We have the words of the Lord in Isaiah 42:8, “I am the LORD: that is my name: and MY GLORY WILL I NOT GIVE TO ANOTHER, neither my praise to graven images.”  Our Lord is the only true God, and He will not allow the praise that is due to him to be given to any other person or things. 

We read in 1 Timothy 1:17, “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

We read in Jude 25, “To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”

Glory and honor is due to God because He is the self-existent One, which means that the Lord exists independently of other beings or causes.  He has always been.  He has always been God.  He has no need of anyone to help Him maintain His person.  The Lord tells us in Isaiah 45:5, “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me.  As such, God DESERVES all the glory!

Do we deserve glory?  No, we do not.  Let’s consider Philippians 2:13 which says, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”  When the Lord leads us to do ‘commendable works’, He not only gives us the will, He also gives the ability to do His will.  In other words, it is God working in us that gives us the ability to perform praiseworthy acts.  Speaking of our Lord, we read in Acts 17:28, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being…”  We owe our very existence to the Lord.

Christ said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5).  The Apostle Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13).  We can do nothing apart from Christ.  We can do all things through Him.  Doesn’t He deserve all the glory?  He certainly does! 

The day will come when all believers on the Lord Jesus Christ will stand before Him to have our works judged by Him.  Then, we will ALL receive rewards.  The Lord said in Matthew 16:27, “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”  We read in 1 Corinthians 3:8, “Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.”  What will we do with our rewards and crowns?  Revelation 4:10-11 says, “The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 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.” 

These twenty-four elders represent those redeemed ones in the presence of the Savior.  They fall in reverence before the Lord as He sits on His throne.  They worship Him and give back their crowns (rewards) to the Lord because “THOU ARE 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.”  It is our God who is worthy to receive glory, honor, and power.  He is God and no one is worthy to receive His glory!  (378.4)