THE END FOR WHICH GOD CREATED THE WORLD
That if God himself be, in any respect, properly capable of being his own end in the creation of the world, then it is reasonable to suppose that he had respect to himself, as his last and highest end, in this work; because he is worthy in himself to be so, being infinitely the greatest and best of beings. All things else, with regard to worthiness, importance, and excellence, are perfectly as nothing in comparison of him. And therefore, if God has respect to things according to their nature and proportions, he must necessarily have the greatest respect to himself. It would be against the perfection of his nature, his wisdom, holiness, and perfect rectitude, whereby he is disposed to do everything that is fit to be done, to suppose otherwise. (Jonathan Edwards, The End for Which God Created the World)
Perhaps this concept that Edwards gives just above cannot be stated too strongly or emphasized too much since all true Christianity depends on the truth of it. If God is not centered upon Himself and He does not do all for His own glory, then God Himself is not holy and acts against the perfection of His own nature, wisdom, holiness, and perfect rectitude. If God Himself does not love Himself and do all He does out of love for Himself (as triune), then He does not keep the same standard that He commands all others to do. If God does not love Himself and do all He does out of love for Himself, then the both the great Commandments and the Ten Commandments are not a transcript of the character of God. If God Himself does not love Himself and do all He does out of love for Himself (as triune), then He does not do what He requires of others in the first three petitions in the Lord’s Prayer. If God Himself does not love Himself and do all He does out of love for Himself (as triune), then He does not do all in His own name as He requires others to do so. If God Himself does not love Himself and do all He does out of love for Himself (as triune), then He does not do all for His own glory which He requires others to do.
What does it mean for the people of God to pray in the name of Christ and to seek the face of God in their prayers if they are not seeking God out of love and for His own glory? If God does not see those things Himself, then what good does it do for His people to pray in that name? No, human beings are to pray for the glory of God, pray for His kingdom to come, and pray for His will to be done in all things because seeking His own name is the only reason for God to do something. It is easy to see that this teaching of Edwards is not some minor issue, but instead it is the most vital issue. Apart from this central teaching that Edwards sets out, there is no real reason to pray to God as the saints have prayed in both Testaments and ask God to do what He does for the sake of His own name. After all, if we love God with all of our being then wouldn’t we be seeking the glory of His name in prayer as our primary desire in prayer?
If God saves sinners based on anything but the glory of His own name and if He shows grace for any other reason than to display the glory of His grace, the Gospel itself is no longer a Gospel of grace alone and Christ alone. If God shows sinners mercy and saves them based on themselves rather than Himself, then God is an idolater in putting the good of a sinful human being ahead of Himself and His own glory. If Jesus Christ who gave Himself so that sinners could be saved ever had less than perfect love for the Father when He went to the cross, then He was a sinner Himself and could have saved no one. If the Holy Spirit regenerates sinners for a lesser reason than love for the Father and revealing the Father through the Son, then He does not keep the Great Commandment and loves a sinner rather than the Father. If a human being loves another human being in a way that the human being becomes the chief focus, we call that gross idolatry. So why is it so accepted for humans to think that God Himself can be thrice holy and yet do all for human beings rather than Himself and His own glory?
God created the world as a theater to out His own glory on display out of love for Himself. The world was created for that reason, but that is also the whole purpose for all things. It may be that He created the world in order to have a place for human beings (His image) to manifest His glory as their chief and greatest end, but that does not change anything. It was out of His love for Himself and His own glory that He created the world and for all the purposes that He created it. As Isaiah said in chapter 6 of his work when he saw the LORD, “the whole world is full of His glory.” A more literal rendering is something like “the fullness of the earth is His glory.” The point is that we will not see the world for what it is really for unless we see it with eyes that can see the reality of God’s purposes and intents. It is for His glory and nothing else. Each human being also has the purpose of living and doing all for His glory. It changes the way we view things and the way we live.
God Loves... Himself 
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