Brothers, God Does Make Much of Us | John Piper

Deep Dive into Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry by John Piper - Brothers, God Does Make Much of UsJohn Piper explores the relationship between God's profound love for humanity and His ultimate pursuit of His own glory. He distinguishes between nominal Christians, whose happiness remains rooted in self-centered desires, merely seeking benefits from Jesus like a new source for old cravings, and born-again believers. For the latter, the new birth involves a fundamental internal transformation where self is replaced by Jesus, God Himself, as the decisive foundation of joy. True believers are glad because they ultimately have God, not just His gifts.Piper contends that God performs all His acts of love toward us in a way that reveals He is loving us for His own glory. This is not a lesser love but a "greater love." While it might seem counterintuitive, God makes much more of us when He loves us this way. Examples include His predestination for adoption "to the praise of His glorious grace," creating us "for His glory," sending a Savior to receive "Glory to God in the highest," Christ dying for us so we might live for Him, and Jesus praying for us to "see my glory," which will be the ultimate source of our happiness.The reason this is a greater love is profound: self, no matter how glorified by God, will never satisfy a heart that is made for God. God's infinite love prevents our own preciousness or a glorified self from replacing His glory as our supreme treasure. He aims for us to find our ultimate satisfaction and joy in Him alone. Despite His focus on His glory, God astonishingly "makes much of us" by being pleased with us, making us fellow heirs with His Son, serving us at His return, appointing us to judge angels, valuing us as His treasured possession, giving us glorious bodies, and granting us to sit with Christ on His throne. The greatest gift God has is ensuring that God alone remains our God forever, which is the truest expression of His infinite love.Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologianhttps://buymeacoffee.com/edi2730