The Glory of God

"And he said, 'Please, show me Your glory.'" - Exodus 33:18

"Surely the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire." - Deuteronomy 5:24

The last hallelujah psalm charges us, "Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!" Psalm 150:2. Man's highest purpose is to rejoice in and declare passionately the grandeur of our almighty God. The Hebrew word for glory, cavod, conveys the idea of heaviness or weight. The majesty or importance of a person was their weightiness. Allen Ross declares that God's glory is His importance. To glorify God is to declare his weightiness and to live for His honor so that others will see His importance in all we are and do. All of nature declares the glory of God by reflecting his beauty, wisdom, and power. Creation points to Him as the Creator, the most important Person in the universe. (Recalling the Hope of Glory, pp.46-47)

The New Testament borrows its word for glory from the Greek Old Testament. This Greek word, doxa, is the source of our English word, doxology. The original meaning of doxa in Greek culture was, "to think." The word infers "an opinion," or "an estimate." It is easy to see how the authors of Scripture applied this to the measure of God's character. The infinite estimate of His greatness is His glory, His doxa. (Colin Brown's Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol.2, pp.44-47; Robert Reymond's, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith, pp.165)

The glory of God is His majesty; glorifying God is the manifestation and proclamation of His excellent qualities. When God is truly made known, then He is glorified. Praise glorifies God because it describes His greatness, and declares the reasons of His worthiness. The chief responsibility of the believer is to glorify God.

Scripture records several instances of God's Shekinah glory, i.e. the visible manifestation of God presence. Those who encountered God's glory were overwhelmed even to the point of falling prostrate and powerless before God, (Exodus 33:18-34:9; 1 Chronicles 5:14; Isaiah 6:1ff; Ezekiel 1-2; Revelation 1:9-17). When we make God's glories known, His majesty will humble man's pride and call all to repentance. We glorify God before the eyes of men when we live godly lives and preach the gospel of Christ. True Christ-like living combined with clear declarations of His majesty rebukes the high thoughts of self that dominate human culture.

The glory of God is the greatness of His character revealed. Glorifying God means to give to Him the rightful honor and reverence that is due Him, and to declare His worth and works in all the earth. The heavens are our example, for they announce His glory continually, (Psalm 19:1), but their ability to give forth the message of His greatness pales before the ability granted to man to honor God. Man, more than any other creation is able to magnify and glorify the Lord. This is the duty of every individual for humanity alone bears His image in creation. To give Him glory is to honor Him in a way that is fitting to His majesty. God is a jealous God and His glory He will not give to another, Isaiah 42:8. To glorify God is the great purpose and end of all things especially the redeemed community, "to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:21

- Bob St. John