What Can We Add to God?

If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? Or, if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him? If you are righteous, what do you give Him? Or what does He receive from your hand? (Job 35:6–7)

Today’s big question: what can we add to God?

If you desire to find out some of the differences between God and man, read the book of Job. Today’s verse is yet another example of Isaiah 55:8–9. God’s ways are higher than our ways because He is infinitely greater than we are.

One way we can begin to grasp the limitless difference between God and man is to consider how we, in our humanity, could affect or change God. The simple answer is that we cannot. We cannot add to God, nor can we take away from His perfection.

First, we will look at the “take away” part. Commencing in Genesis 3 we see a history of human rebellion against God, and this continues right through to the end of the Bible. Surely by sinning against God we have taken something from Him, right? Does God lose glory because of our sin? Not in the least.

Paul wrote, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). The glory of God is magnified in both His judgment of sin (“death”) and His redemption of the sinner (“eternal life in Christ”). When we sin against God, He demonstrates His glory through His judgment and redemption. His character remains unchanged in spite of our sin and His glory is displayed in all His works.

But can we add something to God? When we praise Him, do we not add glory to Him?? If we do something amazing for God, have we not contributed something to Him? No, not at all. God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. This point was clearly emphasized repeatedly to Job.

All things are God’s. All have been created by Him and for Him, whether things seen or unseen (Colossians 1:15). God owns us, our abilities, and our possessions. Everything we have is already His. If we glorify Him, we are merely reflecting to Him the glory that is already His.

To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen. (Jude 25)

God alone is fully independent and completely satisfied in His own brilliant glory. Yet, this same God worked so distinctively in Job’s life to give Job an overwhelmingly resplendent view of His own glory, leading Job to a depth of intimacy with his Maker we can only imagine. Job neither added to nor took away from the infinite, perfect God. We should acknowledge the same truth in our own life. God is higher.

Today’s big idea: we can add nothing to Him who is infinite.

What to pray: ask God to remove your human pride. We are really not that big.