And above the expanse over their heads there was tthe likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.
Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face.
Eze 1:26–28 ESV
Observations:
1. The throne projects God's sovereign rule over all things and all people. This vision is given to Ezekiel in Babylon and reveals God's authority and power everywhere on earth (and in the heavens), not just in Israel.
2. One wonders if the likeness of a human appearance suggests a pre-incarnate "appearance" of Christ. As Exodus 33:20 suggests God cannot be seen and live, Christ may be the form of God viewable in this case as he is the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15) and the radiance of God's glory (Heb 1:3) and in him the fullness of the deity dwells in bodily form (Col 2:9).
3. The rainbow is seen in Revelation chapter 4 as well. Is this a reminder of the promises and faithfulness of God?
4. Most importantly this vision reveals that God is completely "Other", set apart, powerful. He is to be worshiped and held in awe. He is to be feared and loved. He is to be honored above all things because he is uncreated and above all things.
Showing posts with label God's Glory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's Glory. Show all posts
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Seeing God's Glory
"Beholding the glory of the Lord, we are being changed from one degree of glory to the next," Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:18. And we see the glory of the Lord, as he says five verses later, in the knowledge of the gospel of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Our Utmost
Do we appreciate the miraculous salvation of Jesus Christ enough to be our utmost for His highest--our best for His glory? --Oswald Chambers
Consider that my failures to endure; my failures in sin; rob God of glory that is rightfully His. What I mean by this is that worship of God is less in me and others when I do not give my utmost for Him. He is not less glorious, but less worship and less glory are attributed to Him by the watching world. Can I give less than my best for Him?
Consider that my failures to endure; my failures in sin; rob God of glory that is rightfully His. What I mean by this is that worship of God is less in me and others when I do not give my utmost for Him. He is not less glorious, but less worship and less glory are attributed to Him by the watching world. Can I give less than my best for Him?
Friday, November 06, 2009
The Glory of God
Thoughts for me to ponder regarding the glory of God from John Piper on The Centrality of the Glory of God here.
--The glory of God is the infinite worth of God made manifest.
--God's glory is the out-streaming of his infinite value.
--God is glorious because he is the perfect unity of his beauty, greatness and all of the totality of his manifold and glorious perfections.
--The glory of God is the beauty and the greatness that exists without origin, without comparison, without analogy, without being judged or assessed by any external criterion. It is the all-defining absolute original of greatness and beauty. All created greatness and beauty comes from it, and points to it, but does not comprehensively or adequately reproduce it.
--We were made to find our deepest pleasure in admiring what is infinitely admirable, that is, the glory of God.
--Inconsolable human longing is the evidence that we were made for God's glory.
--The glory of God is the goal of all things (1 Cor 10:31, Isa 43:6-7).
--Seeing the glory of God is our ultimate hope (Rom 5:2, Jude 24, Rom 9:23, 1 Thes 2:12,Tit 2:13).
--Jesus is the ultimate revelation of the glory God (Heb 1:3, John 17:24).
--Sharing in the glory of God is our hope (1 Peter 5:1, Rom 8:21, 1 Cor 2:7, 2 Cor 4:17, Rom 8:30).
--The glory of God is the infinite worth of God made manifest.
--God's glory is the out-streaming of his infinite value.
--God is glorious because he is the perfect unity of his beauty, greatness and all of the totality of his manifold and glorious perfections.
--The glory of God is the beauty and the greatness that exists without origin, without comparison, without analogy, without being judged or assessed by any external criterion. It is the all-defining absolute original of greatness and beauty. All created greatness and beauty comes from it, and points to it, but does not comprehensively or adequately reproduce it.
--We were made to find our deepest pleasure in admiring what is infinitely admirable, that is, the glory of God.
--Inconsolable human longing is the evidence that we were made for God's glory.
--The glory of God is the goal of all things (1 Cor 10:31, Isa 43:6-7).
--Seeing the glory of God is our ultimate hope (Rom 5:2, Jude 24, Rom 9:23, 1 Thes 2:12,Tit 2:13).
--Jesus is the ultimate revelation of the glory God (Heb 1:3, John 17:24).
--Sharing in the glory of God is our hope (1 Peter 5:1, Rom 8:21, 1 Cor 2:7, 2 Cor 4:17, Rom 8:30).
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Edwards On God's Glory
So God glorifies himself towards the creatures also two ways: (1) by appearing to them, being manifested to their understandings; (2) in communicating himself to their hearts, and in their rejoicing and delighting in, and enjoying the manifestations which he makes of himself. They both of them may be called his glory in the more extensive sense of the word, viz. his shining forth, or the going forth of his excellency, beauty and essential glory ad extra. By one way it goes forth towards their understandings; by the other it goes forth towards their wills or hearts. God is glorified not only by his glory's being seen, but by its being rejoiced in, when those that see it delight in it: God is more glorified than if they only see it; his glory is then received by the whole soul, both by the understanding and by the heart. God made the world that he might communicate, and the creature receive, his glory, but that it might [be] received both by the mind and heart. He that testifies his having an idea of God's glory don't glorify God so much as he that testifies also his approbation of it and his delight in it. Both these ways of God's glorifying himself come from the same cause, viz. the overflowing of God's internal glory, or an inclination in God to cause his internal glory to flow out ad extra. What God has in view in neither of them, neither in his manifesting his glory to the understanding nor communication to the heart, is not that he may receive, but that he [may] go forth: the main end of his shining forth is not that he may have his rays reflected back to himself, but that the rays may go forth.
Jonathan Edwards [1722], The "Miscellanies": (Entry Nos. a-z, aa-zz, 1-500) (WJE Online Vol. 13) , Ed. Harry S. Stout [word count] [jec-wjeo13].
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
God's Glory, Man's Glory
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. 2 Co 3:18 ESV
I have been repeatedly drawn to verses this week speaking of the believer's glory in Christ and in the future. This has been a little uncomfortable in that my life is so flawed that I can hardly imagine being glorious in any way particularly in some relation to God who is unimaginable in his infinite glory. The verses in question are here:
Romans 2:7
We are to seek glory.
Romans 8:18
Glory will be revealed in us in the future.
Romans 8:29-30
Believers are glorified by God.
1 Cor 2:7
God desteind for our glory in through the gospel before time began.
1 Cor 15:40
Created things have variable kinds of glory.
2 Cor 3:18
Beholding the Lord's glory transforms us from one degree of glory to another.
2 Cor 4:17-18
Our suffering achieves for us an eternal glory.
2 Thes 2:14
We are called to share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In prayer and in driving to work today it occurred to me that the creator receives glory from that which he has created. So, an artist paints a beautiful painting, and those who look upon it honor the artist for his creation. The more beautiful the painting, the more honor and glory given to the artist. In the same way, the Grand Canyon and the stars in the sky glorify God their creator (Ps 19:1, 1 Cor 15:40). So, to one degree or another, God is glorified by all of creation. The more glorious the creation, the more glory to God. Sin, however, detracts from the glory God receives for his creation. It is not that God is less glorious. It is that creation is subject to futility, and we are influenced by our sin nature and thus do not maintain the "beauty" in which we were originally intended. Sin causes the fading of the beauty of God's creation and thus detracts from the creations' effectiveness in glorifying the Almighty. God hates sin because he is Holy, but also because, I believe, it detracts from his justifiable glorification. Therefore, the more Christlike a believer is the more he becomes as God intended him to be. And the more one becomes as God intended him to be, the more God is glorified. We as we become like Christ receive glory because of Him in that our beauty, bestowed by God, is seen. We reflect the glory of God as we display his image in the transformation that he causes (2 Cro 3:18). We receive glory from God in his love for us, in our belonging to him and obeying him and in manifesting his original creative plan. Any glory we receive now or in the future is from God, by God and to God. It is not based on ourselves or what we do but what God does in and for us. God is glorified by us being glorified by God. It is incomprehensible to consider. Lord, what is man that you are mindful of him? Why do you love us so?
I have been repeatedly drawn to verses this week speaking of the believer's glory in Christ and in the future. This has been a little uncomfortable in that my life is so flawed that I can hardly imagine being glorious in any way particularly in some relation to God who is unimaginable in his infinite glory. The verses in question are here:
Romans 2:7
We are to seek glory.
Romans 8:18
Glory will be revealed in us in the future.
Romans 8:29-30
Believers are glorified by God.
1 Cor 2:7
God desteind for our glory in through the gospel before time began.
1 Cor 15:40
Created things have variable kinds of glory.
2 Cor 3:18
Beholding the Lord's glory transforms us from one degree of glory to another.
2 Cor 4:17-18
Our suffering achieves for us an eternal glory.
2 Thes 2:14
We are called to share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In prayer and in driving to work today it occurred to me that the creator receives glory from that which he has created. So, an artist paints a beautiful painting, and those who look upon it honor the artist for his creation. The more beautiful the painting, the more honor and glory given to the artist. In the same way, the Grand Canyon and the stars in the sky glorify God their creator (Ps 19:1, 1 Cor 15:40). So, to one degree or another, God is glorified by all of creation. The more glorious the creation, the more glory to God. Sin, however, detracts from the glory God receives for his creation. It is not that God is less glorious. It is that creation is subject to futility, and we are influenced by our sin nature and thus do not maintain the "beauty" in which we were originally intended. Sin causes the fading of the beauty of God's creation and thus detracts from the creations' effectiveness in glorifying the Almighty. God hates sin because he is Holy, but also because, I believe, it detracts from his justifiable glorification. Therefore, the more Christlike a believer is the more he becomes as God intended him to be. And the more one becomes as God intended him to be, the more God is glorified. We as we become like Christ receive glory because of Him in that our beauty, bestowed by God, is seen. We reflect the glory of God as we display his image in the transformation that he causes (2 Cro 3:18). We receive glory from God in his love for us, in our belonging to him and obeying him and in manifesting his original creative plan. Any glory we receive now or in the future is from God, by God and to God. It is not based on ourselves or what we do but what God does in and for us. God is glorified by us being glorified by God. It is incomprehensible to consider. Lord, what is man that you are mindful of him? Why do you love us so?
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