282. Name Glorified in us
2 Thessalonians 1:12 That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
God will glorify the name of Jesus Christ in us, just as God will glorify us in Christ. This works both ways: Christ is glorified and we are glorified. All of this is because of the grace of God. Grace means “Jesus earned it.” The eternal truth is always: God is glorified in everything. In this case God is glorified in us. And God will not give His Glory to another, meaning that we must be humbled and not glorified. Seeking or desiring fame or recognition or honor or glory for self is always sin. If God does not get the glory, because we are taking it for ourselves, it is idolatry and rebellion and unfaithful adultery.
Jesus says, “Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father.” And we might add, “…and not to you.” Sin and the Devil use the flesh and the world to tempt us to seek fame and glory; we strongly “need” a good reputation among others, honor, fame and glory. The Enemy deceives us into thinking that we must be worthwhile and acceptable human beings in the world; but the Enemy doesn’t tell us that we are already worth more than pearls and treasures, and already accepted in the Beloved, and already approved by the Father.
We cannot improve the weight of glory that God has already shared with us because Jesus earned it for us. The only thing left for us to do is give glory to God in everything. It is unbelief to seek to be glorified by friends and family and the world. It won’t make me a better person or make me feel better.
But by faith we are so united with Christ that He is glorified in us and we in Him. Jesus gets glory every time we “give a cup of cold water.” We need to believe the promise that Jesus is glorified in us, and that the byproduct is wonderful: we get glorified in Him, that is, we are blessed in the doing. We are blessed every time we are kind, not because I get credit for doing a good thing but because Jesus used me to do a good thing. Why does it feel good to do the right thing? It is because the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is glorified in you. That is the promised blessing.