- 85. Formed People that Praise
Isaiah 43:21 This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
“I will build my church.” So promises Jesus, and God has done it. The Lord has formed this people, the church. Jesus builds the church, and the Holy Spirit draws believers into it and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. Human people who believe in Jesus organize church fellowships and build church buildings to house the believers whom the Spirit has gathered, but human organizations and structures are not “this people.” Only the Lord can form the invisible church of all believers.
God formed the church for Himself; it was not formed for the people although the people receive the benefit and the people are served and ministered by the church. The Lord works through the church to edify the believers with the Gospel and touch the unbelievers with the Gospel. The Lord needs the church; that is why He formed it. The Lord needed the church to show forth His praise. God will not get praise from the dead, that is, from unbelievers, so He must produce and receive praise from those who believe in Him. The stars and the sky and nature also praise God on a daily basis, but we human creatures don’t hear it very well. Everything was created to give glory to God; believers were redeemed to praise God. We are living out the purpose of creation and redemption when we praise the Lord.
There are many ways that God’s people show forth the praise of the Lord. One way is by the preaching of the Gospel. The Gospel is preached; people hear it; many believe it; God and all heaven rejoice when a sinner repents; and the Lord is praised. We find out and we live out the purpose of our lives when we receive God’s Word, believe the Gospel, trust in Jesus, and give praise and thanks to God with our words and lives. No one has to wonder what the purpose of his life is: for all of us, it is to praise the grace of God. We exhibit that praise by how we live. God uses us, His people to show forth His praise. This action is a tremendous blessing for us.