Whatsoever Ye Do, Part 1

This morning I listened to part of a sermon delivered by a missionary to Quebec. The missionary was attempting to give his listeners an understanding of what sin is. He cited several passages from Scripture among which was the following:

1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

The missionary was pointing out that anything we do that is not done to the glory of God is sin. I have referenced this verse on many occasions in my own preaching. But as the missionary was dealing with it, the all-inclusiveness of the verse struck me: “whatsoever ye do, do all.” First of all, let’s define the word whatsoever. The Oxford English Dictionary equates this word with the word whatever. They mean the same thing.

Whatever- Anything at all which, anything that.

Think of anything at all which you might do, and I mean anything, then plug it into this verse realizing that you are being told to do it to the glory of God.

Now the next thing to be determined is the meaning of doing something “to the glory of God.” We refer again to the dictionary.

The Glory of God: the honour of God, considered as the final cause of creation, and as the highest moral aim of intelligent creatures.

Our verse is teaching us that anything and everything we do, is to be done to bring honour to God. Everything we do should exalt and praise God. It should promote God and His interests and not merely those of our own. And this extends right down to “whether we eat or drink.” Everything we eat or drink should be eaten or drunk to the glory of God. The glory of God should be our aim in everything we do, in the whole of our lives.

This verse was written by Paul to the church at Corinth. It sums up what the Christian life is all about. The practice of the Christian religion is not confined to those activities performed in the assemblies of the church, activities such as prayer, singing hymns, preaching and hearing sermons, giving, observing the Lord’s Supper, and washing the saints’ feet. The practice of the Christian religion extends to every area of life right down to when and what we eat or drink. Everything a Christian does should have as its aim, its goal, its end, the glory of God. As the dictionary so well states it, this is “the highest moral aim of intelligent creatures.” To do anything short of this goal is to disobey this commandment and thus to sin. Although the activity may be ever so harmless considered in itself, it is sinful to do it without regard to the glory of God. Aiming at the glory of God should determine all that we do and all that we plan to do.

All things, man included, were created for God.

Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Since we were created for God, it stands to reason that everything we do should be subservient to His purpose for us and thus to His honour. After all, without God we would not exist in the first place. God is the source and end of our being. Since we exist for Him, we should live for Him. This applies to every human being. But, alas, rather than doing all to the glory of God, man has sinned and turned to his own way, to live for himself rather than for his Maker. Our father Adam plunged himself and his posterity into ruin when he acted in his own interest rather than to the glory of God. Man has not aimed at the glory of God. Thus it is written:

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.

But this commandment to do all to the glory of God especially applies to God’s people, whom He has chosen and redeemed for Himself. The following passages clearly show that God has done His special work of grace in our lives so that we may live for Him.

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

1 Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

2 Corinthians 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Living unto himself to advance his own interests, man has sinned and continues to sin. At the root of every sin is self-interest, the aim to advance one’s own interest rather than the glory of God. On the other hand, at the root of righteousness is the aim to do all to the glory of God. Our Lord made this very powerful and searching statement:

John 7:18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

There is no unrighteousness in the man that is doing all to the glory of God. Such a man is a true believer, a true Christian.

I have more things to write about this. In future meditations, God willing, I shall elaborate more on how it is that we can do all things to the glory of God, even those things that we must do for ourselves like eating and drinking. But this should be sufficient to set you to thinking and paying attention to why you do the things you do.