CHAPTER 6

The Story of His Glory

Steven C. Hawthorne

Steven C. Hawthorne leads a mission and prayer mobilization ministry called WayMakers. After co-editing the Perspectives course and book in 1981, he launched a series of research expeditions among unreached peoples in Asia and the Middle East.

The Bible is basically a story about God, who He is, and what He is accomplishing in all the earth. But if we turn to the Bible as a self-help book, or as a set of morality tales designed to teach good behavior, we can easily end up bored or frustrated with what seems to be a rambling collection of stories. What if the Bible is more about God than it is about us? It is thrilling to discover that every element of Scripture—the reports of events, the verses of distilled wisdom, the lyrical prophecies—converge in one immense saga of one worthy Person.

We’re used to the idea that the Bible is a true story. It is so true that the story is still unfolding to this minute. We often hear that the Bible is a love story. But we tend to see only one side of love: how God loves people. If the primary command of the Bible is for God to be loved by people with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength, perhaps we would be wise to read the entire story from God’s point of view. When we look at it all from God’s viewpoint, the grand love story finally makes sense: God is not just loving people. He is transforming them to become people who can fully love and gladly serve Him. God is drawing people as worshipers to offer freely to Him their love-inspired glory.

God can be loved only when He is known. The essence of the story of the Bible is this: God makes Himself known to the earth in order to draw many people to love Him by offering themselves to Him in obedient worship. God reveals His glory, in order for people to give Him glory. With God’s passionate love at the core, the Bible is truly the story of His glory.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF GLORY

To follow the story of God as the Bible presents it, we need to understand three related ideas that define the story at every important juncture: glory, the name of God, and worship.

Glory

Don’t be thrown off by the religious-sounding word “glory.” Glory is the relational beauty that every person’s heart yearns to behold and even to enter. The word “glory” in Scripture refers to the essential worth, beauty, and value of people, all created things, and, of course, the Creator Himself. The Hebrew word for glory is a word meaning weight, substance, and at the same time, brilliance or radiant beauty. To glorify someone is to recognize their intrinsic worth and beauty, and to speak of that feature in a public way. To glorify God is to voice praise or to speak of Him openly and truthfully. Glory is at the heart of true worship throughout the Scriptures:

All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O LORD, And they shall glorify Your name. (Ps 86:9 NASB)

We . . . worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:3 NASB)

The idea of “glory” also describes honor that can be given or awarded. When someone is exalted or honored by others, they are to some extent, in a biblical sense, glorified. God is so rich in glory that He bestows extravagant honors upon His human servants without compromising His own majesty in the slightest. Jesus exposed our habit of seeking “glory from one another,” and yet failing to “seek the glory that is from the one and only God” (John 5:44 NASB).

The Name of God

Throughout the larger story, the biblical authors use the expression “the name of God” as a way of describing how God desires to be recognized and known. It is helpful to distinguish three different ways that God’s name is found in the Bible. There are three functions to the idea of God’s name: reference, revelation, and reputation. It can be helpful to distinguish these usages with three easy-to-remember categories: name-tag names, window names, and the fame name.

Name-Tag Names

First, there are the actual words that are used as names to refer to God in the Bible. God is never anonymous in His story. He uses many names for Himself. Because the function is reference, we can call these names, for our purposes, the “name-tag” names of God since a name tag distinguishes and identifies someone. It is just as true to refer to the God of Scripture as “the Lord of hosts” as it is to refer to Him as “God Almighty” or “Judge of all the earth.” Each of these names is truly God’s name.¹

Window Names

Second, many of the names used to refer to God actually reveal something about Him. The function is revelation. For example, anyone spending a few minutes pondering the biblical name “God Most High” will recognize something of His greatness. Addressing God as “the Shepherd” can reveal something of the nurturing kindness of God.

The Fame Name

The third usage of the phrase “the name of God” is the most abundant in the Bible, even though it is little recognized. “God’s name” often refers to the idea of His public renown. I call it God’s “fame name.” The function is God’s reputation: how He wants to be known all over the world. God’s name is the body of truth about Himself which He has displayed and declared in the long, unfolding story of the Bible. The Hebrew people were not only to treasure this story, but they were also to tell it. Unlike the way of many religions, God’s revelation was never to be a secret affair for a few people. Isaiah calls the people of Israel to “make known His deeds among the peoples” so that the nations are steadily reminded that “His name is exalted” (Isa 12:4 NASB). As we shall see, much of the story of the Bible recounts what God has done to make His greatness and goodness known among the nations.

Worship

Why does God want to be known with such clarity that is grounded in historical reality? God wants to be more than globally famous—He desires to be truly worshiped, which means to be served in love.

God Reveals His Glory to Receive Glory

God’s glory flows in two directions. The first direction of His glory is toward the world. He shows His glory to people throughout the earth. He reveals who He is and what He has done in order to bring about the second direction of glory—that people might meet Him, giving Him glory in loving worship. God reveals glory to all nations in order that He might receive glory from people through worship.

Psalm 96 shows these two directions of glory. First, God mandates a declaration of His glory to the nations in verses 2 and 3 (NASB):

Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.

Tell of His glory among the nations,

His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.

What an eloquent portrayal of the evangelization of the world! But the psalmist goes on to tell the purpose for world evangelization by describing the second aspect of God’s glory: a response of glory from the nations toward God in verses 7 to 9:

Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples,²

Give to the LORD glory and strength.

Give to the LORD the glory of His name;

Bring an offering, and come into His courts.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness;

Tremble before Him, all the earth.

The heart of mission flows in this beautiful process of glory: God reveals His glory to all nations in order to receive glory from all creation.

A Purpose beyond Salvation

People are indeed saved by “the good tidings of His salvation” (96:2 NASB), but the ultimate value of their salvation cannot be seen in what they are saved from, it is what people are saved for that really matters. People are saved in order to serve God in the relationship of worship. The Bible is clear: God’s purpose for His mission is that He would be freely served in love. We are going to see that God’s words calling for His people to be liberated from Egypt was not, “Let My people go.” God always attached a purpose clause for God to be served or worshiped: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me” (Exod 8:1 NASB, and others). Consider the logic of Psalm 96:2–4 (NASB):

Proclaim good tidings of His salvation. Tell of His glory among all the peoples. For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.

A Rationale Greater than Supremacy

The reason for worship seems simple enough: Since God is supreme, He requires creatures to bow down to Him in subjection. But it is foolish to speak of God’s jealousy for worship as if He were a petulant tribal deity threatened by rival gods. God is not threatened; rather, He is immeasurably saddened by false worship.

God does not demand that people give Him applause and praise. Whenever we willingly worship and honor God, glorifying Him, we are actually offering ourselves to Him in a relational way, as an act of love. For the Almighty God to listen to us, or to even notice us, is a great honor. God’s purpose is to love us by receiving our worship, condescending to listen and receive our praise. As we glorify Him in Christ, He is actually honoring, or glorifying, us.

Worship takes place when people learn who He is and then approach Him, personally offering face-to-face gratitude and day-to-day allegiance. Worship is genuine relational interaction with the living God. That’s why throughout the biblical story, God welcomes and instructs His people to worship Him by presenting a gift to Him. He never needs the worship gifts. But the gift brings the giver. That is why the nations are urged to join His people, bringing gifts, offering God tokens of their finest worth (Ps 96:8 and many others). By their offerings and gifts, people of the nations are offering themselves.

Fully Bestowing His Love

Why is God so desirous of worship? Two reasons: He is delighted by the sincere love that is given to Him in true worship. But there is more: By wooing people into whole-hearted worship, God is able to fully bestow His love upon them. You can see it in Psalm 96:6 (NASB):

Splendor and majesty are before Him,

Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

“Splendor and majesty” do not refer to God’s self-experience. Rather, along with “strength and beauty” (the parallel passage says “joy” in 1 Chr 16:27), are features of God’s presence that can be experienced by people who approach Him in true worship. There can be nothing more splendid or satisfying for humans than to know that they have gladdened the heart of God.

Worship is the most important way that people glorify God. When looked at from God’s point of view, we can see that worship is also God’s way of glorifying people—in all the best sense of bringing people into their highest honor. Worship fulfills God’s love. He loves people so vastly that He wills to exalt them to something better than greatness; He wants to bring them into an honored nearness to Him. We can stretch our minds and hearts as far as we can, but we will never perceive the full extent of what God has prepared for those who love Him. “Eye has not seen, and ear has not heard; and it has not entered the heart of humans, what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor 2:9).

John got a glimpse of the “splendor and majesty” of the heavenly courts in Revelation 5:1–14. He heard myriads of angels raise their voices acclaiming the marvel that the Messiah Himself has purchased people from every tribe and tongue. Why has God bought such ignoble humans at the extravagant cost of the blood of His Son? Furthermore, why has He purchased some from every single ethnicity? Of what value are these ones? In God’s eyes, their value is this:

They will be His priests, His worship servants. Some from every people will gladly offer to God the distinctive honors and redeemed glories of their people. Because the cost was Christ’s blood, each of the peoples has eternal worth. God has set His mighty heart to bring some from each of the peoples to an honored place before Him. It must come forth. The unrequited love of God for each of the peoples is what energizes any true missionary enterprise.

The psalmist reflects God’s zeal for the people groups of earth. God beckons every one of the “families of the peoples,” people linked by blood and marriage with generational depth. Each of these extended families has a history, and also a destiny, before God. They are each invited into His regal presence. The peoples are to voice praise gifts to God in their many languages, extolling “the glory of His name” (Ps 96:7–9). They are not to come emptyhanded; instead, they present to God a sample of the unique beauties, strengths, and traditions—the glories—of their lands and families.

RETURN TO LESSON 2: The Story of His Glory

THE BIBLE AS GOD’S STORY

The Bible is the great drama of God’s love drawing the worship of the nations. Remember the basic thesis: God reveals His glory to all peoples so that He will receive glory from all creation. God’s goal in it all is that He would be loved by some from every people. This extensive story has a preamble in the life of Abraham. After this preview, we examine how God does something great and global for His name, what I call “The Great Display.” But this lengthy story is followed by events that I’ve called “The Great Delay.” But this leads to what I call “The Greater Fulfillment.” Within these three chunks of time, each of them unfolding over many generations, are seven major events.

Abraham Honors God

When Abraham arrived in the land of promise, he did not excel as a brilliant missionary, however we might define that role. He’s certainly not on record as a great evangelist. He was actually thrown out of Egypt in disgrace (Gen 12:10–20). Abraham’s neighbors frightened him into lying about his family. Abraham’s rationale for falsely presenting his wife does not reveal an evangelist’s confidence that lives might change: “Surely there is no fear of God in this place” (20:11 NASB). But for all his failings, he did the most missionary thing he could have done when he first arrived in the new land: His first act was to establish ongoing public worship of God. “He built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD” (12:7–8 NASB). His house-hold may have been the only worshipers at that altar, but God was explicitly worshiped by name and in a public way.

Blessed to Be a Blessing to Be a Blessing

At one point Abraham rescued some of his powerful neighbors from an alliance of marauding nations (Gen 14). After the miraculous victory, Abraham refused to accept the windfall of reward from the king of Sodom. If he accepted the largesse, he knew that from that point on, he and his family would always be viewed as living under the patronage of that city. Instead, he chose to keep himself positioned before the nations as one specifically blessed by God.³

With the nations watching, Abraham resolutely named God as the one who would reward and bless him. His bold words (14:21–24) were substantiated by the gift of goods Abraham offered God. Abraham offered to God the wealth of Sodom as well as that of other nations. In this way, he helped foreign nations present a tithe to God, a recognized formal act of worship (14:18–20). With Melchizedek as a presiding priest, Abraham functioned as a priest by offering worship gifts on behalf of other nations.

Abraham was blessed in order to be a blessing to the nations (12:1–3). But the purpose goes beyond the blessing of nations. God Himself is blessed! Melchizedek openly recognized that Abraham was blessed by God. By God’s power, Abraham had been a blessing to his neighbors by rescuing enslaved families and their goods. But the grand result was that God Himself would be blessed in praise! Listen to Melchizedek: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High. . . . And blessed be God Most High” (14:18–20 NASB).

What do we learn from the entire series of events? Abraham made God’s name known by his ongoing worship. God made His name great by dramatic redemptive power through His people. The outcome was a multinational gathering of grateful honor in which God was explicitly worshiped in truth.

God’s Global Purpose Confirmed

The crucial, proving moment of Abraham’s life was a worship event (22). God told Abraham to offer his son Isaac to God as an act of worship. God said that it was a test to prove what Abraham and his family would be. Would God find in Abraham an obedient, priestly passion for God (literally, “a fearer of God,” 22:12)? Would Abraham prove to be zealous to offer the worship God desired? If so, God would find him to have the kind of faith that God wanted multiplied among the nations.

The story is well known. At the very moment that Abraham began to obey by offering his son, God stopped him, speaking from heaven and providing an animal sacrifice. God spoke with a solemn oath, declaring that His global purpose to bless the peoples of the earth would be fulfilled through Abraham’s family (22:16–18).

THE GREAT DISPLAY

The Exodus: To Make His Name Great

God made Himself known to the world in a big way at the exodus from Egypt. At first glance, the story of the exodus doesn’t look like a great missionary event. Thousands of Egyptians died. Grief covered almost every Egyptian home. What was God doing? The key passage is Exodus 9:13–16 (NASB) in which Moses gives an ultimatum to Pharaoh, with a bold word about His purposes:

Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. For this time I will send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.”

The God of the Hebrews could have annihilated the Egyptians, but instead, He wanted them to tell the story, to “proclaim,” the greatness of His name:

For if by now I had put forth My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then have been cut off from the earth. But indeed, for this cause I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power, and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth.

God never did say, “Let My people go!” That is just half the sentence, without the purpose, which was clearly stated every time Moses declared it. Take care to hear the entire demand: “Let my people go, that they may serve Me!” The word “serve” is sometimes translated as “worship” (8:1, 20; 9:1, 13; 10:3).⁴

Pharaoh understood what Moses was demanding: The people were to be released in order to worship their God. Pharaoh may have thought that the appeal for a worship vacation was a ploy to disguise their plans for permanent escape. Perhaps many of the Hebrews thought that the plan to worship God in the wilderness was but a ruse to dupe the authorities and escape. If so, we shouldn’t be surprised that many of the Hebrew slaves remained fixated on matters of comfort, diet, safety, and entertainment (16:2–17:7). They were slow to comprehend that their deliverance had a greater purpose than for them to enjoy an easy life. God was actually using their liberation to make Himself known in the sight of the nations.

God Brings Global Attention to His Name

God was singling Himself out from all the gods of earth. He was making an “everlasting name” for Himself at the exodus (Isa 63:11–14; Neh 9:9–10). He wanted the people of Egypt and beyond to know that there was absolutely no god like the only living God. He wanted the world to watch a mob of slaves marching in procession to worship Him. God established His reputation as one greater and absolutely different (truly holy, not just “holier”) from any other deity imagined by human minds—an exquisite, almighty, resplendent God. The exodus was to be a reference point for all subsequent revelation to the world, displaying His character, His holiness, and His power. How did the chaos of the plagues reveal the everlasting God?

Shaming the Gods of Egypt

Some scholars have noted that every one of the plagues of Egypt was aimed against one or more of the false gods of Egypt.⁵ Some Egyptian deities, such as the Nile River, or the great sun god, were embarrassed directly by the plagues of blood and darkness. Other deities were indirectly shamed by exposing their complete inability to do what they were expected to do. There were gods who were revered as being able to deal with infestations of insects or to protect cattle from disease. The powerful religious elite was also shamed. The deeply revered military was annihilated. Why was God wrecking Egypt before the watching world?

The Egyptian pantheon was thought to be one of the most powerful in the world. God was executing “judgments,” or shaming, “all the gods of Egypt” (Exod 12:12). He was not trying to destroy people, but instead, He was devastating one of the most highly regarded collections of false gods.

The Nations Take Notice

Did it work? Did the world take notice of God making His name great? The devastation recorded in the book of Exodus didn’t make headlines in Egyptian hieroglyphics, but we should understand that events that put Egypt in a bad light were never chipped into stone.

The Bible reports that the waves of the Red Sea had not quite calmed down before Moses led the people in singing, “The LORD is His name Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness?” Then they began to list some of the surrounding nations besides Egypt, stating clearly that: “The peoples have heard, and they tremble” (Exod 15:3, 11, 14–15 NASB).

Jethro was Moses’s father-in-law, but he was still very much a gentile. He had certainly heard about the God of the Hebrews for years from Moses. Like Jethro, many peoples and cities had heard something about this great God without trusting or worshiping Him. But consider what Jethro said after hearing about the plagues of Egypt: “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; indeed, it was proven when they dealt proudly against the people” (18:11 NASB). Jethro was the leading priest of a foreign people, well-qualified to evaluate religious matters (18:1).

The complex of religious, economic, and military powers of Egypt had been seen to be inextricably enmeshed with the spiritual powers of their gods. God’s intervention put down oppressive evil in order to liberate people. Why were the Hebrew people freed? “Let my people go, that they may worship Me.” God had orchestrated the exodus events to reveal Himself as a greater God, establishing His name in a global way. Then, with the world watching, He drew His people to Himself to serve Him as worshipers.

The Conquest: Pure Worship for Greater Glory

The conquest of Canaan should be seen in the same light as God winning to Himself a single, holy people of worship. By the witness of that people He would eventually draw some from every other people to revere, know, and serve Him. To modern readers, the conquest can seem like a genocidal land grab rather than an act of a good and loving God. But take a close look at the pertinent passages of Scripture. God ordained the conquest of Canaan to fulfill a double purpose.

1. Just recompense. First, God was bringing recompense for the “wickedness” of the peoples of the land (Deut 9:5). Centuries before, God had told Abraham that “the iniquity” of the Canaanite people was “not yet complete” (Gen 15:16). God allowed sin to run its full course. We only have one indication from a Canaanite point of view about the conquest. It came from a king who acknowledged the righteous execution of God’s justice: “As I have done, so God has repaid me” (Judg 1:7 NASB).

2. Demolishing false worship. The second reason for the thoroughness of the Hebrew conquest was this: God was destroying systems of false worship in order to preserve the singular devotion of His people. Almost every passage that describes the rationale for pushing away the peoples living in the land offers this reason: If Canaanite worship persisted, it would swiftly turn the Hebrews “away from following Me to serve other gods” (Deut 4:15–24; 6:13–15; 7:1–8 NASB).

Joshua and Moses both voiced the same God-given rationale for the violence of the conquest: it was, at the core, an annihilation of false worship. God had mandated the destruction of idols so that Israel would never “mention the name of their gods, or serve them, or bow down to them” (Josh 23:7). While there are difficulties in fully understanding this part of the story of God’s people, one thing is clear about the conquest: the point was pure worship. God’s objective was not that Israel would be the only people that worshiped Him. His point was to ensure that He was the only God that they worshiped.

Idolatry: Mixing God’s Reputation with Lesser Gods

Idolatry doesn’t seem to threaten most believers today. The first four commands of the Ten Commandments can mystify or even bore us. Why was God so ferociously passionate about idolatry? Without understanding His global purposes for glory, it may seem that God is overwrought about a nasty, primitive habit.

But look at idolatry from God’s point of view. God had distinguished His name far above any other god. Any kind of idolatry would, in effect, profane (that is, bring down as common) God’s name, the very name God had just singled out and sounded forth to the world.

Look again at the conquest. The point of the invasion was not that Israel deserved someone else’s homeland. God told Israel clearly that they weren’t special or favored because of their intrinsic righteousness or their great nobility (Deut 7:6–7). Israel was told repeatedly that God would destroy them just as swiftly if they turned away from serving Him to worshiping other gods.

With Nations Watching, Moses Prays for God’s Global Purpose

It didn’t take long for the people of Israel to submerge themselves in horrific idolatry. Moses hadn’t even come down from Mt. Sinai before the people built a golden calf, similar to what they saw worshiped in Egypt, saying of it, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt” (Exod 32:8). On the heights of Mt. Sinai, God told Moses that He would destroy the people because of the idolatry. But God’s purpose required a faithful people. This is why God told Moses that He would make him become “a great nation” (32:10). But Moses ignored God’s offer to make him a great patriarch. He prayed instead for God to fulfill His purpose among the nations as He had planned, saying, “Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them’” (32:12 NASB). Essentially, Moses told God that a report would go out across the world that the God of the Hebrew people was not to be trusted. This God was not good.

The Goodness of God

Then Moses prayed according to the promise of blessing to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that God would relent, changing His mind, about the harm that He was going to bring against the people. And God did relent from obliterating the people. But it wasn’t clear at all what kind of relationship that God desired with the people (32:13–14). Then came a prolonged season of prayer. Moses came near to God in what he called “the tent of meeting” (33:7–11). The prayer went on for many days, once again asking God to fulfill His global purpose. Moses knew that God’s desire was to establish a global reputation as the only great and good God, who could be loved and served with joy by His people. Moses prayed, “How then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that . . . Your people . . . may be distinguished from all the other people who are on the face of the earth?” (33:16 NASB).

God responded to this prayer for Him to reveal His goodness. He said, “I . . . will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you” (33:19). The next day, God passed before Moses “and proclaimed, ‘The . . . LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who . . . forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished’” (34:6–7 NASB). This is how God wants to be known among all the peoples of earth. A God who is kind and merciful, keeping a love covenant, in which He forgives sin, but still brings just punishment upon the guilty.

The Greatness of God

Much later, Moses prayed for the people a second time, once again asking for God to fulfill His purpose to be known among all peoples. This time they were very close to the promised land. They had sent a team of spies to check out the land of Canaan and its people. Ten of the spies frightened the entire people with their report, touching off a hysterical rebellion for their self-preservation, acting as if God didn’t exist (Num 13:17–14:10). God was ready to destroy the entire people and once again, to start over with Moses, remaking him to become another people “greater and mightier” than the Hebrews (14:12). For His global purposes God required a people who would at least believe in Him.

Once again, Moses ignored the offer to make him into a great patriarch. And again, Moses’s prayer reminded God that the nations were watching. If Israel did not enter the land, many nations would conclude that their God of Israel was weak: “Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame (literally, name) will say, ‘Because the LORD could not bring this people into the land He slaughtered them in the wilderness’” (14:15–16 NASB).

And again Moses asked God to magnify Himself according to how God had summarized the reputation He desired among the nations: “The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression” (14:18 NASB).⁶ There was a long pause from heaven, and then God said that He had pardoned Israel according to Moses’s prayer (14:20). God then raised His voice, I think, using some of the strongest expressions possible: “But indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD!” (14:21). What was God saying? He would continue to use the same nation, but He would wait for another generation. Even though God was taking a delay, He remained resolute to bring forth His purpose on earth: to fill the earth with “the glory of the Lord.” To fulfill that purpose required an obedient, worshiping, witnessing people.

The Temple: To Make His Name Known

Perhaps the first clear mention of the temple was made in the wilderness before the people entered the land. Moses issued God’s orders to destroy “all the places where the nations . . . serve their gods.” Instead of remodeling and renaming any of the former places of worship, the shrines to other gods were to be completely devastated in order to “obliterate their name from that place.” God’s name is never to be seen as comparable with the name of any other deity. Instead, a new and different place of worship would be built, “to establish His name there for His dwelling” (Deut 12:2–7).

God declared the purpose of the temple: “to establish His name there for His dwelling.” The temple was called “a house for the name of the LORD” (1 Kgs 8:17–19 NASB). God wanted to do two things in this special place:

1. First, He wanted to reveal Himself by “His name.” It would be a place of revelation as worshipers continually exalted His character, and recounted the stories and songs about God’s work.

2. Second, God desired a place of encounter, of relationship, of dwelling. From the earliest mention of a tabernacle God intimated His desire to enjoy an exalted nearness amidst His people, “that I may dwell among them” (Exod 25:8). To “dwell” is a relational affair, describing the presence of God as people worshiped. God comes near His people as they come near to Him.

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Solomon knew that the temple was not God’s domicile. As he dedicated the fabulous structure, he prayed: “But will God indeed dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, heaven and highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built” (2 Chr 6:18 NASB).⁷

David had designed the temple as a place of approaching God with praise. Solomon installed the choirs and priestly musicians that his father had planned. These choirs were to continually “praise and glorify the Lord” using some of the Davidic songs, and no doubt using David’s dedicatory hymn found in 1 Chronicles 16:23–33 (another rendition of Ps 96, discussed above), which explicitly beckons all the “families of the peoples” to worship God (v. 28).

According to Solomon’s dedication, the house of the Lord was to be a place where God would see, hear, and answer His people. But the house was not just for Israel. Solomon makes special mention of “the peoples.” God’s purpose for the temple was to welcome all nations to seek to know the God of Israel personally and to worship Him with joy. Listen to Solomon’s prayer:

Also concerning the foreigner who is not of your people Israel, when he comes from a far country for your name’s sake (for they will hear of Your great name and Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm); when He comes and prays toward this house, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to fear You as do Your people Israel. (1 Kgs 8:41–43 NASB)

Solomon did not pray for a few individuals to come. He prayed for many people from every one of the peoples on earth. Solomon did not ask for gentiles to come to know God in their own personal way. He prayed that they would come to know God in the same way that Israel knew and served God. Solomon envisioned all peoples joining Israel in the same kind of humble, joyous, worshipful walk with God that Israel enjoyed.

RETURN TO LESSON 2: The Story of His Glory

The Nations Begin to Come

Did the report of God’s name go out to the world? Did foreigners ever come to the house of the Lord and learn of the fear of the Lord? Did God answer Solomon’s prayer? The best answer to these questions is “Yes” as well as “No.”

The record shows that soon after the temple was complete (1 Kgs 9:25), the Queen of Sheba “heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD” (10:1 NASB, emphasis mine). She came all the way to Israel with an entourage bringing gifts (10:2). She listened to Solomon’s wisdom (v. 8), and came away with an understanding of the covenant-keeping God who “loved Israel forever.” As only a royal ruler might see, she realized that God Himself had established the power of Solomon, and the hope that through God’s rulership, there might be “justice and righteousness” (v. 9).

Was the Queen of Sheba an isolated instance? Apparently not. A few verses later it says, “All the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart” (v. 24 NASB). The world did not honor Solomon for being brainy or clever in deciding court cases. The world recognized that God Himself had put wisdom in Solomon’s heart. And what was the first lesson in wisdom that Solomon put forth to the world? “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov 1:7; 9:10 NASB). Solomon was inviting the world to worship God and introducing them to a life of wisdom serving God. Solomon consecrated the temple in a spectacle of unimaginable glory. He dedicated the temple with a blessing of God’s purpose, “so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no one else” (1 Kgs 8:60 NASB).

God’s purposes were apparently being fulfilled. The story of the exodus had made His name great. Israel was making it known. Never had the nation been so blessed. And the temple was a place where the nations could come to meet and know God personally. And the nations were coming! What could have possibly slowed God’s unfolding plan to draw the nations to Himself? Only one thing. It was the issue about which God had most stringently warned His people: idolatry.

THE GREAT DELAY

Idolatry: Profaning His Name

And of all the possible horrors, probably the worst thing happened: Solomon himself is the one who led the way into grotesque idolatry. It was one of history’s most bitter ironies. Imagine the brilliant hopes with the riches and the desires of the nations coming to Israel.

Soon after the doors of the temple were opened to welcome the nations to come and to know God, Solomon’s heart was turned “away after other gods” (1 Kgs 11:4). He actually constructed shrines within sight of the holy mountain of God (11:5–8). Can any believing reader of these verses not feel disappointment to the point of nausea? What might have happened if worship had been pure and steady for at least another generation?

The Persistence of God

God’s plan was simple: He had exalted Himself as greater and different than every other god. The temple provided a way for Israel to make His name known to the nations. All they had to do was to keep serving the living God and to celebrate His blessings in faithful worship.

The story from this point becomes a prolonged up-and-down struggle with idolatry. Various episodes in the generations after Solomon revive faithfulness to God, but the revivals are followed by stunning new lows of profaning God’s name. At times the people disregarded the worship of God so greatly that generations would pass without people serving God with the simple regimens God had given Israel (the ordinances for worship in the books of Moses).

The words of some of the prophets show that even when worship patterns were followed, they were sometimes performed superficially: giving God something in order to get something back from Him. Doing small religious acts, and then expecting to receive benefits is how any idolatry functions. The prophets exposed perfunctory religious ceremonies that were performed naming the God of Israel but done in a shallow way to get benefits. Their lives lacked the justice and the kindness that was supposed to have thrived behind every offering and prayer to God (Isa 1:11–15; Amos 5:21–24; Mic 6:6–8).

Jeremiah was one of the prophets who told the people that they had utilized temple rituals as a way of getting cheap forgiveness. He stood at the temple gates, reminding them of God’s global purpose, that “this house . . . is called by My name.” Jeremiah told the people that if they continued to break God’s laws and walk “after other gods” God would send them into exile (Jer 7:8–15). Although God delayed the devastation of Israel, He finally did separate the people from the land, the land of promise that was supposed to showcase the blessing of God to the world. And then came the great tragedy: The house of God, the house for His name, built to welcome the nations, was burned and broken to rubble.

Exile and Promise: A New Exodus and Covenant

The Hebrew people were taken to the distant lands of Assyria and Babylon. Near the end of the exile, Daniel was reading the prophecies of Jeremiah that promised that God would limit the length of the exile (Jer 29:10–14). God promised that He would inspire His people to pray for God to bring His people back to the land. Daniel cried out for God to enact His promise to restore His people, and to do it for His glory. Daniel knew the whole story, how God had brought His people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand to make “a name for yourself, as it is this day” (Dan 9:15). Daniel knew that the ruins of the temple in Jerusalem were a continuing reproach to God’s glory to the watching world. Daniel prayed that God would do something marvelous for His name. The house for God’s name was gone. But by restoring the people to their land, His purpose could be fulfilled because “Your city and Your people are called by Your name” (9:16–19 NASB, emphasis mine).

Ezekiel, a near contemporary to Daniel, prophesied similar things. God had restrained His wrath at several junctures from destroying Israel, because, God was acting, “for the sake of [His] name” (Ezek 20:5–22). Ezekiel promised that God was acting “not for your sake, O house of Israel . . . but for My holy name” (36:22 NASB). Ezekiel promised a surprising hope, of a greater, later exodus: “I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land” (36:24 NASB). God would change the people, cleansing them “from all your idols,” and giving them “a new heart” by placing His Spirit within them (36:25–27). Why was God doing this? For His glory among all peoples:

Thus says the Lord GOD, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD.” (36:22–23 NASB)

The Destiny of Israel: Glory from All Nations

Daniel and Ezekiel weren’t the only prophets who saw the ongoing story of Israel as focusing on God’s name and glory. Other prophets and psalmists recounted the same history with similar expressions of the hope of the nations being drawn to God by name, and then worshiping Him with Israel in diverse, lavish glory.

Shout joyfully to God, all the earth. Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious. All the earth will worship You, and will sing praises to You. They will sing praises to Your name. (Ps 66:1–4 NASB)

All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O LORD, when they have heard the words of Your mouth. And they will sing of the ways of the LORD. For great is the glory of the LORD. (Ps 138:4–5 NASB)

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. (Hab 2:14 NASB)

For then I will give to the peoples purified lips, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD, to serve him shoulder to shoulder. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones will bring my offerings. (Zeph 3:9–10 NASB)

For from the rising of the sun, even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations. (Mal 1:11 NASB)

These are but a sample of many prophetic words which tethered Israel’s identity to the culmination of God’s purposes: the living God welcoming the worship of all peoples. When the people of God were finally brought back to the land, building the temple was to be their top priority. Haggai made it clear that the temple was for God’s glory, a greater glory than had ever come before: “And I will shake all the nations; and the desired of the nations will come; and I will fill this house with glory” (Hag 1:8; 2:7 KJV). After the exile Israel avoided idolatry. But the national glory they desired never came. They had been waiting for a messianic deliverer to free them from oppression by different imperial powers. They almost missed the Messiah when He came because Jesus’s vision of God’s kingdom was among all peoples.

THE GREATER FULFILLMENT

Despite the many words and prayers of hope, the fulfillment of God’s purpose was different and better than many had ever imagined. To this day, Jesus Christ continues to surprise many as He advances the story of God’s glory. At the end of all things, He will have bought and brought people from every tribe and tongue to honor the Father. Only a few examples from His life are enough to reveal how Christ is fulfilling all that God has purposed.

The Messiah: Bringing a Temple for All Peoples

In His most public hour, at the event we call “Palm Sunday,” Jesus declared the coming fulfillment of the worship of all peoples. He led the procession to the temple. There, to a watching, listening crowd, He gave an extensive teaching from two wellknown prophetic texts. Mark’s account says, “The whole crowd was astonished at His teaching” (Mark 11:17–18). He first mentioned Isaiah 56:7, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Most people listening would immediately recall the rest of the passage from Isaiah that Jesus was quoting. Jesus intended for them to hear it fully:

Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD . . . even those I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar. For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples. (Isa 56:6–7 NASB)

Jesus was saying that God Himself would bring many foreigners to His “holy mountain” (the place of the temple). These non-Jewish people will present offerings that God would find “acceptable,” or pleasing to Him. It would not be a few wealthy foreign visitors. The promise was that “all the peoples” would be received in worshiping prayer. Jesus was essentially saying that God would bring a different and greater temple in order to welcome the worship of all peoples.

The Life Prayer of Jesus

Near the end of His life, Jesus declared His hope and His work in a prayer: “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4 NASB). Throughout His days, Jesus labored to finish a work, or a task, that would bring global glory to His

Father. He summed up His work in terms of God’s glory: “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world” (17:6 NASB).

The Disciple’s Daily Prayer: Sanctify Your Name

The prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray can be easily misunderstood because of the antiquated English translation, “Hallowed be Thy name.” This prayer is not a statement of praise. It is explicitly a request in the original language: “Father . . . sanctify your name!” To paraphrase, “Father lift up, single out, exalt, manifest, and reveal Your name to the people of earth. Become famous for who You really are. Cause the people of earth to know and adore You!” This is a prayer that every Christ-follower can pray every day.

God Will Glorify His Name

Just before going to His death, Jesus displayed His life purpose, and the purpose of His soon-coming death (John 12:23–32). He let His followers know that He had considered the option of asking the Father to rescue Him from death: “What shall I say, Father, save Me from this hour?” But instead of asking to escape, He said, “But for this purpose I came to this hour.” What purpose was this? The purpose bursts forth from His heart in His next statement. It becomes the prayer of His death and His life: “Father! Glorify Your name!” And then, to the bewildered amazement of those standing near Him, the voice of the Father called out from heaven: “I have both glorified it (My name), and I will glorify it again.” Jesus said that the Father’s voice from heaven didn’t come for Him but instead was addressed to His followers. Each of His followers would have similar opportunities to follow Jesus and pray in the same way (12:26, 30). God’s answer from heaven still thunders, if you can hear it. It is God’s answer to anyone who yields their life to the Father for the greater glory of His name.

The Apostles: One People from All Peoples

At the Jerusalem Council recorded in Acts 15, the apostles deliberated carefully. They came to recognize that God was in the midst of fulfilling the ancient prophecies. The Apostle James described what God was doing. He was “taking from among the peoples (Greek, plural: ethne) a people (Greek, singular: laos) for His name” (v. 14 NASB). God was drawing people from many different peoples and forming them to become one worshiping people. He then quoted a medley from different prophets describing a long-promised greater exodus. The apostles saw themselves in the great story, working with God so that all “humanity may seek the Lord, and all the peoples (plural) upon whom My name is called” (v. 17).

Ministry of Surpassing Glory with Paul

The Apostle Paul saw his life as continuing God’s purpose toward a huge global outpouring of obedient worship from all nations. His most concise statement of his mission was to “bring about the obedience of faith among all the nations for His name’s sake” (Rom 1:5, emphasis mine). Paul saw the entire world as divided into two categories: where Christ was “named” and where Christ was not yet named. Paul resolutely prioritized his efforts so as to labor where Christ was not yet named (Rom 15:20).⁸

Paul labored to glorify God by revealing Christ to the nations—getting Christ “named.” But his passion, the boast of his being, was in that which came back to God from the nations.

Because of the grace that was given to me from God, to be a servant of Christ Jesus to the nations, [priesting] the gospel, that the offering of the nations might become pleasing,⁹ sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God.¹⁰ (15:15–17)

Paul saw his commission to “preach the gospel” as a gift, or a “grace,” that God had given him to “priest the gospel.” Using the imagery of a priest, Paul saw himself before God, helping the nations, as if he were a priest, instructing and ushering them near to God, helping them bring worship gifts of glory from their people to God for His joy.

Paul was motivated by the great hope that he read in the prophets. Paul labored at great cost to fulfill this vision. The outcome was something worth working and waiting for. He knew that someday, many diverse streams of believers, Jew and gentile, weak and strong, would together “with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:6 NASB).

The Fullness in Heaven: The Worth and Worship of the Nations

At the end of history, we will marvel at how abundantly God’s love has been fulfilled. His love will have triumphed by winning passionate devotion from every one of the peoples, each of them adoring Him with the artistry, industry, songs, and stories of their culture. Jesus will have thoroughly fulfilled the promise He uttered to His Father, “I have made Your name known to them, and I will make it known; that the love with which You loved Me may be in them” (John 17:26 NASB).

Beyond history, in the age to come, we will find that the worship of the many nations throughout the generations will have been a rehearsal for greater celebrations of love and glory. Heaven will fill earth: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people,¹¹ and God Himself shall be among them” (Rev 21:3 NASB).

Each one of the peoples, and their languages, will endure everlastingly. Each one of the peoples “will bring the glory and the honor of the nations” into the city which is heaven on earth (22:24–26). Imagine the joy of celebrating before the throne of God with the treasure and fruit of every people. We will serve Him, awed and honored by having His name upon our faces. And gazing into His face, we shall serve Him as beloved priests (22:1–5).

What Is an Evangelized World For?

Until now we have cried, “Let the earth hear His voice!” Let us never cease voicing His word to every creature. But soon comes the day when, by most reckonings, the earth will have heard. What then?

There is another cry, far more ancient. It is a shout for earth’s destiny. It is to be lifted today more than ever: “Let all the peoples praise You!” (Ps 67:3–5). We hear even now growing praise from the nations. Now let us focus our deepest affections and boldest plans on the splendor of every people serving God with the sanctified best of their society. What a magnificent hope!

RETURN TO LESSON 2: “The Story of His Glory”

CHANGES IN PRACTICE

Emphasizing the glory of God is more than a decorative flower on the Great Commission. A clear vision of Christ being named and praised in every people offers practical wisdom to work together to fulfill His work. Stepping into the story of His glory can help us in three practical ways.

1. Deepen a Sustainable Motivation for God to Be Loved

Of course, we can and should be moved by concern for people—to see them saved from hell, or to see them served to communal wholeness, or both. Such compassion is biblical and right. However, our love for people can be fortified by a greater love for God. Love for God can motivate us to labor amidst other peoples so that Christ Himself will come to be loved in the marvelous and distinctive ways that can be offered by different cultures.

At one point, Jesus told His followers that He was moved with great compassion as He saw the crowds of people as if they were abandoned sheep. But He did not respond to the naked need as He saw it. He deliberately recast His vision of the same lost crowds with a different metaphor. Instead of beleaguered sheep, He also saw the people as carrying great value to God: They were “His harvest.” Imagine God’s delight in the fullness of the fruit He receives from people’s lives. Jesus began to do just that. From that vision, He implored the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers to bring God His harvest (Matt 9:35–38).

Mission efforts that call for compassionate response to great human needs can go only so far. Guilt-based appeals to care for hurting or lost people can soften our hearts a little. But in practice, appeals to help people can often weary and harden believers to a minimal token obedience. Costly and difficult work needs to be done. Such labor cannot be sustained by the fleeting, momentary zeal generated by appeals for desperate, perishing souls. God’s global purpose is an ancient affair, far more than an urgent need. Now more than ever believers need to be nurtured into a deep jealousy for God’s glory. With bold hope that God will fulfill His promise, we can be deeply moved by needs while acting boldly for God’s purpose.

2. Recognize That Different Efforts Give God Glory

The false dichotomy between evangelism and social action can be set aside if we work for Christ to be known as well as to be loved, that He would be both famous and followed in every people. Arguments have swirled around which part of human beings is more important: Is it more important to save a soul or to heal a community? The question is equally repugnant to all. The most common response has been vague generalizations suggesting that we treat the issue as a “both-and” matter instead of an “either-or” question. We can do better than this if we examine these issues to recognize what comes to God.

Glory comes to God from the gospel being declared, or by any kind deed done in His name. Greater glory resounds when whole communities see Christ’s hand transforming their lives.

Some have proposed a double mandate in order to fashion a point of balance. The so-called cultural mandate to fill the earth is supposedly balanced by the evangelistic mandate to evangelize the world. Is there not a singular purpose of God—that He would be served gladly by all the peoples and places on earth? The worship offerings now to be brought to God through Christ are words of truth as well as deeds of justice and righteousness.

3. Define Our Task as Increasing God’s Glory

Never has there been a day when Christians are making so many efforts to reach every one of the world’s peoples. Considering the different people groups and their cultures is helping us discover fruitful ways to communicate the gospel. The people group approach also gives us a way to evaluate our progress toward fulfilling the total task.

Despite these advantages, the people group approach has sometimes been a contentious issue. For years, some have decried the entire approach as disintegrating the unity of churches or as a cover for stubborn attitudes of colonial domination by Westerners. Recently, others have quietly abandoned the people group approach for other paradigms that seem more workable. Even as nationstates disintegrate overnight into the competing peoples that comprise them, country-by-country approaches to evangelization are still proving attractive. Other geographical approaches range from marking urban centers, to drawing windows of longitude and latitude, to mapping spiritual forces arrayed against the gospel. The peoples of the earth are geographical, urbanized, nationalized entities. So we must take note of these dimensions as important factors in approaching any people.

Of course, we must seek effective outreach to people, so that they hear and understand the word of Christ. But we do this to see a fruitful outcome, that people will follow Jesus, to serve God in love. He has promised to get obedient glory for Himself from every tribe and tongue. The living God yearns for unique expressions of righteousness, wisdom, and worship that can come to Him from every people. This is the best rationale for planting indigenous churches.

Such a vantage point elevates the beautiful uniqueness of every people group, and at the same time, enhances the value of seeking a gospel breakthrough in every place. Every city and place can become the venue of a unique display of God’s kingdom.

The risen Christ will not fail to fulfill the promises and purposes of God. He will grant us the wisdom and joy to labor together for the God of glory.

RETURN TO LESSON 2: The Story of His Glory

Notes

1. What about the name “Yahweh,” or, as some translations render it, “Jehovah”? Without doubt this is an important name. But we must be careful not to regard the living God as actually having a single, legal “real” name, as if He had a birth certificate on file somewhere. The Bible is consistent in urging us to know Him as He aspires to be globally known. The question of Exodus 3:13 was probably not a reference issue (Which god are you representing, Moses?). It was a reputation concern (What kind of track record has this God built for Himself that would move us to commit such a suicidal act of insurrection against Pharaoh? What is the basis of the trustworthiness of God?). It’s possible to understand the tetragrammaton (YHWH) in a verbal sense of “I will cause to be what shall be,” which is perfectly in keeping with a God who is both Creator and promise keeper. The larger context brings emphasis on God’s final answer to the people’s question: “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations” (Exod 3:15).

2. The Hebrew word that is often translated “to ascribe” is a simple word meaning “to give.” I use the most literal translation “give” because “ascribe” could make it appear to be an entirely cognitive affair. The context describes this worship as an affair involving gifts from people to God, which far surpass mere mental ascriptions.

3. Abram recognized that by God’s promise to bless him and his family, God was virtually constituting a new family. The biblical concept of blessing was loaded with overtones of family honor and heritage. A biblical blessing was often a statement of power that bestowed a destiny. A family blessing often became the most valued feature of an inheritance. Many Present-day societies restrict the idea of inheritance to shuffling unspent assets after the death of an ancestor. Biblical inheritance was not considered to be the leftovers from one generation trickling down to be consumed by the next. A blessing was known to be a special heritage for future generations of a family, multiplying with increased abundance. The most astounding feature of the blessing promised to Abram (Gen 12:1–3) was that God was entrusting to him an endowment that was destined to impart something substantial to every single family on the planet, far beyond one extended family.

4. See as well the other variations of the appeal to release the Hebrews which reflect that the general Hebrew word translated “serve” is very much in the context of service of worship (Exod 3:12; 4:23; 5:1; 7:16; 8:27, 29; 10:9). See especially Exodus 10:26, which makes it clear that to “serve” was to offer sacrificial gifts to God.

5. See John Davis, Moses and the Gods of Egypt (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1971).

6. At Sinai God gave this litany of His ways as a summary of how He wanted to be known among the nations (Exod 33:19; 34:6–8). It is a very significant statement, and it was recognized by later generations of Israel as a summary of what was to be proclaimed among the nations (Pss 86:9–15; 145:1–2, 8–12, 21). Jonah recognized this package of truth as something that was known by God’s people. God made sure that Jonah failed to withhold these truths from the Ninevites (Jonah 3:9–4:2).

7. Don’t take Solomon’s question about God dwelling with people on earth as a word of despair about God ever dwelling with people. His prayer is not intended as a definitive map of the cosmos. It rather fits the self-effacing approach to the Most High. He follows with a profoundly humble appeal, using formal, courtly language, that the king of all the earth deign to turn his eyes toward a place of encounter and hold audience as He had promised (2 Chr 6:19–21). Compare 2 Chronicles 6:1–2 in which Solomon acknowledges the cloud of God’s glory so filling the temple that no priest could endure the dreadful brilliance (2 Chr 5:13–14).

8. A close look at the context shows what Paul means by Christ being “named.” It was not a matter of the message of Christ being preached once by a missionary, but rather a “foundation” being laid (Rom 15:20). Paul has just been speaking of specific regions in which the gospel has been “fulfilled” or brought to a substantial closure (Rom 15:19). Translations such as “fully preached” or “fully proclaimed” stress the cognitive transfer of gospel information instead of describing the advance of a gospel movement, which the menu of gospel activities in 15:18–19 implies. In light of how Paul uses the idea of “foundation” elsewhere (particularly 1 Cor 3:8–15), I conclude that “Christ is named” when there is a growing movement of obedience to Christ established which has proven potential to articulate and demonstrate the life of Christ to its entire community. This is what many would consider a church.

9. Paul takes the idea of a priest and turns it into a verb so that he effectively says that he is “priesting” the gospel. The image is that of a Hebrew priest whose primary task was to help the people present their worship gifts to God. In the original language, Paul very clearly wrote, “the offering” of the peoples. Romans 15:16 does not say, “my offering.”

10. The idea is “toward the face of God,” as if in a temple.

11. Some variant manuscripts with good attestation keep the word “peoples” plural in this passage.