There is no doubt that Almighty God is without equal in power, wisdom, knowledge, justice and any other term or description that we can conceive of that describes Him. He knows exactly what and who He is without mere humans declaring that He is the One and only Great Almighty Su-preme God. Our vision, grasp and understanding of God is very small indeed. No matter how much we try to praise God, we have only the slightest concept of what He is. Our words and vo-cabulary are very limited, so that we could not accurately describe Him. We are limited by our sight, hearing and all other senses. That does not mean we are not wonderfully and fearfully made - because we truly are. We lack in the full understanding of God and of everything that is happening in the spirit world where the Father, Son and countless angels dwell. Still, it is right, correct and even commanded that we proclaim all glory to Him - why is that? What we ought to know is that there is a huge audience watching our every move. God is a watcher of men (Job 7:20), all the angels are involved in the work God is doing with people (Dan 7:10), and Satan and his demons are also constantly searching for weak ones (I Pet. 5:8). What we sometimes do not realize is that there is a constant struggle going on about us between good and evil, holy and pro-fane, right and wrong. There is no doubt who the winner will be because God is Almighty with no equal. However, He is occupied with building a family of sons (and daughters) to be like Je-sus Christ (I John 3:2). God is confronted with a full third of the angels who rebelled and the two thirds of the faithful angels have witnessed this struggle for a very long time - they still are.
Angels do not occupy the same high position as God and they have much to learn (Heb. 2:9). Je-sus (like all humans) was made just a little lower than the angels, but the gap between God and humans is incredibly vast, so that same gap exists between angels and God. The Bible records that the heart of Lucifer was corrupted because he was enamored with himself and he sinned against God (Ezek. 28:14-19). Angels appear to have been given the ability to make choices and a third of the created angels made the choice of following Lucifer. That immediately made them the enemy of God and the adversary of anyone who would not join them. Thus this enmity has existed since the universe was created, it seems. It is hard to conceive that war could exist in heaven, but apparently God allowed it for a short period of time (Rev. 12:7). In that war, Michael and his angels fought Satan and his angels. No doubt there were many confrontations between the angels and demons in history (Dan. 10:13). There are still more to come (Rev. 12:17). Since God is far superior than all of the angels combined, He could make short work of Satan, but He has not. He has permitted a number of unusual events to take place. Perhaps the exact events are a little different than described, but that is only because our understanding is limited. One unusual example is the day Satan was allowed to come before God to present himself (Job 1:6-8). God quickly asked Satan if he had considered Job and it was obvious that Satan had, because he knew there was a hedge around Job (Job 1:8-12). God gave Satan limited permission to test Job, but clearly it was and is God who is completely in charge.
God does not need us to glorify Him - He is glorified to the nth degree. However, the huge audience of angels need to see that the work of God which seems improbable will actually suc-ceed. Humans who were created physical, subject to death and lower than all the angels are being given the opportunity to be elevated high above angels into the family of God. It seems that Lucifer's error of thinking was that he and all the angels deserved that role. The good angels are learning how brilliant God's plan is and how magnificent eternity will be. They are excited about their role in that kingdom. Perhaps it is for the sake of these loyal angels that God is to be glori-fied by the lives and words of mankind. They are the huge unseen audience and they rejoice when we little humans who are created less than the weakest angel, stand up for truth and for God and His way. It is through the actions of frail mankind that angels understand more fully the great future God has planned and their part in that future. But the good angels are still waiting for things to happen - mainly for the influence of Satan and his followers to cease forever and for the children God has promised to reach full maturity in the eternal kingdom of God. The whole creation groans as it waits for this to be finalized, Paul wrote (Rom. 8:19-23).
There are a number of recorded events that direct glory toward God. Jesus Christ glorified God by being willing to become the Passover lamb for the world. Jesus was glorified because of His complete submission to the will of God and God was glorified because Jesus willingly fought all that was evil. Jesus won a great victory for God (John 12:23-28, 13:31,32). He taught that when our actions bring glory to God, He in turn glorifies that person. The Greek word for glory signi-fies a boast or exultation. When applied to God, it signifies a success, an act that points to the magnificence of God. It is a confirmation of God's greatness. Since God does not need to be told He is Supreme, the audience that needs to hear this is that of the angels. In many incidents in His life, Jesus Christ brought honour and glory to His Father in the sight of the angels and to the distress of the demons. Each success underlined the goodness of God's plan and way. Good angels are strengthened.
We humans have been left in Satan's world. The demons are invisible and more crafty and subtle than we can imagine (Gen. 3:1). Every human has to fight against the forces of evil in this world as even Jesus did (Heb. 5:7). Each act of courage, each sincere desire to search for truth and guidance from God, glorifies our Maker. Angels observe the wicked actions of Satan and the demons against mankind. They celebrate each victory that is won. Angels celebrated the victory of Christ (Rev. 5:8-11). Jesus told Peter that his death would be an act that would bring glory to God (John 21:19). All of the disciples suffered in a number of ways. Each act of courage and resistance to Satan glorified God. Apostles like Paul were constantly harassed by demons. We may sometimes wonder why the large book of Job was included in the inspired word of God. Job is like us. He was the focus of the confrontation between God and Satan - witnessed to by countless angels and demons. Job suffered the loss of everything except his life in this battle and came out victorious. His patient suffering and endurance underscored the right choice of loving and trusting God. That is the choice we all must make in order to be saved. Angels too make that choice.
Paul taught that the followers of Jesus Christ were soldiers in God's army against Satan. They were to endure hardship, but the end result will be rulership with Him (2 Tim. 2:3,4,12). God al-ways rewards those who bring glory to Him. Paul taught that long-suffering would be a pattern for those who believe on Him for everlasting life (I Tim. 1:16,18). We are to fight the good fight with weapons that are spiritual and for the development of a godly nature. We are to fight against all the wrong patterns of thought Satan has tempted us with (2 Cor. 10:4-5). Angels were not created with minds that needed learning and training in the same way that we humans are. We can learn that Christ died for us and we are assisted in overcoming the influence of Satan, but it is not an easy battle. That is an incredible struggle that the angels admire. We glorify the Father and Son by our choices as They are deserving of glory. We are witnesses to the angels of His glory, and we also will benefit as we will be sharing in His glory (John 17:1-10,22).