I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. ( 1 John 2:12 12 I write unto you, `my' little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. )

Why should we emphasize that God loves, forgives, and saves “for his name’s sake” — for his own glory? Here are two reasons (among many).

1) We should emphasize that God loves and forgives for his own glory because the Bible does.

“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” ( Isaiah 43:25 25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake; and I will not remember thy sins. )

For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. ( Psalms 25:11 11 For thy name's sake, O Jehovah, Pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. )

Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake! ( Psalms 79:9 9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name; And deliver us, and forgive our sins, for thy name's sake. )

“Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O Lord, for your name’s sake.” ( Jeremiah 14:7 7 Though our iniquities testify against us, work thou for thy name's sake, O Jehovah; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee. )

We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord, and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against you. Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake; do not dishonor your glorious throne. ( Jeremiah 14:20 20 We acknowledge, O Jehovah, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against thee. –21)

God put [Christ] forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. ( Romans 3:25 25 whom God set forth `to be' a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God; –26)

Your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. ( 1 John 2:12 12 I write unto you, `my' little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. )

2) We should emphasize that God loves and forgives for his own glory because it makes clear that God loves us with the greatest love.

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory.” ( John 17:24 24 Father, I desire that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. )

God loves us not in a way that makes us supreme, but makes himself supreme. Heaven will not be a hall of mirrors, but an increasing vision of infinite greatness. Getting to heaven and finding that we are supreme would be the ultimate let down.

The greatest love makes sure that God does everything in such a way as to uphold and magnify his own supremacy so that, when we get to heaven, we have something to increase our joy forever: God’s glory. The greatest love is God’s giving himself to us for our eternal enjoyment, at the cost of his Son’s life ( Romans 8:32 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? ). That is what he means when he says that he loves us and forgives us for his own name’s sake.