“God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in him.” This most famous quote from John Piper has served the church well over the past thirty years. It has propelled people into missions, giving them the desire to see the nations declare the glory of God. It has reoriented people’s theology, causing them to think in a more God-centered way and not a man-centered way. And it has helped people read their Bibles better, once again leading them to read from a more God-centered perspective and less of a man-centered perspective. I, however, wonder if many people have not misunderstood this famous quote. I know that I have. Not in a conscious way —Where I did not understand its meaning, but in the assumptions that I brought to my thinking about the quote.
If there is a misunderstanding, it lies in the phrase “God is most glorified.” When Piper develops this quotation in the introduction to Desiring God he talks about giving God glory. The notion that I give God glory in order that he can be most glorified is where I have failed in my misunderstanding of Piper specifically, and my general concept of worship. I have assumed in my worship that when I give God glory, I am giving him something that he did not already have. Kind of like I would give a piece of candy to a child. I am giving him glory, which makes him more glorious than he was before. The folly in this line of thinking is obvious to anyone who takes the time to consider its implications. The negative implications of this faulty way of thinking are two fold. First, God being God cannot be any more or less glorious than he already is no matter what I do. God is maximumly and totally glorious simply because he is God. Saying that I somehow make God more glorious by giving him glory denies the reality that God is maximumly glorious to begin with. Second, this way of thinking makes God dependent upon creation. If God gets something from creation that he does not already have, in this case glory, then he had to create in order to be fully God. Making God dependent upon creation for anything denies his self-existence and robs him of what it means for him to be God. I obviously would not deny that God is maximumly glorious; nor would I deny his self-existence. That is why I said that I, and I would guess others, have misunderstood this phrase in the assumptions that we have brought to the text. I simply had never considered the implications of what I was thinking.
Not until a few days ago, when I was having a conversation with some friends, did I begin to think through these implications. Upon realizing the faulty nature of my thinking I immediately asked myself two questions: (1) what then does it mean to give God glory, and (2) what does it mean for God to be most glorified in us? When we give God glory we simply affirm and declare what is already true. In Psalm 96:3 the Psalmist writes, “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples (ESV).” Here the Psalmist does not tell the people to give God glory, but to declare what is already true about him. Later he writes, “Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength (v. 7).” Again the people are not giving God glory, but ascribing to him what he is in and of himself. Just like we cannot make God stronger by declaring his strength, we do not make God more glorious by declaring his glory. From now on when we think about giving God glory let it be that we are consciously proclaiming what we know to be already true.
Second, to say that God is most glorified in us means that we are experiencing God’s glory to the maximum. Piper tells us in the quotation what it means to experience God’s glory to the maximum. He says, “God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in him.” We ascribe glory to God by being satisfied in his sovereign rule over our lives. This sovereign rule gives us peace, comfort, and confidence that whatever we are facing is meant for our betterment. Often times we may not be able to see how our circumstances are benefiting us, but we know they are because the sovereign God who rules over all is in control. Being satisfied in God’s ruling hand ascribes all glory and majesty to him. So, from now on let us strive to experience God’s glory to the maximum by being completely satisfied in his sovereign rule over our lives. To God be the glory!