SERMON SUMMARY
We have been in our summer series, This is Your God, and we’ve been exploring what God is like, that is, His attributes. An attribute is not “part” of God—it’s how God is. And, he’s not more of one attribute than another. He doesn’t possess “attributes” as “qualities.” The attributes of God are how God has chosen to reveal himself to us.
So far this summer, we’ve explored God’s Word to see that He is Creator, Holy, Sovereign, Gracious, Loving, and Faithful. And today, we are going to look at the Glory of God. We will attempt to do two things:
- Define what the glory of God is.
- Reflect on why it matters.
At our most basic level, we were created to worship. As Paul Tripp has written: “we all attach our identity, our hopes and dreams, our inner sense of well-being, and our meaning and purpose to something. We all give the functional control of our hearts to something. We all tend to surrender to and serve what we think will give us life.”
As we look at multiple Scriptures today, consider well your life and what God delights to do in and through you.
SERMON SCREENSHOTS & KEY POINTS
DEFINED: The glory of God is the splendor and brilliant beauty that shines through all of the divine attributes but is especially evident in the crucified and risen Christ. (Philip Viguier, The Glory of God: A Biblical Theology)
- The glory of God is similar to the power of a king. It marks His superiority, authority, and legitimacy. Because of His glory, God enjoys a certain reputation, an unequaled importance, and honor and fame are due to Him. As king, He is the possessor of everything good and lovely.
“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name." (1 Chronicles 29:10-12)
“Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord, invincible in battle. Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter. Who is the King of glory? The Lord of Heaven’s Armies—he is the King of glory." (Psalm-24:8-10)
- God’s glory is associated with brilliance and light, which displays His purity, otherness, and independence. God is the fountain of radiance, light exuding all around Him, and when he shows off His presence it is too great to be fathomed.
“O Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment.” (Psalm 104:1–2)
“And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory (doxa - radiance) of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear” (Luke 2:9)
“And Jesus led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” (Matthew 17:1-2)
“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple, is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.” (Revelation 21:22-26)
- God’s glory is the beauty of God unveiled. It is the outward display of His internal attributes.
“God’s invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” (Romans 1:20)
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.”(Psalm 19:1-4)
“God chose us in Jesus before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love, having predestined us to adoption through Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace that he bestowed on us in the beloved.” (Ephesians 1:4-6, LEB)
“The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 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.” (II Corinthians 4:4-6)
- God’s glory was especially evident in Jesus Christ.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he (the Father) show him, so that you may marvel.” (John 5:19-20)
“In these last days, he (God) has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” (Hebrews 1:2–3)
“We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
Why does God’s glory matter?
“You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.” (Exodus 34:13 NLT)
“I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols.” (Isaiah 42:8)
- It can shape and give direction to our lives.
- It roots our faith and joy in Jesus.
“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Peter 1:8).
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.” (I John 1:1-4)
*We are a church located in Greenville, South Carolina. Our vision is to see God transform us into a community of grace passionately pursuing life and mission with Jesus.