There is a phrase commonly heard among professing Christians: “I hope God gets the glory.” Closely related is another statement: “That doesn’t glorify God.” These expressions are often spoken sincerely, yet sincerity alone does not determine truth. Our language, like our theology, must be governed by Scripture rather than emotion, tradition, or human reasoning.
The question that must be asked is not whether certain actions are evil—Scripture clearly teaches that sin, violence, and wickedness are evil—but rather, what does God Himself say about His own glory and His governance over all things? Is there anything that does not glorify God? Or does Scripture teach something far deeper, more comprehensive, and more humbling than our natural reasoning allows?
To answer this question, we must lay aside assumptions and go directly to the Word of God.
The Unsearchable Judgments of God
Romans 11:33–34
“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?”
The Apostle Paul begins not with explanation, but with worship. He declares the immeasurable depth of God’s wisdom and knowledge, affirming that God’s judgments are unsearchable and His ways past finding out. This immediately confronts the presumption that fallen men can fully understand or evaluate God’s actions.
God’s foreknowledge is not God looking ahead in time to see what man will do and then reacting accordingly. Scripture presents foreknowledge as inseparable from predestination. God knows all things because He has determined all things. His knowledge is not reactive but decretive. He foreknows because He foreordains.
God is self-existent—the great I AM. Nothing outside of Him causes Him to act. He is not counseled, corrected, or informed by the creature. To suggest that God adjusts His eternal purpose based on human decisions is to make man His counselor and to deny divine immutability.
God’s Sovereignty and Providence
Scripture consistently teaches that God directs all things according to His will. Though men make choices, those choices are governed by God’s providence. “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).
Providence is God working out His eternal decree in time. Every action, thought, and event unfolds precisely as God has purposed—not because God merely permits events, but because He actively governs all things. Nothing occurs independently of His will.
This truth is illustrated repeatedly in Scripture. Joseph was sold into slavery through the evil intent of his brothers, yet Scripture plainly states that God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20). The brothers acted wickedly, but God’s purpose governed their actions for the preservation of Israel and the unfolding of redemptive history.
Likewise, the crucifixion of Christ occurred through “wicked hands,” yet it was accomplished “by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). Redemption itself required the predestination of sin, death, and wicked men acting according to their own corrupt desires.
“Of Him, and Through Him, and To Him”
Romans 11:35–36
“For who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”
Nothing is owed to God by the creature. Man cannot repay God, earn favor, or contribute merit. Even our best works are described as filthy rags. Salvation rests entirely upon the righteousness of Christ alone.
Verse 36 answers the foundational question: Does God receive glory in all things? The answer is unequivocal—yes. All things originate from Him (of Him), are executed by Him (through Him), and ultimately return to Him (to Him) for His glory.
There are no exceptions.
Christ the Creator and the Purpose of All Things
Colossians 1:16
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
John 1:1–3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Scripture testifies that all things—visible and invisible—were created by Christ and for Christ. This includes thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers. Angels, both elect and fallen, exist by divine decree and serve God’s purpose.
God did not create because He lacked something. He is self-sufficient and needs nothing. Creation exists not to fulfill God’s needs but to serve His will and manifest His glory.
To be created for Him is to be created to serve a divine purpose—whether as a vessel of mercy or a vessel of wrath.
The Wicked and the Day of Evil
Proverbs 16:4
“The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.”
This verse leaves no room for theological evasion. God declares that He has made all things for Himself, including the wicked. The wicked are not an accident of history nor an unintended consequence of human freedom. They exist by divine purpose.
The Hebrew word translated wickedappears hundreds of times in the Old Testament and is also rendered ungodly and condemned. God defines His own terms. The wicked are created for the day of evil—not merely judged in it, but for it.
This truth does not make God unrighteous. Rather, it magnifies His sovereignty and holiness.
God’s Ownership of the Deceived and the Deceiver
Job 12:16
“With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.”
Even Satan operates within God’s decree. In the book of Job, Satan could act only as far as God permitted. Every affliction Job suffered occurred under divine authority. Job rightly attributed both prosperity and calamity to the Lord—and Scripture explicitly states that Job did not sin in doing so.
To affirm God’s sovereignty over evil is not to charge God with sin. Scripture never condemns God for doing what He declares Himself to do.
The Wrath of Man Praises God
Psalm 76:10
“Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee.”
The hatred of man toward God—the rebellion of fallen humanity—ultimately serves God’s glory. Temporally, God demonstrates His power by judging the wicked and delivering His people. Eternally, His righteousness, justice, wrath, mercy, and grace will be fully revealed.
God is not deceived by outward religion or self-righteousness. Many will be shocked to find that their religious works are called works of iniquity. Only the righteousness of Christ avails before God.
Vessels of Mercy and Vessels of Wrath
Romans 9:21–23
Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
God, as the Potter, has authority over the clay. He fashions vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor according to His will. Some are fitted for destruction, others aforeprepared unto glory.
This distinction exists so that God may show both His wrath and His mercy. Redemption magnifies grace precisely because it rescues those who deserve wrath. Judgment magnifies righteousness precisely because it is just.
Conclusion: Does Everything Glorify God?
Scripture answers the question definitively: Yes. There is nothing outside God’s purpose. There is nothing beyond His decree. There is nothing that ultimately fails to glorify Him.
God is glorified in mercy and in judgment, in salvation and in condemnation, in righteousness and in wrath. All things—without exception—exist to serve His eternal purpose.
“For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”
Those who are born of God will, in time, be taught these truths by the Spirit and come to cherish them. We do not shape God to fit our sensibilities. We bow before the God who has revealed Himself in Scripture.
May we never be ashamed to declare what God has plainly spoken. May Christ alone be exalted.
Mikal
Absolutely Excellent!❤️
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