S) "8 I am the Lord, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to graven images."
Isaiah 42:8 (NASB)
*because there are already entries for each of these chapters, I also read Isaiah 42
*because there are already entries for each of these chapters, I also read Isaiah 42
O) The first thing to clarify, is that God the Father did not give His glory to Jesus Christ (or the Holy Spirit, for that matter). One of the inherent principles of the Trinitarian doctrine, is that Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are the LORD. The furthest we could take a statement would be to say that they share in glory with the Father. The Gospel of John captures this well in a few places (perhaps best in John 17:5). But, at its heart, this verse is about the holiness of God. In the Old Testament, the only name for God that was ever given was "I Am" or perhaps "I Am That I Am" and in Hebrew it would be expressed YHWH, or Yahweh. In most modern English Bibles, they use the capitalized name, "Lord" to represent it, because of a Hebrew tradition of not writing or saying this name. With the way that God presents this statement, it is almost a logical argument about His name. The Lord is holy. He is completely set apart. He is the only preexistent being. He was never created, but He simply was. But then, it is not very accurate to use past-tense to describe Him that way, since He is also eternal and prescient and omnipresent... so rather than saying "He simply was," perhaps it is more accurate to say "He is." Which, from His perspective would be, "I Am." So, what's in a name? Wrapped up in the way He describes Himself, names Himself, is a peculiarity. Only God, this One, True, Living God, could ever claim to be "I Am" in such a present infinitive. This is reminder about His name, that He gave to Isaiah here, I think it is important because it immediately brings to mind some of the basis for His holiness, and then that sheds light on the reason why He would never give His glory to another. Who else could ever be deserving? God is so unlike any other so called gods, even down to His name, who else could bear His glory? When we remember His holiness, and His name should remind us of that, then we can understand how utterly unjustified it is for us to try and give the glory that is rightly His, to anything or anyone else. How utterly grotesque it is, that the praises which rightly belong to Him, should ever be given to anything or anyone else. He could never abide that, because it would be inherently against His holiness.
A) Now, in the New Covenant, these principles have different form, but they still stand. In Jesus Christ, we have the revelation of God's glory. In Jesus Christ, God gave the name above all names. Jesus is God. Still, the principles of my faithfulness to God, and the reasons to see Him as holy and the only praiseworthy One, and the only one to be glorified, all of these principles are just as true now as they were then. They are just as true about Jesus Christ as they were about YHWH. I need to remember that in the name of Jesus Christ, there is just as much holiness implied as there ever was in the name YHWH. In Jesus Christ, there is just as much reason for me to be faithful and devoted and exclusively His, as there ever was for the people of God to be for the LORD. While it's true that the covenant is (thankfully) different, God is still God. He is holy and worthy and jealous.
P) Father, everything should be to Your glory. I confess that I fail that. I fail it often. When I look at how I spend money, how I spend time, what I seek for pleasure, what I seek for fulfillment... I am convicted, Lord. The more time I spend with You, in the Bible, in prayer, and in worship, the more I remember just how holy You are. Just as there is none more righteous than You, none more powerful, none more wise, none more compassionate, patient, or loving; there is also none more worthy than You. You are worth my time. You are worthy my devotion. You are worth my sacrifices of whatever fleeting interested has a hold of my heart. You are worth it all. But, I am prone to forgetfulness and unbelief. Please forgive me, Lord. Help me to remember Your character. Help me to believe Your worthiness. Let me remember Your holiness and all it entails, that I would remember that Your glory and praise are exclusively Yours. Let Your will be done. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
A) Now, in the New Covenant, these principles have different form, but they still stand. In Jesus Christ, we have the revelation of God's glory. In Jesus Christ, God gave the name above all names. Jesus is God. Still, the principles of my faithfulness to God, and the reasons to see Him as holy and the only praiseworthy One, and the only one to be glorified, all of these principles are just as true now as they were then. They are just as true about Jesus Christ as they were about YHWH. I need to remember that in the name of Jesus Christ, there is just as much holiness implied as there ever was in the name YHWH. In Jesus Christ, there is just as much reason for me to be faithful and devoted and exclusively His, as there ever was for the people of God to be for the LORD. While it's true that the covenant is (thankfully) different, God is still God. He is holy and worthy and jealous.
P) Father, everything should be to Your glory. I confess that I fail that. I fail it often. When I look at how I spend money, how I spend time, what I seek for pleasure, what I seek for fulfillment... I am convicted, Lord. The more time I spend with You, in the Bible, in prayer, and in worship, the more I remember just how holy You are. Just as there is none more righteous than You, none more powerful, none more wise, none more compassionate, patient, or loving; there is also none more worthy than You. You are worth my time. You are worthy my devotion. You are worth my sacrifices of whatever fleeting interested has a hold of my heart. You are worth it all. But, I am prone to forgetfulness and unbelief. Please forgive me, Lord. Help me to remember Your character. Help me to believe Your worthiness. Let me remember Your holiness and all it entails, that I would remember that Your glory and praise are exclusively Yours. Let Your will be done. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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