May 2, 2009 am Return to Study of God
A STUDY OF GOD (8)
THE GLORY OF GOD
Today we continue
our study of the character of God.
We have noted several characteristics related to the deity of
God. That is we have noted
attributes exclusive to God such as His holiness, omnipotence,
omnipresence, omniscience and eternal nature.
Today we conclude this portion of our study by examining the
glory of God.
There are hundreds
of passages, both in the Old Testament and New Testament that deal with
glory, most of which are related to God – either describing His glory or
our need to glorify Him. In
this lesson we will just touch “the hem of the garment.”
Our goal is to define what glory is, examine the glory of God and
notice how we are to glorify Him.
a.
Glory,
1. Very great praise,
honor or distinction bestowed by common consent; renown.
2. Something that is a source of honor, fame or
admiration. 3. Adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving,
4. Resplendent beauty or magnificence, 10.
Verb, to exult with triumph,
rejoice proudly.
Glory,
Random House dictionary, 2009,
www.dictionary.com
Each of these definitions has
to do with our subject of the glory of God.
b.
Glory, (doxa)
in the Greek “primarily signifies
an opinion, estimate, and hence, the honor resulting from a good opinion.”
(Vine’s) When man glories in
himself he is highly esteeming himself.
When he worships and serves the creature instead of the creator
he is placing greater opinion (glory) on something over God. (cf. John
5:44)
Thayer ads, “splendor, brightness.”
We shall see the significance of this in a few moments.
c.
What is
the glory of God?
Our goal is to understand the glory of God which is much greater than
defining it as an opinion.
New Testament usage of the word (doxa) is different than common Greek.
Most often, it denotes, “’divine and heavenly radiance’, the
‘loftiness and majesty’ of God, and even the ‘being of God’ and His
word.” Its use in the New
Testament is very much derived from the Old Testament word Kabod (#3519)
which points to
worthiness.
(Cf. TDNT Kittel, 10 Vol.; WS Dict. Of NT).
In other words, GOD IS WORTHY of our highest praise and honor.
Commenting on the glory of God, The Word Study Dictionary of the New
Testament notes, “Glory…is the true apprehension of God or things.
The glory of God must mean His unchanging essence.
Giving glory to God is ascribing to Him His full recognition.”
That is what we are speaking of when we examine the glory of God.
a.
God has
manifested His glory on several occasions as He interacted with man.
i.
His
appearance at Mt. Sinai –
Ex. 24:9-17. Moses,
Aaron & 2 sons + 70 elders saw a glimpse of God (vs. 10-11); Moses goes
up to receive the tablets of stone that will contain the 10
commandments.
VS. 15-18 describe the
awesomeness of the occasion - a cloud covered the mountain and “the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on top of the mountain…”
Remember how afraid the people desired that Moses speak with them
instead of God who had thundered the 10 commandments to them?
(Ex. 20:18-20)
ii.
Exodus 33:18-23.
AS the Lord instructs Moses to prepare the people to depart Mt.
Sinai, he desires to see the glory of God.
This comes after the children of Israel have again rejected God
by building the golden calf.
Moses broke the tablets of stone given them God.
He pitches his tent outside the camp and calls it “the tabernacle
of meeting.” From there
Moses speaks with God. It is
in this text that we read, “So the
Lord spoke with Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.”
(vs. 11)
Moses desires to see the way of the Lord “that I may know You and find
grace in Your sight.” (13)
The Lord assures Moses that He would go with him.
Now notice our text (18-23).
Chapter 34 records Moses making the new tablets which he will present to
God who would write on them as the others.
Moses intercedes for the people
and the Lord makes a covenant with him and Israel
(34:10, 27-28)
NOW NOTICE
Exodus 34:29-35.
Notice how the face of Moses shone so bright He had to put a veil on His
face so the people would look at him.
NOTE how in this text when Moses went in to speak with the Lord
he would remove the veil and when he revealed the message of the Lord it
was with an unveiled face (i.e. it was the message of God he was
speaking WITH GLORY). When
he finished he would put the veil on until he went to speak with the
Lord. Some have said this was how
it was with Moses the rest of his time with Israel.
THIS text is a demonstration of the AWESOME GLORY of God!
iii.
At the
dedication of the tabernacle –
Exodus 40:34-35, “Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of
meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting,
because the cloud rested above it and the glory of the Lord filled the
tabernacle.”
Later, as the priesthood was dedicated,
Lev. 9:23-24 says that as
Moses and Aaron came out of the tabernacle and blessed the people, “then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people and fire came out
from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the
altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.”
iv.
At the
dedication of the temple of Solomon as the Ark of the Covenant was
brought into it, “the glory of the
Lord filled the house of the Lord.”
1 Kn. 8:10,11
v.
At the
birth of Jesus, when an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds we
read, “And behold, an angel of the
Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and
they were greatly afraid.”
(Luke 2:8-11)
vi.
The
transfiguration of Jesus where He is seen with Elijah and Moses, we are
told in
Matthew 17:2, “and
He was transfigured before them.
His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as
the Light.”
2 Peter 1:16-18
says, “For we did not
follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a
voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased.’ And
we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the
holy mountain.”
vii.
Acts 7:55 – Stephen as he
is being stoned sees the glory of God and Christ at His right hand.
viii.
In all
these examples we get a glimpse into the glory of God – how truly
glorious He is!
b.
God’s
glory demonstrated in Jesus
i.
John 1:14
-18, speaking of Christ coming to this earth it notes, “and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth.”
The text further states, “No
one has seen God at any time.
The only begotten Son, whom is in the bosom of the Father, He has
declared Him.”
ii.
When we
consider the sinless perfect life of our Lord we see the greatness and
glory of God demonstrated to us.
Remember how Jesus later told His disciples who requested, “Show
us the Father”, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not
known Me, Philip? He who has
seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
John 14:8-9
iii.
John
17:1-5 as Jesus prays to the Father just before going to the garden He
speaks of the glory of God and how He had glorified Him.
iv.
Hebrews
1:3 speaking of Christ says, “Who
being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person,
and upholding all things by the word of His power…”
v.
2
Corinthians 4:6, “For it is the
God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our
hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ.”
c.
God’s
glory described
i.
His
name – Psa. 8:1 says, “O
Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have
set Your glory above the heavens…”
Deut. 28:58 called for Israel to “fear
this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD”
ii.
His
power – Colossians 1:11
speaks of the glorious power of God.
Remember how we spoke of God being all powerful last week.
Also Exodus 15:6 says, “Your right
hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power…” (Song of Moses after
crossing the Red Sea)
iii.
His
holiness – Exodus 15:11, “Who
is like You, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing
wonders?”
iv.
Nature – Psa. 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His
handiwork.”
As the song says, “When we behold the wonders of creation…” Lord I
Believe.
Isa. 6:3, “Holy, holy, holy is the
Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
v.
Exclusive to Him - Isa.
42:8, “I am the Lord, that is MY
name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved
images.”
vi.
His
majesty –Psa. 93:1 says, “The
Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty…”
145:5, “I will meditate on the
glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works.”
The word majesty means greatness or magnificent. (WS Dictionary;
Thayer). Of course, as with
so many attributes – in God it is the ultimate demonstration of
greatness.
vii.
These are but a sampling of things that exhibit the glory of God!
a.
We are
to glorify Him.
Because of God’s great glory and our realization of that, in
humility we bow before Him and glorify Him.
What does it mean to glorify Him?
The word, glorify, means “to render glory to Him (God), recognize Him
for Who and What He is, to celebrate with praises, worship, adoration”
(WS Dictionary, #1392)
b.
Psa. 57:5,
The desire of David, “Be exalted O
God, above the heavens; Let your glory be above all the earth.”
As we understand God, may this be our proper example.
c.
We ought
to glorify Him in all things - 1 Cor. 10:31, “Whatever
you do, do all to the glory of God.”
i.
By
being a proper example – 1
Pet. 2:12 – honorable conduct among the Gentiles leads to them “by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of
visitation.”
Also Matt. 5:16.
ii.
Praising Him – Psa. 50:23,
“Whoever offers praise glorifies
Me.”
iii.
By
accepting His word – Acts
11:18, 21:20 both deal with going to the Gentiles.
In Acts 11 when Peter explains to those in Jerusalem what had
happened, “they became silent; and
they glorified God, saying, ‘Then God has also granted to the Gentiles
repentance to life.’”
iv.
By
bearing fruit – John 15:8,
“By this the Father is glorified,
that you bear much fruit…”
v.
By
our conduct – 1 Peter
4:11, “that in all things God may
be glorified through Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 6:20, “therefore
glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
vi.
This includes your words –
1 Pet. 4:11, speak as the oracles of God.
When we teach others, proclaim His praises and greatness, etc. we
are glorifying Him.
vii.
Through suffering – 1
Peter 4:14, 16 notes this.
viii.
Look for His glory – Psa.
63:2, “So I have looked for You in
the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.”
I conclude this
portion of our study with Titus 2:13 which speaks of the grace of God
that has appeared to all men teaching us to live godly lives in this
present age, “looking for the
blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus
Christ.” Are you prepared to for His glorious appearing?