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Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you My name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” He said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”
And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by Me where you shall stand on the rock, and while My glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”
-Exodus 33:18-23
The Glory of God
How does one set out to comment on the glory of Almighty God? By our earthly perspective it is impossible. By nature, God is eternal as is His glory. Therefore His glory will be demonstrated, experienced, and proclaimed forever as we see in passages like Revelation 4:8, the opening verses of Isaiah 6, and Exodus 33:18-23. Before going any further, we need to define the two key words in this phrase: “God” and “glory.”
Who Is God?
Genesis 32:9
Exodus 3:6, 15-16, 4:5
Deuteronomy 30:20
Matthew 22:32
Mark 12:26
Luke 13:28, 20:37
Acts 3:13, 7:32
We must define the term “God.” This is necessary because the name and title are sometimes thrown around haphazardly. So just to avoid any confusion, we are talking about no other god than the One Eternal Triune God of Israel Who is Creator of all. Other gods found in the Bible include Ashtoreth, Baal, Molech, Jupiter, Zeus, Diana, etc., and are always clearly distinguished from the living and true God. Not only that, but He has made known in no uncertain terms that will not share His glory with any other god. Isaiah 42:8 is one of the plainest passages that declare this. All other gods, whether tangible or imaginary, are false and worthless.
One of the most familiar declarations in Scripture is found in what is called the “Shema” or “Shema Yisrael” found in Deuteronomy 6:4.
"Hear, O Israel: the LORD is our God, LORD is one.”
Hebrew: שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָֽד׃.
The name יהוה is often translated “LORD” (all caps) in English. It is also spelled and pronounced as YHWH, Yahweh, and Jehovah.
Now the aforementioned gods of antiquity are found in the pages of Scripture. Today we have yet other gods that are popular, but also are not the true Creator. For instance the Muslim belief in Allah covers quite a bit of geography, cultures, and nations. The Hindu belief in Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva is also found far and wide. But of course these are not the actual, living, and true God, and are a clear violation of the first Commandment found in Exodus 20:3 and Deuteronomy 5:7. More subtle violations include “the Queen of Heaven,” “the Great Spirit” and “the Universe.” And what are arguably more crafty than those are the actual, biblical names and titles of God, but are redefined, including “Jehovah” and “Heavenly Father.”
In its various forms, the phrase "God of Isaac, Abraham, and Jacob" is often used to make this distinction as found in the following passages:
What Do We Mean by "Glory"?
One of the best ways to approach the glory of God is to state at the outset that, although there are countless manifestations of His glory, there are two fundamental categories: His “intrinsic glory” and His “ascribed glory.”
God’s intrinsic glory is just that: It is natural and self-existent. Simply put, God’s intrinsic glory exists without His creation—including us, the planet on which we live, all that is in the heavens, the angels, etc. These do point to His glory, which we’ll see below. But these are not His intrinsic glory. God exists outside of time, space, and matter because He the Author of these as found in the opening verse of Scripture. A good way to describe His eternality is in His own declaration, "I AM." A similar way is found the phrase, “from everlasting to everlasting,” as found in the following Scripture passages:
1 Chronicles 16:36
Nehemiah 9:5
Psalm 41:13
Psalm 90:2
Psalm 103:17
Psalm 106:48
God’s ascribed glory is where creation in all it forms points to its Creator. One of the most quoted (and rightly so) passages on this is the opening of Psalm 19:
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”
Here, David explains that we are to give credit (glory) not to what we see when we gaze at the stars, but to Him who is the Creator of those stars. This is a privilege when you realize that you are a partaker in ascribing glory to your Maker. It should change your prayers.
You might think of God’s ascribed glory in three levels:
His creation all around us ascribes to Him His glory.
Then we who are created in His image ascribe to Him His glory.
Then we who believe in His Son and all that He is and what He has done ascribe to Him His glory.
Level #1 is explained in Romans 1:18-23. Here, Paul demonstrates that not one human being has any excuse if he claims not to recognize that there is an Author for “the things that have been made.”
Level #2 can be found in Genesis 1:26-31. Here, we are told that, apart from all other creatures that live and reproduce, you and I are created “in His own image.”
Level #3 can be found in passages like Ephesians 2:8-10. Here we learn that true believers—not only in God, but in His Gospel—glorify Him in giving thanks and complete credit for His work in our justification and sanctification.
This granted privilege is declared in the following Scripture passages:
Philippians 2:9-112 Chronicles 16:28-34
James 1:16–17
Psalm 29
Isaiah 24:14-16
Jeremiah 13:16
Romans 4:20
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