We saw in the previous essay a few ways we can bring glory to God - which are by no means the only ways:

1. By believing in Him, and in what He says,
2. By trusting in Him
3. By confessing that Jesus is Lord,
4. By aiming our lives at bringing glory to God,
5. By bearing much fruit for Him,
6. By praying to Him,
7. By giving Him credit for the wonderful works He has done,
8. By our oneness, or like-mindedness,
9. By being a good employee, employer, student, citizen, etc.,
10. By obeying Him.
    • The command to obey
    • Motivations for obedience
    • The direction of obedience
    • The consequences of disobedience
    • The impossibility of perfect obedience
    • The mercy of God towards the disobedient
    • The results of glorifying God through obedience

There are two kinds of faith: a saving kind of faith, and a dead kind of faith. Without a doubt, we are saved by grace through faith. But how can we tell if we have a saving kind of faith instead of a dead kind of faith? The proof of our faith, and our desire to glorify God instead of ourselves, is in our obedience. If you find this lesson a condemning lesson, then please, examine closely your own heart, look at your motives, and see if your greatest desire is really to glorify God or yourself.

Matt. 8:27 "But the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!" (Also in Mark 4:41 and Luke 8:25)

Mark 1:27 "And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him."

On another occasion, a great fish swallowed one of the Lord's prophets, and belched him up at the right time in the right place. This was certainly no accident. The fish was simply being obedient to whatever the Lord had him do.

On yet another occasion, Peter needed some money with which he could pay taxes for himself and the Lord, and the Lord told him to go fishing (probably a very welcome command). When he did, he found a piece of money in the mouth of the very first fish that he caught, and with that he paid the taxes for both himself and the Lord Jesus. (Matt. 17:24-27)

If everything in creation readily obeys God except mankind, it makes you wonder which part of the creation is truly intelligent, and which part isn't. The most intelligent thing we will ever do is obey God.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28 "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; (27) A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: (28) And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known."

Jesus said in John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

John said in 1 John 5:3 "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and His commandments are not grievous."

We may foolishly ask the question, "Why should we obey? Why does God care whether we obey Him or not? And besides that, if all the rest of nature is so obedient to Him, can't He be satisfied with that, and let us do whatever we want to do?" This brings us to the concept of motivations for obedience.

Those who want to avoid punishment merely want to preserve themselves, but the life of a Christian is a life of denying ourselves.

Both of these reasons have the same fault: they are selfish in nature without much concern for God or anyone else. And besides that, they never lead to TRUE obedience. What do these people do when God withholds the blessings for a time for some reason, or a little persecution comes their way? They turn their backs on God and walk away from Him. What they have is an outward show of obedience without it being from the heart. Their heart never was in it to begin with. The New Testament is full of commands and examples of having a religion based on the attitudes and desires of the heart. The biggest problem with the law of Moses was that it permitted this type of obedience. And it didn't work for them, and it won't work for us, either.

It's easy to see the failure of an obedience based on selfishness or fear, yet we are oftentimes content to try that ourselves. And I suppose that sometimes it is right that we should. After all, most of us learned to obey our parents because they used the same motivators. And we who are parents still use them. And even the Bible uses these motivators from time to time to get people to obey God. Proverbs says that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and the beginning of knowledge. But the hope is that we will grow beyond that infancy, and will eventually reach the point where we will obey God because we want to - we desire to do what is right rather than what is wrong. We'll never know true happiness and freedom until we reach that point.

When we do reach that point, we will have the liberty to live our lives how ever we want to. We can literally do anything that we want to do. For example, born again Christians rob every bank that we want to rob. We steal every car that we want to steal. We tell every lie that we want to tell. The point is that those who have been born again don't want to do any of these things. Why? For many reasons, but mainly because we know God doesn't want us to. What bothers me is those times when I do things that I don't want to do. (More about this later.)

We sometimes wonder why we are not able to keep people in the church once they have been converted, or why we are not more spiritually minded, or more in love with the church, and with the word of God than we are as a group. There are probably several reasons. Here are a few for consideration.

One reason we have such a hard time keeping the "converted" converted is, rewards are a short time motivator. Think about it - when we get a raise on our jobs, we may at first feel that we are going to have to work harder than we used to work in order to be worth the extra money that the company is paying us, but, usually within a week or two, we decide that we really are worth the extra money, and we go back to working the same way we did before we got the pay increase. The reward was a short time motivator. When our obedience to God is in order to get the goodies, once we have received the goodies, we no longer have a reason to obey, and we go back to the way we were.

A second reason it is difficult to keep the "converted" converted is because most people are not really very concerned about saving their souls in the first place. We, as a people, are not even concerned with the preservation of their physical bodies. If we were, we would not do so many things which are harmful to our bodies. For example, and this is only one example of which many could be cited, the United States government forces cigarette manufacturers to place a warning on every package of cigarettes sold in the US, yet millions of people continue to light up several times a day, ignoring the warning. And I'm not trying to pick on smokers. Probably every one of us has something that we do which we know is harmful to our bodies, yet we persist in doing it. The list of harmful activities is endless. The point is, most people are not really very concerned about preserving themselves. Perhaps this is not as bad as it sounds at first. To be overly concerned with preserving these bodies would indicate a problem of a different type. Some people are what we call "health nuts%quot; because they are so concerned with preserving their physical bodies. Paul told us, in effect, to get things in balance in our lives when he said "Bodily exercise profiteth little."

If we extend the same logic to our souls, the harmful things we do to them are even more pronounced. We watch TV shows, and listen to songs on the radio, tapes, and records, and read books, and do all sorts of things that we know are very damaging to our souls, yet we continue to do them. How do you think God feels about that? Our souls are the most precious possessions God has put in our care, and we oftentimes treat them with virtual scorn. If we really were motivated by the reward of heaven, we wouldn't be so careless with the way we treat our souls. The truth is that most of us are not really very concerned about the salvation of our souls. The promise of the reward of heaven is a short time motivator.

A third reason it is difficult to keep the "converted" converted is that when the going gets rough, we are prone to give up the future reward to preserve the present. Consider the case of a football team, playing in the super bowl, in the last minute of the game, behind by forty points. How hard do you think that they are going to play? They have already given up. They can, for all practical purposes, "turn out the lights," because the party's over. The team has lost the desire for the reward of the victory. It's not worth the effort. They are willing to take what they have, and call it a day. Have you ever known anybody like that in the church? They are ready to quit, or have already done so. The reward is not worth the effort. Jesus called this type person the one on the stony ground.

Let's look for a moment at the opposite viewpoint. The idea of having fear as our primary motivator for obeying God has a lot of problems with it, too. Fear (not a reverential kind of fear toward God, but a self-preserving kind of fear toward the creation of God) indicates a small or immature faith. In Mark 4:39-40, the Bible says "(39) And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. (40) And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?" This is the same kind of fear (same Greek word) mentioned in Rev. 21:8, where the Bible says "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:..."

These verses indicate to me that people who are motivated by a self preserving kind of fear will not preserve themselves at all, because they prove that they have no faith to begin with. And John tells us that they have no love, either. 1 John 4:16-19 "(16) And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. (17) Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. (18) There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (19) We love him, because he first loved us."

And besides that, fear usually goes away given enough time. If the judgments of God are not swift, and severe, we tend to forget about them. Remember the story of Ananias and Sapphira: they fell down dead because they lied to the Holy Spirit, and (Acts 5:11) "...great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things." Then a short while later, (Acts 6:1) "And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration." The people in the church began to play favorites, and show partiality, and murmur against one another. They obviously forgot about the concept of sharing their possessions with one another, and the fear that fell on them as a result of the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira had passed away. Why? Fear, like rewards, is a short time motivator.

So, if we want to keep all of the "converted" souls converted to Christ, we must do so with some motivation other than rewards and punishments. We must use the motivation of the Gospel (or good news) of God delivered to mankind in the form of Christ Jesus. True obedience, the kind that will cause us to obey Him even in the face of losing our lives if we do so, can only be brought about when we have a great love for God. John said in 1 John 4:19 "We love Him, because He first loved us." That is why we love Him. That is the message that will bring others to Him, and make them love him. And when we truly love Him, we will want to glorify Him more than we want to glorify ourselves. And obedience will be the natural result of our desires to glorify Him.

Rom. 6:17-18 "But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed FROM THE HEART that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness...." Obedience must come from the heart, not the head. The only way we can have true obedience is to have obedience directed toward God, that is, obedience for the purpose of bringing glory to God. Obedience for any other reason will eventually end up showing itself to be empty and selfish.

Those of us who are parents would love for our children to obey us out of a genuine desire to do what they know is right rather than a sense of saving their own skin (i.e. avoiding a punishment) or getting some reward. The blessings of God are readily given to those who eagerly obey Him. Obedience that is grudgingly given is not appreciated, and is usually a halfhearted, half-done obedience at best. Do you like to eat out of dishes that were washed because the washer had to wash them rather than because the washer wanted clean dishes? They are a lot less likely to be clean if the washer was merely getting a reward for washing them than if they were washing them out of a desire to get them clean.

Obedience must come from the heart. Reluctantly going through the motions is not true obedience, and it is certainly not being submissive to God's will. An attitude of "Well, all right, I will if I have to, but I don't have to like it, or enjoy it" will not be pleasing to our all knowing God.

Eph. 6:1 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right." (Col. 3:20 says that it "is well pleasing unto the Lord.") Eph. 6:5 "Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;" 1 Pet. 2:13-16 "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; (14) Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. (15) For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: (16) As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God."

We bring glory to God when we obey due to the fact that others will most assuredly hear about our obedience. Rom. 16:19 "For your obedience is come abroad unto all men." Our obedience to God brings glory to Him when the reason for our obedience is to glorify Him.

Contrast this type of obedience with the type that is self-preservation motivated. If we obey simply to get a reward or avoid a punishment, can that possibly bring glory to God? It seems to me that, if anything, it brings shame on the name of God.

The first thing that we must do when we have disobeyed is repent. Notice what David did when he was made aware of his sin.

"(13) And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, the Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. (14) Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die."

By our disobedience, we prove that we do not believe the truth of the scriptures, the punishment of God, and the need for purity. We bring shame on the church, and the name of God. We do more damage to the cause of Christ than all of the liberals and atheists by leaving the impression that we don't really believe it either. We are no better than the televangelists whose sins have been widely touted. The only reason the shame they bring on the people of God is greater than the shame we bring when we disobey is because they are more widely known.

Do we think that God is not watching? Or that He is asleep? God is everywhere. He knows everything. He knows our sins and disobedience better than we ourselves know them. When anyone who claims to be a servant of Jesus Christ walks in disobedience to the plain truths of God, they bring shame on the name of Christ, and cause others to mock Christianity. Notice what Paul said to Titus about people who profess to follow God, but who walk in disobedience: Titus 1:16 "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." When any one of us is disobedient, it reflects on all of us, but mostly it reflects on God. It gives "great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme."

Finally, notice a couple more verses regarding the consequences of disobedience: 1 PET. 4:17 "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" 2 Thess. 1:8 "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:" Severe punishment will come to those that walk in rebellion and disobedience to the will of God.

So, try as hard as you want to, but you will never be perfectly obedient. You can't as long as you live in the flesh. That's why the law concludes that all of us are under sin. Rom. 3:10 "As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one." In fact, if there was only one sin that we could commit (as in the Garden of Eden) we would just as surely as Adam and Eve commit it. Why? Jer. 10:23 "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."

I once told a preacher that our propensity to sin is so great that, if there was only one sin we could commit, we would commit it. His reply was "Oh, come on now. Don't you think that if that one sin was the sin of adultery or the sin of murder, you could avoid it?" My response is "Not at all." Jesus said that if we look on a woman and lust after her, we have committed adultery with her in our heart. And if we hate our brother, we are a murderer. I do believe that, once we've been born again (that is, learned a new way of life and a new way of thinking), we can virtually cease committing these "major" type sins. But before we are born again, these and a host of other sins will always plague us. And even after we've been born again, we will still have struggles with them, even as Paul did. Are we stronger than he was? I know I'm not. I believe that our propensity to sin is so great that we commit sins everyday, all day long. We probably do not even know the vast majority of sins which we commit. That is why the blood of Christ continually cleanses us of sin. This same preacher once closed a sermon by stating that if we sinned as often as every three or four days, we had a spiritual problem. After the service, a brother facetiously asked me if it would be all right for us to commit a sin once each week. Let me assure you, if we commit one sin in our lifetime, we have a spiritual problem. We will forever be branded a sinner based on that one sin, and if we commit one sin, we are guilty of all sins. We cannot almost work our way into heaven. We fail miserably at any effort to circumvent the need for the cleansing of the blood of Christ and the grace of God. They are the primary ways that glory is brought to God, and we rob God of that glory to even think that we are succeeding without Him. When we realize that we can't be perfect, but the call is to be perfect, we can see the importance of having our righteousness established in Jesus Christ, and in what He has done instead of in ourselves and in what we have done. (See Rom. 5:19)

As the song Without Him says,
"Without Him I could do nothing,
Without Him, I'd surely fail;
Without Him I would be drifting,
Like a ship without a sail.
Without Him life has no meaning,
Without Him all is in vain;
Without Him no hope is gleaming,
but with Him I have all to gain."

But with Him, we can do all things through Christ, Who strengthens us. But He gets the glory when we do!

And that realization, as well as that fact, gives even more glory to God. And then, when we, as a result of our weakness or ignorance, do sin, if our heart is right, we are forgiven of that sin, and the grace of God abounds, and that brings Him even more glory. (Rom. 5:20 "But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.") So, what do we see then? As a result of the grace of God to our disobedience, if our hearts are still seeking after God, He is glorified. This is a difficult concept for many people. They say that, if this is true, we should sin all the more if there will be more glory brought to God. Paul confronted this same question. Rom. 6:1 "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"

Rom. 3:5-8 "But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man) [foolish talk] (6) God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? (7) For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? (8) And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just."

I think I know what Paul must have been suffering when he penned those words. I've had some of the same accusations made about some of my teachings on this same subject. I'm not saying that I understand it nearly as well as Paul did, but whenever I get the same comments, I know I must be teaching the same thing. I believe that it is a great truth that must be taught. It brings great glory to God, because our sins are so many. But remember what Paul concluded: Rom. 6:1 "....Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"

We in the Church of Christ sometimes become very intolerant of other people when they see things in a different light than the one we see them in. We sometimes say some pretty ugly things about those with whom we disagree. I have tried to figure out why this is so, and though I admit that I'm not yet sure that I know why, I think that it must be because we are trying to glorify ourselves, and looking at ourselves, instead of glorifying and looking at the Lord. If we live for our own glory (as did the Pharisees), Jesus said "Verily, (ye) have (your) reward." The choice is ours. What's really important to us, our glory or God's glory?

Jesus told the apostles when they tried to get Him to forbid a certain man to teach since he wasn't one of them, to let him go on and preach. If God wasn't with him, he wouldn't say the things that he did. One man in Acts said, speaking of the Christian movement, to let it go since, if it were of God, they couldn't stop it, and if it were of the devil, it wouldn't amount to anything.

2 Cor. 10:5-6 "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into CAPTIVITY EVERY THOUGHT TO THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST; (6) And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, WHEN YOUR OBEDIENCE IS FULFILLED."

So, what am I saying here? Why am I saying this? God can, and does, reward even the disobedient, and the phrase "the disobedient" includes us. It is important for us to believe that. In fact, if we are going to live with God, we must believe that. Heb. 11:6 "...he that cometh to God
must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." And included in that number are probably some that are more obedient and some that are less obedient than we are. We don't understand obedience if we don't understand that. So the problem then is how to define "diligence." Diligence usually means whatever we are currently doing. Doing less is not enough, and doing more is absurd, or fanaticism.

The essence of obedience is the direction of the heart. Think about it again. The essence of obedience is the direction of the heart. Jesus said "Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." It is the desire for righteousness which guarantees the filling and fulfilling of that desire. Unlike all other religions in the world, Christianity is not a performance based religion, unless you are talking about the performance of the Son of God Himself. Christianity is God telling mankind what He has done for them, not what they can do for Him. All other religions are the other way around - what mankind can do for God. It's a weak god that needs man's performance for his fulfillment. The Christian's God is greater by far than all of the performance of all of the Christians who have ever lived. All we can do is say "Yes, Lord. You are God. You are my Lord. You are my Saviour. You are everything. I am nothing. Without You, I can do nothing." When we come to that understanding, we will be ready to take up our cross and follow Him. Until then, we will have too much focus on our worthless selves.

Many, many verses prove the point that God is merciful to the disobedient (since that's the only kind of people there are), but perhaps one long reading will say it better than many isolated verses. (Nehemiah 9:12-33)

(12) "Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.
(13) Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:
(14) And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:
(15) And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.
(16) But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
(17) And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.
(18) Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;
(19) Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.
(20) Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.
(21) Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.
(22) Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.
(23) Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.
(24) So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would.
(25) And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.
(26) Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.
(27) Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.
(28) But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;
(29) And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.
(30) Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.
(31) Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.
(32) Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.
(33) Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:"

God's mercy towards the undeserving is His "proof of the pudding" if you please. It proves His great love for mankind. Forgiveness is the greatest proof of His love that there is.

The best examples of bringing glory to God were given to us by Jesus Himself when He walked here on the earth. John 13:30-32 "He [Judas] then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night. Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him."

How did Jesus glorify God? In His obedient death. Philippians 2:8 "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

And what happened to Him? The Father resurrected Him, and took Him home to the ultimate in glory, the home in Heaven.

How does that affect us? Heb. 5:8-9 "Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered. And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;" Obedience accompanies eternal salvation.

I want you to notice what Hebrews 5:5 says. "So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he (i.e. God the Father) that said unto him, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee." Even Jesus Christ did not seek to glorify himself with so much as the glory that belonged to a high priest (to say nothing of the glory that belongs to God) but He concerned Himself only with giving glory to God, and waited for God to glorify Him in return.

Glorify and Praise the Lord!