, as we understand with our limited understanding, is used specifically to describe the greatness of God’s own person and presence. His Glory depicts God’s physical presence with all of His perfect attributes on display. God’s glory is awesome, holy, indescribable, powerful, just, and true. His glory is the perfect harmony of all his attributes into one infinitely beautiful and personal being.
The glory of God, which like Him is eternal, is the beauty of His spirit which emanates from His Character. Moses requested God, “Now show me your glory” In His response, God equates His glory with “all my goodness”. God said, Exodus33:19-23 “And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. 21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: 22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by 23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.”
In the Old Testament, the manifestation of God’s glory was accompanied by fire, thick clouds, and a great quaking of the earth. We see these phenomena when God gave the law to Moses. Exodus 19:18 “And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.” Prophet Ezekiel’s vision of the glory of God was full of fire and lightning and tumultuous sounds, after which he saw “what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. Ezekiel 1:26-27“And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. 27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. 28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.”
In the New Testament, the glory of God is revealed in His Son, Jesus Christ: John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Luke 2:32 “A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” The miracles that Jesus did were “signs through which he revealed his glory.” John 2:11 “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.” In Christ, the glory of God is meekly veiled, approachable, and knowable.
God communicates his glory through his creation, image-bearers, providence, and redemptive acts. God’s people respond by glorifying him. God receives glory and, through uniting his people to Christ, shares his glory with them. All of this contributes to his glory, as God in his manifold perfections is exhibited, known, rejoiced in, and prized.
Dr Ashwin Drummond
laddertoheaven.co.in