Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

choose an end destined to fail wholly or in part, Job 23:13. Yet many of His creatures
never attain to perfect happiness.
c. Objections to the doctrine that the glory of God is the end of creation. The following are
the most important of these: (1) It makes the scheme of the universe a selfish scheme. But we
should distinguish between selfishness and reasonable self-regard or self-love. The
former is an undue or exclusive care for one’s own comfort or pleasure, regardless of
the happiness or rights of others; the latter is a due care for one’s own happiness and
well-being, which is perfectly compatible with justice, generosity, and benevolence
towards others. In seeking self-expression for the glory of His name, God did not
disregard the well-being, the highest good of others, but promoted it. Moreover, this
objection draws the infinite God down to the level of finite and even sinful man and
judges Him by human standards, which is entirely unwarranted. God has no equal, and
no one can claim any right as over against Him. In making His declarative glory the end
of creation, He has chosen the highest end; but when man makes himself the end of all
his works, he is not choosing the highest end. He would rise to a higher level, if he
chose the welfare of humanity and the glory of God as the end of his life. Finally, this
objection is made primarily in view of the fact that the world is full of suffering, and
that some of God’s rational creatures are doomed to eternal destruction. But this is not
due to the creative work of God, but to the sin of man, which thwarted the work of God
in creation. The fact that man suffers the consequences of sin and insurrection does not
warrant anyone in accusing God of selfishness. One might as well accuse the
government of selfishness for upholding its dignity and the majesty of the law against
all wilful transgressors. (2) It is contrary to God’s self-sufficiency and independence. By
seeking His honour in this way God shows that He needs the creature. The world is
created to glorify God, that is, to add to His glory. Evidently, then, His perfection is
wanting in some respects; the work of creation satisfies a want and contributes to the
divine perfection. But this representation is not correct. The fact that God created the
world for His own glory does not mean that He needed the world. It does not hold
universally among men, that the work which they do not perform for others, is
necessary to supply a want. This may hold in the case of the common laborer, who is
working for his daily bread, but is scarcely true of the artist, who follows the
spontaneous impulse of his genius. In the same way there is a good pleasure in God,
exalted far above want and compulsion, which artistically embodies His thoughts in
creation and finds delight in them. Moreover, it is not true that, when God makes His
declarative glory the final end of creation, He aims primarily at receiving something.
The supreme end which He had in view, was not to receive glory, but to manifest His
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