Cuando la Confesión de Westminster dice que el fin principal del hombre es glorificar a Dios y disfrutarlo para siempre. ¿Qué querían decir con eso y cómo podemos hacerlo de manera práctica? Una cosa es que debemos entender qué querían decir en el antiguo uso de la palabra jefe. ¿Cuál es el objetivo final del hombre? Y puede haber metas subordinadas.
Puede haber metas que conduzcan a una meta final. Entonces, un fin principal es un fin o una meta que, en nuestra opinión, no es un valor porque conduce a algo mejor. Pero tiene un valor en sí mismo. No hay nada mejor que. Y las cosas que hacemos que nos llevan a esa meta, entonces vamos, nos subimos a un auto y vamos al supermercado a comprar comida, a volver a casa, a preparar una comida, a comer.
Entonces el objetivo final en esa situación sería tener una comida. Pero hay muchas cosas que hacemos antes de llegar a eso, y estos serían fines subordinados. Necesitamos conducir nuestro coche. Necesitamos pagar por la comida. Necesitamos cocinarlo.
Pero en todas las cosas que hacemos en nuestra vida, ¿cuál es el objetivo final? Y los puritanos sentían que la forma más sencilla de resumir todo era decir que era para glorificar a Dios y disfrutarlo para siempre.
Cosa significa il fine principale dell'uomo?
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Quando la Confessione di Westminster dice che il fine principale dell'uomo è glorificare Dio e goderlo per sempre. Cosa intendevano con questo e come possiamo farlo in modo pratico? Una cosa è che dobbiamo capire cosa significavano nel vecchio uso della parola capo. Qual è lo scopo ultimo dell'uomo? E possono esserci obiettivi subordinati.
Possono esserci obiettivi che portano a un obiettivo finale. Quindi un fine principale è un fine o un obiettivo, che nella nostra mente non è un valore perché porta a qualcosa di meglio. Ma ha un valore in sé. Non c'è niente di meglio di. E quindi le cose che facciamo portano a quell'obiettivo, quindi andiamo, saliamo in macchina e andiamo a fare la spesa per prendere del cibo, per tornare a casa, per preparare un pasto, per mangiare.
Quindi l'obiettivo finale in quella situazione sarebbe consumare un pasto. Ma ci sono molte cose che facciamo prima di arrivare a questo, e questi sarebbero fini subordinati. Dobbiamo guidare la nostra macchina. Dobbiamo pagare il cibo. Dobbiamo cucinarlo.
Ma in tutte le cose che facciamo nella nostra vita, qual è l'obiettivo finale? E i puritani sentivano che il modo più semplice per riassumere tutto era dire che era per glorificare Dio e goderlo per sempre.
Transcription
When the Westminster Confession says that the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. What did they mean by that and how can we do that in a practical way? One thing is that we need to understand what they meant in the old use of the word chief. What is the ultimate goal of man? And there can be subordinate goals.
There can be goals that lead to an ultimate goal. So a chief end is an end or a goal, which in our mind is not a value because it leads to something better. But it has a value in itself. There is nothing better than. And so the things that we do that lead to that goal, so we go, we get in a car and we go to the grocery store to get food, to come home, to make a meal, to eat.
So the ultimate goal in that situation would be to have a meal. But there are a lot of things that we do leading up to that, and these would be subordinate ends. We need to drive our car. We need to pay for the food. We need to cook it.
But in all the things that we do in our life, what is the ultimate goal? And the Puritans felt that the simplest way to sum it all up was to say that it was to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.
What does it mean to glorify God and enjoy Him forever and how can we practically live out this purpose?
In this video, Dr. John Snyder explores the concept of the chief end of man. He explains that the word "chief" in this context refers to the ultimate goal of man, while recognizing that there may be subordinate goals that lead to that ultimate goal. These subordinate goals are the steps or actions we take to reach the ultimate goal.
Dr. Snyder uses the example of going to the grocery store to get food and eventually have a meal. While the act of going to the store and cooking the food are subordinate goals, the ultimate goal is to enjoy the meal. Similarly, in all aspects of our lives, we need to identify and understand the ultimate goal, which the Puritans believed was to glorify God. This means that everything we do, whether it's mundane or significant, should be done with the purpose of bringing glory to God.
Practically living out the chief end of glorifying God and enjoying Him forever involves aligning our hearts, minds, and actions with God's purposes. It requires seeking His glory in all that we do, whether it's in our relationships, work, or personal pursuits. It also involves finding joy and satisfaction in our relationship with God, delighting in His presence, and experiencing the fulfillment that comes from knowing Him deeply.
Psalm 86:12 (NKJV) beautifully captures the essence of this idea: "I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forever."
Dr. John Snyder prepared for the ministry at Blue Mountain College, Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, and Reformed Theological Seminary. He then completed a PhD on the Eighteenth-Century Welsh revivals at the University of Wales: Trinity St. David. He is a pastor at Christ Church in New Albany, Mississippi. John and his wife Misty live in New Albany with their three children.
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