There are few desires more formidable in the human experience than the desire to be liked, to be recognized, to be praised.

If you are addicted to alcohol or sex or gluttonous eating or winning every argument, the further you descend into your addiction, the more it will seem like your life is unravelling. Family members will have worried conversations about you and what to do. You may deny your problem, but in time you’ll begin to see the consequences. The rope will start to fray.

But if you are addicted to people’s approval? That is a submarine problem; it can live under the surface for a long time. And, to a point, the more you descend into it, the more perfect your life looks. If you are good at it, then you will come across as attractive, likable, persuasive, accomplished, humorous, even humble. If you show up at your kid’s little league game hammered, slurring profanity at the umpire—everyone knows you have a problem. But if you show up at that game and make Pinterest-level baseball themed snacks personalized for each player on the team, then everyone thinks you are amazing. And maybe that effort isn’t coming out of a deep need for the approval of the other parents…maybe you just enjoy being creative and really like blessing the kids like that.

But—and this is the insidious power of people-pleasing—maybe you are just as much in the throes of an addiction as the alcoholic is, it is just that your drug of choice makes you look pretty and popular, not haggard and ugly. Imagine a cancer that made you more beautiful and brilliant as it advanced its way through your body, until it killed you.

And this craving for the praise of others is a temptation as old as Adam and Eve reaching for fig leaves to hide their shame, but because we have more money, more time, and bigger platforms than ever through our phones and the internet, then we may be more susceptible to this than anyone else.

How do you know if craving the approval of others has begun to control you?

Every time you walk by a mirror or a window that shows your reflection, do you need to stop and look at yourself?

If someone stops by your house unannounced and your home isn’t tidied, do you feel angry at the person?

When you make a mistake in a social setting, does it haunt you for days? If you are in the group, and the conversation turns to a topic that you know you can speak intelligently on or share a funny story about, but you can’t seem to get a chance to speak, does it just kill you?

Do you find that you become a different person when interacting with someone, chameleoning to their likes and interests, maybe even in ways that surprise you?

Are you suspicious that in your friend group there is a circle, an “Inner Ring”, to which you don’t belong…and to which you are desperate to belong to?

Of the many things that Jesus came to accomplish, one of them is to warn us of how deadly this craving for man’s approval is. The love of human praise does to the soul what termites do to an oak tree—it will hollow you out, even as you reach higher and higher for it.

Today, in John, we will see that our love of the glory that comes from man shuts out faith in Christ.

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I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? - John 5:41-44

John has written this gospel with one ultimate purpose in mind: “these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31)

John wants you to believe in Jesus, that’s the goal of the book, and the theme humming behind every chapter. Every chapter of the book, John is trying to persuade you to believe, describe how you can believe, and warn of what prevents you from believing.

In John 5, Jesus has been providing reasons for why His audience should believe in His name. He lists out four different witnesses that testify to His divine identity: John the Baptist, His miracles, The Father, and the Scriptures all point to Him.

Yet, the Jews interrogating Jesus are not convinced.

Why?

Because they have a glory problem. “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44)

Jesus isn’t asking a question so much as He is making a statement—so long as you receive glory from one another and fail to seek the glory that comes from the only God, you cannot believe.

How Can You Believe?

“I do not receive glory from people.” - John 5:41

What does that mean?

First, we need to define our terms. What is Glory?

In Greek the term means “opinion, reputation, fame, honor”—what other people think of you, how they esteem you. In the Old Testament, the word “glory” literally means “weight, heaviness,” with a figurative sense of importance, gravitas, or impressiveness. Sometimes, the word is translated just as “wealth” in the Old Testament, like, “Now Abram was very rich (lit. “glorious”) in livestock, in silver, and in gold,” (Gen 13:2). Abram’s wealth (livestock, silver, and gold) was a sign: this is an important guy! He’s got a serious reputation, he has weight to him. To possess glory means to posses the kind of status and fame we usually associate with the wealthy.

But this term is much bigger than just the fame of being rich. It can be used to describe anyone who possesses a status worthy of honor.

“And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper part of the tombs of the sons of David, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor (lit. “glorified him”) at his death.” (2 Chron 32:33)

Hezekiah was a king—and a good one, at that—so he was paid the respects due his name. If someone deserves honor, has a weighty reputation, then that means that they are kind of excellent individual—they are good, they are true, they possess moral beauty. And because they possess these praiseworthy characteristics, they summon and deserve praise, glory.

So glory is both something someone or something possesses, and something we give. If someone is glorious, we ascribe glory to them. We do this all the time. An athlete does something incredible, and what does the crowd do? They holler and shout and applaud, they say: “That was incredible!” They see glory and give glory.

And Jesus says that He does not receive glory from people. And I think, by that, He means: I do not receive glory from people like you do.

42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. - John 5:42-43

Jesus is not like His audience: He doesn’t receive glory from people, He loves the Father, and He comes in His Father’s name. And Jesus knows that His audience does not love the Father because they do not love Him. Jesus’ ministry, which is in perfect harmony with the Father’s will, offends them. But, If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.

If a preacher comes to you with the primary goal of elevating his own status, of earning approval from the people you want to earn approval from, if he tries to win the popularity game by playing by the rules of the world…you receive him. Why? Because he is playing the same game you are playing. To win in the world’s eyes you are constrained by certain rules: always do what makes the important people impressed, happy, pleased.

Jesus, however, isn’t beholden to that. The siren song of the approval of the world falls on deaf ears for Jesus. Why? Because He doesn’t receive glory from people. You can’t tempt Jesus out of the path of obedience with a prominent title or prestigious position that flatters Him into silence. He isn’t here for His own fame and glory, but for the Father’s. He has the love of God within Him, the love of the world has no place to put down roots. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” - 1 John 2:15. One of the “things” of the world that shuts out love of God is the love of the world’s approval. And this seems to be what Jesus zeroes in on specifically.

How can you believe when you receive glory from one another…

The assumption of the world: you must always please the important people.

The assumption of Jesus: you must always please the Father.

And, as is the case with Jesus in John 5, pleasing the Father will eventually lead you to displease the important people of the world.

And this why you cannot believe in Jesus while receiving glory from one another. You may like Jesus. You may be interested in Jesus. You may even think Jesus might be who He claims to be.

“Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue;” - John 12:42 (see John 9:22)

Many even of the authorities believed in Jesus, but because they could not bear the social stigma of associating themselves with Jesus, refused to confess their faith, to be associated with Christ. Which means that they did not truly believe. Jesus makes it clear that there is no such thing as a private faith that refuses to go public out of fear of shame:

For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. - Luke 9:26

There are two types of unbelief. There is the ultimate and total unbelief that refuses faith and repentance in Christ, that prevents salvation. That is what Jesus is addressing here.

But there is an unbelief that lingers on even in the life of a born-again Christian. This is the unbelief that resides in the flesh, the part of our old nature—what Paul calls “the old man”—that persists. And in the heart of that old man, there is a lust for approval that can quench the Spirit, can grieve the Spirit.

Receiving Glory from One Another

Jesus is saying that His listeners’ problem is that they receive glory from one another. Is it wrong to praise another person? To notice their good deeds and honor them for it?

No—in fact, Paul commands us to honor each other.

“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work.” - 1 Thess 5:12-13 (see also 1 Cor 16:18).

Speaking of Epaphroditus, Paul tells the Philippian church:

“So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.” - Phil 2:29-30

In fact, the church is to be the place where we compete with one another in encouragement:

“Outdo one another in showing honor.” (Rom 12:10)

Our church should be a place where we are slow to criticize and lightning fast to encourage, to point out what is praiseworthy in each other. Parents should be quick to praise their children. Spouses should be diligent in affirming each other and studying each other’s excellencies far more than our faults. Friends should be free to speak life-giving words of support and encouragement to each other. As soon as you have the thought: I so appreciate “this” about that person, you should just tell them right away.

But, what do we do then with Jesus’ warning here? What is he speaking of? Let’s return to that parallel passage in John for help:

“Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.” - John 12:42-43

The problem is loving the glory of man more than the glory that comes from God; it is receiving the glory of one another so that you do not seek the glory that comes from God. It is good to praise what is praiseworthy…but it is the lust of praise (I must be praised!) that kills you. It is the idolatry of approval that deadens your heart to faith.

Earlier, in John 5, Jesus said: “you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (John 5:40)—the Greek literally says: you do not want to come to me. Why? Because you want the glory of man.

How do you know if you receive glory from people, that you love the glory that comes from man? This is hard to nail down specific symptoms because the actual acts motivated by this desire can (1) look exactly the same as acts motivated by love of other, when really they are motivated by love of self and (2) they can wear any kind of clothes—it is a chameleon vice; it all depends on who you are trying to impress: if you want to impress your boss, your mom-friends, people in a Reddit thread—all of that will look very different from each other. You can even become hardened to desiring the praise of certain people (”I don’t care what they think of me”) because the people you are trying to impress don’t care about what they think!

1. You lust for the Inner Ring.
   • You give special attention to people who have “glory” to give, and ignore those who lack it
   • You think in “us vs. them” categories more than “true vs. false”—how will this make me look to the Inner Ring dominates your mind.
2. You live without limits to please people—you say yes to every request.
   • When you disappoint someone, you feel like you are dying
   • When you fail, you disappear
3. You feel a constant tug to look impressive
   1. Money, education, opportunities, promotions, a desire to show-off your humor—these things seem to wind themselves regularly into your conversation.
   2. If someone misunderstands you so that you look less impressive, it kills you.
   3. Accepting help is very difficult because it makes you look weak and needy.
4. You lie / bend the truth without thinking
   • You pretend you’ve read the book, seen the movie, understand the reference
   • You airbrush away embarrassing details so that you are always right, never look bad
5. You are overly concerned with your image
   • Social media, appearance, home
6. You feel embarrassed by parts of the Bible that you know would be out of favor with the people you are wanting to impress.
7. You rely on a social ladder to give encouragement or correction
   1. You are never willing to confront someone—unless they are “beneath” you
   2. You are never willing to accept correction—unless they are “above” you
   3. Encouragement from people “below” you doesn’t mean as much as people “above” you.
8. You are envious of perfect people, admire them, worship them, and eventually resent them

Seek the Glory that Comes From the Only God

The problem Jesus identifies is a life that has its coordinates set on the praise and glory we receive from each other instead of seeking the glory that comes from the only God. What does that mean?

“Glory” is used most frequently in the Bible to describe God’s own reputation, worth, and fame—He is the most glorious being in the universe. (Notice Jesus’ identification that He is the only God—there is no one like Him). We are created to see that and to render Him praise. That’s what a human being is for: to glorify God forever. That makes sense.

But that would lead us to believe that Jesus would say: “How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not give glory to the only God.”

That would make a lot of sense, but that’s not what the verse says.

The verse says: “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44)

What is the glory from God that we should seek? I don’t think this verse is primarily about us giving glory to God, but receiving glory that comes from God! I think the second half of the verse is intended to replace the first half. Man’s problem is that we receive glory from one another, but that is cheap substitute for what we were made for. The stomach of our soul is hungry for approval, for praise, for glory, for acceptance…and the world is happy to give it to us…if we play their game. But Jesus is saying: don’t try to satisfy your soul on the approval of man, seek the approval and praise and honor and acceptance and glory of God!

“The praise of the praiseworthy is above all regards.”

You find someone in your life that you think is praiseworthy—they are talented with what impresses you most: they can speak, write, work, joke, parent, serve in ways that make you say, Wow. And it is their approval that means the most. They are praiseworthy, so their praise is above all regards.

And what happens if the Praiseworthy One, the fountain of Glory itself, the Author of all virtue and beauty and skill and thought, is available?

You can be praised by the world, or we can be praised by God the Father…‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ (Matt 25:21)

Is that right to say? Can you please God?

Paul uses a similar phrase in the book of Romans: “He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.” - Rm 2:6-11

A Christian is a person who sees himself in both groups of people Paul describes here.

We are those who were self-seeking, we did not obey the truth but obeyed unrighteousness and know that for that sin, God has stored up wrath and fury, but who have put their faith in Jesus Christ as the sacrificial lamb who has taken away our sins. Our sins have earned wrath and fury from a holy God, but thanks be to God, He is also a merciful God who has provided a way for sinners like us to be forgiven! Your unrighteousness has been transferred to Jesus Christ, and He bore your sins on the cross, suffered the wrath and fury they deserved, so there remains no wrath left for you.

And, just like Jesus did not remain dead, but rose again to new power and life, we too by our faith in Him have experienced a foretaste of that resurrection in a new nature being given to us! We now are those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality! The Holy Spirit has been given to us to empower us to now earnestly, imperfectly, but sincerely strive to obey God—to seek the glory that comes from the only God. To strive “by patience in well doing” to please God.

And we shall.

It is written that we shall “stand before” Him, shall appear, shall be inspected. The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us who really chooses, shall actually survive that examination, shall find approval, shall please God. To please God… to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness… to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son- it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain. But so it is. - C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory