What does mean when we speak of God's glory?
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| Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator), a 6th-century encaustic icon from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai. NB - slightly cut down - for full size see here (Photo credit: WikipediaI. In the Old Testament |
‘Glory’ generally represents Heb. kāḇôḏ, with the root idea of ‘heaviness’ and so of ‘weight’ or ‘worthiness’. It is used of men to describe their wealth, splendour or reputation (though in the last sense kāḇôḏ is often rendered ‘honour’). The glory of Israel was not her armies but Yahweh (Je. 2:11). The word could also mean the self or soul (Gn. 49:6).
The most important concept is that of the glory of Yahweh. This denotes the revelation of God’s being, nature and presence to mankind, sometimes with physical phenomena.
In the Pentateuch the glory of Yahweh went with his people out of Egypt and was shown in the cloud which led them through the wilderness (Ex. 16:7, 10). The cloud rested on Mt Sinai, where Moses saw his glory (Ex. 24:15–18). No man could see God’s face and live (Ex. 33:20), but some vision of his glory was granted (Ex. 34:5–8).
The glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34–35) and appeared especially at the hour of sacrifice (Lv. 9:6, 23). These passages seem all to be connected with a ‘thunderstorm-theophany’, but there are also passages which suggest more the character of Yahweh which is to be made known throughout the earth (Nu. 14:21–22).
The historical books tell of the Temple’s becoming the place where the glory of Yahweh was especially to be located (1 Ki. 8:11; 2 Ch. 7:1–3).
In the prophets there are both the quasi-physical conception of Yahweh’s glory as seen in the visions of Ezekiel (Ezk. 1:28, etc.) and also a more spiritualized doctrine (Is. 40:4–5; 60:1–3, etc.). The vision of Isaiah in the Temple seems to combine both ideas (Is. 6:1–4).
There can be found, likewise, in the psalms all the imagery of the storm (Pss. 18; 29) and also the idea of the future display of God’s character to the world (Pss. 57:11; 96:3).
II. In the New Testament
Here the lxx is followed in translating kāḇôḏ by doxa. In secular Greek this means ‘opinion’ or ‘reputation’. The former idea disappears entirely in the lxx and NT, and words akin to kāḇôḏ are also rendered by doxa.
In certain places in the NT doxa refers to human honour (Mt. 4:8; 6:29), but its chief use is to describe the revelation of the character and the presence of God in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the outshining of the divine glory (Heb. 1:3).
The glory of God was seen by the shepherds at the birth of Christ (Lk. 2:9, 14) and by his disciples during his incarnate life (Jn. 1:14). Particularly was it revealed in his sēmeia (Jn. 2:11) and at his transfiguration (Mt. 17:1–8; Mk. 9:2–8; Lk. 9:28–36). This recalls the ascent of Moses to Sinai (Ex. 24:15) and of Elijah to Horeb (1 Ki. 19:8) and their visions of the glory of God. Now Christ both sees and reflects the divine glory, but no tabernacle needs to be built because the Word of God has pitched his tent in the human flesh of Jesus (Jn. 1:14) and his glory is to be more fully revealed at the coming exodus at Jerusalem (Lk. 9:31) and finally at his parousia.
In the Fourth Gospel it is the hour of dedication to death which is essentially the hour of glory (Jn. 7:39; 12:23–28; 13:31; 17:5; cf. Heb. 2:9).
The resurrection and ascension are also seen as manifestations of the glory of God in Christ (Lk. 24:26; Acts 3:13; 7:55; Rom. 6:4; 1 Tim. 3:16; 1 Pet. 1:21). But above all it is to be revealed in its fullness at the parousia (Mk. 8:38; 13:26, etc.).
Man, who was made as the image and glory of God (1 Cor. 11:7) for relationship with him, has fallen short of his destiny (Rom. 3:23), which has been fulfilled only by Christ, the second Adam (Heb. 2:6–9).
The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ is still to be seen and reflected by the church (2 Cor. 4:3–6). It is the glory of the new covenant (2 Cor. 3:7–11), and it is especially shared both now (1 Pet. 4:14) and hereafter (Rom. 8:18) by those who suffer with Christ. The object of the church is to see that the world acknowledges the glory which is God’s (Rom. 15:9) and is shown in his deeds (Acts 4:21), in his disciples (1 Cor. 6:20) and above all in his Son, the Lord of glory (Rom. 16:27).
Bibliography. A. M. Ramsey, The Glory of God and the Transfiguration of Christ, 1949; A. Richardson, An Introduction to the Theology of the New Testament, 1958, pp. 64ff.; C. H. Dodd, The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel, 1953, pp. 201ff.; S. Aalen, NIDNTT 2, pp. 44–52; G. Kittel, G. Von Rad, TDNT 2, pp. 233–255.
