God Loves Himself

What makes the good news good?

Too often, we reduce the gospel to merely an escape from hell, a rescue plan from eternal punishment. But if the eternal future God offers is dull, lifeless, or uninspiring, then how “good” is it really? The gospel is not simply about avoiding judgment it’s about gaining something infinitely better. At the very heart of that “something better” is not a place or a gift, but a Person: God himself.

The Christian gospel reveals that God’s ultimate purpose his chief end in creation and redemption is to glorify himself. And far from diminishing his love for us, this God-centeredness is the very thing that ensures it. It is the truth underneath all other truths, the deepest reason why salvation is good news: because God loves himself supremely, and in doing so, he draws us into that divine joy.

Why Did God Create the World?

Jonathan Edwards, one of history’s most penetrating Christian thinkers, asked this question in his Dissertation Concerning the End for Which God Created the World. His answer? God created everything for his own glory. This idea may strike modern minds as egotistical or self-serving. But in truth, it is the fountain of every good thing we know.

Edwards challenged the popular view of his time (and ours): that God’s highest aim must be to maximize human happiness. Instead, Edwards pointed back to Scripture’s consistent theme: God does all that he does for the sake of his name (Isaiah 48:11; Romans 11:36). He argued that God’s love for his people is not a side project or afterthought, but it flows from his greater love for his own perfections and beauty.

This means that God’s love for us is not fragile or contingent on our worthiness. Rather, it is as unshakable as God’s own nature.

The Harmony of Love and Glory

One of the objections Edwards addressed was whether God’s supreme regard for himself detracts from his love for us. If God does good “for his sake, and not ours,” then how can that be genuine love?

Edwards answered this by showing that God’s love for his people and his love for his own glory are not in competition. They are one and the same. God loves us because he loves his own glory, and because he is glorified when we enjoy and delight in him.

This truth is beautifully woven throughout Scripture. In Ephesians 1:5–6, Paul writes that God “predestined us for adoption to himself… to the praise of his glorious grace.” In other words, saving us magnifies his grace. In John 17, Jesus prays that believers may see his glory and be united with him in love the very glory that the Father gave the Son. Our joy in him is his glory. And that’s not just theology it’s a promise.

A Singular End

Edwards showed that while God may have many aims in creation love, redemption, justice they all roll up into one supreme end his glory. This includes the manifestation of his perfections, the praise of his name, and the happiness of his people.

It’s not that God created for glory instead of love. Rather, he created for glory through love. His delight in redeeming sinners and showing mercy is not a reluctant side effect; it is something he genuinely enjoys “simply and ultimately.” Isaiah 53:11 says the suffering servant Christ “shall see and be satisfied.” God is pleased in our salvation.

This means that your salvation is not a footnote in God's plan it's central to the expression of his glory.

Why It Matters Today

This may seem like distant theology, but it touches everything.

If God’s love was primarily about us, it could falter with our failures. But because it is rooted in God’s love for himself, it stands immovable. He will never cease to delight in his glory, and therefore, never cease to delight in doing good to his people. Romans 8:28 becomes more than a comfort it becomes a certainty. Every joy, every sorrow, every breath is under the watchful eye of a God whose own glory guarantees our eternal good.

Statistically, over 70% of Americans still affirm belief in God, but fewer than half say that religion is very important in their lives. This disparity reveals a crisis not of belief, but of vision. We have lost sight of the God who is not just useful, but beautiful. A God whose glory is our greatest good.

Moreover, studies in psychology show that people flourish most when they live for something greater than themselves. The gospel gives us the greatest possible answer to that yearning: to live for the glory of God, and to know that in doing so, we find ourselves most satisfied.

Good News Beneath the Good News

So yes, God loves himself. And that is not cold or distant it is wonderfully, unimaginably good news. Because if God’s highest aim is his own glory, and if that glory is most beautifully displayed in saving and delighting in sinners, then our salvation is as secure and unchangeable as God himself.

This means you don’t have to strive to earn his love. You don’t have to fear that he might change his mind. The God who sent his Son to the cross did so not just out of compassion for us, but out of joy in displaying his grace. His love for you is as deep as his love for himself and that love is eternal.

As John Piper summarized, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” And when we are most satisfied in him, he is most glad to call us his own.

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