God is Glorious

 

God is Glorious

There are qualities about God that defy descriptions and languages. The fact that God is glorious is accurate, but our appreciation of this concept falls extremely short of the intentions of the Word. Really language bends and even trembles attempting to define the ‘glory of God.’ It is here that I attempt the nearly impossible.

Glorious can describe God rather generally and provide a more explicit declaration on other occasions. Often the context provides the correct clues. In Exodus 33, Moses makes a very specific request to view the ‘glory’ of God. After being with the Lord on the mountain for this time and now routinely receiving directions and commandments from Him, Moses finally gets up the nerve to ask for the fascinating—"shew me thy glory”. We all yearn with Moses to know God more deeply and intimately.

Exodus 33:18-23, And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. ¹⁹ 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 shew mercy on whom I will shew 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 clift 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.

Moses asked to see God’s glory, and the Lord responded by revealing His “goodness,” character, and “name”, instead of a direct visual image, because seeing God’s “face” would be deadly. In loving mercy, God protected Moses in a cleft of the rock, allowing him to see only His trailing presence. Beloved, while God is holy and beyond our understanding in tremendous ways, He reveals Himself personally to us as we seek Him, offering glimpses of His nature/character in the Word and Christ while lovingly protecting us in our frailness. Moses…emerged from that experience with God ‘brilliantly shining with awesome glory!’

From this and other passages, we may describe the “glory of God” as supreme magnificence, brilliant manifestation, and the radiant splendor of His holiness and power. We might say it’s a visible, overwhelming greatness of divine character and presence. God is the ultimate embodiment of honor, power, divine beauty, and perfection. Accordingly, He is deserving and yes, worthy of our complete praise and worship (Exodus 33:18-23; Isaiah 6:3).

Several passages join this one to portray the Lord God in this light as glorious:

1. Psalm 19:1: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.”  
• All the natural creation is a persistent, silent witness to God’s fascinating existence, incredible power, and insightful wisdom. Creation reflects the Creator’s majesty, providing universal evidence of His craftmanship.
• David announced…a summary statement: the majestic Creation is evidence of the even more majestic Creator-God.^[1] Thus, the entire natural revelation is a potent declaration of how glorious God really is.
2. Isaiah 6:3: “And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”
• God’s holy presence and creative majesty is a pivotal declaration in Isaiah’s vision, emphasizing God’s absolute purity, majesty, and triune nature. The threefold repetition highlights the superlative holiness of God and His supreme sovereignty over all creation. 
• We are reminded that God’s unapproachable holiness is strengthened by the guarantee that His glory is present everywhere. He is viewed as high and exalted; this is how we need to view Him because it will deliver us from such small living. We would no longer make lax references to God or the Lord Jesus as ‘the Man upstairs.’
• They talk about Him as if He were a buddy and as if they could speak to Him in any way they please. My friend, you cannot rush into the presence of God. He doesn’t permit it. You come to the Father through Christ. This is the only way He can be approached. You can never come into the presence of the Father because of who you are. You come into His presence because you are in Christ. The Lord Jesus made that very clear when He said, “No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” If you are His child, you can come with boldness to the throne of grace, but you cannot come to Him on any other basis.^[2]
3. Psalm 57:5: "Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth."  
• King David’s profound cry of praise and faith while hiding in a cave from enemies.
• He plead for God’s supreme power to be manifested, prioritizing God’s glory over personal safety or deliverance. David acknowledges God as higher than the heavens and superior to all earthly, threatening situations. Even in desperate danger ("among lions"), David stops to declare that God’s honor is more important than his own problems.
4. 1 Corinthians 10:31: "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."  
• Every action in our life—from mundane tasks like eating and drinking to major decisions—should be done with the purpose of honoring and bringing glory to God.
• This is a kind of, “moral compass” for Christian living, emphasizing that worship is an all-inclusive lifestyle rather than just religious rituals.  We should be asking, “Will this bring glory to God?” before acting, ensuring our actions reflect God's character and lead others to Him.
5. Habakkuk 2:14: "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."  
• The prophet promises that the knowledge of God’s glory will inevitably triumph with his righteousness, sovereignty, and truth over our wicked chaos. Our message of hope and comfort is that God will be universally recognized and glorified!
• We are encouraged to live with the expectation of this future reality, reflecting God’s glory in our lives today.
6. Romans 11:36: "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
1. God's absolute sovereignty is the Source (Creator), Sustainer (through whom all exists), and Ultimate Goal (for His glory) of all creation. Literally everything exists for His purpose. 
2. Therefore, our worship involves humbling ourselves to realize we exist for His glory, not our own.
7. Romans 3:23-26: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
1. God declares that everyone has sinned and fallen short of his glory, making everyone equally in need of salvation. Justification is a free gift of grace, achieved through the redemption in Christ Jesus, whom God offered as a propitiation (atonement) to satisfy justice.
2. Everyone without exception has broken God’s law and failed to measure up to His perfect standard of holiness. All people, regardless of background, are in a sinful state and cannot achieve righteousness on their own.
3. "Glory of God" points to God’s perfect, holy standard, which human actions, thoughts, and words fail to reflect. You see neither painstakingly following perfect rules nor belonging to an elite family makes you righteous in God’s eyes, but rather that everyone must be justified through faith in Jesus Christ. 

Beloved, God’s glory includes the immensity of creation (stars, planets, mountains, oceans), the person of Jesus Christ (incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension), supernatural appearances/manifestations like consuming fire or holy clouds, and the display of divine characteristics like sovereignty, love, mercy, and justice. All of these indicate God’s magnificence, holiness, brilliance, grandeur, and presence among us. 

The ultimate purpose of our existence along with all creation is to reflect His beauty, and we are instructed to do everything to His glory (1 Cor 10:31). Think about everything that was created: the universe, solar systems, suns, stars, the planets, moons, the ocean, the powerful lion, or the remarkable eagle in the sky, me and you–all creation demonstrates God’s glory. Nothing is exempt from his glory. 

Sometimes our choir sings a spectacular song detailing the fact that God is bigger, better, stronger, and greater! What a bold testimony of worship, exhortation, encouragement, and focus! Our Lord is indeed bigger, better, stronger, and greater! Another way to summarize all these qualities is to describe God as ‘glorious’!

Historically in my travels to various churches, I once…maybe even twice witnessed a believer so full of respect for God and at a place of an unusual high in the worship service exclaimed out of that unprecedented fullness, “Glory…Glory…GLORY…GLORY!” He was desperately trying (but miserably failing) to contain what he was experiencing at that moment. I was reduced to tears when I finally realized what was happening years later. Now I cannot help wondering if he got ‘JUST a glimpse’ of the glorious nature of God!

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^[1] Allen P. Ross, “Psalms,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 807.

^[2] J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary, electronic ed., vol. 3 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), 209.