What is it and how can we see it? These are the two questions we’ll explore in today’s Clarion teaching.

Introduction

At various times, God revealed His glory in various ways to various people. No doubt He will continue to do so as the day of Christ’s return draws nearer. Unfortunately, the phrase “the glory of God” is often misused. As a result, we can begin to devalue it.

In the beginning, God gave us inferences to His glory when He created the heavens and earth (i.e., in time, space, and matter).

His glory in time: The glory of God is increasingly being revealed across the passage of time. The Lord gave us a picture of this process in the aging of man – gray hair.

A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness. – Pro 16:31 NASB20

In the same way hair doesn’t turn white instantly, His glory is gradually being revealed in us as individuals (2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Peter 1:19) and across the world (Habakkuk 2:14, Matthew 5:16). His glory will culminate inside His people on resurrection day (1 Corinthians 15:53).

This biblical reference to gray/white hair also gives us a prophetic picture for how we, as individual members connected to the head (Christ), are meant to increase in glory in unison.

Although God is ageless, He is called the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9a) and described as having a head with white hair (Daniel 7:9b). A reference to His glory in time from the One not bound by it.

As time marches on, the Lord is both receiving and revealing more and more glory. More today are standing around His throne than ever before. They are both seeing new aspects of His glory while giving Him more of it.

His glory in space: God designed the celestial lights to teach man about the consistency and splendor of His Heavenly glory. As it is written:

..The heavens tell of the glory of God; And their expanse declares the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. – Psa 19:1-2 NASB20

According to the scriptures, every time we gaze upon the sun or at various celestial bodies like the one of the Carina Nebula below, we are viewing direct references from God of His glory.

Image: Hubble space

God’s glory in matter: The elements of Earth also point to His glory. Every sunflower and mountain range in its own way points to it. Because of the law of entropy (the second law of thermodynamics), all matter will eventually fade away. As it is written:

For, “ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY IS LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, – 1Pe 1:24 NASB20

Creation itself is not God’s glory. It was intentionally designed to point to it and spur us on to directly seek it. However, since the beginning man has confused the pointer (creation) with the point (the Creator).

They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator…”. – Romans 1:25 NIV

What is God’s glory?

In Hebrew, glory means “Kabowd” – splendor, heavy, and majesty. However, this definition is quite limited. We can gain other insights of it by learning about what transpired when God directly reveals His glory to His people.

In the Old Testament, God revealed His glory in different ways. During the exodus of the Israelites, God revealed His glory in the form of a cloud. It confused the Egyptians but comforted and directed the Israelites (a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day) (Exodus 3:21).

Therefore, God’s glory is His comfort and guidance.

Later, on Mt. Sinai, Moses asked God, “show me your glory!”. God replied, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you…” (Exodus 33:18).

Therefore, God’s glory is His goodness.

As the Israelites continued in the wilderness, the glory cloud would regularly appear on and within their meeting tent (Exodus 40:34-35).

Therefore, God’s glory is His abiding presence.

Note: The phrase “Shekinah Glory” is not in the scriptures. The term was invented by Rabbis. Shekinah means, “the light of His presence”.

Twelve generations (approximately 480 years) later, the same glory cloud of the Lord appeared again during the inauguration of Solomon’s temple:

And it happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. – 1Ki 8:10-11 NASB20

Approximately 980 years later, Jesus is standing on a mountain with three of His disciples at night. Suddenly, that same bright cloud of glory overshadows them. Then, the Father’s voice was heard:

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!” – Mat 17:5 NASB20

Therefore, God’s glory is His light and voice.

What do the expressions of God’s majesty, comfort, guidance, goodness, presence, power, light, and voice all have in common? They are each revelations of His nature. God’s glory, therefore, is the essence of His being and nature.

However, in these last days, the Father went one step further to reveal His glory in its most concentrated form – the person of Jesus.

Christ is the embodiment of the glory of God. As I type, God’s brilliance, light, glory, and nature is being funneled and emanating through Christ:

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, – Heb 1:3 NASB20

Christ is not only emanating God’s glory from Heaven. Because He dwells within us, He also desires it emanate out of us on earth (Matthew 5:16). As His saints and Church, we are carriers of His glory. He has made us to be His habitation place (Ephesians 2:22, 1 Peter 2:5). So, this emanation process is like a mirror reflecting His glory back and forth between earth and Heaven (2 Co. 3:18).

How can we see God’s glory?

Knowing therefore that Christ is the chief expression of God’s glory, seeing it becomes simple. There are two primary ways you and I can:

#1: We look to Jesus. The more we do, the more His glory within us increases in brightness. Although we do not perceive this occurring with our physical senses, the Lord sees it. The Holy Spirit is the person doing this transaction in us on earth. He is transforming us more into the image of Christ:

But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. – 2Co 3:18 NASB20

#2: Pray for it. The Apostle Paul regularly prayed that the church in Ephesus would have the eyes of their heart opened to see the riches of His Glory:

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, – Eph 1:17-18 NIV

This is my prayer for you and the Body at large today. That we, together, would see in greater manner the hope of our calling, and the riches of His glory and inheritance for us.

Until next time.

-Wes