The God-Centeredness of the Gospel

How is God's desire for his own glory reflected in the gospel?

Firstly, the gospel of forgiveness of sins through Christ is predicated on our needing forgiveness, and further, our inability to provide restitution to merit such pardon. So the gospel’s presupposition is mankind’s lack of glory. Sin in fact is defined as to “fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Secondly, though, Christ the God-Man makes this restitution for us himself on the cross, which gives God the glory (the credit) for salvation. Thirdly, he goes to the cross willingly; nobody murders him except that he has allowed them to, which takes the infamy of blame off of the perpetrators and transfers it to the credit of the sacrifice. Fourthly, the God-Man doesn’t stay dead but rises on the third day through the power of the Spirit with a glorified body. Ergo, even more glory for God. Then he ascends into heaven, giving himself even more glory. He sends the Spirit to grant us the gift of faith in receiving Christ’s work, so that he would get even more glory in the gospel’s acceptance. He sees that the gospel spreads into the farthest reaches of the earth, because he wants even more glory. And finally, he will return again to establish his kingdom once for all (lots of glory there), judging the quick and the dead (even more glory), and replacing the sun with the radiance of God’s glory (Heb. 1:3) as the literal light of the new heavens and new earth (glory saturation approaching 100%).

At each point in the gospel’s design, implementation, application, and forecast, God is at the very center taking the credit and establishing his own centrality. Indeed, we could say that God is himself God-centered, and while the gospel is for our salvation, it is chiefly for God’s own glory.

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