Glory is a big concept to understand. God is bigger than all of us, ever be able to comprehend within the limitations of our humanity. God is divine and revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the One True, Triune, God. He is an omnipotent and sovereign God, and compassionate and good in relating to humanity. He is the ultimate judge. He is our Defender, Healer, Provider, Saviour, Comforter, Creator, and Abba Father. He is glorious in every aspect.
The Glory of God has revealed to all of us through the natural beauties as Psalmist declared the heavens declare the Glory of the Lord (Psalm 19:1). The glory of God isn’t just a feeling, an event of an Old Testament experience but it’s a spiritual tsunami of everything contained in the character of God. The word glory is literally translated as “heavyweight” meaning the heaviest, biggest, grandest thing about someone to explain and understand.
Therefore the Glory refers to the entire embodiment of God. Please read Isaiah 42:8, “I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols (Isaiah 42:8). Therefore, the glory of God is the beauty of His spirit. The glory of God, which is manifested in all His attributes together, never passes away (James 1:10-11).
When the angels brought the message of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, “the glory of the Lord shown round about them, and they were very frightened”. It seems to be describing some kind of light, or glowing radiance associated with the presence of God (Luke 2). When Isaiah saw God in the temple, high and exalted, and the train of His glory filled the temple, he fell down as dead (Isaiah 6). The Hebrew word for glory originally meant weight, heaviness. When the Temple of Solomon was inaugurated, the priests could not enter the temple because the glory of God was there (2 Chronicles 5 & 7). It seems they were simply not able to deal with the weight of God’s glory.
John said, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only” (John 1:14). John is saying is: The Word dwells among us. John identifies Jesus as the Word. The invisible became visible. The untouchable became touchable. The unknowable became knowable. Spirit became flesh. It is the greatest miracle the world has ever known. He stepped out of the words of Scripture so that we would have more than a prophecy or a moral code, we would have God himself standing among us — Emmanuel.
The original place of worship for the Hebrews was a tent, or what they called a tabernacle. The Tabernacle was the place where God dwelled. It was called the “Tent of Meeting” where people could communicate with God (Exodus 27:21). For the Hebrews it was important that God’s presence resided in a tent, or tabernacle, rather than a building. A building cannot move, but a tent can. To the Hebrews it meant that wherever they went in their wanderings, they knew that God would go with them. They could move away from a building, but they could not move away from the tabernacle, for it would go with them. And when John says that Jesus “tabernacled among us,” he is saying that Jesus’ body was a walking sanctuary with the presence of the living God inside. He lives with us and goes wherever we go.
. John said, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” To associate the term “glory” with Jesus was saying something about his divine character. And when John uses the term “glory,” he is not talking about Christ’s future coming in glory. He is emphasizing the appearance of the long-awaited glory that had now become present in the world. What is John thinking about? He is thinking of Jesus’ baptism when the glory was seen as the heavenly dove descended on him and the voice from heaven spoke just as it had from Sinai. John is thinking of the many times he saw Jesus heal people. He is thinking of the times the glory of God was seen as Jesus fed thousands of people by multiplying the fish and bread. He is tying it to how Moses miraculously fed the people in the wilderness. John was there when the widow’s son (Luke 7:11-15), Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:22-43), and Lazarus (John 11:1-44) were raised from the dead. He saw the glory!
JESUS IS THE GLORY OF GOD!
CONCLUSION: We are to share in His Glory. Are You? The Word shares his glory. This is the incredible thing about the grace and love of God. He does not keep his glory to himself. He shares it with his children. The Bible says, “He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:14). The apostle Peter says in his letter: “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed” (1 Peter 5:1).
AMEN...
Presented By Larry L. Vollink, Cedar Springs, Michigan, Retired Pastor/Chaplain, lawrenceV@comcast.net
