Ascribe to Him Glory

In our last post, we discussed God’s intrinsic glory. This aspect of God’s glory is the very essence of all He is. As mentioned previously, this post will focus on another aspect of God’s glory—His ascribed glory. This excerpt is taken from Dr. Lawson’s Made in Our Image.

Although we cannot add to His intrinsic glory, we can give Him—or ascribe to Him—glory that comes in the form of our praise and worship as we live in a manner worthy of our calling.

In the New Testament, the Greek word for glory (doxa) meant “to seem, to appear.” Later it came to mean “to hold an opinion of someone,” especially a good or proper opinion, such as one that expresses praise or gives honor to a great person who is considered vastly superior in worth and value. Thus glory meant to have and to express a right opinion of God.

The act of giving glory to God means to ascribe greatness to His name because of His infinite holiness and surpassing majesty. It refers to the praise and honor we give Him simply because it is due Him. In other words, it is acknowledging who God really is. This we call His ascribed glory, which is the glory we are to give Him simply because it is due Him.

So how do we give God glory? Where do we start? Giving God the glory due Him will never occur in a vacuum; it will only take place when we know the truth of the intrinsic glory of God. We are able to give God ascribed glory to the very degree that He makes His intrinsic glory known. Truth is the intrinsic glory of God made known, and the more truth we know about God, the more able we are to ascribe glory to God.

All quotations taken from Made in Our Image, by Steven Lawson.