15 And the Glory
And the Glory
In the New Testament, the word “glory” carries two interlocked layers of meaning, each of which entails the other. Layer one is the manifested praiseworthiness of the Creator; layer two is the praise which this draws from his creatures. Which layer is “on top” depends on whether the reference is to the glory which God has and shows and gives or to that which he is given. For we in gratitude bless the God who in grace has blessed us, and this is to glorify the One who is even now glorifying us by remaking us in Christ’s image (see 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 1:3; and compare Romans 1:21 with 8:17, 30). But that for which men give God glory is always something glorious, while the glories that God shows man are always intended to call forth praise.
Glory Seen
In the Old Testament, God displayed his glory in typical, visual form as an awe-inspiring expanse of bright light (the shekinah, as later Judaism called it). This was the sign of his beneficent presence in both the tabernacle and the temple (Exodus 40:34; 1 Kings 8:10ff.). The essential and abiding revelation of God’s glory, however, was given by his great acts of merited judgment and unmerited love, and in his “name”—which was no mere label, as our names are, but a disclosure of God’s nature and character. Jehovah (Yahweh, as modern scholars render it) means “I am (and will be) what I am (and will be)” (see Exodus 3:13-15), and the full statement of God’s “name” declares precisely what he is and will be. This statement was made to Moses; when Moses asked God, “show me thy glory,” God responded not only by a visual manifestation, but also by declaring “my name ‘the LORD’ (Yahweh) . . . a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty . . . ” (Exodus 33:18-34:7). This moral character is the essential glory of God.
So, when the Word was made flesh in lowliness, having emptied himself of the glory he shared with the Father before creation, the breathtaking brilliance of the shekinah was hidden, save for the one isolated moment of transfiguration; yet Jesus’ disciples could testify, “we beheld his glory,” the glory of personal deity “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14; cf. 17:5; Philippians 2:7). Great as is the physical glory of shekinah light, the moral glory of God’s redeeming love is greater. Those today whom God enlightens to understand the gospel never see the shekinah, but they behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).
Glory Given
When in the traditional Lord’s Prayer doxology we ascribe the glory, along with the royal rule, to God forever, we are, first, telling God (and thus reminding ourselves) that he, our Maker and Redeemer, is, and always will be, glorious in all he does, especially in his acts of grace (“we give thanks to thee for thy great glory”); and, second, we are committing ourselves, now and always, to worship and adore him for it all (“glory be to God on high”). The doxology thus makes the Lord’s Prayer end in praise, just as the Christian life itself will do: for while petition will cease with this life, the happy task of giving God glory will last for all eternity.
Glory to Whom?
Now let us test our spiritual quality.
The principle of human sin (which is the devil’s image in man) is this: glory is not God’s, but mine. Accordingly, we parade what we think of as our glory, so that admiring watchers will give us glory. This is one facet of our pride: we call it vanity. Vain persons put on a show with their features, physical shape, clothes, skills, position, influence, homes, brains, acquaintanceships, or whatever they are most proud of, expect applause, and feel resentful and hurt if people do not play up to them and act impressed.
But Christians know that vanity is a lie, for it assumes that it is we who should be praised and admired for what we are; and that is not so. Christianity teaches us, not indeed to pretend that we lack qualities which we know very well that we have, but to acknowledge that all we have is God’s gift to us, so that he should be praised and admired for it rather than we.
The test is to ask yourself how pleased, or how displeased, you become if God is praised while you are not, and equally if you are praised while God is not. The mature Christian is content not to have glory given to him, but it troubles him if men are not glorifying God. It pained the dying Puritan, Richard Baxter, the outstanding devotional writer of his day, when visitors praised him for his books. “I was but a pen in God’s hand,” he whispered, “and what praise is due to a pen?” That shows the mentality of the mature; they want to cry every moment, “Give glory to God!—for it is his due, and his alone!”
What does this test tell us about ourselves?
Further Bible Study
The way of doxology:
Romans 11:33-36
Ephesians 3:20ff.
1 Timothy 6:13-16
Hebrews 13:20ff.
Jude 24ff.
Revelation 1:4-7
Questions for Thought and Discussion
What are the two meanings of the word “glory,” and what is the relationship between the two?
What does God’s character have to do with his glory?
Is our ability to see God’s glory limited by the absence of the shekinah? Why or why not?