Q/A Friday: Is God Glorified in Hell?

When discussing the will of God, there is His decreed will and desired will.

His decreed will are those events that are decreed by God that will occur, regardless of any attempt to intervene by man or Satan. For example, God’s creation of the world (Genesis 1) is an example of His decreed will. Saving whom He wants to save is another example of His decreed will (Romans 9).

His desired will refers to those events that occur that are outside of what God desires of us. Because he gives man choice, we must choose between sin or obedience. God’s desired will is for to obey, but we will choose our own way (Isaiah 53:6). When we choose our own way – which is not what God wants – that is breaking His desired will.

Now, if all things – whether they are part of God’s desired or decree will (Romans 8:28) can be worked for His purposes – what of the person who ends up in hell?

Well, on one hand, the person who has made the choice to reject Christ in life and ends up in hell has not glorified God in that choice of rejection. Their rejection – which results in eternity in hell – does not glorify God.

However, God is being glorified in hell even as we speak. His wrath and His justice – when shown – glorifies Him. The demonstration of Him keeping His word to send people to hell because of their rejection glorifies Him.

So, God is glorified in hell, but any rejection that leads someone to hell does not glorify Him. So, it is a both/and, not an either/or.

For more on this subject, I encourage you to read this article by Jim Hamilton.

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