God Loves… Himself

We are looking at specific ways of living in light of what God’s created purpose for humanity is. God created human beings to be instruments (instrumental end) by which He would glorify Himself by and through. That is our created purpose and all that we do must be in subjection to that. God’s chief and ultimate end (terminal end) in creating was to display and manifest His own glory. Humanity must realize that all that they do is judged by God’s purpose for them and not their own purposes and standards.

Last time (Chief End V) we looked at Bible study and the glory of God. This week we will look at prayer and the glory of God. What are the things that you pray for? Why (with what motive or desire) do you pray for those things? When we look at the things that we pray for, perhaps something about ourselves will come out. We pray for people we like. We pray for the health of the people we like, and even ourselves. We pray for material things that we desire. But do we pray for those things so that God would be glorified? With what motives do we pray for those things? Down deep as our terminal (greatest goal) end in prayer, do we desire things for ourselves?

Jesus taught us how to pray and it is rare to see this in the modern day. The Lord’s Prayer (Mat 6:9-13) is Jesus’ basic outline of how to pray. John 17 is His outline prayer in practice. But notice that we could pray those words and our hearts could be contrary to our words. The Lord’s Prayer is given to us in such a way and in the context that it is given to teach us to pray with a heart for the glory of God and not just words of duty. “Hallowed by Thy name” can be prayed over and over with no true God-centered desire for the glory of God. We can pray for His name to be hallowed (revered and glorified) with nothing but the duty of prayer in our hearts and duty is nothing but an effort to do something in an effort to gain something from God. A duty prayer is a selfish prayer in that it wants to use God for self. A duty prayer is not a prayer that corresponds to God’s purpose in creating human beings. We are to pray in such a way that our hearts desire the manifestation of His glory out of love for Him.

As we think through the issue of prayer, we can see where we fall short of the glory of God which is the standard God created us for. We can see how many of our prayers are simply to get God to do or obtain for us what we want God to do or obtain for us. Prayer has become the Christian method of living at the height of selfishness in trying to manipulate God to do our desires. Prayer has become nothing more than a work and a duty and if you do it in such and such a way with such and such words God will grant you what you want. That is about as opposite of man’s created purpose as can possibly be. Humanity is to love God above self. The very core love of the human heart is to be for God and the display of His glory. But, someone might say, “we are fallen human beings and God is not obligated to put that love in our hearts.” That is exactly right. He is also never obligated to answer our prayers and cannot be put under obligation by anything we do, especially when we have selfish prayers.

In the previous paragraph we saw (implicitly) that God must put love in our hearts in order to pray correctly. If we do not have love for His glory, then that should instruct us as to what we should pray for. If we see other people not loving the glory of God as they should, which is every single person on the planet; we can know what our prayer should be for them. We must seek God in prayer to give us love for Himself and His glory. We must seek God in prayer for what is truly good for others and that is for them to deny self and live for the glory of God. We must desire God’s glory through others and that must be what we should pray for. If we only desire the health and financial prosperity of others, we don’t desire what is best for them and don’t truly love them with a love that flows from God. Essentially, then, prayer must be from a heart that loves God and His glory above all. The heart that does that must come from God on a continual basis. Prayer must be for the glory of God in others which is what they were created for and is also what we were created for. That is prayer according to God’s terminal end. If our prayers are not for the glory of God as their terminal end, we are not praying in accordance with His will.

Last time (Chief End IV) we looked at some specific yet daily activities that human beings do and asked if we really did them out of love for God. The time before that (Chief End III) we looked at several religious activities in a general way and asked if we did them out of love for God. In this BLOG I would like to look one specific activity that we are supposed to do in the realm of Christianity. We will be dealing with the issue of Bible study.

Why do you study the Bible? We are told that we are to study the Bible because it teaches us how to live better lives. We are told to study the Bible because it is the manufacturer’s handbook. We are told to study to the Bible in order to be better Christians. We are told to study the Bible because that is what Christians do and we must do that because God wants us to. All of those things have an element of truth to them, but all of them can simply be another way that human beings serve self. We all want to live better lives and if we think that studying the Bible is one way to do that, we will do it. But where is love for God in this? Unbelievers can study the Bible and live better outward lives as a result of that too. But where is the chief end of God in creating us if we just study the Bible just to live better lives? Where is the Great Commandment in this if we just study the Bible to outwardly obey?

I think that if one reads what is being written here and obtains a grasp of the basic points, it will be clear that even the study of the Bible can be an act of idolatry. Anything we do that is not motivated by a love for God with the intent to glorify God is an act of idolatry. Human beings were put on earth with a purpose assigned by God. That purpose was for God to use human beings as instruments to display His glory. Whatever a human being does that is not to the glory of God falls short of that purpose and goal and as such is contrary to God and His purposes for human beings. When humanity uses the means that God has given us to live for His glory and turn them to ways to serve self, humanity is acting contrary to the purposes of God and it is a very deceptive way of doing it.

When you study the Bible do you study it in order to see who God is? Do you study it with the desire to see the One you love so that you may love and glorify Him more in this life and eternity? Bible study must be in line with humanities created purpose and that is to be the instrumental means by which God glorifies Himself. If we think that we can just go study the Bible and do what it commands and that glorifies God, then we are mistaken. We are approaching the Bible as if it all depends on us and as if we can understand it and obey it in our own power. That is a human centered approach. A more God-centered approach which would be in line with the purpose and end of God in creating is found in II Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

The text above really gives us several biblical concepts. Here we see what it means to be like Christ who is the outshining of the glory of God. Here we see the purpose of Bible study in that we are to behold the glory of the Lord. We are not to go study the Bible as an object of knowledge because that does not open our eyes to see His glory and all it does is puff us up with pride: “1 Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. 2 If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; 3 but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him” I Co 8:1-3). Here we see that knowledge makes arrogant but it is love that edifies or builds up. What kind of love is that? It is the love for God and to be known or loved by Him. Notice what happens in verse 2 of the one that is arrogant with knowledge that has not led to love for God. That person does not really know as he ought to know but instead in reality knows nothing since he does not know God. The study of Scripture must be in order to see the glory of God so that we would be transformed into that same image from one degree of glory to another. When it is His glory shining in us it will be His glory shining through us and then we will be fulfilling His purpose in creating us. Bible study is not about getting information alone, it is about loving God and humbly being an instrument of His glory.

“To avoid all confusion in our inquiries concerning the end for which God created the world, a distinction should be observed between the chief end for which an agent performs any work and the ultimate end. These two phrases are not always precisely of the same signification, and though the chief end be always an ultimate end, yet every ultimate end is not always a chief end. A chief end is opposite to an inferior end; an ultimate end is opposite to a subordinate end. A subordinate end is what the agent aims at, not at all upon its own account, but wholly on the account of a further end of which it is considered as a means.” – Jonathan Edwards

Last time we looked at this in a general way in looking at why people do religious actions. I tried to show that people can preach, teach, and do almost anything religious and yet do it in a way that serves self which is an attempt to use God for self-centered purposes. Unless God is the true terminal end (for which all is done for) in the things of religion and all other things, He is being used as an instrumental end and as such that is a wicked thing to do. All using of God for selfish purposes is surely wicked. That appears to me to be the primary sin in the world today. It is using God for a selfish purpose which is idolatry as it is having self as god.

This time I would like to look at some more specific things so that people can examine their own hearts in light of this. As we look in our own hearts to determine our motives, we should remember the words of Paul in I Corinthians and John in I John.. “If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed” (1 Corinthians 16:22). “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). These verses should get across to us the vital importance of the subject. If we only “love” God for instrumental means to love ourselves, we don’t have a true love for God. A true love for God is a love where He is the supreme love in all things. That is what we must look for when we look at our hearts.

We should examine our hearts after we have done something for which people praised us. What happened in your hearts after you were praised? Notice I did not ask how you responded with words, as words can be the response that you know is right and not of the heart. But in the heart were you lifted up in our own sight? Did you have a sense of pride sweeping through you? Did you replay the words of praise over and over in your mind and have pleasure in the recounting of it? Notice the distinction between a person that does good and then inwardly glories in the praise and the person that loves God with all of the heart, mind, soul, and strength. If we loved God, it would be a repugnant thing to us to obtain praise for ourselves unless that praise glorified God. We are to do our works so that God would be glorified by others (Mat 5:16) and when we receive the glory, we are to show the real source of the works. If we receive the glory and do not, we are not living according to our real purpose and are falling short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). If we tell people that it was God working in us and yet delight in their praise in the heart rather than humbly thanking God for being His instrument, we are again falling short of His glory.

Why do we do the daily things in life? Why do we work? Do we work because we love to work and it brings praise and honor to us? Do we work simply because we like to eat, have houses, and drive cars? If we work simply for those things, then we are not really different than the rest of the world. The believer is to do all of those things according to his or her created purpose. The believer is to do those things out of a love for God and His glory. If love for God is not our primary reason for working, then we have fallen short of the glory of God and are in disobedience to the Great Command to love Him with all of our being. In the modern day and perhaps in most days after the fall man goes to work and thinks that he should be proud because he works. Man’s real command is to work for the glory of God in all that he does. Being a good worker does not in and of itself glorify God, but doing what we do out of love for Him and working by His strength does manifest His glory. What are the reasons you work and do what you do? Does it come from a heart of love for God?

While it is not wrong to have a desire to eat in and of itself, we should want to eat in order to live for the glory of God. Eating just for the sheer pleasure of it is eating for selfish goals. Eating to give us strength and energy to carry out selfish pursuits is using the created things of God (self and food) for reasons that God did not create them for. All things were created for His glory. Eating without gratitude is surely a sin and not realizing that God is feeding us out of His mercy alone. “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (I Cor 10:31). Human beings are not to be like the animals that eat by instinct to avoid starvation, but we are to eat in a way that glorifies God in general and in the specifics as well. Do you eat out of love for God or for self?

“To avoid all confusion in our inquiries concerning the end for which God created the world, a distinction should be observed between the chief end for which an agent performs any work and the ultimate end. These two phrases are not always precisely of the same signification, and though the chief end be always an ultimate end, yet every ultimate end is not always a chief end. A chief end is opposite to an inferior end; an ultimate end is opposite to a subordinate end. A subordinate end is what the agent aims at, not at all upon its own account, but wholly on the account of a further end of which it is considered as a means.” – Jonathan Edwards

The above statement shows with absolute certainty that God created the world to display and manifest His glory. We have been using the term “terminal” end to show the end or goal that nothing goes beyond and it is the reason beyond all others that something is done for. The term “instrumental” end denotes an end or goal which is used as an instrument to obtain the primary or terminal end or goal. As we reflect on this for a moment, we can know as our minds run through Scriptures and evident reason that there is no higher goal or end that God could have had but His own glory. In fact, His holiness demands that He do all out of love for His own glory.

As we reflect on that, we can know why God put us on earth. We are here for no other purpose than to be instrumental means by which God manifests and displays His own glory. If God’s terminal end is His own glory, then man is an instrumental means by which God’s terminal end is reached. The ramifications for how humans live and the meaning of life are enormous. Man is not here to be self-centered and live for himself for that is to make self the terminal end rather than God. When man does not love God with all of his being and is instead focused on himself that is to make self the terminal end and use God as an instrumental end for self.

God will not give up His glory and He will not be used by sinful creatures to fulfill their own purposes of living for themselves. That is exactly what the “health and wealth gospel” does. That position tries to say that human beings are serving God and then try to say that God is glorified as He makes them healthy and wealthy, but that is really a subterfuge for the real issue and is humanity trying to manipulate God (using Him as an instrument) and use Him for man’s own purposes. How hideous and wicked that is. But let us also look at pastors. Many use liberal teachings about the Bible to further their own careers. Still others use conservative teaching to make themselves look good. As long as a pastor has not repented of self-centeredness, it matters not whether that pastor is liberal or conservative, that pastor is using God for selfish purposes.

But what of the average person that attends church? Could it be that most of those people attend out of selfish reasons? Do they think that things will go better for them if they make the huge sacrifice of one hour a week to give lip service to God unless it is raining? Some might make a real commitment and come on Sunday nights or express a desire to teach Sunday School. But if the desires and inclinations of the soul are not out of true love for God but in reality are focused on trying to make self appear righteous or to do a work for God to obtain something from God or other humans, then we are back to trying to use God in religious circles.

But what of Reformed people and those who teach in the colleges and seminaries? Could it be that they love academics rather than God? Could it be that they love to teach and gain honors from men more than they love God? Could it be that people think they love God when in fact they just love to study about Him? Could it be that much of what goes on in the name of orthodoxy is simply a love for being orthodox rather than a love for God? Could it be that people love to be loved and one way of being made much of is to be orthodox and knowledgeable in certain circles? Ah, how deceptive the heart is. How easily the heart is led away from true love to God and is satisfied with many appearances of it.

Could it be that people want to home school, have Christian schools, and to be active in moral issues in order to do what they want and still have a religious appearance to it? Again we must begin to look at the real love of the heart. What is the real goal and terminal end that our hearts aim at? What are the things that we use as instruments to gain what we really want and desire? I would submit to you that God is the most used and abused of all instrumental ends when in fact He is to be the terminal end for all things. Not only do people serve themselves while saying they are doing things for God, they use God to serve their own ends. That is wickedness of the highest order and is indeed a mocking of God.

“To avoid all confusion in our inquiries concerning the end for which God created the world, a distinction should be observed between the chief end for which an agent performs any work and the ultimate end. These two phrases are not always precisely of the same signification, and though the chief end be always an ultimate end, yet every ultimate end is not always a chief end. A chief end is opposite to an inferior end; an ultimate end is opposite to a subordinate end. A subordinate end is what the agent aims at, not at all upon its own account, but wholly on the account of a further end of which it is considered as a means.”

The last time I worked some with the above statement by Jonathan Edwards. I used the words “terminal end” and “instrumental end” in an effort to make what he said clearer. Then I tried to tie what he said in with the Greatest Commandment and the command to do all for the glory of God. Edwards was writing about God’s chief end in creating the world while I am trying to get at the chief end of human beings in what they do. But for a moment it might be helpful to go back and reflect on God’s chief end.

When God chose to create, it was certainly before He created and so was before the beginning and before anything other than Himself had being. We can try to imagine what God intended in creation. We can try to imagine what would have motivated God to create anything at all. Remember, nothing had being at that “time” other than God. It was through the Word, the second Person of the Trinity, that all things that have come into being came into being (John 1:3; Col 1:16-17; Heb 1:1-3). We must never be moved from this absolute and awesome truth. God created all things through Christ. But why did God create all things?

We know from Psalm 115:3 and other places that God does whatever He pleases. So we can know for sure that it pleased God to create and so He created. We also know from Revelation 4:11 that all things exist for His pleasure: “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” Proverbs 16:4 tells us quite clearly that God created all things for Himself. Romans 11:36 tells us that all things are from Him, though Him, and back to Him and all glory is His. What was the motive of God in saving sinners? It was to the praise of the glory of His grace (Eph 1:6). Can anyone say with any degree of truthfulness that God could have a greater or higher motive than Himself in creating anything at all and then of saving sinners?

All moral agents or those that are capable of rational and moral thought and actions will always have a chief end or terminal motive in what they do. Our actions are always moved by and directed by that terminal motive or goal. Before anything else had being, God decided to create the whole world. What could have been His terminal motive or goal? What was the greatest end that He could conceive of? Was it to produce a world filled with sinful people so that He could make Himself look good by forcing them to worship and do as He dictates? The only thing that we can conceive of in light of texts like Hebrews 1:2-3 and John 1:1-3, 14-17 is that God created in order to manifest His glory through His creation. There is no greater goal or end that God could have had. He had no need to create anything and He certainly does not need the praise of men. But the Scriptures point to a God that is so great that He created in order to shine forth His glory on and in human beings for His own pleasure. God’s terminal end and goal was simply to shine forth His glory in His creation for His own pleasure.

I am simply overwhelmed when I think of God in such terms. This is what gives life meaning and gives zest to life. I have been created in order that God may manifest His glory through me and enjoy the shining forth of that glory. In that case it is from Him and through Him and certainly back to Him. But this also gets at the purpose in life which human beings have. It points to the chief end or terminal motive and goal that man must have in all that he does. While mankind may have secondary motives or instrumental goals, the main one that all must flow to and out of must be the glory of God. Whenever a human being has other terminal goals or motives that are higher than the glory of God, that person is god to self and a vicious idolater. If human beings are to be holy as He is holy, then we are to have the same terminal ends and goals that God did. If human beings are to be holy as He is holy, then we have to have the same motives and loves that He does. God does not love human beings in order to love Himself, but He loves Himself and only then can He love others out of that love. The same is true with us. We must have God as our terminal desire in order to love anyone at all and in order to be holy as He is holy.

In his wonderful book The End for Which God Created the World, Jonathan Edwards sets out a vital point for the book and yet also for the whole of life. It is one that requires some reflection, but it is so vital that we must reflect on it deeply or we will not see why God created the world and will also miss why God created us. In some ways his reflection on words at the beginning of his treatise gets at the vital issues of Christianity. If we miss his point, we will have also missed true holiness and what the heart of Christianity is.

“To avoid all confusion in our inquiries concerning the end for which God created the world, a distinction should be observed between the chief end for which an agent performs any work and the ultimate end. These two phrases are not always precisely of the same signification, and though the chief end be always an ultimate end, yet every ultimate end is not always a chief end. A chief end is opposite to an inferior end; an ultimate end is opposite to a subordinate end. A subordinate end is what the agent aims at, not at all upon its own account, but wholly on the account of a further end of which it is considered as a means.”

Without going into all that Edwards sets out on this issue, this is enough to bring home what the vital point is in terms of Christianity and the life of holiness. We must always remember that the Greatest Commandment is to love God with all of our beings. We are also to glorify God in all that we do (I Cor 10:31). The Greatest Commandment is not contrary to humanity living to the glory of God in any way, but we must understand that to love God with all of our beings is to live for His glory out of that love. What we want to do in this meditation is to look at how this insight of Edwards helps us to diagnose our spiritual condition and our motives in what we do.

What I would like to do is to use different language than Edwards that might be clearer to the modern reader. We will use the terms terminal and instrumental. A terminal end is that which is the end for which all else is done. In other words, all motives and ends (purposes or goals) terminate in this end as the final and most important end. It is the end for which all other things are done. An instrumental end is an end (purpose or goal) that has the purpose of a greater end. In other words, the instrumental end is always a subordinate end in that it is not desired for itself alone but is desired for a greater reason or end. It is desired in order to obtain something else. A terminal end is desired for itself and it might have one or several instrumental ends that are only desired to obtain the terminal end.

In the world we see many people doing many things. From the outside we see the things that people are doing and we think of them as being either good or bad. But we are not always able to see their motives in what they are doing. It is the motive behind the action that will tell us their terminal or true goal. It is the greatest desire that they have in what they are doing that we are interested in if we are to determine their terminal goal. For example, we can imagine a young man helping an elderly person across the street and assisting in carrying that person’s groceries. We might smile to another person and remark about what a good thing that young man is doing. The action has all the appearances of good, but we still don’t know why (as to motive) the young man was doing what he was doing. Let us suppose we went up to the young man and asked him why he was helping the elderly person. If he said that he was doing it because he was getting paid for it, we would not think of it as such a good act as it would then be doing a job. If he said that it made him feel good about himself, it would be nothing but an act to make himself feel good. If he said that he did it to show that he was righteous in the eyes of God, we would think of him as self-righteous. If we found out later that he did it in order to rob the elderly person, we would know that the action was simply criminal and wicked. The terminal end or the real motive that the young man had in mind determined what was good or evil in the behavior.

The same thing is true in Christianity as well. Our motives determine whether what we do is good or evil and not simply the outward performance of an action. Do you love God when you go to church or do you go to church for another motive? Do you love God in your moral actions or do you have another reason that you do them? It might be social respectability or even a vow that was made. It might be from the fear of shame of getting caught or being seen doing such a thing. Let us not forget that our terminal motive must be the love of God in all things. We either use self as an instrumental end in seeking the glory of God or we use God as an instrumental end in seeking the glory and good of self. Do you use self for God or do you use God for self? One is the life of Christ and the other is idolatry. Choose this day your terminal end. If it is not God, you need His grace to give you a new heart.

“Resolved, that no other end but religion shall have any influence at all on any of my actions; and that no action shall be, in the least circumstance, any otherwise than the religious end will carry it.” (Resolution 44)

“Resolved, never to allow any pleasure or grief, joy or sorrow, nor any affection at all, nor any degree of affection, nor any circumstance relating to it, but what helps religion.” (Resolution 45)

While these resolutions of Edwards are probably thought by many to be excessive, over the top, legalistic, too hard, and many other things like that, they are also extremely practical in the Christian life. As an example we can imagine a married couple having a disagreement. One person in the couple says something that is not conducive to a proper discussion. What is to guide the response of the other person? What is these resolutions guided the response, though not as authoritative in themselves but as an expression of the Greatest Commandment? The spouse would then respond differently than if the Greatest Commandment was not expressed this way. If anger began to arise within the heart, the person could remember that no other goal than love for God and His glory should have any influence on his or her response. Personal revenge or an expression of self-centeredness would not be an option, but only that which would be a true expression of the love of God.

The inner person would need to be checked as well in the response of the spouse as well. The response should not be guided and directed by sorrow or anger, but should rather be decided by an affection of love toward God and the spouse. A true affection toward God and the spouse would be far different if the inner soul began to rise with anger or frustration. Imagine the difference in marital discussions in believing marriages if people would understand that their inner responses should be in accordance to the love of God and not necessarily in accordance to what another person has said. If the battle could be recognized as beginning in the stirrings of the heart and the front lines of the war start there and even start quickly, the sins of anger, bitterness, and outbursts of anger would be controlled a lot more. Instead of responding in anger to many statements, a spouse could calmly and with love ask about the motives of the other and what was really meant. Love requires that the other person be understood rather than the motives and intents be judged as bad. All of this can really be applied to the workplace and virtually any other relationship.

On the other side of the issue, however, might be the feeling of pleasure or the affection of joy in taking revenge or getting the spouse back. One can take pleasure in a form of revenge. That feeling or desire must not be translated into action and even more, it must not be consented to but instead to be rejected with abhorrence. No one that is bought and owned by Christ is to let a sin take control of any moment. This is not teaching a form pf perfectionism, it is simply teaching that we are to war with sin. Our battle is not with flesh and blood (Eph 6), but with spiritual things. Some of this goes on within the inner man. If we do not learn how to fight a spiritual battle, we will constantly be defeated in that battle.

The objection that this is impossible is sure to be raised in the minds of man. However, we must remember that nothing is impossible with God. If we are driven by selfish and self-centered motives, then the above scenario is impossible. But we must remember that we are to be driven by the love of God and not by selfish motives and drives. We are told by many so-called experts that we cannot control the feelings and emotions. That may be right, but we must know that God can. We must also recognize that God uses means to do this. When feelings start in us, instead of going to battle against them with anger and ferocity, we must learn to battle them with prayer and Scripture. This is also a battle that belongs to the Lord. This is not a battle that we can win alone, so we must cry out to God to replace the feelings when they begin to arise within us. We should close our mouths when in a discussion and simply pray that the Lord would fill us with love for the other person and that instead of responding from a self-centered heart, we would respond in a way that is love for God and for the other person. The Scripture is the sword of the Spirit and faith is the shield. Paul tells us in Galatians 5:6 that faith works through love. Faith is a shield but it works through love in this instance. Our minds and hearts must be set on doing all to the glory of God and that includes all my feelings as well. In fact, virtually all of our spiritual battles are won or lost in the realm of the heart in the first seconds of the battle. Let us learn to fight that battle with prayer from the start so that we will end in love rather than in anger or frustration. That is to the glory of God.

“Resolved, that no other end but religion shall have any influence at all on any of my actions; and that no action shall be, in the least circumstance, any otherwise than the religious end will carry it.” (Resolution 44)

“Resolved, never to allow any pleasure or grief, joy or sorrow, nor any affection at all, nor any degree of affection, nor any circumstance relating to it, but what helps religion.” (Resolution 45)

To many people grace is what allows people to sin and for them to go to heaven anyway. The truth of the matter is that it is grace that moves people to true holiness. Anytime a person uses the concept of grace as an excuse for sin, that person does not understand grace. People might shake their heads at these resolutions of Edwards and think that he has gotten legalistic and has fallen from grace, but what they don’t understand is that to have affections like this is grace and it takes grace to keep these resolutions at all.

The real problem is that people don’t understand the depravity and helplessness of man and as such real grace and love. Human beings cannot make resolutions like these in truth if they are going to depend on self effort. So those that do not understand depravity and grace see arrogance in Edwards for making such resolutions. But Edwards understood his depravity and also grace. It is only when one understands depravity and grace that s/he can make resolutions like this in truth. In other words, people who see themselves as helpless in doing one good thing and yet trust in the love and grace of God in them can make resolutions like this in total trust in God.

People also do not understand that they can have religions affections and loves and those not really be the work of God in the soul. Those are from themselves and selfish interests. It is not that Edwards believed that the positive affections and loves that had to be exercised in order to keep these resolutions were from him and under his control, but he knew that these were from God. He knew that any real love and joy that were exercised in him would be from the power of God in his soul. The only people that love are those that are born of God and know Him (I John 4:7-9). God is the only source of true love and so any and all true love must come from His throne mediated by Christ. That is why Christ prayed like He did: “and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26). The love which dwelt in Christ He prayed would dwell in the disciples. So the love that is in believers is not from them, it is from God.

It is very important to realize that God did not make human beings in order to live good lives on earth. He made man in His own image and man’s purpose in life is to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. Man’s duty and privilege is to manifest the glory of God by the life of God living in and then through that person. If man has affections and loves that come from himself, then those do not glorify God but man. But if man is the image and temple of God and God shines for the His glory in and through man, then it is God that is being glorified.

Edwards’ resolutions show the understanding that God made man to glorify Himself and part of man that God glorifies Himself through is the affections and loves of man. If we have that understanding, which Edwards actually writes about in other places, then we can see that these resolutions are made so that the glory of God would shine in and through Edwards. The resolutions reflect the idea that his whole being is made to manifest God and not himself. So the affections and loves of self and for other ends must be put down and denied in order that the affections and loves of God would be worked in and through Edwards.

Man is utterly helpless in working up true love and affections. Even Jesus, in John 5, sets that out about Himself: Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner” (v. 19). The resolutions, therefore, appear to be Edward seeing what the Father worked in people and so he wanted those in himself in a far greater way. He wanted to die to himself and his own affections and loves so that those of the Father would be worked in him. That is profound theology and practice. We need more people in our day that can see their utter helplessness in themselves and their own loves and affections so that they will look to God for true loves and affections to be worked in and through them to His glory and His glory alone.

“Resolved, that no other end but religion shall have any influence at all on any of my actions; and that no action shall be, in the least circumstance, any otherwise than the religious end will carry it.” (Resolution 44)

“Resolved, never to allow any pleasure or grief, joy or sorrow, nor any affection at all, nor any degree of affection, nor any circumstance relating to it, but what helps religion.” (Resolution 45)

In light of the New Covenant, does a believer have any right to his or her own heart and affections? In the previous blog I asserted that the believer does not. If what I am saying, based on Scripture, that the believer has no right to his heart and affections, then why don’t we see the teachings and practice of this very much if at all? Why do professing believers seem to think that they are doing God a favor if they love Him? Why do people seem to think that they are doing a good work if they love God? Why do people think that any good work at all earns some merit before God? It is because they do not understand their real obligations to God.

For Edwards to make the resolutions that he did (44 & 45) shows a deep understanding of the human heart. He knows that the human heart is so inclined to go after sinful things and even outwardly good things. He knew that he had to make a covenant with God over these things. The covenant with God, in other words, was a complete surrender of his inward and outward being to God. A complete surrender to God demonstrates and sets out the rights of God in and over all things. A person that thinks that good works are a favor to good understands virtually nothing of the nature of sin and of God. Good works do not flow from a sinful heart; they can only flow from a heart that has submitted to God. The natural man cannot do one good thing at all because whatever he does flows from a heart that has not submitted to God (Genesis 6:5).

Why do people think that works earn merit or the favor of God? Simply because they don’t understand that they owe God complete perfection to begin with. “Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’? 8 “But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink ‘? 9 “He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? 10 “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done'” (Luke 17:7-10). In other words, we owe God complete and utter submission and obedience. The fact that we don’t give complete and utter submission and obedience every moment of our lives shows our depravity. When people think that they have done something that earns mercy of favor from God, they simply don’t grasp the fact that all of their previous acts were sinful. In fact, if their so-called good act did not come from good motives and love for God it was not only far from meritorious, it was a very sinful act.

The resolutions of Jonathan Edwards do not demonstrate a man wanting to obtain merit with God because of what he was doing, but rather demonstrated that he understood the true nature of sin and of grace. Edwards knew that all of his good works were as filthy rags before God without a proper heart. He knew that his motives and intents must be right before God. He knew that to flee from sin in reality is to flee from the sin in the heart as well. He also knew that God rightfully owned him and that all of his affections belonged to God. It was not that Edwards was making some great resolutions to God that went beyond what the average person is supposed to do, but he was simply setting out what every person should do every moment of his or her life.

This point needs to be stressed over and over. Edwards is not setting out some super high standard of holiness and obedience to God, he is simply setting out the standard for everybody. The problem is that people have lowered the standards so many times that the real standard seems unreal. God has never lowered His standards from a complete and total obedience from the heart, but man has and does. The standards that Edwards gives us in his resolutions are not too high, but if anything don’t set out the truth of God’s standards in their blazing perfection of holiness. Our thoughts of God are far too low and so our understandings of submission to God and holiness from the heart are too. Even if we were able to follow these resolutions perfectly, it would simply be what we owe God as His creatures. They would earn no merit or favor with Him at all.

“Resolved, that no other end but religion shall have any influence at all on any of my actions; and that no action shall be, in the least circumstance, any otherwise than the religious end will carry it.” (Resolution 44)

“Resolved, never to allow any pleasure or grief, joy or sorrow, nor any affection at all, nor any degree of affection, nor any circumstance relating to it, but what helps religion.” (Resolution 45)

These resolutions of Edwards are reminiscent of the covenants that people used to make with God in the Old Testament. These were covenants where all was turned over to God and a complete ownership was assigned to God in recognition of His absolute sovereignty. In II Chronicles 23 the priest made a covenant that was for all the people: “Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they would be the LORD’S people” (v 16). Here we see that the covenant was between himself and all the people and the king. They covenanted that they would “the LORD’S people.” This is an all-encompassing covenant that includes all things. To be the LORD’s people is to be owned by Him with all that the people owned to be His as well. It was to be obedient to all that He commanded. It was, in other terms, a full surrender of all things to God.

It is also a term that is found in the New Covenant. “FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE” (Hebrews 8:10). For all those in the New Covenant, God promises to be their God and that they shall be His people. What does it mean to be the people of God? Paul understood himself as a bond-slave to Christ and that he was owned by God (I Cor 6:19). How complete is this ownership? Does this include the heart and the affections of the heart? If we are owned by God, then without doubt the God who commands that His people are to love Him with all of their being includes the affections in His ownership. We can see that from the New Covenant promise in that He will write His law on their hearts. What else is that but love itself since the law is only kept by love?

Later on in the book of II Chronicles we see where Josiah made a covenant with God. “Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD to walk after the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant written in this book. 32 Moreover, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers” (II Chronicles 34:31-32). In that covenant Josiah covenanted before the LORD to keep His commandments, testimonies, and statutes with all of his heart and soul. That is in accordance with the Great Commandment. But we cannot imagine the king making a covenant with God to keep God’s laws with all of his being without covenanting to keep them with his entire heart which would include his affections, pleasures, joys, and sorrows.

One distinction between the Old and the New Covenants is that in the New Covenant (as seen above) God promises to work these things in the hearts of His people by writing them on their hearts. Edwards, clearly enough, was born in New Covenant times. But what we see in his resolutions, by implication, is that God has the right to all of his loves and all of his affections. In one sense Edwards sounds like Jehoida and Josiah in the covenants they made with God, but in another sense he sounds like he recognizes the truth that God owns his (Edwards’) affections and that the resolutions were simply Edwards’ commitment or covenant to use them for their rightful owner.

This is a true bowing from the total inward man and a submitting to the ownership, Lordship, and Kingship of Jesus Christ. God owns the affections and hearts of His people and He promises to write His laws of love in them. Edwards’ resolutions reflect the concept of covenanting with God and yet also reflect the submission of a heart that realizes it is owned by another and wants to use its faculties for Him and not self. If only people in our day would follow the example of Edwards and submit the whole heart to God His glory would shine far more brightly.