Thursday, March 22, 2007

God's Glory Revealed

Sometimes, when I try to contemplate, envision, or picture God's glory, I just think of Old Testament images: God's glory filling the temple like smoke, Ezekiel's peculiar vision of the rainbow and wheels around the appearance of the likeness of the glory of God, etc. However, some other verses (NT & OT) have started to convince me that God reveals His glory in less tangibly visible ways, but which are nonetheless His glory:

And the angel of the LORD [whom I believe is God incarnate] appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush (Exo 3:2)

And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD (1Sa 3:21)

[Jesus turned water into wine in John 2:1-10] This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him (Joh 2:11)

Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" ... When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." The man who had died came out (Joh 11:40,43,44)

[The Bible also often says that no one can see God and His glory, and live. Yet, these New Testament verses indicate that many have seen God and His glory:]

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (Joh 1:14)

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known (Joh 1:18)

Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works (Joh 14:8-10)

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord... (2Co 3:18)

the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God... For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2Co 4:4,6)

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature (Heb 1:3)

He is the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15)

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