God is Self-Centered

By
Jason Robertson
Posted in: Theology Proper

We just don’t like people who seem to be very enamored by their own skill or power or looks.

  • We get tired of hearing the fisherman who brags about his big catch as if he is the only one to ever catch a big fish.

  • We don’t like scholars who try to show off their specialized knowledge or who recite for us all their recent publications and lectureships.

  • We don’t like egotistic salesman who goes on and on about how he is the best in the buisness.

  • We don’t like children to play one-upmanship hour after hour.

  • And we disapprove of holier-than-thou bloggers who post such long disquisitions that the scroll bar on the right side looks like a minus sign.
But when we think of people like that we also think of Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NASB95) Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.
But here is where we find ourselves theologically in a conundrum and a difficult riddle of truths that seem contradictory.

It stands to reason that the teaching that God is seeking praise and wants to be admired and is doing things for His own name’s sake, does in fact seem to put God in such a category as an egotist.

God’s ultimate purpose in all that He does is to receive praise for His glory. In fact, God does not merely wait to be exalted for His power and righteousness and mercy, he has taken the initiative from all eternity to exalt His own name in the earth and to display His glory. Everything He does is motivated by His desire to be glorified.

Isaiah 48:11is the banner over every divine act: For my own sake, for my own sake I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.

God’s goal in all He does is to receive praise for the glory of His name. God is self-centered. God is utterly selfish. God is out to please Himself.

Even when we consider our salvation, notice the motivation of God: Ephesians 1 – There is a phrase repeated three times in verses 6, 12 and 14 which makes it very clear what Paul thought was the goal of God in saving us from sin was for Himself. Notice verses 5 and 6: He predestined us in love to be His sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace. Then verse 12: We who first hoped in Christ have been predestined and appointed to live for the praise of His glory. Finally, verse 14: The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory.

From the past eternal decrees of God in predestination to the future eternal enjoyment of our inheritance in the age to come, God’s goal and purpose has been that His glory be praised, especially the glory of His grace.

1 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Love seeks not its own.”

This indeed seems to create a crisis, for if, as I think the Scriptures plainly teach, God makes it His ultimate goal to be glorified and praised, how then can He be loving? For “Love seeks not its own.”

Usually people seek praise because they have a character weakness or a deficiency of completeness. But God is perfectly complete. Usually people are seek praise because they are selfish and self-centered. So how can God make such statements as He did in Isaiah 48:11, “For my own sake, for my own sake I do it, …my glory I will not give to another”?

The reason that God is self-centered is because God is unique as the most glorious of all beings and totally self-sufficient; therefore, He must be for Himself. Who else could He center His attention upon? Who else is worthy of His praise?

Unlike man, for God to be self-centered and selfish is holy, righteous, and pure. Therefore, God’s self-centeredness is the ultimate act of Divine righteousness.

Guard that which has been entrusted to us.

About the Author

Jason Robertson is a husband and a father and a pastor. He is dedicated to leading and equipping his the Church with God’s word and biblical theology for life ministry, using a combination of pastoral, church planting and evangelism experience. He holds a Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is experienced in church planting, evangelism, missions, and the training of pastors and Bible teachers. Jason has been preaching the gospel since 1985, serving the first ten years of ministry as a Southern Baptist itinerant evangelist out of Milldale Baptist Church in Zachary, LA which ordained him in 1993. He has preached in hundreds of churches in over 30 States and 4 countries. He planted churches in Siberia, Russia in the summers of 1993 and 1994. He founded Murrieta Valley Church in California, which he planted in cooperation with the SBC NAMB in 2001. He also teaches ministry students at California Baptist University. You can hear his sermons and read his manuscripts on sermonaudio.com. Just follow the link to "sermons" at the top of this page.