Glory of God

A Study of The Glory of God

Pastor David Holt

1. What is the glory of God?

“God’s glory is the created brightness that surrounds God’s revelation of Himself.” Dr. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 220.

“God’s glory is the beauty of His manifold perfections. It can refer to the bright and awesome radiance that sometimes breaks forth in visible manifestations. Or it can refer to the infinite moral excellence of His character.” John Piper, Desiring God, p. 31.

Try substituting this phrase for the word “glory” when you read Scripture: “to fully reveal the character and likeness of God.”

The Hebrew word translated glory is the word “kabed” and it literally means “be heavy.” When God’s presence is heavy and strong, he is glorified because we see Him for who He is. His brightness, holiness, immutability, grace, goodness, faithfulness, judgment, etc. is heavy when it is being manifested.

Glory is the essence of His being and desire to be known:

1Chr. 16:24 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

1Chr. 16:28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength,

1Chr. 16:29 ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

1Chr. 29:11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.

Psa. 24:7 Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

Psa. 29:3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.

Glory and His immutability (never changes)

1Sam. 15:29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.”

Glory and brightness/light:

Is. 58:8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

Is. 60:1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

Is. 60:2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

Is. 60:19 The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

Ezek. 1:28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

Ezek. 10:4 Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the LORD.

Luke 2:9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

Luke 2:32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

2Cor. 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

2Cor. 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Rev. 21:11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

Rev. 21:23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

Rev. 21:24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.

Glory and God’s perfection

Is. 6:3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Rom. 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Glory and the heavens/creation

Psa. 8:1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

Psa. 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Psa. 97:6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.

Psa. 113:4 The LORD is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens.

Is. 6:3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Glory and clouds

Ex. 16:10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.

Num. 16:42 But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the Tent of Meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared.

Matt. 24:30 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.

Glory and Moses

Ex. 33:18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

Ex. 33:22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

Ex. 40:34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

Ex. 40:35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

Glory and human response

1Kings 8:11 And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple.

Ezek. 3:23 So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the LORD was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown.

Ezek. 44:4 Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked and saw the glory of the LORD filling the temple of the LORD, and I fell facedown.

Glory and fire

Ex. 24:17 To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.

Deut. 5:24 And you said, “The LORD our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him.

2Chr. 7:3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.”

Zech. 2:5 And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will be its glory within.’

Glory of the Lord fills the earth, but obviously not in its fullness.

Num. 14:21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth,

Glory and its movement

1Sam. 4:22 She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

Ezek. 43:2 and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory.

Glory and heaven

Psa. 73:24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.

2. God’s pure desire for His glory.

“My conclusion is that God’s own glory is uppermost in His own affections….God’s ultimate goal therefore is to preserve and display His infinite and awesome greatness and worth, that is, His glory…God’s overwhelming passion is to exalt the value of His glory. To that end He seeks to display it, to oppose those who belittle it, and to vindicate it from all contempt. It is clearly the uppermost reality in His affections. He loves His glory infinitely.” John Piper, Desiring God, p. 31-32.

Because He wants to be known. He wants to reveal Himself to us. He wants relationship!!! He wants to display His glory to us.

Ex. 14:4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.”

Hab. 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Hag. 2:7 I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty.

Judgment can show His glory:

Ezek. 39:21 “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them.

God will share His glory with no one.

Is. 42:8 “I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.

Is. 48:11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.

God is the only being who can be jealous and protective of his glory and it not be inappropriate or selfish. This explains the command to have no other gods before Him.

3. Jesus and the glory of God.

Jesus reveals the glory of God in who He is and what He did:

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 2:11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

John 11:4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

John 11:40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

John 12:41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

John 17:22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:

John 17:24 Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

Heb. 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Heb. 2:7 You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor.

Heb. 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

Luke 24:26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”

1Tim. 3:16 Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

Jesus returning in glory

Mark 8:38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Luke 9:26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Jesus illuminating heaven

Rev. 21:23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

4. The cross and the glory of God.

John 17:1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.

John 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

John 12:16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.

John 12:23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

John 12:28 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

John 13:31 When he (Judas) was gone, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him.

Jesus declared that His death would not only be for the glory of God, but also be the glory of God in that it fully reveals the character and likeness of God. The cross reveals the character and likeness of God in that God in flesh shows forth His holiness and judgment for sin while also displaying His love and grace in paying for that sin Himself! If we want to see the glory of God, look to the cross of Jesus Christ!

5. The glory of God and His jealousy.

Ex. 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

Ex. 34:14 Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

Num. 25:13 He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”

Deut. 4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Deut. 5:9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

Deut. 6:15 for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land.

Deut. 32:21 They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.

Josh. 24:19 Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins.

James 4:5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?

“God’s jealousy is not a compound of frustration, envy, and spite, as human jealousy so often is, but appears instead as a (literally) praiseworthy zeal to preserve something supremely precious.” J. I. Packer, Knowing God, p. 153

“His jealousy, in all its manifestations, is precisely ‘the zeal of the Lord of hosts’” (J.I. Packer, Knowing God, p. 155).

“As the purer and chaster a husband is, the more grievously he is offended when he sees his wife inclining to a rival; so the Lord, who has betrothed us to Himself in truth, declares that He burns with the hottest jealousy whenever, neglecting the purity of his holy marriage, we defile ourselves with abominable lusts ….” (John Calvin, Institutes, II, viii, 18).

Since God is so much after His glory, He is appropriately jealous of anything that gets in the way of His glory and of our relationship with Him.

6. The glory of God and the believer.

We are created for God’s glory (to reveal to others who He is):

Is. 43:7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

Eph. 1:12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

Eph. 1:14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession — to the praise of his glory.

Col. 1:27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Matt. 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Christian means “little Christ.”

1Cor. 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

2Pet. 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

We should want God’s glory to be everywhere – for Him to be glorified (seen for who He is):

Psa. 57:11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

Psa. 72:19 Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.

Psa. 85:9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.

Psa. 96:3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

Psa. 102:15 The nations will fear the name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.

Psa. 104:31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works —

Study 2 Cor. 3:5-18

Moses/Old Covenant/Law Jesus/New Covenant/Grace

Suffering and glory

John 11:4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

Rom. 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

2Cor. 4:17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

“Suffering with joy proves to the world that our treasure is in heaven and not on the earth, and that this treasure is greater than anything the world has to offer. The supremacy of God's worth shines through the pain that his people will gladly bear for his name.” John Piper

Challenge: Ask God to reveal to you His glory by revealing to you who He is. Submit to His glory. Seek to live for the glory of God. Fight jealously for His glory. Glorify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!