The 5 Solas: Soli Deo Gloria

The Five Solas and the Reformation’s Questions of Authority and Justification

Okay, so we're going to continue our series on the five solas today. We're going to go through the last one. I'm not going to tell you what that is just yet. You should know the formal cause of the reformation.

Everybody should be yelling this out immediately. What was the formal cause of the reformation? Solar script. Torah, and that was a question of what? Question of authority. Who what is the ultimate authority for the Christian.

Is it the church and its Infallibility or is the scripture and its inspiration and infallibility. We understand that it's it's the scriptures. The material cause of the Reformation was what?

Huh?

Sola fide and that was a question of how man was made right with God. Right how man is made right with God is is of the utmost importance the Roman Catholic Church says it's through penance Sacraments the intercession of Mary and the Saints in addition to Christ.

The Reformers and the scriptures teach that it's by faith alone. You're justified by faith next to sola gratia, and that's Totally based upon the grace of God. There was nothing you did that warranted God looking at you differently than anyone else.

Okay, it's because he's different that he looked upon us. That's solo gratia, then it's solo Christus. Actually that should read solus Christus right it's by Christ alone. That we are made right with God because of his perfect and finished work.

It's not Christ plus baptism Christ plus the sacraments Christ plus Mary Christ plus plus plus. It's Christ alone and today. We're gonna get to the Penultimate soli deo gloria to the glory of God alone and this Obviously points to God's glory in all these things because he was the one who did all these things.

He's the one who completed that. So let's take a look to God alone be the glory. I'm gonna give you start off with a quote. We use the phrase the glory of God so often that it tends to lose its biblical force.

But this glory like the Sun is no less blazing and no less beneficial because people ignore it yet God hates to be ignored. Mark this then you who forget God lest I tear you apart and there be none to deliver psalm 50.

The Meaning of God’s Glory and the Chief End of Man

So let's focus again on the glory of God. What is God's glory and how important it is John Piper? Piper does a lot of stuff about the glory of God is always speaking about God's glory. So as per our catechism, what is the chief question number two?

What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and to enjoy him forever. That's our chief end to glorify magnify him point to him vitally important watch this first Corinthians 1031 so whether you eat or drink Whatever you do Do it all to the glory of God.

That it's a vital importance, right? So whatever I do I'm either filling the world with God's glory or stealing glory from him. So the question I had to ask myself as I was going through this is am I filling the earth with God's glory or By my actions am I stealing glory for God from God?

Very important. Psalm 72 19 may the whole earth be filled with his glory. So before I continue waxing eloquent on God's glory, we need to know what it is, right? So it's the it's the Hebrew word cabode and it means honor Glory great quantity multitude wealth reputation majesty splendor.

Now I'll tell you right off the bat to detract to try to define God's glory is like trying to count to infinity. God's glory is just Constant it's in everything it all points to him. Cabode refers to great physical weight the quantity and the importance of something.

So like back in the 70s, there was a phrase like somebody say oh man, that's heavy. That's heavy and what he meant was it was significant. So when we were used that were cabode, I mean God's God is heavy.

He's Significant he permeates everything he's infinite. The word does not simply mean heavy but a heavy or imposing quantity of things. Cabode often refers to both wealth and significant and positive reputation.

God's reputation is stellar.

Perfect.

When applied to God the word represents a quality Corresponding to him and by which he is recognized again.

Again.

We're not going to be able to fully comprehend the definition of glory and articulated in human words. The glory of God is the holiness of God put on display. That is it is the infinite worth of God made manifest.

So anything that God manifests in himself in in this world is finite. So we're gonna look we even look at Jesus and he is the image of God, right? He's man-made flesh. Displaying God's glory, but even in his humanity.

He's finite, right? So although we we can apprehend the glory in the infinite infinitude of God. It's it's localized. In Isaiah 6 notice how Isaiah shifts from glory from holy to glory. Holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of his glory. When the holiness of God fills the earth for people to see it's called glory. God is called the Lord of glory. He's called the majestic glory. He's called the king of glory.

He's called the spirit of glory. That's what comes from MacArthur's textbook on this. So God is glorious. He manifests his glory in glory in all sorts of ways. Another basic meaning of the word holy is separated from the common and that's gonna be of importance in a minute.

So in our salvation God separates us from the world and sets us apart for him as a display of his glory. Salvation is of the Lord. He takes us out of the kingdom of darkness and places us in the kingdom of light.

There's a separation between us in the world. There's no longer a separation between us and God, right? Jesus is apart from me. You could do nothing now in union with him. We can do what he asks us to do we can obey him but we're separate from the world.

The holiness of God is another quote is his infinite separation from all that is common. God is other. So it's very difficult like when we try to give analogies that of the Trinity using things in the physical realm.

None of them are going to be able to perfectly Capture what the Trinity is because God is transcendent. He's above and outside this world. He's completely other. There's nothing we can point to in this world.

That is going to Completely Apprehend who God is right because it's finite. His glory is what makes him the infinite the one-of-a-kind like the rarest and most perfect diamond of the world. Only there is no other diamond.

There is no other God. God's uniqueness as the only God his godness makes him infinitely valuable or holy again. That's a John Piper quote. He does a lot of stuff on the glory of God. We never truly glory in him until we have utterly discarded our own glory our own Significance and weightiness here in the world the elect are justified by the Lord in order that they may glorify him and in none else so Calvin recognizes that as we go about if we talk about salvation and it's something God does and we do we participate well.

Somehow some way we're getting a little bit of glory in that process and that's stealing from God you don't want to do that. He gets all the glory because he's the one who did all the work and Speaking of God's glory the Bible assumes that this infinite value has entered into creation.

It has as it were shined. God's glory is the radiance of his holiness the out streaming of his infinite value. Again, this is when Jesus comes into earth and when it streams out it is seen as beautiful and great.

It has both infinite quality and infinite magnitude. There's no end to the glory of God. So we may define God's glory as the beauty and greatness of his manifold perfections again. We're not going to be able to comprehend or codify God's glory in a human sentence.

Just human words are gonna fail us. Romans 11 36 for from him and Through him and to him are all things to him be glory forever. Right. Everything starts with God is created by God and ends with God. It's all by him and for him.

Specific aspects of God's glory are said to have glory. We read of the glory of his grace in Ephesians 1 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has blessed us in the beloved and the glory of his might.

They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might. God himself is glorious because he is the perfect unity of all his manifold and glorious perfections.

See how this word glory is going to be used so many different ways to describe God for so many different things his might his grace. But this definition must be qualified. The Bible also speaks of God's glory before it is revealed in creation.

For example, Jesus praised father glorify me in your your own presence with the glory I had with you before the world existed. So before the world before the creation God was glorious. In union with the Sun right.

Jesus shared was God and and had God's glory. God's glory is the outward radiance of the intrinsic beauty and greatness of his manifold perfections in heaven and earth. Okay, so before there was glory before the creation there was glory manifested here on earth.

There was glory in eternity past. We must constantly remind ourselves that we are speaking of a glory that is ultimately beyond any comparison in creation. The glory of God is how we designate the infinite beauty and the infinite greatness of the person who was before anything else.

All right. I'm laboring this point because somebody's gonna say well, could you tell me exactly what glory means and it's vast. It's.

Vast.

The beauty and greatness exists without origin without comparison without analogy without being judged by any external criterion. That's God. God's glory is the all-defining Absolutely original standard of greatness and beauty.

All created greatness and beauty comes from it and points to it. But such things do not comprehensively or adequately. Reproduce it right. We are image bearers of God were to reflect him. But it's like the Sun and the moon.

The moon doesn't have any light of its own it gets its light from the Sun. And it reflects the light back. That's what we are. We reflect the light back. Now the analogy usually is after the fall. We're like broken mirrors and we have all these fractures.

God is in the process of putting us together so that we're perfect mirrors and we perfectly reflect him back once once we're glorified. The glory of God is a way to say that there is an objective absolute reality to which all human wonder or veneration praise honor acclaim and worship is pointing we were made to find our deepest pleasure our deepest Satisfaction in admiring the infinitely admirable the glory of God and that should cause us to worship.

Continually the glory of God is the goal of all things again. We went through this whatever you do do it all to the glory of God. Isaiah 43. Do not withhold. Bring my sons from afar my daughters from the end of the earth.

Everyone who's called by my name whom I created for my glory whom I formed and made. You being created here on this earth was for the glory of God. The question is am I magnifying him. Am I living for the glory of God?

The great mission of the church is to declare God's glory among the nations. Declare his glory among the nations his marvelous works among all the peoples. When we read the scriptures we recognize that that but that Bible is not about us.

It's about him and what he's done. The Bible is the testimony of Jesus Christ how he came into this world and saved sinners who didn't deserve to be saved. This is a story about him. When we receive salvation, we're written into the story, but not as the main character.

We're the villain who he who he changed and converted. Psalm 96. Oh sing to the Lord a new song. Sing to the Lord all the earth. Sing to the Lord bless his name. Tell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations his marvelous works among the peoples. For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. He is to be feared above all gods. Again, our job is to declare God's glory to the people around us.

Especially if if you have eternal life if you're saved right you're a Christian. Your job is to magnify your Lord and Savior. Ezekiel 39. I will set my glory among the nations and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed in my hand.

That I have laid on him. This is his work. This is his plan. This is his glory. He gets all the glory. Our ultimate hope is to see God's glory. We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God and Here we see in John 17 father.

I did this is Jesus his high priestly prayer. He says I pray. I desire that they also whom you have given me may be with me where I am. To see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the earth.

Father Son and Spirit. We believe in a triune God. Jesus is is The second person of the Godhead. He has glory as well. And he will make known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy which he has prepared beforehand for.

Glory.

Right, we're gonna receive glory, but it's different than God's glory. We're gonna go through that in a second. God will present us blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.

There's such.

Tremendous comfort in knowing that that he's the one who began the work. He's going to present us before the throne with great glory because it's his work. Jesus in all his person and work is the incarnation and ultimate revelation of the glory of God.

All right. So Jesus is God manifested in the flesh to Reflect God to the people around us and he does so perfectly. Moreover, we will not only see God's glory, but we will also in some sense share in his glory.

So I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as the partaker In the glory that is going to be revealed. So now we don't have Significance weight in and of ourselves because we didn't Do anything to earn salvation?

It's God's glory alone and his grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone that saves us. So we become the trophies on God's mantle we are a Result of the glory in the work of God and we share in in that we are What he came to do right?

We are the the effect of the cause the same way. When somebody takes a tree and they're a carver, right? They take the tree they carve it into some kind of nice little statue. The statue is a manifestation of the work of the artist.

The statue is beautiful it shares in the glory that the artist gives it not in its own glory in itself. Because apart from the artist the tree would still just be you know, a piece of wood. It's the artist that carves and makes it into something beautiful.

The psalmist cry not to us. Oh Lord, not to us but to thy name. Give glory. Right people who think that they have something to do with their salvation. Somewhere along the lines, although they wouldn't admit it are stealing glory from God.

We have to recognize that it's God alone who does this work? Knowing this the Reformers were among the most humble self-effacing God exalting men who ever lived. They understood the essence of the New Covenant.

The New Covenant Is for God’s Name and Glory Alone

So now when we read the scriptures, there's two ways you can read them. Anthropomorphically in other words man-centered or God-centered. You read the scriptures through a God-centered lens knowing that he's the the the central character in in the book and It changes the way you you read it.

If you read it with you as the central character of the book that's gonna totally distort what the Bible is telling us. So now let's take a look at the New Covenant. I know I've gone over this a couple of times, but let's just see it maybe in a little bit different way.

So Ezekiel 36 therefore say to the house of Israel thus says the Lord it is not for your sake Oh house of Israel that I'm about to act but for the sake of my holy name, which you profaned among the nations.

Now this is pointing forward to the New Covenant that would be coming and we read about God's I wills. What does he say? I will vindicate my holiness. Take you from the nation's. Gather you and bring you into your land.

Sprinkle clean water on you. Cleanse you from your idols. Give you a new heart. I will put a new spirit in you. Remove your heart of stone. Give you a heart of flesh. Put my spirit in you. Cause you to walk in my statutes.

I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. Summon grain and make it abundant. Lay no famine upon you make the fruit and and the.

Tree.

Make the fruit of the tree and field increase. Who's the one doing all that? God He's the one making this happen. You will Remember your evil deeds. Remember your evil ways. Remember your deeds that were not good and loathe yourselves.

All right. So now based on what God's done would anybody in their right mind dare say that they contributed Positively to any of the actions that God did. No, the only thing we contributed to that is the sin that made him have to save us, right?

So there are so many people who don't hold a reformed view of the scriptures that say no. No, it's all for the glory of God yet. They somehow some way say no, but we this oh We had to choose. We had to make the first move whatever it is.

It has something to do with them. They don't realize That they're dead in sin and anything they did in their sinful nature would tarnish God's work, right? This is God's work alone God gets the glory because he is the one doing everything.

We just at the end of this process Remember our evil deeds and we loathe ourselves. Oh my goodness. That's what I used to do. That's what I used to be like Lord. Thank you for saving me. It should just cause Incredible humility and a.

Burst of worship.

Doxology, right? We burst forth in worship saying Lord. Why on earth did you save me? And we recognize it's for God's glory. This is who he is. He saved us alone without our help and Despite our own sin by his own power and for his own glory.

The Bible is about God and his work. It's God's promise. It's God's prerogative. It's God. It's God's purpose and God's power alone That accomplishes our salvation. Therefore it is to his glory alone.

Could you imagine if after the Israelites saw the ten plagues on Egypt? They were delivered from Pharaoh and the Egyptians. They saw the pillar of cloud before them and behind them. They witnessed the parting of the Red Sea with walls of water on both sides of them.

They walked through the sea on dry ground Saw the army bearing down on them and then that great army gets Swallowed by those walls of water because God lets in lets the water go and they see the great power of the Lord That he used against the Egyptians and then they said yeah, but we still had to make the decision and walk through.

Would anybody say that.

No.

No, even our Arminian brothers and sisters or our provisionist brothers and sisters. They're they're Christians, but they keep inserting themselves. Well, I have to make the decision. I have to this. I have to that.

Yes, you do have to do that, of course, but it's God who changes you to do that. Right. So stop putting the emphasis on I me us. You put the emphasis on God. Even Putin would look at that and say no. Look at why God did this and I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go after them and I Will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host his chariots and his horsemen and the Egyptians shall know that I and the Lord.

When I have gotten glory over Pharaoh his chariots and his horsemen. Why on earth would we insert ourselves into the world? Into this process if it's God who's going to get the glory, right? This is a foreshadowing of our salvation right the Exodus points forward to us being delivered from an oppressor.

Right going through the wilderness and being brought into the promised land. That's a foreshadowing of our salvation. We were translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. We're in this world to help transform it.

Eventually, we're gonna have a renewed heavens and earth and we're gonna return and and live on this who on earth would say?

Yeah, I.

I was part of the cause. You were part of the effect.

God did that to you.

No one would say I Still had to make the decision and walk through. You're not gonna say that because you're gonna recognize this is all God's for God's glory. That makes sense today. Many who benefit from the work of the Reformers stand firmly against what the reformers believed about the sovereignty of God and glory of God as they pertain to salvation and the spiritual deadness of sinful man.

This is gonna hit back on the doctrines of grace total depravity. They're not gonna agree with that. While the reformers openly proclaimed a God glorifying Monarchism the belief that God's grace alone is able to raise the dead the dead rebellious sinners to spiritual life without their cooperation Many now take the position of the reformers opponents by preaching synergism the concept that God's grace is incapable of Accomplishing salvation without the assistance and cooperation of man.

Okay.

We would consider anybody who doesn't hold a Calvinistic view of salvation. We would call them synergists. Calvinists. Calvin Calvinistic theology reformed theology holds that it's God alone who does the work from beginning to end.

Hence monarchism one power. Versus synergism. Oh, yeah, God makes salvation possible. But now you have to do something. You either have to choose you have to be baptized. You have to do the sacraments.

This is what the reformers were Combating when it came to Roman Catholicism because Roman Catholicism has a ton of different things that you need to do in addition to God's grace and his faith. Things you need to do to order to get to heaven.

The reformers railed against that. That's why we had a Reformation. The problem is so many Protestants today forgot the Reformation. They're actually stepping back to Rome. Yeah, how many how many? How many Protestant denominations do you know that say you need to be baptized in order to be saved?

Do you need to be baptized in order to be saved?

No.

No, it's a reflection. It's a sign that you are saved right. Protestants Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic said that when you're baptized you're regenerated you're brought into the covenant you're born again.

Not true.

Okay, how many how many? Protestants today, I know one this. Pentecostals. You need to be baptized. You need to speak in tongues. You need to follow the Holiness Code. You know look at Jehovah's Witnesses.

You need to knock on doors. You need to do this. You need to do that. It's God plus something else where the reformers were adamant, and we are adamant. It is God alone from beginning to end that does this process.

So that he alone gets the glory. When you do that when you add something to the perfect finished work of Christ this allows man to share. Even if it is ever so slightly in the glory of God. You are the effect not the cause.

Monergism Versus Synergism in Salvation

Quote. I'm gonna give you another quote. You tell me who this is. The reformers firmly believed in God's absolute sovereignty over all things man slavery to sin including our inability to please God as well as our spiritual deadness and sin.

And. In the inevitable result of these truths, which is the unconditional electing grace of God. In light of God's timeless sovereignty over all creation and man's corruption and sin. God's election of a people unto salvation must result as scripture says in Election finding its basis not in the creature, but in the merciful purpose of God alone.

Any guess.

Who caught it. Yes?

Well close. James white could have could have been either. They both would would say that I just I just wanted to quote dr. White. Good good guess. Salvation is the monergistic work of God alone and this this verse alone would just prove this.

Romans 830. And those whom he predestined he also called who's the he God right. And who's the one doing the work? God and those whom he called he also justified.

Who's the he?

God who's doing the work God? Whom he justified he also glorified. Who's the he. God who did the work God. This is the Ezekiel 36 of the New Testament. I Will I will I will I will I will here. He says he predestined.

He called he he justified he glorified. He's the one doing this process from beginning to end. You need to recognize that and say it's the grace of God completely. Now that should give you great comfort because you know it's not anything that you did to earn it deserve it.

And it's nothing you can do to forfeit it. It's purely by the grace of God. Philippians 1 6, you know this one he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all because I hold you in my heart.

For you are all partakers with me of grace. Thank God for grace. 2nd Corinthians 4 even if our gospel is veiled it is veiled to those who are perishing in their case the God of this world Has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.

Who's the image of God? For God's glory. God didn't put a plan together and say work the circles. This is an amway. You don't work yourself up to direct diamond and go you know all that kind of stuff.

This is God reaching down to the bottom of the pit pulling you up washing you off and making you a trophy on his mantle. Comes down to this the father appoints the son accomplished accomplishes and the Holy Spirit applies.

Salvation is the work of the triune God to raise dead sinners to life. This is in John 17. I want to read this quickly. This is eternal life that they know you the only true God in Jesus Christ whom you sent I.

Jesus glorified you on earth having accomplished the work that you gave me to do and now father glorify me in your own presence with. The glory I had with you before the world existed. I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of this world yours.

They were and you gave them to me. This is the father giving the son a group of people group of people He chose before the foundation of the earth. This is betrothal language. This is back then. They had arranged marriages you would betroth your your your daughter to a particular man.

God picked a group of people who he betrothed to Jesus. Says yours they were. You gave them to me and have kept your word. I am praying for them. I am NOT praying for the world. But for those whom you've given me for they are yours.

If Jesus prayed for the entire world to be saved would the entire world.

Be saved.

Yes Jesus's prayers always get answered. Okay, holy father. Keep them in your name. Which you have given me that they may be one even as we are one. Since Jesus is interceding for his people this prayer will not go unanswered.

This will be answered. We are going to be made one with God not that we will be God. But we're one will be in union with him. So you have the father betrothing a people to the son a bride Jesus coming into the world and dying on behalf of the bride that he loves and then the Holy Spirit brings them to life Monarchistically walks them down the aisle the way you're being sanctified the way you live out your life.

He walks you down the aisle. Preparing for the wedding supper of the land. It's the Father Son and Holy Spirit working together in perfect unity to bring about the salvation of his people. Beautiful beautiful.

Can't break that chain. That's God doing all the work. Everyone who God sets out to save he will save this. Stops should stop people in their tracks when they portray Jesus as a beggar. Please pick me.

Please come to me, please please. Like he's on the sidelines like a cheerleader. Please over here. No come over here. This is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is is a powerful a mighty God.

He goes after his own. He raises them to life and draws them to his son Monarchistically because we never would on our own. That's that's that's the bad news. We never would do this on our own. The good news is that God God will because he's loving merciful and gracious.

For his glory.

Philippians 129 think about this for it has been granted you Granted to you that for the sake of Christ. You should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake. Who for whose sake. For your sake.

For the sake of Christ, he's the one who died on your behalf. Right and because this is an unbreakable work. You will okay receive God's Spirit. Your eyes will be open. You will now have new life and come to Jesus.

God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. Shame the strong those he's talking about people. Right. God chose weak people to shame the strong people. God chose what is low and despised in this world even the things that are not to bring to nothing the things that are.

So that no human being might boast in the presence of God. None of us are able in and of ourselves to keep the law perfectly the way we needed to under the Mosaic Covenant and because of him. Not because of you not because of your decision not because of anything you've done.

Because of him you are in Christ Jesus Who became to us wisdom from God righteousness and sanctification and redemption so that as it is written Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. Your salvation is of God not you.

We could say the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. You see how this is beginning with God. He's working and it ends up with the glory of God.

It's all him. Ephesians 1 13 and 14 in him you also when you heard the word of truth the gospel is your salvation and believed in him. We're sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire Acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory.

The only way salvation could be a guarantee is if God does it perfectly because we're gonna somewhere along the lines. Mess it up. And if you stumble at one point of the law you've broken the whole law.

It has to be done by him. Hebrews 2 12 to fixing our eyes on Jesus. Why? Because he's the author and the perfecter of faith and for the joy set before him endured the cross for us. He sat down at the right hand of God.

Why did he sit down. Because the work was done. The priest who went in Behind the curtain into the Holy of Holies had to stand up. He continually did. He wasn't allowed to sit down. Why. Because the that sacrifice in the Old Covenant was a reminder of your sins.

Right it kept reminding you you need atonement for your sin. You need to tell me for your sin, and we're gonna do this over and over and over again until the New Covenant. Ephesians 1 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will.

To the praise of his glorious grace. It's not just grace. It's glorious grace. All right, it's that infinitely beautiful weighty significant grace that saves us. Blessed to be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ according to his great mercy.

He caused us to be born again. Our salvation our new birth is the consequence the result of his cause. He didn't put out a plan and say okay now you do something and then it'll happen. He spoke and it came into existence very much like creation.

God spoke and the heavens and the earth were created. He said let there be light. There was light, right? Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to resent you blame this before the presence of his glory.

With great joy to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory majesty dominion authority. Before all time and now and forevermore. Thank God for his grace and his glory. Lift up your heads O gates and be lifted up.