Does God Delight in Some of His People More Than Others?
Dear Phil,
I recently ran across this statement: “Nothing you did today made God delight in you more.” Is it true? In light of verses like 1 Thessalonians 4:1, “Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more,” how would you teach the concept of growth and maturity?
Iva
I recently ran across this statement: “Nothing you did today made God delight in you more.” Is it true? In light of verses like 1 Thessalonians 4:1, “Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more,” how would you teach the concept of growth and maturity?
Iva
Dear Iva,
There are two sides to God’s delight in his people. The first is a function of our union with Christ. The second is a function of our behavior. All believers are united with Christ (Eph 1:6–7; Rom 6:3–5). As a result, we all participate in the Father’s boundless delight in his Son (cf. 2 Pet 1:17). My current understanding is that this union–based delight cannot be greater. Perhaps that’s what the author had in mind.
On the other side—the behavioral side—Deuteronomy 28:62–63 says, “...because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God. And as the Lord took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it.”
If we refuse to obey God, He may delight over us to destroy us. That’s certainly not the kind of delighting any of us wants! The Old Testament reveals how this played out over Israel’s history. God constantly called his people back to him for centuries until he finally destroyed most of them and exiled the remnant.
I take from this passage that God delights less in those who disobey and more in those who obey (cf. 1 Cor 10:5; Heb 10:38). That raises the question, “In what way(s) does God delight in us ‘more?’” Consider the following verses from Proverbs:
These verses seem to suggest that each time we are honest, walk blamelessly, or deal faithfully, God takes delight in what we have done.
If we approach the question of God delighting in us in this manner, we can see that we delight Him more as we grow in knowledge of how to please Him. The more Christlike thoughts we think, the more Christlike words we speak, and the more Christlike deeds we do, the more we delight God.
Proverbs says, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh, But the prayer of the upright is His delight” (Prov 15:8 NASB). Each time we pray, God delights in us talking with Him. If we converse with God more, we increase the frequency of that particular delight of God in us.
Regarding the concept of growth and maturity: spiritual growth is transformation from being less like Jesus to being more like Jesus in thought, word, and deed. When we are saved, we are united with Christ and made new. But our newness is like the new born babe (1 Pet 2:1–2). There is a lot of growing to do.
Ephesians 4:13–16 teaches that we are growing up into Christ. Romans 8:28–29 teaches that God has predestined all his sons to be made like Jesus so that he will be the preeminent Son among all his sons. 2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us we are being changed from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord as we look on Jesus. Our obedience to Romans 6:11 or Romans 12:1 or God’s answering the prayer of 1 Thessalonians 5:23 are only steps along the journey of becoming like Jesus, which stretches, as Leslie Wilcox wrote, “beyond the gate” till the moment we see him and are like him. The process of growth is God’s chosen method of securing our good, the good of Christ’s Body, the discipleship of the world, and ultimately his own glory.
Blessings,
Phil
There are two sides to God’s delight in his people. The first is a function of our union with Christ. The second is a function of our behavior. All believers are united with Christ (Eph 1:6–7; Rom 6:3–5). As a result, we all participate in the Father’s boundless delight in his Son (cf. 2 Pet 1:17). My current understanding is that this union–based delight cannot be greater. Perhaps that’s what the author had in mind.
On the other side—the behavioral side—Deuteronomy 28:62–63 says, “...because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God. And as the Lord took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it.”
If we refuse to obey God, He may delight over us to destroy us. That’s certainly not the kind of delighting any of us wants! The Old Testament reveals how this played out over Israel’s history. God constantly called his people back to him for centuries until he finally destroyed most of them and exiled the remnant.
I take from this passage that God delights less in those who disobey and more in those who obey (cf. 1 Cor 10:5; Heb 10:38). That raises the question, “In what way(s) does God delight in us ‘more?’” Consider the following verses from Proverbs:
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These verses seem to suggest that each time we are honest, walk blamelessly, or deal faithfully, God takes delight in what we have done.
If we approach the question of God delighting in us in this manner, we can see that we delight Him more as we grow in knowledge of how to please Him. The more Christlike thoughts we think, the more Christlike words we speak, and the more Christlike deeds we do, the more we delight God.
Proverbs says, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh, But the prayer of the upright is His delight” (Prov 15:8 NASB). Each time we pray, God delights in us talking with Him. If we converse with God more, we increase the frequency of that particular delight of God in us.
Regarding the concept of growth and maturity: spiritual growth is transformation from being less like Jesus to being more like Jesus in thought, word, and deed. When we are saved, we are united with Christ and made new. But our newness is like the new born babe (1 Pet 2:1–2). There is a lot of growing to do.
Ephesians 4:13–16 teaches that we are growing up into Christ. Romans 8:28–29 teaches that God has predestined all his sons to be made like Jesus so that he will be the preeminent Son among all his sons. 2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us we are being changed from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord as we look on Jesus. Our obedience to Romans 6:11 or Romans 12:1 or God’s answering the prayer of 1 Thessalonians 5:23 are only steps along the journey of becoming like Jesus, which stretches, as Leslie Wilcox wrote, “beyond the gate” till the moment we see him and are like him. The process of growth is God’s chosen method of securing our good, the good of Christ’s Body, the discipleship of the world, and ultimately his own glory.
Blessings,
Phil