Summer 1987
The Glory of God
Selected

The phrase "the Glory of God" is referred to by ministers and laymen alike and is usually mentioned in terms of the Lord's majesty, power and kingship.

Man defines glory as the ability to exalt himself by holding a high position of power over others who are in subjection. Thus, we tend to think of God in this same light; that His Glory is His exaltation on a throne before humble man.

May we look at some Scriptures in a new light, so we can embrace the full meaning of the term, "The Glory of God" and more fully see our "Hope of Glory." In II Cor. 4:6 the Scriptures say, "For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

Light is invisible unless it shines upon some object. We think we see a rayof sunshine shine into the room. But that is not so. We see only the particles in the air, upon which the light shines and which thus reveal the presence of light. "God is light" 1 John 1:5. We read "God is light," but He is invisible and unknowable unless He shines upon some object that will revea lHim. The object upon which He has shone is the face of Jesus Christ, and as we look upon that face, there shines in our hearts the light of the knowledge of the Glory of God, which we can see nowhere else.*

Since Jesus Christ is the reflection of Him, we must look closely at the person of Jesus, who said before His eminent death on the Cross in John 12:23,"The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified." Later He said, "It is come," and we see Him pierced, marred, disfigured (Is. 52:14), and hanging on a tree in order for rebellious men to be saved. In essence Jesus is saying, "This is my hour of Glory, for my grace to sinners is fulfilled. It is the fullness of my love for all mankind."

In John 17:22 Jesus is talking to the Father and saying, "And the Glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me and has loved them, as thou hast loved me."

What is the Glory the Father gave Him that they may be one? Perfected Love! Joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control. What is the Spirit in which these qualities are born? Servant hood!

But Jesus went one step further than even servant hood for you and me. In Phil. 2:7 the Scripture says, "Taking upon Him the form of a servant." However, the Greek word for servant is diakonos, but here doulos was used, which means slave, which infers one with no rights at all.

In John 14 Jesus told His disciples that when they looked upon Him they were seeing the Father. Who is the Father, but the ALL Glorious One who IS Love.

When Moses said, "I beseech Thee, shew me Thy Glory," God replied, "I will make all My Goodness pass before thee" Exodus 33:18, 19. Not, "I will make all My power, My majesty, My holiness pass before thee," but, "I will make all My GOODNESS to the weak, the sinful, and the undeserving pass before thee." In showing His goodness (grace, as it is called in the New Testament), He was showing His glory. His glory is His grace (Eph. 1:6). It is this that makes the angels hide their faces and bow in wondering adoration of God. And it is this glory which is fully seen in the face of Jesus and nowhere else. "In Him most perfectly expressed the Father's glories shine." *

He is Grace, and He is Glory, and He is Love. These three words are all interchangeable and all the expression of our Lord. Although He now sits on the right hand of the Father's throne, He is still girded as the Heavenly Servant, presenting us to the Father and washing away our sins, as He, by His Spirit is changing us from Glory to Glory, becoming Perfect Love.