The Naure of the Glory. From Dr Myles Munroe

The Nature of Glory

ALL OF CREATION EXISTS TO MANIFEST THE GLORY OF GOD.

Everywhere we turn, we are surrounded by glory. If we but have eyes to see it, glory is all around us. There is glory in every tree, in every flower, and in every blade of grass. Every living creature dis- plays glory: every bird, every fish, every insect and creeping thing, as well as every mammal, from the great elephant in the jungle to the tiny mouse in the field. Glory shines forth from the sun, the moon, the stars, and all the other heavenly bodies sprinkled across the vast canopy of space. There is glory in every human being on earth; you have it and so do I. Glory resides in every created thing. The glory we see in Creation, however, is but the barest reflection of the greater glory of the Creator.

King David the psalmist wrote,

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands (Psalms 19:1).

In Isaiah’s vision of Heaven the seraphim called out to one another,

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory (Isaiah 6:3b).

The apostle Paul referred to the glory in all things when he wrote to the Corinthians,

There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the ter- restrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory (1 Corinthians 15:40-41 KJV).

GLORY IS THE FULL EXPRESSION OF GOD’S NATURE

What is glory? What do we mean when we speak of the “glory of God” or the “glory” of the sun, moon, and stars? The Hebrew word for “glory,” as found in Psalm 19:1 and Isaiah 6:3 (and nearly 200 other places in the Old Testament) is kabod, which comes from a root word with the basic meaning of “heavy,” or “weighty.” Kabod also carries the idea of “fullness” or the “full weight” of something. In this sense it refers to the “weightiness” of someone of high importance, a person of notable, impressive, and positive reputa- tion. When used in the phrase, “the glory of God,” kabod most often refers to “a visible manifestation of God” that is “directly related to God’s self-disclosure and His intent to dwell among men.”1

In Scripture verses such as Isaiah 6:3 and others that speak of God’s glory filling the earth, kabod refers to “that reputation for greatness which God alone deserves, not only because of His nat- ural position as king, but because of His unsurpassed activity as deliverer and savior…It is not merely God’s reputation which fills

the earth, but it is the very reality of His presence.”2 The greatest and ultimate display of God’s glory on earth was in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, of whom the apostle John wrote, “We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” ( Jn. 1:14b). “Through [Jesus] and through His presence in the church, God’s glory is indeed filling the earth.”3

In the New Testament, the basic Greek word for “glory,” as in First Corinthians 15:40-41 and John 1:14, is doxa, from which we get our word doxology. Essentially, doxa refers to the attributes or true nature of a thing. It is used to describe “the nature and acts of God in self-manifestation, i.e., what He essentially is and does, as exhib- ited in whatever way He reveals Himself in these respects, and par- ticularly in the person of Christ.”4 Doxa is “the manifested perfection of [God’s] character, especially His righteousness,” and “the exhibition of His attributes and ways.”5 The “glory” (doxa) of God refers to the characteristic qualities of His nature, which are best seen through the person of Jesus Christ and the lives of believers.

So when we speak of the “glory” (kabod or doxa) of God, we are

referring to the weightiness of His person and reputation, the full- ness of His presence in the earth, the visible manifestation of His attributes and character, and the full expression of His nature. Wow!

GLORY IS GOD PUTTING HIMSELF ON DISPLAY

To put it another way, the glory of God is the full nature of God on display. That’s why Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” The Hebrew word for “declare” also means to “show forth,” and another word for “show forth” is “display.” When- ever we gaze at the splendor of the night sky above us or soak up the beauty of the natural world around us we see the creative qual- ity of God on display. God is a Creator by nature, and His creation displays His creativity. Creation manifests God’s glory. The splen- dor of creation points us to God, and we attribute that characteristic quality to His nature.

Again, from the pen of David we have

Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness (Psalm 29:1-2).

To “ascribe” something means to “attribute” to someone a specific action, behavior, or quality of character. Whenever we recog- nize a particular trait as being characteristic of someone, we consider that trait to be an “attribute” of that person’s character or nature. Looking closely at the word attribute; we see that it means to give “a tribute” to someone; to offer respect, gratitude, love, or appreciation and to acknowledge that person’s worth, honor, integrity, service, and accomplishment.

In a way, when we attribute something to someone, we are “blaming” that person for that action, but in a positive sense. When we attribute Creation to God, we are “blaming” Him for it. God is the “guilty” party. He alone is responsible for Creation. In creation, we see the glory of the Creator. God has put Himself on display.

THE FOUR PRINCIPLES OF GLORY IN CREATION

There are several principles we can note about the relationship between glory and creation. The first principle is, God created every- thing with glory. The opening verse of the Bible is a simple statement about God’s basic nature: “In the beginning God created the heav- ens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Because God is a Creator by nature, it is only natural that His creation would reflect His glory.

As I have already said, glory resides in every created thing, whether on earth or in the heavens. Everything God made has its own unique glory, which reflects His glory. Birds, cats, dogs, ants, mosquitoes, trees, flowers, sun, moon, stars—each have their own unique glory. That glory is the nature of God residing in every cre- ated thing, the hidden reality that God placed in each one and which holds the full essence and potential of what that creature is supposed to be and do.

This brings us to the second principle: God created everything to manifest its glory. God’s original design was that every creature, by becoming everything it was created to be, would manifest its own unique glory and by so doing reveal God’s glory. The words of the first chapter of Genesis make this clear.

Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed- bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so (Genesis 1:11).

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so (Genesis 1:14-15).

And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky” (Genesis 1:20).

And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so (Genesis 1:24).

All of these things—plants, animals, birds, fish, heavenly bodies—were created to act or behave according to the nature God put into them. They were created to manifest their glory, “and it was so.” It is a bird’s glory to fly; God created it with “flight” nature. God doesn’t add swim to a fish; it comes with “swim” nature. God doesn’t put “moo” in the cow; the cow comes with “moo.” That’s the way God creates. The full nature of a creature—its glory—is already present when it is created. All it takes is nourishment, growth, and the right environ- ment for that creature to fully display its glory.

The third principle is that God is pleased when glory is seen. Throughout the first chap- ter of Genesis we find God looking on His creation with pleasure, and expressing this pleasure in the words, “and saw that it was good.” After creating light, “God saw that the light was good…” (Gen. 1:4). Each successive phase of creation—land and sea, vegetation, heavenly bodies, sea creatures and birds, and land animals—is followed by the statement, “And God saw that it was good” (Gen. 1:10b,12b,18b,21b,25b). Finally, after completing creation with His crowning achievement—man—“God saw all that He had made, and it was very good” (Gen. 1:31a). God is pleased when His creations manifest their glory—and His—by becoming everything He created them to be.

Finally, God created man as the ultimate exposure of His glory. God’s purpose in creating the human race was so that we could live in fel- lowship with Him, rule over the earth as He rules in Heaven, and manifest His glory by fully displaying our own. If the lower ranks of creatures were designed to display God’s glory, how much more were we, who represent the highest order of creation and the great- est masterpiece of God’s artistry. If we think of God as an artist, then man is His masterpiece.

THE MASTER’S MASTERPIECE

After spending six days speaking worlds into existence and bringing forth the lower forms of life in all their infinite variety, God prepared for the climax of His grand and divine design.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:26-28).

When God set out to create man, He purposed to fashion a creature that was unique, unlike anything else He had made. These verses reveal two characteristics of man that set him apart from the rest of God’s created order. First, man was created in the image of God Himself and, second, he was created to have dominion over the earth and all other life on it.

God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness.” The Hebrew word tselem (image) also means “likeness,” “resem- blance,” or “representation.” It is the same word used elsewhere in the Old Testament for “idol.” Since God is spirit and man is flesh, our likeness to Him is not in physical resemblance. Rather, God has endowed us with spiritual, intellectual, and moral likeness to Him- self. Being created in the image of God means that He gave us His moral and spiritual nature. In other words, God created us to be like Him in nature, character, and attributes.

We were made to be like God in another way as well. God said, “Let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Just as God is sovereign and rules over all His creation, He created us to have dominion over the earth, ruling it as His co-regents. By God’s design, we were created for rulership. That also is what it means to be made in the image of God.

Once He had finished forming the earth with all its natural resources and all its sea, plant, bird, and animal life, God said, “Now it’s time to produce the manager of this planet.” So He cre- ated man. The Hebrew word adam can refer either to an individual man or to all of mankind. In Genesis 1:26-27 it is used in the plural sense; God created all of humankind to hold dominion over the earth. He built into us the attributes, the character, and the drive to subdue and rule the natural order. If the glory of a bird is to fly and the glory of a fish is to swim, then the glory of man is to be like God and to rule like God in fellowship and harmony with God.

MAN ALONE WAS CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD

It is this built-in, God-given capacity for rulership that causes people in any culture to chafe under slavery or oppression. We were not created to be slaves, but to rule over the created order. Notice that the dominion of man includes the earth and all plant and animal life on it. Ruling over other human beings, particularly in an oppressive manner, is not within the original God-given juris- diction of any person. Human government of laws was a necessary consequence of man’s fall, instituted by God to protect the inno- cent and the helpless and to restrict the spread of sin.

God created us uniquely in His own image, possessing His nature and glory and attributes. Since all humans were created to rule the earth under God’s overall sovereignty, it would be a con- tradiction for Him then to decree that any of us should be relegat- ed to a life of subservience to anyone else. God is the King of creation, the Lord of the universe, and the owner of all things. He is the Power of all powers, almighty, awesome, invincible, and untouchable. God is God, and He took a little part of Himself and poured it out into us.

That means that whatever our Daddy got, we got. Everything God ever intended us to be we already have—virtually infinite poten- tial hidden inside these earthly bodies. God created us to have dominion over the earth; anything less squanders our potential.

All creation displays God’s glory, but only man was made in God’s image. Birds display God’s glory but they were not created in His image. Plants display God’s glory, but they were not created in His image. The earth displays God’s glory, but it was not created in His image. Of all the created order, man alone possesses the spirit and capacity to subdue the earth and rule over it. In man alone resides the image of God, the unique stamp of our Creator that sets us apart from every other creature.

In the art world art critics and experts are always on the look- out for imitations. To the amateur and untrained eye, a fake can easily be mistaken for a genuine masterpiece. Art forgers are that skillful. An expert, however, can readily identify a genuine original. For someone who knows what to look for, the telltale characteristics of any particular master are unmistakable in his or her work.

In financial institutions, tellers and others who regularly han- dle large amounts of money are trained to recognize counterfeit currency. They learn this skill not by studying examples of coun- terfeit bills but by studying the genuine article. Once they have thoroughly learned what the real thing looks like, they can easily identify a fake when they see it.

Human beings are God’s representatives on earth. He created

us in His image. We are not fake imitations. We are genuine mas- terpieces “painted” by the hand of the Master Artist. We are not counterfeits but the genuine article. No other creature in all cre- ation has that distinction. Sin has distorted God’s image and hid- den it away under a lot of worldly “junk,” so we are hard to identify as “God’s originals.” He has the power to dig down and cut through the junk to expose the glory—the telltale characteristics of His hand—that hides in each of us. He wants to display us as the mas- terpieces we are. That’s why His glory is so important.

NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE GLORY OF GOD

After all my years of Bible study, seminary training, preaching, and teaching, and after all the books I have read, I have come to the conclusion and conviction that nothing is more important than the glory of God. Everything in creation—plants, animals, birds, fish, the oceans, the mountains, the multiplied millions of stars within our own galaxy, the millions of galaxies scattered throughout the infi- nite expanse of space—was designed with God’s glory in mind. God is a Creator, and creativity cries out for expression. So, God created a vast universe through which to express Himself. All of creation exists to express, to reveal, to display, and to manifest the glory of God.

If the most important thing to God is His glory, it is also the most important thing to us, who were created to live with Him and rule under Him as stewards of the earth. We were created to expose God’s glory, but in a way different from the rest of creation. God’s original and unchanging desire was for man to expose His glory in a way that no other creature could. That’s why He created us in His image. God designed human beings to be the ultimate expression in creation of who He is and what He is like. We are unique. Not even the angels in Heaven were created in God’s image.

We can fulfill our purpose as carriers and exposers of God’s glory only as long as we live in the right environment and maintain the right relationship with Him. The “religious” answer to the question “Why did God create us?” is “to worship Him.” Our true pur- pose is to display God’s glory. That, however, is what true worship is all about.

Worship is not something we “go to” on Sunday, or Saturday, or Friday, or whenever. Worship is a state that we should remain in all the time. Perfect worship is living continually in the presence of God (the proper environment) and enjoying continual fellowship with God (the proper relationship). God created us for intimacy with Him. That’s what worship is: an ongoing intimate relationship with God.

From the very beginning, God provided both the proper envi- ronment and the proper relationship in which the humans He had created could thrive and fully express their glory as beings living and working in harmony with Him. At the same time, they would manifest the glory of God by becoming everything He created them to be.

Sin marred both the environment and the relationship. Man failed to realize his glory and thus distorted the image of God in which he was made. God’s glory was so important to Him that He would do whatever was necessary to protect it. God’s love for His highest creation was so great that He would do whatever was nec- essary to restore sinful man to his original position of intimate rela- tionship in the environment of his Creator’s presence.

PRINCIPLES

1. Glory resides in every created thing.

2. The glory of God is the full nature of God on display.

3. God created everything with glory.

4. God created everything to manifest its glory.

5. God is pleased when glory is seen.

6. God created us to expose His glory.

7. The glory of man is to be like God and to rule like God in fellowship and harmony with God.

8. All creation displays God’s glory, but only man was made in God’s image.

9. Nothing is more important than God’s glory.

10. Perfect worship is living continually in the presence of God and enjoying continual fellowship with God.