Category Archives: Apostle Paul

Living In A Sexually Immoral Culture

Posted on by
Reply

Where To Find The Best Council

The seventh chapter of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth contains some of the best counsel available on sex and marriage. Though he opens with an endorsement of celibacy, he quickly adds, “…because sexual immorality is so common, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband” (1 Corinthians 7:2). In a sexually charged culture like Corinth, marriage is God’s gift to most believers. Why? Because it is the only form of sexual activity that God ordains!

An Undefiled Marriage Bed

The author of Hebrews puts it this way: “Marriage must be respected by all, and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge immoral people and adulterers” (Hebrews 13:4). The phrase “marriage bed” was an idiom synonymous with sex. So, respect it, because God will judge the immoral or adulterous person who plays the part of a married person sexually! But they’re not married—they’re just playing house. In a culture where sexual immorality is so prevalent—like it was in Corinth and like it is in our own country—God’s answer is simple: Get married! In the ninth verse of Paul’s Corinthian letter, the Holy Spirit prompts him to write, “…if they do not have self-control (to remain celibate), they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with desire.”

Marriage: A Deterrent To Immorality

Marriage is a helpful deterrent to sexual immorality. That might not seem like the best motive for getting married, but Paul and the Spirit of God are simply being practical—it is better than immorality! At the same time, Paul qualifies the gift of marriage with some stipulations. Marriage does not guarantee freedom from sexual immorality; rather, marriage partners have a sexual responsibility to one another. Do not misunderstand Paul’s message here—marriage deters a life of sexual immorality, but only if the husband and wife fulfill their sexual responsibilities to each other. “A husband should fulfill his marital responsibility to his wife, and likewise a wife to her husband. A wife does not have the right over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband does not have the right over his own body, but his wife does. Do not deprive one another sexually” (1 Corinthians 7:3-5).

Being Sexually Responsible

There’s a lot packed into these three verses. Paul is preaching monogamy. He’s emphasizing a heterosexual relationship. And he’s teaching that a husband and wife have a sexual responsibility to fulfill with each other. Some translations even refer to it as a “debt” or an “obligation.” Again, that may not sound romantic, but this is serious teaching from Paul. You can’t state it much stronger than he does in verse 5— “Don’t deprive one another sexually…” Some translations render it, “Don’t defraud one another…” The husband’s body does not belong to him alone, and the wife’s body does not belong to her alone. When sex is used as a weapon to punish perceived wrongdoing by a spouse, it defrauds them and places them in a vulnerable position to fall into sexual sin, Paul warns. Don’t do it!
 

When Good Sex Goes Bad

Posted on by
Reply

When It Happens Outside Of Marriage

According to God—who, by the way, created sex—healthy sex only happens within a marriage between a man and a woman. The Word of God warns us about the consequences of sexual conduct outside the safety of marriage. All other sexual activities are spiritually unhealthy because they involve disobedience to God and His Word. Additionally, they can also lead to physical and emotional harm. The effects often create a ripple effect, negatively impacting families and future generations.

Messing Up People’s Lives

When your sex life doesn’t align with Scripture, it can impact not just you but many others as well. Here’s something to consider, especially if you feel like you’ve already made too many mistakes—that you’re beyond hope. Maybe you grew up in a worldly environment and were never taught these biblical truths. Or perhaps you heard them but believed you were clever enough to outsmart ‘the system,’ so you experimented with sex and are now facing the consequences. The good news is that, thanks to Jesus’ work on the cross, you are not beyond redemption! 

Good News For Those Who Messed Up

The Gospel is good news for every sinner, regardless of the sin! We serve a God who brings beauty from ashes. Through the cross, there is forgiveness and restoration. So, don’t hide behind your sin any longer—confess it so you may be healed (James 5:16). From this day forward, stand firmly on the foundation of God’s Word when it comes to your sexual purity. God’s Word alone provides the flawless counsel needed to build healthy marriages. In 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul shares several truths about sexuality as directed by God: “It is good for a man not to have relations with a woman. But because sexual immorality is so common, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband… I say the following as a concession, not as a command. I wish that all people were just like me. But each has his own gift from God—one person in this way and another in that way. I say to the unmarried and to widows: It is good for them if they remain as I am.” (1 Corinthians 7:1, 6-8)

Is Celibacy A Gift?

What Paul is advocating here is celibacy. He appears to suggest that celibacy is a gift from God given to certain individuals. So, if the idea of living a celibate life seems impossible for you, it likely means that you do not have that particular gift. I intentionally use the word celibacy instead of singleness because celibacy more accurately describes what Paul is referring to—complete abstinence from all sexual relations. In contrast, our modern culture tends to favor the term singleness, often associating it with a lack of relational or sexual boundaries. It’s seen as a lifestyle of ‘Sex and the City’ or ‘friends with benefits,’ making it a poor reflection of what Paul is actually addressing. When Paul says, ‘It is good for a man not to have relations with a woman‘ (v.1), he is using it as a euphemism for sexual intercourse—which is confirmed by the context of verse 2. Therefore, celibacy is not only a legitimate option but a good and honorable gift from God.
 

What Sexual Health Looks Like

Posted on by
Reply

It’s Not What You Think

Unfortunately, marriage and parenting are the butt of many jokes in our society. We sing countless sad songs about lost love, and it seems that’s one way we manage the pain. Take, for example, the story of a woman whose husband lay dying in bed, drifting in and out of a coma. One day, he briefly awoke and reached out to his wife, drawing her close. As she sat beside him, he began whispering his memories to her: “Honey, you’ve been right there beside me through all the rough times. You were there when I got fired. You were there when my business failed. You were there when we lost the house. And you’ve been right here— by my side the whole time— even as my health declined and I lay dying.” He paused briefly and asked, “You know what?” “What, dearest?” she asked, wiping a tear from her eye. “I think you’re bad luck,” he said—and then slipped back into a coma!

Flawless Marriage Counseling

I’m confident that everyone enters into marriage longing for a partnership that remains strong and healthy! I hope it doesn’t surprise you when I say that God’s Word provides the only flawless counsel for building healthy marriages and raising godly children. If you’re a relatively new follower of Jesus, you may be surprised to discover how much the Bible says about marriage, sex, and family! But think about it—God created marriage! He created sex! He created the family, too! So it only makes sense that we would go to the ultimate source for wisdom and counsel in these areas.

A Foundational Bible Text

A foundational text on the subject of marriage, sex, and family is 1 Corinthians 7:1-9. It’s incredibly practical, and if you commit to obeying the words of Scripture— rather than listening to the foolish, so-called “wisdom” of the world— you will have the strong and happy marriage that everyone longs for. It’s an intriguing passage! What the Apostle Paul says to the church in Corinth— words inspired by God’s Holy Spirit— are completely out of step with the world’s wisdom and societal norms regarding family and human sexuality. So, choose whom you’re going to listen to!

Where Healthy Sex Happens

If you search “A Healthy Sex Life” on Google, you’ll find results like “10 Signs You Have a Healthy Sex Life”— but not one of them is connected to marriage between a man and a woman! Your search results will also include articles on sexual dysfunction and how to maintain an active sex life, yet again, with no reference to marriage. However, according to God, “healthy sex” only happens within a marriage relationship between a man and a woman. Over and over, the Word of God warns us about the consequences of sexual activity outside of marriage. All other sexual practices are spiritually unhealthy, as they reflect disobedience to God’s Word. But they can also prove to be physically and emotionally harmful—creating a ripple effect that negatively impacts others down the line. Next week:  We’ll explore 1 Corinthians 7.

The Mysteries of God

Posted on by
Reply

Why Doesn’t God Fix The World?

In my lifetime, I’ve had several conversations with individuals who set themselves up as “judges” of God. “If God is all-powerful and knows everything,” they ask, “then why doesn’t He do something about all the bad things in the world?” Job’s story could be placed next to that question—he serves as the epitome of unanswerable questions like that! How does God determine His will? Why does He seem to step into certain situations but not others? Why does He permit wicked people, like ISIS, to continue ripping open pregnant women, beheading little children, and killing people just for loving Jesus?

Can You Fathom God?

The Book of Job is an appropriate book for addressing the mysteries of God: “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave—what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea” (Job 11:7-9). Scripture tells us that God’s paths are beyond our ability to trace! So, what is an appropriate response on our part to His wisdom and knowledge? To His unsearchable and untraceable ways? The answer: humility! That is the only appropriate response—to humble ourselves before Him and admit we haven’t got a clue! He alone knows it all, and He is under no obligation to share more answers with us than what He has revealed in His Word.

Who Can Know The Mind of God?

We need to give God glory for His counsel: “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? Or who has ever first given to Him and has to be repaid?” (Romans 11:34-35). Who has ever known the mind of God? Who can truly understand what He’s thinking? So, who could possibly offer God any useful counsel? Yet still, we try telling God what He should do with His universe, don’t we? If you were God, would you do things differently? If your answer is “Yes,” then that’s exactly why the rest of us are glad you’re not God! And you ought to be just as glad that I’m not God, either! Now, ponder this thought—because God knows everything that is knowable, that means He has already considered your ideas and dismissed them as an unacceptable response to the situation. Right?

The End from the Beginning

Because you and I don’t know the end from the beginning like He does, we really can’t offer Him any thoughts that He hasn’t already considered! “The secret things belong to the Lord our God…” (Deuteronomy 29:29) and “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts,” says the Lord (Isaiah 55:9). So, let us give God the glory He is due for His wisdom, knowledge, and counsel! And by faith, trust Him with all the things you don’t have answers for. I love how Tony Evans says it:  “Everything is either caused by God or allowed by God, and there is no third category.” Paul concludes, “To Him be the glory forever.” (Romans 11:36) Let’s glory in God, His Son, and the cross!

Is Your God Too Small?

Posted on by
Reply

Are You Too Big?

40 years ago, J.B. Phillips wrote what became a Christian classic, Your God Is Too Small. It’s a great book— I highly recommend it! Phillips does a fantastic job of capturing the struggle that we humans have in seeing how big God really is. We tend to see God as much smaller and less awesome than He truly is, while seeing ourselves as much bigger and more significant than we really are.

Superman Don’t Need No Airplane

I love the story about former heavyweight boxing champ Muhammad Ali, who loved to boast—mostly in jest—about being the greatest! It was part of his shtick and showmanship. Once, while flying on a commercial flight, the stewardess told him to fasten his seatbelt just before takeoff. “Superman don’t need no seatbelt,” Ali replied. The stewardess shot back, “Superman don’t need no airplane, either.” That exchange perfectly epitomizes the attitude spawned by the health, wealth, and prosperity FALSE gospel in the Western church! The image of God has been distorted.

He’s No “Genie In A Bottle”

Much of the Church has reduced God to a wimpy “genie in a bottle”—a God who grants our wishes and somehow needs us in order to feel significant. But God is not like that at all! He is the self-sufficient, self-sustaining Sovereign God who needs nothing. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords! I love how Paul addresses this subject in his letter to the Roman believers: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments and untraceable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? Or who has ever first given to Him, and has to be repaid? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” — Romans 11:33-36

Glory In God’s Wisdom

This is another one of those rich passages of Scripture that magnifies and lifts up our awesome God! Paul seems caught up in the wonder and mystery of who God is. He emphasizes that—good or bad, big or small, whatever comes our way—we should give God glory in all things! Notice that Paul specifically calls believers to glorify God for His wisdom and knowledge: “Whatever comes, give God glory because of His wisdom and knowledge. He knows what He’s doing!”

Is God Foolish?

There’s another powerful verse that Paul includes in his letter to the church in Corinth: “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” — 1 Corinthians 1:25. Don’t you just love that? Mind you, Paul is NOT saying that God has a foolish side. On the contrary, he is pointing out how foolish we are when we think we’re wise and smart. IF God had a foolish side— and He doesn’t— He would still be wiser than you and me! He is omniscient, meaning He knows everything. Anything that is knowable, He already knows it, and He has known it for all eternity. He knows everything you and I have forgotten—yet He still remembers it! And He knows everything that you and I will never know. Only God understands why He allows wickedness in the world to experience temporary victories. Trust His wisdom!

God’s Glory Over Our Sanctification

Posted on by
Reply

It Begins At Our Sanctification

Eternal salvation begins for us the moment we are justified! Though we are born “…dead in trespasses and sins…”, we are made alive through Jesus’ substitutionary atonement on the cross, on our behalf. Because the sinless One paid the price for sin—the price that sinners should have paid—God is legally just to pass over our sin and grant us salvation. That’s why we say we are justified. Here’s a great way to remember what it means to be justified: “Just as if I’d never sinned!” Next, after God justifies us, He moves into our lives and begins to “clean house”—or to sanctify us by the power of His indwelling Spirit. 

Sin Loses It’s Power

Sin no longer has power over us! By God’s power, sin can be defeated. This is what it means to be sanctified. And God is glorified in our sanctification as well! He grows us spiritually, maturing us in our faith. Here’s what the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Ephesus: “In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:11-12) In Christ, we have obtained an inheritance—an inheritance that has been predestined for us. However, we do not possess it yet.

Receiving Our Inheritance

Now, someone has to die before an inheritance can be received, right? Usually, someone else dies, and we receive an inheritance as a result. In regard to our eternal inheritance in heaven, however, we have to die to obtain it, don’t we? So, Paul seems to be referring to this time—right now—the time between our salvation and the moment we will inherit it. When Daniel was taken captive by the Babylonians, they intended to break him from his faith in Yahweh, in part by offering him a diet that had been sacrificed to their Babylonian gods. “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine” (Daniel 1:8). In other words, Daniel was sanctified or set apart for God as he faced this decision. And God is glorified as we grow in our sanctification because He is the one doing the work in us! We submit to His work, but our spiritual growth is His work.

Work Out Your Own Salvation

There’s an incredibly interesting scripture related to this subject in Philippians chapter 2. I’d encourage you to memorize it or at least remember where it’s found: “Work out your own salvation,” Paul tells the church in Philippi, “with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose.” (Philippians 2:12-13) There’s no mistaking that God commands us to “work out your own salvation.” That’s an imperative! We are commanded to grow in our salvation—to be sanctified! But God actually does the work! He enables us and gives us the desire to grow in our faith. The flesh cannot produce a sanctified life. It appears that our brokenness and depravity are so thorough that we can’t even muster the desire to grow spiritually. God gets the glory for our sanctification—all of it!
 

God’s Glory Over Our Justification

Posted on by
Reply

He Alone Gets Glory For Our Faith

When the Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the church of Ephesus, he made it clear from the start that God alone must receive the glory for anyone’s salvation! From the beginning of salvation, through our justification, until its completion at our glorification, and everything in between during our sanctification in the present—all of it is God’s work, for which He is to receive glory! “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul began, “who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens. For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love, He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His favor and will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He favored us with in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:3–6). 

To The Praise Of His Glorious Grace

That phrase, “…to the praise of His glorious grace…” is actually translated, “…to the praise of the glory of His grace…” in the NKJV. In other words, God is glorified through our justification. He is glorified as He justifies us! It isn’t anything that we do— He justifies us! He saves us from the penalty of our sin! That’s what it means to be justified in God’s sight. Our sin legally condemns us to death, but when Jesus became the substitutionary atonement on our behalf, God could legally remove the death penalty we deserved because Jesus died in our place. And clearly, Paul intends for us to understand that our justification was God’s work alone. 

God Chose Us Before Creation

No doubt drawing from Jesus’ words—“…You did not choose Me, but I chose you…”—Paul confirmed that “…He chose us before the foundation of the world…” (v.4). Think of that! Let those words sink in. Feel the weight of that statement! Before the world was created, before you were created, God had already chosen you if you’re a believer! “He predestined us to be adopted…” (v.5). It’s because He chose us & He predestined us to be saved before we were created that all boasting or credit we might take for our faith is removed. One of the most significant aspects of marriage is that, from that day, a woman is called by a new name— her name changed because the groom loves her!  

Called By A New Name

The groom loves her and invites her to take on a new identity as his wife. One of the most significant aspects of accepting Jesus as Savior is the fact that, from that day on, we’re called by a new name! Jesus loves us and invites us to take on a new identity. We’re no longer called a “sinner” but a “saint,” His “bride,” His “church.” Throughout Scripture, there are many examples where God changed the names of His people—He changed Abram, meaning “high father,” to Abraham, meaning “father of a multitude of nations.” He changed Sarai, meaning “argumentative,” to Sarah, meaning “princess.” He changed Simon, meaning “he has heard,” to Peter, meaning “the rock.” There are many more if you look into it! When God justifies us, He gives us a new name to signify a changed life, and He does it all for His glory.

The Fading Glory of Creation

Posted on by
Reply

Don’t Accept A Cheap Substitute

When we refuse to give God the glory He alone deserves, we exchange the glory of an immortal Creator for the glory of created things. In other words, we accept cheap substitutes. When we could have gloried in an eternal, immortal, all-powerful Creator, we glory instead in the fading glory of a creation that groans and dies under the weight of sin’s curse. James wrote: “Let the rich man glory in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits” (James 1:9-11).

Beauty Queens and Hip Replacements

That means beauty queens grow old and decrepit. It means sports stars age, get hip and knee replacements. If you value anything more than God, you’ve exchanged the “imperishable” for the “perishable.” You’ve traded a diamond for that rotten peach that’s been in the back of your fridge for the last three months! You’ve exchanged gold for a rusty bolt. In Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, he says that when you dismiss or deny God’s glory, you exchange the truth of God for lies of sexual perversions: “…God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie…” (Romans 1:24-25).

God Is Not The Killjoy In The Sky

Listen, God is not the big “sex killjoy” in the sky! He’s not a prude! He created sex. Contrary to what some people seem to think, sex wasn’t our idea. God created sex, and the reason He restricted sexual activity to a husband and a wife is because He loves us. His way is the best way for us. All sexual activity—outside that which is between a husband and a wife—will always result in painful, negative experiences. Humanity keeps ignoring God’s glory when it comes to sexual conduct, so God delivers them over to sexual impurity, Paul says. Our society is bent on degrading their bodies because they’ve believed all the lies of sexual perversions. There’s a really important principle here!

Living With Regret

You can glory in the lies of sin and get some momentary pleasure out of it, but the pleasure is soon gone, and what remains is regret. Or you can glory in the truth of God and gain happiness and joy that does not fade in this life—a joy that actually carries over into eternity. You can live without regrets now! Give God the glory due His name. Redirect any praise that might come your way to Him. Humble yourself before Him. Admit that you’re not a self-made man or woman. You’re made in the image of God for His glory. If you’re a follower of Jesus, His Spirit indwells you, and He is making you into the image of Christ. Everything you have—yes, everything—comes from Him! Don’t take any credit for your accomplishments; that’s what unbelievers do. Stand with the Apostle Paul: “As for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14). Brag on the cross and Jesus’ work for our salvation!
 

Stealing God’s Glory

Posted on by
Reply

That’s What Pride Does

At the top of God’s “hate” list is PRIDE: “These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him…” (Proverbs 6:16-19). Care to guess what’s #1 on the list? It’s “…a proud look.” God hates pride because it’s humanity’s attempt to steal glory that belongs only to Him! Only God is due glory because all glory was His from the beginning of creation. Remember that! All that exists is “GOD” and “everything He has created.” That’s it! There is nothing else! So, when we speak about the “glory of a sunset,” the sun didn’t create that glory! God created it! The sun is just borrowing it until God wants it back. The “glory” of the 28 Olympic medals that Michael Phelps won is not his glory— it’s God’s! Creator God gave him those abilities. He’s just borrowing a glory that belongs to God until God decides He wants it back.

American Pride Is Deadly

In Isaiah 42:8, God says: “I am Yahweh, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another or My praise to idols.” The Apostle Paul ends the book of Romans with these words: “To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ— to Him be the glory forever! Amen!” (Romans 16:27). We face deadly consequences when we lift ourselves up in pride and steal God’s glory. That’s a hard message to preach here in the good old U.S. of A. We talk about being “proud Americans.” We’re proud of our rugged individualism. We put up billboards and sing songs about it. But if you’re a child of God, don’t go there! Don’t wear your “American patriotism” first. This place is not where you hold your citizenship, as Scripture says (Philippians 3:20).

Aliens & Temporary Residents

We are called by God to live our lives here as aliens and temporary residents (1 Peter 1:17; 2:11-12). When we lift ourselves up in pride and deny God the glory due His name, it negatively impacts the way we think. The Apostle Paul speaks of certain men and women: “…though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:21-22). Pride can really mess you up badly!

Thinking Nonsense

We lose our ability to look at the world and draw accurate conclusions when we reject the glory of God. Our reasoning becomes skewed when we fail to acknowledge the “fingerprints” of God on everything. Paul adds, “Claiming to be wise, they became fools.” We actually see this when we look at the people of the world! Normally intelligent people—denying God’s existence and denying that the glory of creation belongs to Him—come up with some of the most bizarre theories about our existence, even believing it more plausible that aliens from another solar system brought humanity here. That’s some of the foolish ideas scientists propose when they deny and dismiss God the glory He is due for creation. We exchange the glory of an Immortal Creator for the “glory” of created things. We accept cheap substitutes.
 

Dismissing God’s Glory

Posted on by
Reply

Pride Is Like False Advertising

Have you ever checked the label on a bottle of juice? I mean, really checked it? Recently, I picked up a bottle of juice that said it was “Blueberry Pomegranate, 100% Juice, All Natural” on the front label, along with a picture of a ripe pomegranate and lots of plump, perfect blueberries. But then I read the list of ingredients: “Filtered water, pear juice concentrate, apple juice concentrate, and grape juice concentrate.” So, where are the blueberries? And where is the pomegranate, I wondered. Finally, I found them listed as the fifth and seventh ingredients on a list of nine! Then, the friendly lady in the health food aisle informed me that, by law, food ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. Did you know that? This means a product contains the greatest proportion of the first ingredient on the list, with successively smaller amounts of the ones that follow. So, according to the list on the bottle I held, it contained mostly water and other juices, with just enough blueberry and pomegranate for flavor and color. I put it back on the shelf. The pictures and clever labeling were enticing, but I would call that a form of false advertising! 

An Illustration Of Human Pride

It was disguised to look like something that it wasn’t! That seems to illustrate human pride to me. What if we use that bottle of juice to illustrate what it’s like when we’re proud of our work, our intellect, our earning power, our standing in the community, our house, our car, our neighborhood, or our kids’ accomplishments? The clever label says we’re a “self-made man” or a “self-made woman.” We’re a rising star! We’re prosperous! We’re going places! We’re a mover and a shaker! But the ingredients listed on the side don’t lie. God says: “Bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the ends of the earth—everyone called by my name and created for my glory. I have formed him; indeed, I have made him” (Isaiah 43:6-7). We were created for His glory, not our own. He formed us; He made us. As for the gifts, talents, and abilities we take credit for—the things we’re tempted to take pride in—the rest of the ingredients on the list don’t lie.

It All Comes From Him

According to the Apostle Paul, the “ingredient list” on the side panel of our lives says, “For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you didn’t receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn’t received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). Everything we have comes from Him, and we face deadly consequences when we deny God the glory. It is not an insignificant matter when we dismiss or deny the glory due His name. Human pride is deadly! I’ve said before that human pride is our attempt to steal God’s glory, and that is why God’s Word says in Proverbs, “These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him…” And what’s number one on the list? “A proud look” (Proverbs 6:16-19). All glory has belonged to God from the beginning of creation. All glory in the world is ultimately a reflection of the glory God gave it.