That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Those who first put their trust in Christ exist to be to the praise of His glory. They were made His heritage and obtained an inheritance in Him, being foreordained and predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His will, as part of His larger purpose to choose a people in Christ before the foundation of the world, make them His children, redeem them, and gather together all things in Christ. That trust comes through hearing the word of truth and believing the gospel of salvation, receiving the promised Holy Spirit as seal and pledge of the inheritance, and the same hope is extended to others who afterward hear and believe. Being to the praise of His glory is both the privilege of the Christian and the condition God requires of those He has placed in His churches and institutions, who are to live and work for Him, learning from Christ and following His meek and humble example, with all honor and glory belonging to God. They fulfill this by growing in faith and trust and confidence and hope and joy in the Lord, praising Him much more and recounting His mercies, and by properly representing the elevated character of the truth with zeal and energy in saving souls ready to perish.
Meaning in Context
Those who first trusted in Christ exist to be to the praise of His glory, and this is both their place in God's purpose and one of the privileges of the Christian. Their trust is directed to the praise of God's glory within the assurances of acceptance and spiritual blessings in Him. They were made a heritage and obtained an inheritance in Him, being foreordained and predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will, to the end that they should be to the praise of His glory. They have an inheritance in Him according to God's purpose and the counsel of His will, and their lives are to bring praise to God's glory.
This belongs to God's larger purpose to make people His children through Christ and to gather together in one all things in Christ, both in heaven and on earth. He chose them in Christ before the foundation of the world, granting acceptance and spiritual blessings, redeeming them, and making known the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure in the dispensation of the fulness of time. This purpose includes giving believers an inheritance and gathering all things in Christ, with adoption, redemption, and an inheritance given according to God's will. Every human being matters to God and is of consequence with Him in this choosing and predestinating according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will.
The trust comes through hearing the word of truth and believing the gospel of salvation, receiving the promised Holy Spirit as seal and pledge of the inheritance, also to the praise of God's glory. The same hope is extended to others who afterward hear and believe the gospel, being sealed with the promised Holy Spirit through presenting the truth and gospel of salvation. The inheritance and the redemption of God's purchased possession point to the restoration of the dominion lost by humanity, when the renewed earth becomes the eternal home of the redeemed. The redeemed people so sealed are marked as God's own and as redeemed, bearing the sign of Christ, with sin taken away and lives obedient and faithful to His commands.
Living to His Praise
To be to the praise of His glory is one of the privileges of the Christian, belonging to those who first trusted in Christ. It is also the condition required of those placed in His churches and institutions, who are to seek Him with the whole heart with the promise that He will be to them a present help in every time of need. God's purpose is that believers so live and work for the praise of His glory. That living and working is shaped by learning from Christ and following His meek and humble example, with all the honor and glory of the work belonging to God, including the presenting of the truth and gospel of salvation through which others believe and are sealed.
This is done by growing in faith and trust and confidence and hope and joyousness in the Lord. It is done by praising Him much more in recounting His mercies and not forgetting His benefits, never murmuring and complaining because of realizing the heavenly Father's willingness to give largely all spiritual grace. As a people having great light, they are thus to let righteousness prevail everywhere. It is done by honoring and glorifying God and properly representing the refined, elevated character of the truth, with zeal and fervor and energy in saving souls ready to perish. That zeal does not consume all time and means in one line of work for a class largely incapable of response while the work for God's vineyard as a whole is neglected, since such disproportion sways the work into wrong lines.
Vital connection with God gives enduring knowledge and helps form characters fit for life with the saints. Such a life to His praise rests on the truth that every human being matters to God and is of consequence with Him.
Those who first put their trust in Christ exist to be to the praise of His glory. They were made His heritage and obtained an inheritance in Him, being foreordained and predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His will, as part of His larger purpose to choose a people in Christ before the foundation of the world, make them His children, redeem them, and gather together all things in Christ. That trust comes through hearing the word of truth and believing the gospel of salvation, receiving the promised Holy Spirit as seal and pledge of the inheritance, and the same hope is extended to others who afterward hear and believe. Being to the praise of His glory is both the privilege of the Christian and the condition God requires of those He has placed in His churches and institutions, who are to live and work for Him, learning from Christ and following His meek and humble example, with all honor and glory belonging to God. They fulfill this by growing in faith and trust and confidence and hope and joy in the Lord, praising Him much more and recounting His mercies, and by properly representing the elevated character of the truth with zeal and energy in saving souls ready to perish.
Meaning in Context
Those who first trusted in Christ exist to be to the praise of His glory, and this is both their place in God's purpose and one of the privileges of the Christian. Their trust is directed to the praise of God's glory within the assurances of acceptance and spiritual blessings in Him. They were made a heritage and obtained an inheritance in Him, being foreordained and predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will, to the end that they should be to the praise of His glory. They have an inheritance in Him according to God's purpose and the counsel of His will, and their lives are to bring praise to God's glory.
This belongs to God's larger purpose to make people His children through Christ and to gather together in one all things in Christ, both in heaven and on earth. He chose them in Christ before the foundation of the world, granting acceptance and spiritual blessings, redeeming them, and making known the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure in the dispensation of the fulness of time. This purpose includes giving believers an inheritance and gathering all things in Christ, with adoption, redemption, and an inheritance given according to God's will. Every human being matters to God and is of consequence with Him in this choosing and predestinating according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will.
The trust comes through hearing the word of truth and believing the gospel of salvation, receiving the promised Holy Spirit as seal and pledge of the inheritance, also to the praise of God's glory. The same hope is extended to others who afterward hear and believe the gospel, being sealed with the promised Holy Spirit through presenting the truth and gospel of salvation. The inheritance and the redemption of God's purchased possession point to the restoration of the dominion lost by humanity, when the renewed earth becomes the eternal home of the redeemed. The redeemed people so sealed are marked as God's own and as redeemed, bearing the sign of Christ, with sin taken away and lives obedient and faithful to His commands.
Living to His Praise
To be to the praise of His glory is one of the privileges of the Christian, belonging to those who first trusted in Christ. It is also the condition required of those placed in His churches and institutions, who are to seek Him with the whole heart with the promise that He will be to them a present help in every time of need. God's purpose is that believers so live and work for the praise of His glory. That living and working is shaped by learning from Christ and following His meek and humble example, with all the honor and glory of the work belonging to God, including the presenting of the truth and gospel of salvation through which others believe and are sealed.
This is done by growing in faith and trust and confidence and hope and joyousness in the Lord. It is done by praising Him much more in recounting His mercies and not forgetting His benefits, never murmuring and complaining because of realizing the heavenly Father's willingness to give largely all spiritual grace. As a people having great light, they are thus to let righteousness prevail everywhere. It is done by honoring and glorifying God and properly representing the refined, elevated character of the truth, with zeal and fervor and energy in saving souls ready to perish. That zeal does not consume all time and means in one line of work for a class largely incapable of response while the work for God's vineyard as a whole is neglected, since such disproportion sways the work into wrong lines.
Vital connection with God gives enduring knowledge and helps form characters fit for life with the saints. Such a life to His praise rests on the truth that every human being matters to God and is of consequence with Him.