I was inspired the other day to look up the word glory in the Bible and to write my biblical thoughts on this subject.

When I think about glory I always think of God’s glory and never equate that to me having glory. I immediately recalled Moses in the Old Testament when he was reflecting God’s glory because of the event on Mt Sinai. Hold that thought for a moment.

However I read the following verse and it challenged my view – Rev 14:6,7 ⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. ⁷ He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

Then I found another verse – Romans 3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 

Naturally I was confused because we are to give glory to Him and yet we fall short of the glory of God. So I started gathering as much as I could about glory in the Bible.

I found when glory is mentioned in the Bible we often see some dramatic events being illustrated or described. The first event that comes to mind was the time when the Israelites were in the desert after escaping Egypt and we read the time when Moses went to Mt Sinai to meet with God. It describes the event when Moses was on Mt Sinai and God gave him a glimpse of His glory. Interestingly, God hid Moses in the cleft of the rock (that is a subject for another blog one day) and passed by him shielding His glory with His hands and then Moses got a glimpse of God’s back. (Exodus 34).

After that event Moses returned from the mountain and when the people of Israel looked at Moses face it was radiating God’s glory and they asked Him to veil his face. (hold that thought for later in the blog)

We know that God’s glory comes from the glory of His inward character and is shown by the glory He shines. That day Moses was in His presence and God’s glory shone on him and his faced reflected that glory when he came down from the mountain.

So how do we give Him glory as it states in Rev 14? Do we reflect God’s glory like the sun shines on the moon and gives out light?

For me, we have to divide the New and the Old Testament. In the Old Testament Moses reflected God’s glory after he dwelt with God on Mt Sinai and God showed him his character (God’s glory). In the Old Testament it repeatedly states the fact that God was “with us” (Immanuel – meaning is God with us) however in the New Testament, particularly after the ascension of Christ we see a change in language from God “with us” to God “in us”. This is confirmed in Colossians 1:25-27 where it states the mystery of the ages was revealed and that is that God is in us.

Colossians 1:25 ²⁵ I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— ²⁶ the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. ²⁷ To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

So it is interesting that the Gospel is yet again revealed in these verses from both New and Old Testament. In the Old Testament God was “with us” and in His presence his glory is reflected in individuals. As stated above in the example of Moses.

The question is, has anything changed after Jesus ascended? Yes there has been a change and that was the mystery of God has been revealed.

So post the ascension, Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit if we fully surrender to Him. We no longer reflect His glory as His glory lives within us. That is, they see Jesus glory in us.Also, there are no works we can do to “give Him glory” except that we surrender to God and then Christ will live in us. People will see Jesus in us, which is amazing. We don’t reflect God’s glory, His glory is in us and people see that glory.

Now applying that to Matthew 5;14,15 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

It is interesting that in Moses experience, when he was speaking to the Israelites he put a veil over his face. ³⁴ But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, ³⁵ they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.

Contrasting the two verses above God tells us now not to put a bowl over the lamp but let it shine. Whereas in Moses time he placed veil over his face when he spoke to the Israelites. It is a fascinating contrast. I believe this is a call for us to completely submit to God and don’t let other things in our lives prevent Jesus glory shining from within us.

Going back to the verse in Revelation “Fear God and give glory to Him” is about us surrendering to God and then Jesus will live in us. This is how we give glory to Him. Yes surrender to the Holy Spirit and Christ will live in us.

What an amazing God who literally does everything and even inspires us to give our selves completely to Him. Then He lives in us and that will influence others to accept and surrender to Him.