THE GLORY OF GOD FOR DUMMIES LIKE ME, A PRIMER Part 3

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV)

If I asked you what is your primary purpose in life, what would you say? What is your greatest goal? The Apostle Paul makes explicit what is the highest and most precious purpose any person could possibly have. The better we understand it, the more we reflect on it, the more we pray about it, and the more we will fulfill it in our lives. "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

I have been humbly attempting to do a basic primer on the glory of God the past few weeks. We have learned that it is something you see or reflect upon or point to rather than define. But, for definitions sake I simply defined it as the beauty of God unveiled. It is what makes God, God, and shows Him so worthy of our praise, our love, our allegiance, our admiration, our boasting, our hope, our trust, our joy, and our confidence

I made a statement, “The deepest longing of the human heart and the deepest meaning of heaven and earth are summed up in this: the glory of God.” “God means for us to see His glory with our eyes, know His glory in our minds, and relish his glory in our hearts, and reflect his glory in our lives.” God has made us to see His glory, to savor his glory, and to show His glory. God says in Isaiah 43:7, "Everyone who is called by My name…I have created for My glory..." That means that we were all created to express the infinite worth of God's glory.

I said that God is always manifesting His glory in creation, in providence, in scripture, and Pre-eminently in the face of Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:4). When we truly see Him it has profound effects on our lives.

2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. “ I really like the New Living translation of this passage. “And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more,” The Amplified version helps us even more. “And all of us, as with unveiled face, because we continue to behold (in the word of God) as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another: (for this comes) from the Lord (Who is) the Spirit.”

An encounter with the glory of God is profoundly transforming.The point of what Paul says is, "what we see is what we be." John Piper says, "beholding is the way of becoming." This is the epicenter of learning to live for His glory. God's glory is not something we see; it is something that transforms us. His purpose is designed to evoke breathtaking delight and incomparable joy. God’s glory is what makes Him eminently desirable, attractive, and quickening to the soul that it was made for another world.

God has pulled back the curtain on His glory. “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth” (Psalm 50:2). He has disclosed Himself on the platform of creation and redemption that we might stand awestruck in His presence, beholding the sweet symmetry of His attributes, pondering the unfathomable depths of His greatness, baffled by the wisdom of His deeds and the limitless extent of His goodness and mercy and grace. This is His glory and how it affects our souls.

THE PASSIONATE AND JOYFUL ADMIRATION OF SEEING AND EXPERIENCING GOD IS THE GOAL OF OUR EXISTENCE!

This week I would like to begin to discuss what it means to reflect the glory of God in our lives. Paul says it is that it is our duty to live for the glory of God in every aspect of our life to the point of even our eating and drinking.

Perhaps the best way that I can describe what Paul means is from what Paul wrote from prison in Philippians 1:21, "It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always, Christ shall be honored in my body, whether by life, or by death." Chained to a Roman guard, Paul applies this thought to his own experience, desiring that Christ will be honored in his body whether by his life or his death.

The word Paul uses where the ESV translates honored “megalounthsetai” can also be translated exalted or magnified or glorified. The word "magnify" literally means to make large. To magnify or glorify God, in common language means to make God look as He truly is. We may think, “Christ is the Almighty God, Creator of the universe. How can I possibly magnify, exalt or glorify Him?”

Think of Him as being a distant star. It may be more brilliant than our own sun, but to the human eye, it is just a dim speck in the night sky. To many in this world, Christ is that way. He is the very splendor of God, brighter than a billion suns. But the world doesn’t see Him that way. So God has purposed that the believer is to be a telescope to bring the truth about Christ into view for the unbeliever. Through us, and especially through how we handle trials, Christ is magnified to a skeptical, unbelieving world. The calling of those who love God is to make his greatness begin to look as great as it really is. The whole duty of the Christian can be summed up in this: feel, think, and act in a way in your life and in your death that will make God look as great as he really is. Be a telescope for the world of the infinite starry wealth of the glory of God.

Let us catch this purpose and it will revolutionize the kind of questions we ask in our daily lives. In view of Paul’s circumstances, it is remarkable that his main focus was not on getting released from prison, but rather on exalting Christ. Paul asked the question of himself, "How can I magnify Christ in this situation, this relationship, this trial?" If this world is going to see Christ they will see Him in our lives. He will be revealed through our bodies. Paul desires that Christ “be honored (exalted, magnified) in my body” Our hands must be His hands, our eyes His eyes, our mouth His mouth our feet His feet.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body”. In this life Christ is meant to be exalted and magnified in the bodies of those who believe in Him, or He will not be magnified at all. The reason for this is that God dwells only within His children. And if He is to be seen at all in this life, He must be seen in the lives of those who know Him. This means that we may either exalt Christ or bring shame to His name by our attitudes, our words, and our behavior.

How do you use your eyes? How do you use your ears? How do you use your tongue? Your hands? Your feet? Your countenance? How do you use your body? What about your personal appearance? Paul's passion was that his tongue will speak warmly of his Savior. He will exalt his name in testimony, in prayer, and in preaching. His knees will bend before the great, high and holy Lord. His hands will be zealous in serving the cause of such a Friend. His feet will run messages for the Lord. His eyes will see his glories everywhere and his likeness in all his people. His ears will hear his word and in His heart there will be a melody of praise to him. Always in his body he will exalt the Messiah. Oh reader, be encouraged, be focused, Let Christ be Magnified Through You! “Now! Always!" says Paul.

To be continued next week...