1st Kings 9:10-11 says: “And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.” Imagine living a life enveloped by the glory of the LORD – so much so that it’s what people see in us – Christ in us the hope of glory! Oh to have such a life. How do God’s people move in that direction?
In the closing verses of his last letter Peter identified just four of many ways that we can accomplish this – four ways to live a life that is purposing to bring glory to God: first, by understanding that we live in the age of salvation; second, by accepting without reservation that every word in the Bible is God’s inerrant, infallible, and authoritative Word; third, by guarding against error; and finally, by making it our life’s ambition to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And in last week’s Back Page article we began to dig a little deeper into the meaning of the term “glory to God.”
We saw that the most common Hebrew word translated “glory” in the Old Testament comes from a root word that signifies “weight,” and that the most common Greek word in the New Testament for glory is the word δοχα (doxa) which originally referred to “opinion.” So in a sense, when we talk about giving God glory, we are talking about giving Him literally the “weighted opinion” – His opinion, His thoughts, His desires, His commands, His way and so on become supreme over anything else.
A practical definition, as the word is used in both the Old and the New Testaments, flows along these lines: “excellence and praiseworthiness set forth in display” (think of this as “glory shown”). But God’s glory also means: “honor and adoration expressed in response to this display” (think of this as “glory given”). So one way to think of God’s glory is this: in God’s acts (such as creation, providence, and grace) God shows forth His glory – He displays His excellence and praiseworthiness; He “glorifies” Himself; graciously demonstrating that it’s Him what matters and He is who takes precedence over all (see for example Is. 44:23; John 12:28 & 13:31-32, etc.). The more we see Him and the more our focus is on Him – the more we can begin to taste just what the glory of God means. And think about John 15:5 in this light: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” Do we view our Christian life in this way – how much of it us verses Him?
Part of living a life that glorifies God means pointing to Him; depending on Him; realizing that dependence; and completely resting in Him! In the New Testament God glorifies (praises, exalts, honors, etc.) His Son (see John 13:31-32 & 17:5; Acts 3:13, etc.) – thereby making Jesus Christ the “weighted” center of the New Testament! No Christ – no Gospel; no Christ – no good news; no Christ…no glory! I encourage you to prayerfully consider these thoughts, take time to look over the verses I have provided, and Lord willing, we’ll sharpen our focus on the topic of the glory of God some more next week.
Pastor John