are we worth anything to God?

No and yes. God's people in and of themselves are worthless wretches deserving of death and hell. God's people were given to Christ in eternity past and at Calvary He shed His precious blood and bore His people's sins to redeem them.

Of course! Would a father place his son on a cross to be crucified for no reason and listen to him cry the words Eli Eli Lama sabachthani?

granturissimus said:

basic question pretty much.

did God save us because we were worth something to him?

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John 3:16 ESV
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

We were created in the imago dei (image of God), so the answer is clearly yes.

Is true value what we do or are, or Who loves us? I think it's the latter.

heymikey80 said:

Is true value what we do or are, or Who loves us? I think it's the latter.

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I think everyone only does what God wants. So, from the purest saint to the vilest sinner we are all doing God's will.

He only loves his elect. That's why he died for them and blessed them with faith and eternal life. The rest he crushes.

The elect are precious to God. So much so that He became a man and died for them.

Our worth is Christ. All that God determined to do from before the foundation of the world was for the glory of Christ. In Him alone are we worth anything to God. United to Him we are as precious as God's own Son. Apart from Him men are the objects of wrath and terrible judgement. Col. 1:15-20

Twin,

I hear you and that is certainly the orthodox theological response from the Reformed Scholastic perspective. But at the same time, the bible is full of expressions of a deep love and solicitude on the part of God for His elect, not merely in federal representation, but as a people He has chosen.

God loves His creation. He made it and called it good. The fall was a terrible thing not only because it insulted the righteousness and holiness of God, but because it destroyed and ruined a good and holy establishment which God Himself considered precious and and invested with love and compassionate providence. People, human beings are the very height of that creation and as such, were created precious and beloved.

Scholastic answers are good, they frame things well, but I often think it is good to make reference to God's enduring love and jealousy for His people. It is certainly true that in Christ there exists the very end of all his love and care, but I think we need to remember that He came for people, for you and for me.

granturissimus said:

basic question pretty much.

did God save us because we were worth something to him?

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NO

God's primary purpose for His creation is the revelation of His glory.
Sin and salvation from sin serves that end.

We have no intrinsic value, we derive our value from God.
To the extent that we serve God's purpose, we have value.

The OP has cause and effect exactly back wards.

Of course we have value to God our creator. All mankind serves a purpose to God. The elect are a gift from the Father to the Son, as a people that will worship Him for eternity unto the power of His grace and the reprobate unto the power of His Justice.

The Holiness of God must be in the forefront of this. A perfect and Holy God makes even the birds and animals of this world with some kind of worth to Him. All of creation serves a purpose and thus is of some kind of worth to God.

In the end every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord!

Yes, God saves the elect out of love for them.

As objects of His love, we are of inestimable value and preciousness.