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Gabe Stalnaker

Glory To God In The Highest

Luke 2:13-14
Gabe Stalnaker • May, 31 2026 • Video & Audio
2 Articles 2,537 Sermons
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Gabe Stalnaker
Gabe Stalnaker • May, 31 2026
2 articles 2,537 sermons

In the sermon "Glory To God In The Highest," Gabe Stalnaker addresses the profound theological implications of the birth of Christ as narrated in Luke 2:13-14. Central to his message is the doctrine of Christ’s incarnation and its relation to God’s glory and human salvation. Stalnaker underscores the significance of the angelic announcement as a pivotal moment in redemptive history, drawing on Scripture references such as Luke 2:9-12 and Revelation 5:11 to illustrate the heavenly chorus's response of worship and praise. The key arguments explore the themes of God's sovereignty in salvation, the fundamental peace brought by Christ, and the joyful worship that flows from understanding this divine revelation. The practical significance lies in the invitation for believers to glorify God in recognition of His merciful provision of salvation through Christ and the peace He brings to humanity.

Key Quotes

“The announcement of He is here. It is time. Heaven had been waiting for this announcement.”

“How can you properly respond? All you can say is glory to God in the highest.”

“Every time a sinner says, I believe, joy erupts among the angels.”

“Glory to God in His sovereignty in election. His sovereignty in regeneration.”

What does the Bible say about the glory of God?

The Bible reveals that the glory of God is His majesty, splendor, and preeminence that warrants our worship and praise.

The glory of God embodies His supreme beauty, majesty, and greatness that far surpasses anything created. In Scripture, we see references to God's glory filling the temple (1 Kings 8:10-11) and His radiance prompting fear and awe in those who encounter it, such as Moses (Exodus 33:18-23). The angels, upon announcing the birth of Christ, proclaimed: 'Glory to God in the highest' (Luke 2:13-14), emphasizing that all creation should respond in worship and exaltation to God’s glorious nature. Worship is the natural response of the redeemed heart to who God is and what He has done.

Luke 2:13-14, Exodus 33:18-23, 1 Kings 8:10-11

Why is the birth of Christ significant for Christians?

The birth of Christ is significant as it marks the coming of the Savior who fulfills God's promise of redemption and peace.

The birth of Christ is the center of God's redemptive plan, as it announces the arrival of the Savior, 'which is Christ the Lord' (Luke 2:11). This event signifies the fulfillment of countless prophecies and the ultimate demonstration of God's love for humanity. In Christ, God becomes incarnate, entering into the human experience to bring peace and reconciliation through His death and resurrection. His birth heralds the reality that peace with God is now available, a peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7). For Christians, this event is not merely historical but foundational to their faith and hope in salvation.

Luke 2:11, Philippians 4:7

How do we know that God is sovereign in salvation?

God's sovereignty in salvation is evident in His predestining grace and the assurance of salvation for His elect.

The sovereignty of God in salvation is a core belief rooted in Scripture, where the doctrine of election is clearly articulated (Ephesians 1:4-5). This means that God, in His infinite wisdom, chose certain individuals for salvation before the foundation of the world. Additionally, Romans 8:29-30 outlines God's unbreakable chain of salvation, indicating that those whom He predestined, He also called, justified, and glorified. This demonstrates that salvation is fully initiated and completed by God Himself, leaving no room for human merit or effort. This sovereign grace fuels our worship and assurance, as we recognize that our salvation is rooted in God’s love and power.

Ephesians 1:4-5, Romans 8:29-30

Sermon Transcript

Auto-generated transcript • May contain errors

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Turn with me now to Luke chapter two. Luke chapter two. In our Bible study this morning, we looked at the amazing, the amazing wonder of the cross. from Exodus chapter three in the story of Moses in the burning bush. How something or someone could suffer the fiery judgment of God and not be consumed. We then continued that amazing wonder in the message this morning by looking at verse 12 here in Luke chapter 2, seeing how Christ came into this world for the sole purpose of dying as the substitute sacrifice for his people. He came for the sole purpose of being the lamb slain. That was the sole purpose. The one who would be consumed by the fiery wrath of God. for his people, so they wouldn't be, so they couldn't be.

Tonight, now that we've really entered into what Christ came to do and what he did for us, tonight I just want us to simply glorify him. That's all I want us to do. I've been really enjoying our relaxing Sunday evening services. And that's what tonight is.

I just want us to glorify him and praise him and give him thanks for what he's done. I have a very simple outline. It's a very simple message. And it's this right here, verse 13, it says, And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. I hope this will be a blessing for us. We're just going to acknowledge and enjoy those two verses. That's all we're going to do. But look with me at verse six. It says, and so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that Mary should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son. and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Now let's take just a minute and enter into this thought, okay? Just follow me here for a second, okay? According to how this is worded, one angel appeared to those shepherds.

One angel gave that glorious announcement. Verse 9 says, And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, the angel, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I, not we, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." The moment he said manger, one angel was sent to deliver this message. And the angels are not all-knowing like God is. We tend to think sometimes that everything in heaven knows everything. Only God Almighty knows everything. All right? The angels are not all-knowing like God is. They have to wait and see how things work out just like we do. They're just like us.

In that sense, the scripture says that the angels desire to look into these things. We desire to look into these things. And they do too. And as a matter of fact, our Lord said they're not going to marry or be given in marriage. My people are going to be just like the angels in heaven. But they desire to look into these things. They have an interest in the things of Christ and in the things of his people and in the things of his salvation.

And they receive great delight from the things that they see happen with God's people. It's true. You know, the scripture says, every time a sinner says, I believe, joy erupts among the angels. Joy breaks out, you know, and it breaks out among God's people. Every time a child of God, the light comes on and a person says, I I believe Jesus Christ. Joy erupts. Well, that's how it is with the angels. Joy erupts among the angels.

The scripture talks about them beholding the face of the Lord. You know, the Lord said, you better be careful how you treat my people. They're angels, the angels that I've stationed with them to guard them and protect them lest they dash their foot against a stone.

They are always beholding the face of the father. I've given you that illustration before of seeing that trained police dog. The moment the command was given, that dog went into action and he turned his face to that police officer and never stopped looking at his face. Well, that's what the angels do. They're just beholding the face of the father waiting for his next command, sitting on go as we like to say it.

And this announcement right here of Christ the Savior being born into the world for the purpose of fulfilling the accomplishment of death for His people. The announcement of He is here. It is time. Heaven had been waiting for this announcement. This announcement right here was and is the centerpiece of the universe. Everything in time and eternity pointed to and points, it still points to this moment. Heaven was, heaven is, heaven will forever be fixed on this moment. And I can see every angel in heaven asking, Father, can we go? Father, would you mind if we go? Can we go, please? I hear the Father saying, let him get his announcement out first. As soon as he finishes the announcement, you can go.

Verse 9, and lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Go. I love how in the book of Daniel, Gabriel flew to Daniel. As soon as he started praying, the commandment was given. Go to him. Give him the answer. And it says when he got there, he was tired because he flew so swiftly. I don't even understand that. That's how hard he was flying. Wearied with flight, go.

Verse 13 says, and suddenly, all right, that it was done. You're going to find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly, that word means shockingly. It means unexpectedly. All of the sudden. There was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. That's beautiful. That is beautiful. Verse 13 says, And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host.

There's a center reference for a multitude of the heavenly host, and it's Daniel 7 verse 10. Don't go there because when you get there, there's a reference that sends you to Revelation 5 verse 11. Don't go there. They both basically say the same thing, but here's Here's Revelation 5 verse 11.

It says, I beheld and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beast and the elders, and the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000. You know what number that is? It's not 100,000. It's not 10,000 times 10. It's 100 million. And God doesn't lie. All right. It's 100 million. And it says, if you read it, after you get that number, 100 million multiply it by thousands. And then after you get that number, multiply it by thousands.

Hebrews 13 verse 22 says, it's a number you could never count. an innumerable company of angels verse 13 says a multitude that word multitude translates the whole number that's what it means it translates the fullness the fullness you say How could they all fit in that airspace? I don't know.

That's God's doing and God's business. But the fullness, all of a sudden, here's the announcement from God Almighty. Unto you is born today in the city of David, a Savior, a Christ. You're going to find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Verse 13 says, And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory. Here is the joyful response to the announcement of the gospel.

Here it is right here. Glory. Glory. Glory is a word that none of the definitions of the word do it justice. None of them do it justice. How do you describe the glory of God? How do you describe the glory of God? The scripture talks about the glory of God so many times. The glory of God filled the house and it just ran everybody out. Moses saw the glory of God and the people were afraid to look at Moses. How do you describe the glory of God?

The word glory means when you look it up, it means judgment, splendor, brightness, magnificence, excellence, preeminence, majesty. Those are wonderful words that truthfully describe our Savior. I just feel that each one of those words needs to be infinitely magnified. Now with that being said, there was one definition that I feel best describes the response to this glorious announcement, and that word is worship. Worship, the word glory translates worship.

All the angels, they were praising God and saying, verse 14, worship to God in the highest. That's who all of our worship is unto because that's where all the glory is. The Lord our God, Hebrews 1 verse 6 says, let all the angels of God worship him. Philippians 3 says, let all the people of God do the same thing. It says, we are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.

Verse 14 says, glory to God in the highest. Glory to God in the highest. Glory to God in the highest place. Glory to God in the highest way. Glory to God in the highest everything. Glory to God in His highness. Your highness. Glory to God in His sovereignty. Glory to God in His sovereignty in creation. Glory to God in His sovereignty in salvation. Glory to God in His sovereignty in redemption. Glory to God in His sovereignty in election.

His sovereignty in regeneration. Glory to God in the fact that he will be merciful to whom he will be merciful and he will be gracious to whom he will be gracious. That's his glory. That's what he said. That's my glory. That is his power. That is his preeminent right. As God and we worship him for that. We worship him. For that, turn over to Revelation 7. Revelation 7, look at verse 9.

After this I beheld and lo a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before the Lamb clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders, and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, saying, Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever, amen.

And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, what are these which are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? And I said unto him, sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are they which came out of great tribulation. and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Therefore are they before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Glory be to him. Glory to his name. All glory be unto him for that. That is glorious. Go with me back to Luke 2. Verse 13, And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace. Peace with God. Peace with the law. Peace within the soul. Peace. That word means quietness. It means rest. The word peace literally translates one. That's what the word peace means. One. Oneness. Oneness with God, that is a person. That's a person.

That is the very person we are worshiping and glorying in. Christ, our peace. He is our peace. He made peace. Glory to God in the highest. Peace. He is the Prince of Peace. Glory to God in the highest. The Prince of Peace is here. Peace came to this earth when Christ came to this earth. Peace by the blood of his cross. Verse 14, glory to God in the highest and on earth. Peace.

If you have a center margin in your Bible, you'll see there are a few references for the word peace. Ephesians 2, verses 14 and 17. That's at the bottom of my list, but that's one of them. And that's what I just quoted. He is our peace. So making peace. One of them, the one in the middle, is Luke 1, verse 79. Just right here on my page. Luke chapter one, verse 79.

It says, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to God our feet, in the way of peace, that's Christ. The way of Christ, He is our glory, He is our peace. Back in chapter 2, verse 13, Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Now doesn't that sound so nice? Goodwill. Just think about those two words. Goodwill. Goodwill means kind intent. If we could really enter into that. Kind intent. It means delight. That's what it means. delight. It means pleasure. It means satisfaction. It means desire toward men.

That is the very reason why the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world. Goodwill. This is who he is. This is who our God is. This is why he's so worthy of our praise and our worship. Kind intent, this is the reason why he came. Another word for that is love. Love, his grace, his graciousness was seen in his love. It came to us because of his love.

For God so loved, God commended his love. but God who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith he loved us. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. In this was manifested the love of God toward us because that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him. Glory to God in the highest. How can you put a proper response to that announcement into words? How can you properly respond? All you can say is glory to God in the highest. Glory to God in the highest. Praise, worship, glory.

I am so thankful that Romans 8 says that the Spirit of God is speaking on our behalf, making intercessions for us to him with groanings we could never utter. I am so thankful because we could never utter. All we can say is thank you. That's all we can say. Glory to God. Glory, praise, and thanks be unto Him for everything He's done. Amen. Amen.
Gabe Stalnaker
About Gabe Stalnaker
Gabe Stalnaker is the pastor of the Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church located at 2709 Rock Springs Rd, Kingsport, Tennessee 37664. You may contact him by phone at (423) 723-8103 or e-mail at gabestalnaker@hotmail.com
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Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church
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#The Glory of God #Christology #Soteriology
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