The last piece of the foundation for this blog is Soli Deo Gloria, to the Glory of God Alone. The tagline of this blog is “For His Glory” for a reason. His glory is the reason for all of this. Not just this blog but also life in general. Creation. Salvation. It is all for His glory alone. Everything’s true purpose is His glory. But what is the Biblical meaning of glory? In the original Greek of the New Testament, the word glory comes from the word “doxa”. The translation of doxa is honor, renown, glory, splendor. In the Old Testament God manifested His glory in such a way that man was able to physically see, if not withstand, it in what has been called the Shekinah Glory. While sin may have corrupted creation since the fall, even that is being used for His glory somehow. We may not understand why bad things happen to good people or why good things happen to bad people, why diseases like cancer, AIDS/HIV, or malaria kill both the “good and bad” alike. Somehow, someway, all things work together for His glory.
In Exodus 24:16-18, “The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day He called to Moses from the cloud. The appearance of the LORD’s glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop. Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain, and he remained on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.” Not only is the glory of God a concept of giving Him praise and honor, renown and splendor but a physical manifestation of the goodness and holiness of God. Exodus 33:18-20, “Then Moses said, “Please, let me see Your glory.” He said, “I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name Yahweh before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” But He answered, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.”” The glory of the Lord is so intense and pure that we in our present state cannot survive it! The Lord passed by Moses whom the Lord had hidden in a crevice in the rock and Moses could only see His back. Later in Exodus 34:29 we see the effect of being in the presence and glory of the Father. “As Moses descended from Mount Sinai – with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain – he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the LORD.”! I grew up fantasizing about finding my own glory in combat. Since I was five years old I dreamed of joining the Army and defeating my enemies by my own strength and cunning, gaining glory for myself. I idolized warriors from the past like the Spartans at Thermopylae for their bravery and prowess in battle, General Patton for his success in WWII, Major Winters for his spectacular leadership of Easy Company, LTG Hal Moore for his action in the Battle of la Drang, and many more. All of these men had gained “glory” for themselves in this life by their actions and I wanted the same. But it became my idol and was thankfully taken from me. While these men had gained renown for themselves, their glory could never compare to the life-ending glory of the Father. God’s glory is so far beyond what we can attain and He is the only one who is actually worthy of glory. The psalmist writes in Psalm 115:1, “Not to us, Yahweh, not to us, but to Your name give glory because of Your faithful love, because of Your truth.”
I Corinthians 10:31, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory.” That is our purpose; to bring glory to God in all that we do. We were never called to a soft, easy life where our lives go on unchanged and everything is handed to us on a silver platter because we claim to be a Christian. Ephesians 4:1-3 says, “Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love, diligently keeping the unit of the Spirit with the peace that binds us.” When the world looks at those of us who call ourselves Christians, we should reflect Christ Jesus to them. Paul says in I Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ.” I was taught that the term Christian was originally a derogatory term used by the Romans which meant “Little Christ”. The early church called themselves The Way (Acts 9:2) or Followers of the Way (Acts 24:14 NIV). I call myself a follower of Christ. It seems that anyone can claim to be a Christian but to claim to be a follower of Christ implies that there is action, change and a distance between where you were at the beginning of the journey and where you are now. Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us – to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” I have seen the drastic heart change that occurred in me and others like me who have surrendered our lives to God. Our testimonies point to the power of God and we seek to glorify God in all that we do. I Peter 4:11, “If anyone speaks, it should be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, it should be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.”
Glory is the splendor that surrounds the Father and is the honor and renown owed to Him simply for being God. Our existence is for His glory and His pleasure. It takes the focus off of us and our temporal lives and focuses on God by whom all things were made and all things remain. As the Chris Tomlin song “Not to Us” goes, “Not to us but to Your name be the glory!” Whatever ‘good’ I do is by the Father in spite of me and so the glory is to the Father. When I mess up and sin, “miss the mark”, that is the desires of the flesh. Only by God can I do anything good. So only to God is the glory! This blog, whatever parts are used to “rebuke, correct and encourage with great patience and teaching”, is for His glory.
And thus ends the first series of posts on this blog. I pray this blog glorifies the Father in everything. I pray that it works on the hearts of those reading to follow Christ, come back to Christ, or continue living for Christ.
For His Glory!