The Glory

Of God
Learning to give God
the glory He deserves.
 Introduction
By understanding the glory of God one understands
the greatest purpose and desire of God with regard
to humanity.
The springboard for beginning to understand Gods
purpose in His glory is found when the Holy Spirit
said:
to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ
Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen
Ephesians 3:21, NASU.
Glory is the key word around which we want to
center our thoughts.
 Introduction
The first source for our information about the glory
of the Lord is found by gleaning the truths from
what the Holy Spirit said about this glory in the
book of Ephesians.
The immediate context is a prayer in which Paul
exalts Jehovah by stating that it is going to be
through the church and Christ that God is to receive
glory from us.
Earlier in the prayer Paul hints at the vastness of
this topic by speaking of the riches of His glory
3:16.
 Introduction
Three times in the first chapter he exalted God and
said, to the praise of His glory Ephesians 1:6, 12,
14.
He also spoke of the Father of glory Ephesians
1:17 and later in the book he spoke of the church
in all her glory Ephesians 5:27.
An early mention of the glory of the Lord in the
New Testament is discovered when Stephen said
that it was the God of glory who appeared to
Abraham in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran,
Acts 7:2.
 The Shechinah Glory
It is significant that the writer said the glory
Ephesians 3:21.
The article indicates a special kind of glory.
It has reference to the glory that is mentioned in
the Old Testament.
Thus, the only way anyone is going to fully
understand the purpose of God in His glory is to
study the glory of God as it is revealed in the Old
Testament.
 The Shechinah Glory
There are literally hundreds of passages in the Old
Testament that give insight into the purpose of God
found in the glory of the Lord.
The word the Jews used to refer to the glory of the Lord
is the word shechinah.
The word Shechinah is not found in the Bible, but used
by the later Jews to express the visible majesty of the
Divine Presence, especially when resting or dwelling
between the cherubim on the mercy-seat in the
tabernacle and in the Temple of Solomon
(International Standard Bible Encyclopedia under the
topic, Shechinah).
 The Shechinah Glory
The use of the term is first found in the targums,
which were ancient Jewish paraphrases of the Old
Testament text.
These special appearances of the Lord are always in
the form of a great brightness.
One such example is when Moses was in the
presence of God on the mountain.
 Exodus 33:17-23.
The LORD said to Moses, I will also do this thing of which
you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I
have known you by name. Then Moses said, I pray You,
show me Your glory! And He said, I Myself will make all My
goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the
LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show
compassion. But He said, You cannot see My face, for no
man can see Me and live! Then the LORD said, Behold,
there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock,
and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I
will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My
hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away
and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen
 The Shechinah Glory
The brightness that Moses experienced radiated from
his face so brightly that when he came down from the
mountain the people were afraid to come near him
until he covered his face with a veil (Exodus 34:29-35).
The glory of God, like many other attributes, is one of
the qualities that is distinctive to Jehovah.
The Holy Spirit declared this to be so when He said,
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the
glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed
everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is
the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head
over all I Chronicle 29:11.
 The Shechinah Glory
The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
states that the root idea for one of the most
common words for glory means weight.
In the Bible it is only used literally in two places.
Figuratively, a weighty person in society is
someone who is honorable, and could be spoken of
as holding a place of glory.
An illustration of this usage is found in Genesis
45:13 where Joseph bids his brethren tell their
father of his glory in Egypt.
 The Shechinah Glory
Over against the transience of human and earthly
glory stands the unchanging beauty of the manifest
God (Psalm 145:5).
In this sense the noun kabod (glory) takes on the
most unusual and distinctive meaning.
Forty-five times this form of the root relates to a
visible manifestation of Godand is directly related
to Gods self-disclosure and His intent to dwell
among men
 Purpose of Gods Glory
The grand message of the manifestations of the glory of
the Lord is that God wants to dwell with His people.
When one thinks about the sinfulness and corruptions
of men, it is staggering to think that the holy God, in all
of His glory, wants to have fellowship with humanity.
God desires fellowship so much that He has removed
the barrier of sin that separated man from Gods glory.
Involved in that gracious act of God are several other
wonderful blessings.
These help one understand the overall purpose of God
as seen in His glory.
 The Glory of God and the Tabernacle
The Bible does not tell us much about the glory of the
Lord until the time God called the tribes of Israel out of
the Egyptian captivity and made them His special
nation.
Referring to that time the prophet Isaiah had Israel
saying, He said to Me, You are My Servant, Israel, in
whom I will show My glory Isaiah 49:3.
This is why Paul, when writing about the advantages
which Israel had, said that it was because to them
belonged the glory Romans 9:4.
Even though the Lord was leading Israel out of Egypt
with the pillar of light, it is not said to be the glory of
the Lord.
 The Glory of God and the Tabernacle
The first definite reference to this phenomenon is found in the
record of Moses and Aaron in the desert of Sinai.
So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, At evening you
will know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt;
and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, for He hears
your grumblings against the LORD; and what are we, that you
grumble against us? Moses said, This will happen when the LORD
gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread to the full in the
morning, for the LORD hears your grumblings which you grumble
against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against
us but against the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, Say to all the
congregation of the sons of Israel, Come near before the LORD,
for He has heard your grumblings. It came about as Aaron spoke
to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, that they looked
toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD
appeared in the cloud Exodus 16:6-10.
 The Glory of God and the Tabernacle
Again, when Israel was camped out at Mount Sinai
the Bible says, The glory of the LORD rested on
Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days;
and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the
midst of the cloud.
And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance
of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire
on the mountain top Exodus 24:16-17.
From that time on, one reads about the Lord of
glory as He manifested His interest in dwelling
among His people.
 The Glory of God and the Tabernacle
The tabernacle was constructed as a place where
God could dwell among His people.
God said to Moses on the mount, Let them
construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell
among them Exodus 25:8.
When it was completed Then the cloud covered
the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled
the tabernacle.
Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting
because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of
the LORD filled the tabernacle Exodus 40:34-35.
 The Glory of God and the Tabernacle
When the priesthood and the sacrificial system, which was to be
administered in this tabernacle, were about to begin, Moses
gathered Aaron, his sons, the elders and the whole congregation
to the tent of meeting.
Aaron and his sons provided a sacrifice.
Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD has commanded
you to do, that the glory of the LORD may appear to you. Moses
then said to Aaron, Come near to the altar and offer your sin
offering and your burnt offering, that you may make atonement
for yourself and for the people; then make the offering for the
people, that you may make atonement for them, just as the LORD
has commanded...Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting.
When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of the
LORD appeared to all the people. Then fire came out from before
the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat
on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell
on their faces Leviticus 9:6-9, 23-24.
 The Glory Of God And The Tabernacle
Because the glory of the Lord dwelt in the Most
Holy Place, the cherubim on the ark of the covenant
were called the cherubim of glory Hebrews 9:5.
Because of Israels sin, when the ark of the
covenant was captured by the Philistines, Phinehas
widowed wife named their son Ichabod, saying,
The glory has departed from Israel I Samuel 4:21.
Remember, Kabod means glory. The tabernacle
and its furniture contained the glory of the Lord so
that He could have fellowship with His people.
 People Can Receive Glory
One is honored to receive praises of men if it is
deserved.
We speak of the glory days of former athletes or
heroes.
Men may seek their own glory.
It is said of Solomon that in all his glory he was not
arrayed as the lilies of the field (Matthew 6:29).
You receive glory from one another but not from
God (John 5:44).
 Give God His Glory
Isaiah 66:5 Let the Lord be glorified.
Matthew 5:16 glorify your Father who is in
heaven.
1 Corinthians 6:20 Glorify God in your body.
Luke 17:18 one turned back to give God
glory.
John 9:24 give glory to God.
 We Also Seek Glory
Romans 2:7 in doing good we seek for glory
and honor.
Colossians 3:3-4 For you have died and your
life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ
who is our life, is revealed, then you also will
be revealed with Him in glory.
We realize that in order to receive this glory
we must humble ourselves before God.
 Conclusion
Throughout human history God has always
demanded that man glorify Him.
This is the reason He made man.
We honor God when we obey Him.
And we honor God when we cause others to glorify
Him.
Jude 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus
Christ our lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and
authority before all time and now and forever,
Amen.