Why Does Tozer Say God Must Be Exalted Above Everything Else?

Short answer: Tozer says God must be exalted above everything else because Chapter 8 argues that spiritual disorder begins when the creature takes the place that belongs to the Creator. The chapter is not demanding that Christians deny every legitimate human relationship or responsibility. It is calling for a restored order in which God receives supreme worship, authority, trust, and love, and every created good is received under Him rather than competing with Him.

Chapter 8 is about relationship and order

Tozer’s title, “Restoring the Creator-creature Relation,” gives the framework. He sees the Fall not only as lawbreaking but as a moral dislocation: humanity no longer willingly gives the Creator His rightful place.

The basic distinction is simple:

God is Creator. We are creatures.

That difference is permanent. Salvation does not make human beings divine or independent. Grace restores us to joyful dependence on the One for whom we were made.

Exalting God is not feeding divine insecurity

Human beings often demand praise because they are insecure. God does not need affirmation in that way.

To exalt God means to acknowledge reality. He is worthy because of who He is. Worship does not make Him greater; it recognizes His greatness.

Psalm 57:5, which frames Chapter 8, asks that God be exalted above the heavens and His glory over all the earth. Scripture repeatedly places worship in this direction: from the creature to the Creator.

What competes with God’s place?

Created things become spiritually disordered when we ask them to provide what only God can provide.

Examples include:

using career success as the final measure of worth;
expecting a spouse or child to carry the weight of ultimate identity;
trusting money as if it guarantees security;
treating political power as the source of salvation;
building ministry around personal recognition;
allowing comfort to overrule obedience;
making personal preference the highest authority.

The issue is not that careers, families, money, public life, ministry, or comfort are automatically evil. The issue is rank.

Exalting God puts other loves in order

Jesus teaches that love for God is supreme and that discipleship may require costly loyalty. Yet Scripture also commands love of neighbor, faithfulness in marriage, care for children, service to the church, and responsible work.

Putting God first therefore does not make us less faithful to people. Properly understood, it should make us more faithful because we love them under God’s authority rather than using them to satisfy ultimate needs.

A spouse is freed from having to be a savior. Children are freed from carrying a parent’s identity. Work becomes stewardship rather than worship. Ministry becomes service rather than self-exaltation.

The danger of a human-centered Christianity

When God is displaced, even Christian language can become centered on us.

We may judge worship primarily by whether it pleased us, evaluate Scripture by whether it supports our plans, or view prayer mainly as a tool for obtaining desired outcomes. Chapter 8 challenges that orientation.

The first question of worship is not, “What did I get?” but, “Was God honored as God?”

The first question of obedience is not, “Does this fit my preference?” but, “What has the Lord said?”

Exalting God is a voluntary surrender

Tozer distinguishes this lived surrender from justification itself. A Christian is not earning acceptance by putting God first. The believer responds to grace by increasingly bringing thoughts, ambitions, relationships, possessions, and decisions under God’s rightful rule.

Romans 12:1–2 gives similar movement: mercy comes first, then the offering of the whole life.

This keeps Chapter 8 from becoming a ladder by which we climb toward God. It is a call to live consistently with the grace already received.

How to identify what is functionally exalted

Ask what happens when a valued thing is threatened.

If criticism destroys you, reputation may have become too high. If financial uncertainty makes obedience impossible, security may have become too high. If a relationship must be preserved at the cost of truth, approval may have become too high.

Strong emotion does not automatically prove idolatry, but disproportionate fear or control can expose where our practical hierarchy has become disordered.

A simple “order of loves” exercise

Write five things you deeply value: family, health, work, ministry, finances, friendships, influence, recreation, or another good gift.

For each one ask:

How can I receive this as a gift from God?
How am I tempted to make it ultimate?
What would obedience look like if this were threatened?
How can loving God first make me more faithful with this gift?

The aim is not to care less about everything. It is to care in the right order.

Put It Into Practice

Read Psalm 57 and Romans 12:1–2. Identify one created good that has begun to control your fear, identity, or decisions. Thank God for the gift, then consciously return it to its proper place by choosing one act of obedience that places God’s will above your need to protect it.

Conclusion: Tozer says God must be exalted above everything because the Creator-creature relationship is the foundation of spiritual order. When God is given His rightful place, created things can be loved as gifts rather than worshiped as gods, and the Christian life becomes an ordered response to grace.