Behaving for the Glory of God (Part 1 of 2)

This forms the third installment of our series, Beholding God to Behave Godly for God's Glory. There are two primary ways Christians might respond to this series. One response recognizes how beholding God reveals the sinfulness in our lives and exposes our idols. It can feel daunting to confront these issues, and we might even resent messages that highlight our sin or idolatry. Reflecting on idolatry this past week, we likely discovered numerous idols in our lives.

Another response sees the incredible opportunity in Scripture to behold God and experience meaningful change. Recognizing our sinfulness, we understand it's not only possible but probable to change—not because of difficult circumstances, but because of our sin. For Christians, idolatry and sin represent true suffering. All other hardships are privileges, counting us worthy to suffer for Christ.

Beholding God doesn't automatically produce change. It requires intention and the right attitude to behave godly and bring God glory. Imagine the tragedy of flipping through Scripture carelessly, then claiming no change occurred. Contrast that with the Christian desperately seeking change and valuing God's glory above all. Scripture isn't a magical incantation for instant sanctification. It demands intentional hunger for God, combined with the proper Christian attitude, to produce profound, valuable change.

This message emphasizes the attitude Christians should have when beholding God—one that displays God's glory most magnificently, fulfilling our created purpose. Without this, true enjoyment in life eludes us.

In Isaiah 66:1-2, three things to behold will encourage us to behave godly for God's glory.

1. Behold the Immensity of God

Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord.”

Isaiah 66:1-2 (ESV)

I chose "immensity" because it captures God's absolute hugeness—He cannot be contained in any location yet is present everywhere. Heaven cannot contain Him, nor can earth, yet He is present in both.

God didn't say heaven is the location of His throne or that He occasionally rests His feet on earth. The entirety of heaven is His throne; the entirety of earth is His footstool. These occur simultaneously.

Even with extensive travel, no one has explored every inch of earth—think of the ocean depths probed by tiny submarines. Yet the human mind struggles to grasp earth's massiveness, let alone heaven's boundless expanse. God, without a human body, condescends to our understanding: all heaven is His throne, all earth His footstool.

It's tragic to read this unmoved, indifferent to the God who saved you. This revelation should stir us.

Recently at the zoo, my energetic children froze in awe and terror before massive polar bears. My daughter trembled, caught between fear and fascination—terrified yet unable to look away. This mirrors our response to God: awestruck fear mixed with ecstatic beauty. Beholding Him who sits on heaven and rests feet on earth evokes dread and wonder.

The footstool concept signifies reverence. In the Old Testament, it evoked worship:

Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!

Psalm 99:5 (ESV)

“Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!”

Psalm 132:7 (ESV)

The temple was God's footstool, but here the entire earth is. Jesus echoed this to the Samaritan woman: true worshipers worship in spirit and truth, not a specific place. Everywhere we stand is an opportunity to worship—with bowed reverence.

Jesus referenced this in the Sermon on the Mount:

Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool...

Matthew 5:33-35 (ESV)

Swearing oaths predicts the future by something greater than oneself. Only God, who sits on heaven and rests feet on earth, declares and fulfills the future. Oaths encroach on His deity.

God asks, “What is the house you would build for me? What is the place of my rest?” The temple was for His people, not His need—His gracious condescension despite His unapproachability. No dwelling contains Him.

This immensity raises a question: What can please such a God? Nothing we build suffices. What does He demand?

2. Behold the Intellectual Property of God

God reveals our insufficiency, then declares He created everything—His throne, footstool, all things. “All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be.” This is God's effortless creative power. He spoke; non-existence obeyed. No physical exertion, no fatigue.

A pre-Socratic philosopher, Xenophanes, critiqued anthropomorphic gods, arguing true God is one, omnipresent, motionless, and moves all by thought alone. Though not biblical, it echoes God's reality.

God rested not from exhaustion but because He completed perfect work. Isaiah 45:7-8 illustrates:

I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord who does all these things... Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the Lord have created it.

Isaiah 45:7-8 (ESV)

Creation mirrors salvation. Isaiah 43:6-7 ties it to purpose:

...everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.

Isaiah 43:7 (ESV)

We exist to glorify God. He owes us nothing; we owe Him worship as Creator and Sovereign. Creation ignoring Him fails its purpose.

3. Behold the Intention of God

God reveals His immensity and creatorship to stun us, making His intention land powerfully: “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite of spirit and trembles at my word.”

His goal isn't to depress us with unattainable expectations. God looks to us—not from need, but because humble, contrite, trembling hearts display His glory unhindered. These qualities attract God, though despised by the world that scorns weakness.

Humility and Contrition: Rejecting the World's Norms

The proof of our aversion to weakness is evident everywhere. We seek fixes for suffering because we crave strength and praise. Hearing good things about ourselves is enjoyable; no one wants to be an outcast. In youth ministry, the struggle with popularity is rampant—"nobody likes me"—and adults face similar issues in different forms. People leave churches over perceived neglect or negative attention. Pride is the norm, accepted by the world, while humility is unattractive. Yet these qualities—humility and contrition—are supremely attractive to God.

God says He will behold—gaze upon—these people reserved for Him: the humble and contrite who tremble at His word. "Humble" means low, like dirt. Even those without high self-esteem fit this, but contrition implies brokenness of spirit, as if smitten by God. These aren't pretenses. God declares in creation that we are dust and to dust we shall return. We are riddled with sin—the epitome of brokenness.

God isn't asking us to fake it but to accept reality: we are sinful creatures before a holy Creator. Pretending otherwise is pride. False humility, like denying a perfect pie's excellence to fish for compliments, is actually pride. True humility is honest self-recognition, especially compared to our Creator. When Scripture describes God enthroned in heaven with the earth as His footstool, we feel low and broken by our sin.

Trembling at God's Word

Verse 2 says God will gaze favorably upon the humble, contrite, and those who tremble at His word. When did you last have a physical response to Scripture? Paul, in 1 Corinthians 2, determined to know nothing among them except Jesus Christ and Him crucified, declaring he was with them in fear and much trembling. Paul wasn't eloquent or structured; he trembled proclaiming God's majestic work of salvation. His authenticity shone through—he wasn't inventing tales but convinced of sin's heinousness and Christ's glory.

When did we last physically respond to God's glory and majesty? This God, whose throne is heaven and earth His footstool, is attracted to such behavior.

Beholding God's Glory Transforms Us

The point isn't a checklist of humility, contrition, and trembling. These flow from beholding God's glory. If God is glorious—and He is—gazing upon Him produces the intended effect. Second Corinthians 3:14–18 contrasts those with a veil over their faces, unable to see God's glory in Scripture, and those with the veil removed. Paul says we who behold the glory of the Lord are transformed into the same image, from one degree of glory to another.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

It's possible to be transformed by beholding God's glory. Intentionally seek it in Scripture and sermons in the weeks ahead.