"The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible,and only possible by the work of Christ,
that some of us, that any of us who really chooses ...
shall find approval, shall please God."
~ C.S. Lewis
Created for Glory
"Who are these arrayed in white robes ...? These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."
~ Revelation 7:13-14 (NKJV)
A great deal is said in Bible dictionaries about the Greek word doxa, translated "glory." Zodhiates* includes this striking description:
... The true glory of man ... is the ideal condition in which God created man. This condition was lost in the fall and is recovered through Christ and exists as a real fact in the divine mind. The believer waits for this complete restoration. The glory of God is what He is essentially; the glory of created things including man is what they are meant by God to be, though not yet perfectly attained ...
We bear the image of God. We were created for glory.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
~ Romans 8:18 (NKJV)
The Hebrew netsach has multiple nuances and translations. It is used once as a name of God. It sometimes refers to "glory." It also refers to strength and vitality, and to the glorious, vibrant red color of wine—or of blood.
Revelation depicts the saints—created in the image of divinity—clothed in robes which are made glorious white by the blood of the Lamb.
Whatever else we think we might do to attain "glory"—of appearance, of reputation, of renown—the glory of the saint is revealed through the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus, we cannot begin to comprehend all You have done for us. Please let us glimpse Your glory and long to manifest it, both now and in eternity.
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* From The Complete Word Study Dictionary, © 1992 By AMG International, Inc., General Editor: Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D.
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I can't wait to find out first hand what exactly it means to be created for glory.
ReplyDeleteOn earth I'm trying to understand what it means to live for His glory, to act for His glory, to love for His glory.
ReplyDeleteI want to know every day more and more of what that means.
~ Wendy
I have been thinking about seeing God and what it would be like. I find myself hoping to peek beyond the curtain, to pull it aside and to really see Him. But I know I'm not ready for that Glory. So i'm content with the pinpoints of His glory -- His creation, His children, His word.
ReplyDeleteMay His glory shine throughout this dark world, and bring many to seek Him. I love you sis.
ReplyDeleteT ~
ReplyDeleteWhile we cannot understand it completely, I believe that sharing His glory has something to do with us being truly united as one body, shining with the glory of what Christ intended His church to be, and then being united to Him, as a bride to her Bridegroom. When Jesus prayed that we would be one as the trinity is one (John 17:11), I believe it was with an eye toward the day when God unites Himself with His people in a wonderful way, fulfilling the deepest desires of His soul and ours more completely than the greatest experience of this world.
Wendy ~
ReplyDeleteThose of us who love Him desire to radiate His glory—to live, act and love it out—understand that we cannot adequately reflect it any more than the moon can adequately reflect the sun. But the moon has a glory of its own, seen most completely at that point when it manages to be facing the sun and facing the world at the same time. I wonder if we manage it as often as the moon ...
David ~
ReplyDeleteIf there is a drawback to those glimpses of glory, it is when we then turn back and look at ourselves, seeing our woeful condition in comparison. The more I see who Jesus Christ is, knowing that He is my example for how to live, the more utterly helpless I feel to come anywhere close to living as He did.
I suppose the only hope we have is to keep pulling back the curtain, catching a glimpse, and keeping our mind on His glory rather than on ourselves. More easily said than done ...
Denise ~
ReplyDeleteI cannot imagine how anyone can see the magnificence of His glory in creation—a tiny fraction of the whole—and not want to know Him. It is only by His grace that any one of us does.
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:44)