This is part 1 of a 6-part series. View the entire series here.
“The LORD replied to Moses, ‘I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by name.’ Moses responded, ‘Then show me your glorious presence.’ The LORD replied, ‘ will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will call out My name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.’” – Exodus 33:17-19 NLT
What Is the Glory of God?
The glory of God is one of His splendid divine attributes. Glory encompasses God’s magnificence, honor, renown, and heavenly beauty. But it goes far beyond that. Nobody can fully express God’s glory, because nobody has seen it in its fullest. In Exodus 33, Moses asks God to show him His glory as a means of comfort and confidence to lead the people of Israel to the Promised Land after their failure to be faithful to God by making the golden calf.
In response, God promises to grant Moses' request, saying He would make His goodness pass before Moses. But God gives one stipulation: Moses would only be allowed to see the trail of His robes, because beholding God’s glory would have been too much for any human to look upon. Imagine the weight and grandeur of God’s glory––His goodness––that is too much for us, in our mortal bodies, to behold in its fullest sense on this side of eternity.
When we consider glory, we might relate it to a tangible idea––an accomplishment, refined skill, or achievement. Artists who define a genre, athletes who carry their team to a championship, or astrophysicists who discover a new principle of time and space all earned a place of “glory” in community. But God’s glory is not earned. It cannot be given and it cannot be taken away. Glory is a quality, a characteristic, of the Triune God who was, is, and always will be. It is in His very nature to be glorious.
How Does God Show His Glory?
Throughout the Old Testament, God showed His glory in a multitude of ways. In Genesis 1-2, God showed His glory through creation. The goodness that God allowed to pass before Moses is a parallel to the goodness of creation (“...and God saw that it was good.” – Genesis 1:4, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). It’s not that creation gave God His glory––it was simply a revelation of His glory in a visible way (Psalm 19:1).
In every instance that God visibly shows Himself to people––the burning pot to Abraham, the burning bush to Moses, the pillar of cloud and fire in the wilderness––is God’s glory being put on display for mankind to see. While God may not choose to present Himself and His glorious nature in the same ways today, God’s glory is still on display through the Church who gives Him glory (Matthew 5:16).
What Does it Mean to Glorify God?
If God’s glory is an attribute that cannot be given or taken away, why are we called to glorify God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and how does this work? The call to glorify God by biblical authors like Paul is not a giving of something that one does not have––but rather, it is an acknowledgement of what is already possessed. It is affirming to ourselves and to God that we recognize He alone is glorious in all of His ways, and anything else pales in comparison (such as the golden calf from Exodus 32).
The act of glorifying God is a holistic experience. It is not the mere expression of words that gives God glory. It is a life lived in glad submission and humble obedience to Him. A life that draws––rather than distracts––others’ attention toward God. When people proclaim God’s inherent glory, we are not adding nor subtracting from it. We are putting it on display. To give God glory is to give Him our devotion and praise as His splendor is put on display for all to see (1 Peter 2:12).
What Does it Mean That Believers Will Be Glorified?
In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul writes, “And having called them, He gave them right standing with Himself. And having given them right standing, He gave them His glory” (Romans 8:30 NLT). Other translations, such as the ESV, phrase it this way: “And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called he also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.”
You may have heard the phrase, “God doesn’t share His glory with anyone.” The sentiment is this: God’s plan to redeem creation will remove anything or anyone that tries to take His place of worship in the lives of people. But this verse tells us that there is one exception God makes in sharing His glory––His image bearers. That is to say, He shares it with us.
When God created mankind, He uniquely made them in His image, sharing in His divine attributes and characteristics. The picture we’re presented in Genesis 1 and 2 is that God wanted to teach Adam and Eve how to rightly represent Him throughout the earth (or as we’ve previously put it, “to put His glory on display”). In order to do this, God would need to share His glory with us so that, through us, others might turn to Him to experience the fullness of His glory and goodness.
We can’t interpret passages like Romans 8 to say we will carry the same authority, rule, or power as God Himself. Those attributes remain with Him. It’s His glory––that goodness seen in creation of which He spoke, that same goodness that passed before Moses––that we get to partake in. Not for our own selfish ambitions, but to the praise of His glorious name.
