On Glory, Worship, God's work ethic, and our works (a Bible study)
In the book of John 5:1-16, Jesus performs a miracle on Sabbath day by healing a paralytic at the pool of Bethesda and because of the timing of the miracle, his enemies blasted him. According to His enemies , Jesus was not supposed to perform miracles on Sabbath day. But in response to His critics, Jesus said:
‘My Father is working until now, and I am working’ (John 5:16)
Many believers assume that the passage of Genesis 2:1-3 marks the final end of God’s work. Of course, God rested from his work done during the creation, He took a break but it was not a continual break. There is no mention in the Bible of God resting continually and doing nothing at all. And unfortunately, many believe that God is just seated on His throne while receiving all praise from angels…Jesus said: ‘My Father is working until now…’
In other words, God is still working. This could explain why Jesus tends to hold a level of distaste for lazy members of the Kingdom. In the parable of the talents, the servant , who did nothing with the initial capital investment offered by his master, is called ‘Lazy (slothful) and wicked’. And in ‘rewards’ to his laziness, the servant was cast out in the darkness.
We have to understand that Jesus has a great work ethics modeled on the Father’s way of doing things. Because God is working, I am also working.
Jesus work ethic was so extreme that He completed His ministry in 3 years and the world is still talking about Him.
So…what is God doing?
I cannot for sure give a definite answer of all the projects and works God has His hands on, but in the Light of the Bible, I can definitely support Jesus statement with a few examples:
In the book of Revelations chapter 21, the Apostle John writes about a New Earth, a New Heaven and the New Jerusalem. Those new creations will be the result of God’s work. Since the new Earth, the New Heaven and the New Jerusalem will appear in the future as complete achievement, then it is safe to confirm that Our God is at work. Our God is not a lazy One.
In the passage of Revelations 21:9-27, the Apostle John describes the New Jerusalem built by God. According to the description and the measurements of the city, one can only conclude that the completed New Jerusalem will be the work of art of a hard working Individual. The measurements mentioned in the same passage prove that God makes use of numbers, mathematics in His construction style. Notice that in Revelations 21:17, the Apostle John writes:
‘ He also measured its wall,144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel measurement.’
The measurement used by the angel to describe the lengths and width of the city, also corresponds to human measurement. One can only concludes that if the Bible mentions the term ‘angel measurement’, it simply means that there is presence and use of numbers, mathematics in Heaven and in God’s work. Our God is a God of science and mathematics and this explains why the universe, the solar system, the nature, the seasons, the oxygen, our body functions (e.g: pregnancy time span, puberty , the digestive organs, etc…) are mathematically structured . Their structures can be explained in numbers and such creation is the result of serious work!
Notice as well, that in the parable of the talents, Jesus never just mentioned that the Master gave some talents to his servants, but Jesus made an exact clear description of the number of talents distributed.
The songs of Glory to our God:
The word glory refers to ‘credit, fame, success, admiration’ given to someone for their achievement. In the old age throughout various cultures such as Greek or African culture, heroes were immortalized in songs and poems of glory for great works they had achieved. Glory was never a given. It was earned through an achievement. The meaning of the word has still not changed today.
In Revelations chapter 4, the Apostle John mentions the presence in Heaven of four creatures, 24 elders giving glory, worship, honour and thanks to God in a continual basis. Notice that in Revelations 4:9 John wrote:
‘And whenever the living creatures give glory and honour and thanks to him who is seated on the throne who lives forever and ever,…’
‘thanks’Have you seen the word in verse 9? Why do we give thanks to someone? We normally give thanks to someone for something he/she has done in favor. The four creatures thank God on a continual basis for things He does in favor and in a continual basis. The four creatures would not give thanks to God for nothing. Since they thank God continually, we can only conclude that God continually achieves things that stir their gratefulness.
The angels, the four creatures, the 24 elders are witnessing God accomplishments and works (past, present) and all of God’s work that is in progress to be completed for the future. And all the things they witness, stir in them the drive to praise God continually. They are not forced to praise God. The glory, the honor and thanks given to God are stirred by what they witness.
Believing that worship in Heaven is done under ‘duress’, is totally inconsistent with God’s nature. As a matter of facts: ‘If Satan (Lucifer) decided to rebel with a group of angels against God, then it also means that the angels are faced with options and choice. If Satan was deprived of the ability to choose then he would not have taken a decision at the first place. Secondly in Genesis 6: 1-2, the Bible mentions that the angels were attracted to women and they decided to take them as wives. The ESV Bible notes in Genesis 6:2:
‘…the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.’
Notice the terms ‘they chose’? It simply shows that the angels in Heaven are not praising God under duress. On the contrary, the accomplishments and the beauty of God stir in them an irresistible drive to praise Him.
Let me explain this with an example:
In Revelations 7: 9-17, the Apostle John witnesses a multitude of people from every nation, tribes and languages standing before the throne and before the Lamb and giving praise to God and to the Lamb (reference Revelations 7: 10). A few verses down the line, one of the elders tell the Apostle John who those people are: ‘they are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’
The description of the multitude carries on in revelation 7:15-17:
‘Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in his temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’
Before I carry on talking about the praise given from the multitude, I will illustrate a picture for all to see:
‘When I was in my twenties, I worked as waiter within a fine dining restaurant in a three star hotel . In a fine dining restaurant, the life of the business revolves around the Chef who is the mastermind behind all the beautifully crafted meals coming out of the kitchen. Every time, we served those meals, the customers could not help giving praise to the Chef. And every night, around 10p.m, the Chef would come out of the kitchen and stand in the middle of the dining hall. He would stand and watch the customers eating or giving him praise for the beautiful food presented to them. The beautiful food stirred the customers to praise our Chef.”
Now, let us return to our Biblical text in Revelations 7:15-17. According to the text, God will be the shelter of those people. The people will hunger no more, they will thirst no more because the Lamb (Jesus) will be their shepherd providing for them. In such instances, the saints will receive God’s provisions on a daily basis and the received provision will stir praise in them for God. They will not be forced to praise God, but they will be in such awe of the shelter, the provision, the spring of living water that they will just praise God and the Lamb:
‘Oh!Awesome ! Glory to God and to the Lamb for providing….’
The description of the New Jerusalem in Revelations 21 clearly confirms that God is an artist. And I can only imagine the artistry presented in ‘springs of living water’, in the heavenly food stopping hunger, in the shelter God will offer…and those things will stir a praise of awe to our god and to the Lamb:
‘Oh! Awesome water! Glory to God and to the Lamb!
‘Oh! Awesome food! Glory to the God and to the Lamb!
‘Oh! What a beautifully built City! Praise be given to God for such artistry!
We will not stop being amazed and live in awe. It will be so deep that we will keep worshipping God and the Lamb. This explains why the worship in Heaven is continual; the angels witness God’s achievements all the time.
The late Christopher Hitchens, renowned for being an atheist author and debater, once said that he would rather go to Hell than living in a place where he would worship a God acting like a North Korean narcissistic leader in need of forced praise in eternity. Hitchens thought that the praise in Heaven is something forced upon angels but it is not the case. Hitchens never understood the truth I am teaching you…
Secondly God is not an insecure person and is not needy for praise, He does so many mighty works that even animals and stones will give Him praise and glory (reference Luke 19:37-40, Revelations 5: 13-14).
Tell me, what kind of God does works to the point of receiving praise and glory from the creatures of the sea?
The God I serve, is a working God. Even in Revelations 7:15-17, it is clear that the Lamb (Jesus) will be the shepherd. And a shepherd is a working person looking out for His flock. Just imagine that even in Heaven, Jesus is working as a shepherd to a multitude of Nations.
My Brother Jesus (reference Matthew 12:46-50) is a working person. Notice again that the multitude of the saints , standing before the throne, will be serving God day and night in His temple (Revelations 7:15). As I wrote earlier, Jesus has a distaste for ‘lazy members of the Kingdom’. If we can’t serve God here on Earth in this present time, how do we expect to live in the New world?
The great moment of conviction:
‘God is working until now, and we should be working. In the parables of the talents, the Bible never said that the Master went away on holiday. The version brought by Luke in chapter 19:11-27, actually states that the Master went on a journey to be crowned King. The master went on business.
I know that God rested at the end of His ‘creation work’ and I know that it matters that we take a break now and then. However, certain believers are doing absolutely nothing in the Kingdom or they are doing way less than what they are supposed to do.
Have you ever heard a fellow Christian saying stuff like: ‘God knows my heart in spite of…’
They use that expression to justify a shortcoming at the way they live their purpose. For them, the expression ‘God knows my heart’ is just another way of saying that the condition or pre-disposition of their heart is more important than what they do, but watch this:
‘In the book of Revelations from Chapter 2 to chapter 3, Jesus appears to the Apostle John and gives him a series of message to be sent to seven churches. In the beginnings of 5 messages, Jesus says: ‘I know your works…’ In all the seven messages, Jesus never mentions : ‘I know your heart…’
I write this because many will justify themselves by saying: ‘God gave me so many talents but I am not using them, and it’s okay because God knows my heart…’
There is more value given to works than to the intents of the heart.
God Bless you.