The Glory of God
Dr. John K. Mathew
The Gentile nations had their temples, priests, religious laws, and sacrifices, but only the nation of Israel had the glory of the true and living God dwelling in their midst.
Apostle Paul writes, " For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises" (Rom:9:3,4).
When Moses dedicated the tabernacle, God's glory moved in, but the sins of the people caused the glory to depart. When Solomon dedicated the temple, once again God's glory filled the sanctuary. But centuries later, the prophet Ezekiel watched that glory leave the temple and then come back again. In the words of Warren Wiersbe, "Without the presence of the glory of the Lord, God's people are just another religious crowd, going through the motions".
What is the glory of God? According to Rick Warren, "It is who God is. It is the essence of his nature, the weight of his importance, the radiance of his splendor, the demonstration of his power, and the atmosphere of his presence. God's glory is the expression of his goodness and all his other intrinsic, eternal qualities".
Jesus Christ possesses God's inherent glory because he is God. He, the light of the world, illuminates God's nature. Apostle John an eyewitness narrates, "The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory of the one and only son, who came from the father, full of grace and truth" (John1:14).
Scripture clearly says that the glory of Jesus is dwelling in them who believe in Him. Colossians 1:26 and 27 reads, "the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord's people.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". Then it becomes the Christian's responsibility to reflect God's glory through us.
How is that? In his book, What on Earth Am I Here For, Rick Warren deals with five things that we can glorify God. We glorify God when we worship him. Worship is our first responsibility to God. We bring God glory by loving other believers. It is written, "accept each other just as Christ has accepted you; then God will be glorified". (Rom.15:7)
We bring God glory by becoming like Christ. Jesus honored God by fulfilling his purpose on earth. We honor God the same way. When we serve others with our gifts we bring glory to God.
And finally, we bring God glory by telling others about him, as we read in
2 Corinthians, "All this is for your benefit so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God" (4:15).
Living for God's glory is the greatest achievement we can accomplish with our lives!
