Saturday, July 17, 2010

You'll get the answer to that question, Mr. Bender, next Saturday.

Previously, we addressed God's glory, His pursuit thereof, and our obligation in that regard.

“God seeks what we should seek – his glory, in and through men – and it is for the securing of this end, ultimately, that he is jealous.”
~ J. I. Packer, Knowing God

In the comments, RonH asked the following post-worthy questions:
What is "glory"? And what does it mean to "glorify"?

The Hebrew word for glory (כָבֹוד - kavod) comes from the same root as “heaviness” or “weight.” The Greek word for glory (δόξα - docksa) denotes brightness, radiance, brilliance, or splendor.

I'd take a stab at defining and/or describing "glory" as God's splendor or majesty or brilliance (cf. Shekinah glory in OT) or perhaps even significance, though I'm open to better suggested definitions.

Simply, to glorify God is to make God look good. But ...

How does glorifying a person differ from glorifying God? In other words, how does making God look good differ from making a person look good?

To glorify God is to show His beauty, not make Him beautiful. For a person we would add to or cover up in order to make a person appear better than he or she really is. But, for God we cannot add to His splendor and it's impossible to make Him look better than He is.
  • "To glorify God simply means to bring His innate glory to light, to expose it, manifest it, reveal it, demonstrate it, make it known. It is to put God on display and show Him off for who He is." ~ Richard Strauss, The Joy of Knowing God
  • "What does it mean to glorify God? It does not mean to make Him more glorious. It means to acknowledge His glory, and to value it above all things, and to make it known." ~ John Piper, Desiring God

To glorify God is to reveal God and God is glorified in us when He is seen is us. Similarly, God is pleased with us when He sees Himself in us, for nothing apart from Himself can be intrinsically praiseworthy or of value.

To that end, I recommend Paul's insight:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
(Gal 5:22-23, ESV)

The Spirit working in us reveals what God is like in the form of godliness. In the process, our shining light leads to God being praised (Matt 5:16) as we glorify God in all we do (1 Cor 10:31).
Our Mission at Providence Church:
  • Glorify God by making disciples who love God and others.

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2 Comments:

At 18 July, 2010 19:05, Anonymous Brandon Smith said...

Gunny,

My preaching pastor, David Keuss, said he met you this week. Small world, because you and I both write at SBC Voices, or at least you did. Maybe we will cross paths someday!

 
At 20 July, 2010 22:01, Blogger GUNNY said...

Howdy, Brandon!

He seemed like a great guy and I really enjoyed my time with him.

Small world indeed, my brother. Lord willing we can meet up sooner rather than later.

Incidentally, love this on your blog:
"God-centered truths for a man-centered world."

 

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