Word of Encouragement (10/5/2021)
We will take a look at another prayer in Rev.: “...the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created’” (4:10-11).
In this prayer, the twenty-four elders confess that God is worthy to receive glory and honor and power. This, of course, doesn’t mean that the twenty-four elders would give God glory and honor and power; it simply means that glory and honor and power should be ascribed to God because He is infinite in His glory and honor and power.
Glory is something that elicits admiration and adoration from those, who behold it. There is something glorious about an Olympic athlete winning a gold medal by his amazing strength, agility, and skill, or the brilliant performance of a virtuoso. The supreme glory of God elicits and deserves our most heartfelt worship.
Honor is similar. It is “high respect, as for worth, merit, or rank.” God deserves the highest honor because He is matchless in His worth, merit, and rank.
Power is “the ability or capacity to act or do something effectively.” God is omnipotent. This doesn’t mean that He can do anything or everything imaginable, including lying and sinning. He is able to do whatever He wills according to His most holy, just, loving, and merciful character. Even though He established the laws of nature, He is not bound by them. God is the God of nature as well as the supernatural realm.
The twenty-four elders ascribe glory, honor, and power to God for God’s creation of all things—“for you created all things....” This is one of the most basic things we believe about God. In our prayers, we often confess God as the Creator of all things. But when we pause for a moment to reflect on this most basic doctrine, it is the most mind-boggling fact, isn’t it? There was a time nothing existed, except God—no earth with all of its mountains and valleys and oceans and rivers and fields and marshes, swarming with all kinds of insects and sea creatures and land creatures and birds and plants and trees; no sun and moon, no stars with their planets, no galaxies, hundreds of billions of them throughout the vast space of this universe! In the beginning, when there was nothing, God spoke and all things came into being by His almighty word. The God we worship and love and rely on is the almighty God, who created all things out of nothing. Shouldn’t this motivate us to pray in hope even in the most depressing and desperate situations?
The twenty-four elders’ praise of God implies that we exist to give God glory, honor, and power—“... by your will they existed and were created.” God does not do things haphazardly or flippantly: He does all things “according to the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11). He did not create the universe, not to mention man, who was made in His image, because He was bored and had nothing to do. If the twenty-four angels and the four living creatures (4:8) along with all the angels in heaven (5:11) join together to praise God, we know that it is to bring glory to Himself. This is not because God is so insecure that He needs our praise for affirmation and a better self-image. One reason is for His creatures, particularly His intelligent, self-aware creatures, to have the ecstasy and joy of beholding the most glorious, honorable, and powerful God and have a meaningful and fulfilling relationship with Him! So strong was this kind will of God that, when we fell in sin and were cut off from His goodness and love, He was willing to sacrifice His own Son so that we might be restored to Him!
As we begin this day, let us reflect on God’s glory, honor, and power and praise Him for His marvelous creation and His wonderful redemption in Jesus Christ!