holy, Holy” we explored how He is the Holy LORD; 3) and now we are going to look at how He is the Divine Creator. Everything is the direct result of God’s will and creative power. However, God’s creative will and power flow through the person of Jesus Christ. “All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.” (John‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭HCSB‬‬) That means nothing was an accident and nobody is a mistake. This is obviously linked to God’s sovereignty, but it is also linked to all of the aspects and characteristics of God.

That may be hard to hear or to even consider for some of you. You’ve faced and dealt with some truly hard things in your life, even evil things, and you may find these thoughts hard to process. But I need you to remember, evil exists because God is good and has given us the capacity to choose whether we will love and obey Him or hate and rebel against Him. Sin, along with its disobedience to God’s will and law, and the resulting evil it generates in our world, is the result of God’s good will and love for you and me. God could have created a world in which sin did not exist and disobedience would be impossible, but in such a world, love, thankfulness, and joy would also be impossible. We love because He first loved us, we are thankful because we recognize our own shortcomings, and both of these produce a joy that flows only from the throne of God’s grace.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not trying to minimize the pain you might have felt or the suffering you’ve had to endure. I’m trying to point out that our pain and suffering cannot be blamed on God. Man has chosen to rebel against God’s law, reject His Word, and despise His love, and that is the source of our pain and suffering. But I would be remiss if I failed to point out that God has a miraculous way of redeeming pain and suffering. God was able to take the horrific suffering and travesty of the cross of Christ and work a miracle of grace and mercy for our redemption. Are you willing to let Him pour His love and mercy over you and apply His healing grace to your deepest pain? If so, it will produce an unimaginable joy that will well up from deep within your soul and satisfy your deepest needs, calm your worst fears, and heal your worst wounds.

Notice, the four living creatures in our passage are covered with eyes, inside and out. They see all that is occurring throughout God’s creation. Yet, they never stop declaring God’s holiness: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God, the Almighty, who was, who is, and who is coming.” In the midst of all they see, good and evil, they never lose sight of the One who is the fullness of holiness – holy, holy, holy or holiness to the highest level. They declare He is the LORD God, the Almighty. There is no other god like Him. He has revealed Himself to us, and He desires fellowship with us, but HE is the Almighty GOD – the One who was, who is, and who is coming. The God of all eternity, past, present, and future. For us to know the joy I mentioned above, we must see ourselves, our pain and suffering, and, indeed, all of creation in its proper relation to Him. Why? Because the four living creatures see all of creation in its brokenness and Him in all of His holiness, and they “give glory, honor, and thanks to the One seated on the throne.” 

But we’re not quite done… 

When these four living creatures see these things and still cry out God’s praise and glory, the 24 elders respond in worship. They fall down before the One seated on the throne and worship Him, the eternal God, the One who lives forever and ever. I’ve mentioned in our previous studies that these 24 elders represent the fulness or completeness of God’s kingdom. I believe it is easiest to understand this in light of the 12 tribes of God’s chosen people in the Old Testament along with the 12 apostles of the New Testament—the fulness of the kingdom of God gathered before His throne. 

But when the four living creatures declare God’s glory, honor, and their thanksgiving, the 24 elders respond by falling down in worship before Him and casting their crowns before His throne. These 24 elders haven’t seen all that is happening throughout God’s creation, but they’ve experienced it. You see, there’s a distinct difference between seeing an event or being aware of it and living through it. These elders may not have seen all of the atrocities that have occurred, but they’ve lived through some of them. While I believe we all suffer in some ways, it is apparent that some have suffered more than others. The authors of the New Testament were not unfamiliar with the pain of suffering for their faith. History and the Holy Scriptures tell us that all of the patriarchs, all of the apostles, all of the great men and women of our faith have suffered in their pursuit of faith and obedience to God.

“If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will also keep yours.” (John‬ ‭15‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)

What’s my point? My point is that we often get this wrong in the modern church. We have a bad habit of associating cultural popularity, financial gain, and church size with the blessings and will of God. After three years of ministry by the Son of God, the group that gathered in the upper room after His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension is what we would label a small church. Based solely on human measurements, the work of Christ was a total failure. But God wasn’t done… not then, not now. Listen to the words of these 24 elders as they worshipped and cast their crowns before God’s throne: “Our LORD and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will, they exist and were created.”

They don’t worship God because of their earthly achievements and successes, but because of who He is! God isn’t worthy of our worship because of what He does in our lives. He’s not worthy of our worship because of our financial success, our cultural popularity, or our perceived blessings. God is worthy of our worship because of WHO He is – our divine Creator. These are men and women of faith who are fully aware of the pain and suffering they’ve endured but are also fully aware of who they are and who they serve – YOU are worthy to receive glory, honor, and power because You created us, You have willed us into existence. We are YOURS!

That’s huge, if you’ll just let it sink in. You and I exist because God has willed us into existence. That means that God has a purpose and a plan for us. This is where things begin to get difficult because God gives us the choice to live in accordance with His will or in accordance with our own. In other words, either He is God in your life, or you are. Either He’s right, and you’re wrong, or you’re right, and He’s wrong. Don’t you remember, that’s how this all started: “Did God really say…” (see Gen. 3:1) When we begin to question God’s goodness and His will, then we are headed off in the wrong direction.

That’s really what this comes down to: do you want God’s will in your life or do you want your own? Will you yield to your creator and allow His perfect will to become your driving force and direction, or will you reject Him and His will and pursue your own purpose and direction? As I write these words, I am on a flight headed home from Israel. I just spent the last 10 days visiting sites all over Israel where they are, quite literally, digging up the past. 

Our tour guide during this trip was an Israeli citizen and a descendant of the Biblical tribe of Judah. He had a PhD in Archaeology and was able to teach me many things about how the scriptures I read and study fit into the time and place of the Holy Land. He led us to a gate at the ancient city of Dan through which Abraham walked. He showed us the same stone at the entrance to Jerusalem that Jesus would have walked over when He entered the city. He has incredible knowledge of all these Biblical stories and miracles, but He admits that the knowledge he has in his head has never penetrated his heart and burst into saving faith. 

It is possible to know all about God and still refuse to yield yourself to Him and His will. In fact, that’s exactly the sin that has put Satan and every demon in hell—to know God exists but to refuse to yield your will to His (see James 2:19).

Notice how the 24 elders respond: the fall in worship before their Creator, declaring His praises and casting their crowns before Him. That, my friends, is the correct response to who He is. You and I exist because of His will and His creative power. In recognition of that, we ought to fall before Him in worship, declaring His glory, honor, and power while taking our crowns, our successes, and achievements and casting them before Him. Why? Because none of them would have been possible without Him and His will in our lives. 

I can tell you honestly, I am quite guilty of craving man’s praise and recognition. I thoroughly enjoy being recognized and honored for my personal achievements. But in doing so, I am guilty of stealing glory that belongs to God alone. Each week I try to relate to you the things that I believe God is teaching me through His word. But when I look at the results, when I look back on nearly fifty years of ministry, I tend to take credit for what He and He alone has done. Father, forgive me. “You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created!” 

My question for you as we close out this fourth chapter of Revelation is, who is receiving the glory for what God is doing in and through your life? Are you stealing it from God or are you gathering it up like a crown and laying it at His feet? You and I were created by God and for God. We exist because He willed us into existence. Will you yield to Him, give Him glory and offer up your achievements in worship to Him or will you rebel and try to keep it to yourself? It’s time to choose… 

You were created for His glory, give Him all the glory that is due to Him. Give Him all of you.