Glory to God at Jesus' Feet

Glory Belongs to God Alone

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The healed Samaritan “glorified God” (Luke 17:15). To glorify God means to tell how great and good He is and to honor Him. The Bible teaches that this kind of honor belongs to God alone.

The first commandment. When God gave His people the Ten Commandments, the first one was, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). No person, no thing and no idol may take God's place.

His glory is His own. Through the prophet Isaiah, God said that He is the Lord, that is His name, and He will not give His glory to anyone else (Isaiah 42:8). God shares many good gifts with people. He does not share His glory.

Not to us. One psalm begins by asking God to give glory not to us, but to His own name (Psalm 115:1). God's people knew that every good thing came from Him.

Jesus said it too. When the devil tempted Jesus, Jesus answered with Scripture: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve” (Matthew 4:10).

Two men who said no. In the town of Lystra, Paul told a man who had never walked to stand up on his feet, and the man jumped up and walked. The crowd thought Paul and Barnabas were gods and got ready to offer sacrifices to them (Acts 14:8-13).

We are only men. Paul and Barnabas tore their clothes and ran into the crowd. They said they were only men, just like the people there. They begged them to turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth (Acts 14:14-15).

Why they refused. Paul and Barnabas pointed the crowd away from themselves to the living God (Acts 14:15). The healing was God's work, not theirs.

We need His help. We all fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). We often want praise for ourselves. Jesus never did. He lived for His Father's glory, died on the cross for our sins and rose again, so that everyone who trusts Him is forgiven.

What this means for you. When something good happens, give the glory to God. When people praise you, you can say thank you and then point them to God, who gives you every good gift.

The Samaritan “glorified God” with a loud voice (Luke 17:15). The verb is doxazō (say: dox-AHD-zoh), to give glory, to say and show how great someone is. Scripture guards God's glory carefully.

No other gods (Exodus 20:3). “You shall have no other gods before Me.” The first commandment forbids more than statues. It forbids giving anything or anyone the place in our hearts that belongs to the Lord.

Glory not shared (Isaiah 42:8). The Lord says that He is the Lord, that is His name, and He will not give His glory to another or His praise to carved images. God gives people life, gifts and honor. The glory that belongs to God belongs to Him alone.

Not unto us (Psalm 115:1). The psalm opens by asking the Lord to give glory not to us, but to His name, because of His mercy and His truth. Worshipers who knew their own weakness pointed every bit of praise back to God.

Him only (Matthew 4:10). When the devil offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world in exchange for worship, Jesus answered, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” Jesus held to the first commandment.

Lystra (Acts 14:8-18). After a man who had never walked was healed, the crowd shouted that the gods had come down in human form, and a priest brought oxen to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas. The apostles tore their clothes, ran in among the people and insisted that they were men with the same nature as everyone else. They pointed the crowd to the living God who made heaven, earth and sea. Even then they could barely stop the sacrifice.

Servants refuse it. Faithful servants of God refuse worship, because the power was never theirs. They would rather tear their clothes than take glory that belongs to God.

The gospel. All of us have “sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We keep for ourselves glory that belongs to Him. Jesus lived wholly for the Father's glory, “died for our sins according to the Scriptures” and “rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Through faith in Him we are forgiven and set free to live for God's glory.

Application. Learn to pass praise upward. Accept a compliment kindly, then give God the credit. A heart that gives Him the glory stays close to Him.

Worship at the Feet of Jesus

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The healed Samaritan did two things at once. He “glorified God” (Luke 17:15), and he “fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks” (Luke 17:16). He gave glory to God while he bowed at the feet of Jesus.

Jesus did not stop him. Paul and Barnabas tore their clothes when people tried to worship them. Jesus did not stop this man. Instead, He said the man had “returned to give glory to God” (Luke 17:18). Thanking Jesus was giving glory to God.

Why? Jesus is God the Son. He is not only a great teacher or a healer sent by God. He is God, who became a man to save us.

People glorified God when Jesus healed. When Jesus healed a man who could not walk, the man went home “glorifying God,” and the crowd “glorified God” too (Luke 5:25-26). Another time, Jesus healed a woman who had been bent over for eighteen years, and she stood up straight and glorified God (Luke 13:13).

God at work in Jesus. Each time, people saw God's power in what Jesus did. The Samaritan saw it too, and he came right to the feet of Jesus.

Every knee will bow. Long ago God said, “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22). He also said that every knee would bow to Him (Isaiah 45:23). The New Testament says that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Philippians 2:10).

Worship in heaven. In Revelation, John heard every creature in heaven and on earth giving blessing, honor and glory to the One on the throne and to the Lamb, who is Jesus (Revelation 5:13). Then the elders fell down and worshiped (Revelation 5:14).

Why Jesus deserves it. Jesus is worthy because of who He is and what He did. We had sinned against God. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Everyone who trusts Him is forgiven.

Bow your heart. You do not have to lie on the ground to worship Jesus. Worship starts in the heart: loving Him most, trusting Him, obeying Him and telling Him how great He is. Bowing down is one way to show that He is the King.

What this means for you. You can worship Jesus the way the Samaritan did: come close, say thank you, and tell others how great He is. When you praise Jesus, you are giving glory to God.

The healed man glorified God with a loud voice and fell on his face at the feet of Jesus, “giving Him thanks” (Luke 17:15-16). Jesus described that return as giving “glory to God” (17:18).

Received, not refused. At Lystra, Paul and Barnabas tore their clothes to stop worship (Acts 14:14). Jesus accepted this man's thanks at His feet and called it glory to God. A mere prophet could not do that. Jesus could, because He is God the Son.

On his face. Falling on one's face is how people in the Bible bowed before the Lord. When fire came out from before the Lord at the tabernacle, the people “shouted and fell on their faces” (Leviticus 9:24). Moses and Aaron “fell on their faces” at the tabernacle door, “And the glory of the Lord appeared to them” (Numbers 20:6). The Samaritan took that same posture before Jesus.

Glory for Jesus' works. Again and again in Luke, people answered Jesus' works by glorifying God. The man who had been paralyzed went home “glorifying God,” and the whole crowd “glorified God” (Luke 5:25-26). The woman bent over for eighteen years was made straight and glorified God (Luke 13:13). They saw that God Himself was at work in Jesus.

Isaiah 45 and Philippians 2. The Lord says, “For I am God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22), and He swears that to Him every knee shall bow (45:23). Paul applies that very promise to Jesus: “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,” and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, “to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).

The Lamb on the throne (Revelation 5:13-14). John saw every creature in heaven, on earth and under the earth giving blessing, honor, glory and power to the One on the throne and to the Lamb together, and the elders fell down and worshiped. Worship that belongs only to God is given to the Lamb, because the Lamb is God the Son.

Why the cross matters here. The Lamb is worshiped as the One who was slain. We had sinned and fallen short of God's glory. Jesus died for our sins and rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), and everyone who trusts Him is forgiven and brought near to worship.

Application. Worship Jesus as God, not only admire Him as a good man. Bring Him thanks the way the Samaritan did: personally, out loud and humbly, at His feet.

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