"Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you -- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (Ex.15:11, NIV).
Last time, we realized that we have so much to praise God and to feel blessed for the forgiveness of our sins. We have seen the enormity of our sins, the grievousness of the penalty and also the beauty on how God rendered His forgiveness.
And we could appreciate more God’s forgiveness by realizing what we would miss, if such forgiveness was not given.
We read in 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12, “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.”
Apostle Peter also wrote in 1 Peter 5:10, “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
Notice that God has called and is calling a people “into his kingdom and glory” – “to his eternal glory…” Those people are recipient of God’s grace – those who enjoy His unmerited forgiveness. Their destiny is truly glorious not just in the excellence of a particular position, condition, place, or whatever, but into “HIS eternal glory”!
An incomparable glory!
As we read in Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 added, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us AN ETERNAL GLORY THAT FAR OUTWEIGHS THEM ALL. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
God is not only calling a people for such great glory, but He is also preparing them for it. God’s Word declares in Romans 9:23-24, “What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory -- even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?”
Matthew Henry’s Commentary explains, “Sinners fit themselves for hell, but it is God that prepares saints for heaven; and all those that God designs for heaven hereafter he prepares and fits for heaven now: he works them to the self-same thing, 2 Cor. 5:5 (“Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come”).”
Not only God calls and prepares them for glory, but we also read in Hebrews 2:9-12:
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, ‘I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.’"
It was the purpose of God “In bringing many sons to glory.” We also read in Isaiah 43:6-7, “I will say to the north, `Give them up!’ and to the south, `Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth -- everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory.”
The Holy God even allowed His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ to suffer and die “for everyone” – “everyone who is called by my name” (Isa. 43:7), for those He “is not ashamed to call them brothers” – to make them holy.
And the Son of God would want to bring them to glory not only by dying for them – but He is also praying for them, as we read in the 17th chapter of John, especially in verse 24: “"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”
Jesus Christ prayed to the Father that those He gave to Him -- “everyone who is called”, who are forgiven, who are His brothers (God’s children) would be with Him to behold His Glory.
And the Glory of Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, is beyond comparison – for He is God. “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Heb. 1:3).
In Matthew 25:31-33, the glory of Christ is mentioned: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.”
Referring to God, we also read in 1 Chronicles 29:11, “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.”
“Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you -- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”
Just how excited are we to behold such incomparable and awesome glory?
Do we ever imagine what is the eternal glory of the Holy God?
In the book of Ezekiel, we can read how in the limited human language the stupendous, eternal Glory of the Holy God is portrayed.
The prophet Ezekiel wrote in chapter 1, verse 25-28:
“Then there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.”
In chapter 10, verses 3-4: “Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the LORD.”
And in chapter 43, verse 1-5: “Then the man brought me to the gate facing east, and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory. The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. The glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.” (You could find the similar description of Christ in Revelation 1:12-16.)
Could we also say what the Psalmist declared in Psalm 26:8, “I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells”?
The desire to see God’s Glory was burning in the heart of Moses. Consider what he told God, “Now show me your glory."
Verse 19, “And the LORD said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion…’”
In the words of the Glorious God, His Glory was “all my goodness…” -- His Glory is all of His Goodness. His Glory is not only the dazzling display of the splendor and excellence of where He is and how He is manifested, but also what He is and who He is.
Now, when Ezekiel was exposed in such awesome reality – beholding all the goodness of God, he said, “When I saw it, I fell face down…”
When the Apostle John beheld Christ in His Glory, he remarked: “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead…” (Rev. 1:17.)
God told Moses, “…’you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.’ Then the LORD said, ‘There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen’" (Ex. 33:20-23).
After God proclaimed His Goodness, “Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped” (Ex. 34:8). Also the face of Moses was radiant when he was exposed at and saw just the “back” of the Glorious God!
Indescribable glory awaits the children of God, who received forgiveness. It is so glorious – not just because of what they will become, not just because of what they will be eternally doing, not just because of the wonder of the place or condition, but because of the Glorious Presence of the King of Glory!
You can have a glimpse of that in Revelation 21 and 22.
The Apostle John wrote in Revelation 21:1-4, 10-11:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ’Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’"
“And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.”
Also in verses 22-24, “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.”
Finally, we read in Revelation 22:3-5, “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”
Indeed what a Glorious God we have! In His Presence there is fullness of joy; At His right hand are pleasures forevermore (Ps. 16:11, NKJV)!
Even now, we can behold His Gory – all His Goodness. We read in Psalm 34:8-10, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.”
PRAYER: Our Great God, whose Glory is truly awesome, we bow down before Your Holy and Glorious Presence. Just like Moses, we hunger to behold the fullness of Your Glory and we love to dwell where You are. Thank You, our Merciful Father, for preparing and bringing us through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into Your Glorious Kingdom. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
