GOD’s GLORY - כׇבוׄד (kā·ḇôḏ)

The Glory of God & The Deception of Satan

The glory of God is manifested throughout the pages of Scripture. The Creator reveals himself to humanity throughout time as we witness how he draws mankind closer and closer to his glory to the point that we are invited into relationship with him as glorified beings. God fully intended for humanity to walk alongside him as glorified humans, but that required a bond of trust between humankind and the Creator of the universe. The account given in Genesis 3:1-13, explains how the first humans compromised their relationship of trust with the Father when they listened to the voice of Satan instead of their Creator

This act of violence against God would forever change the path for the Creator’s crown of creation. Adam and Eve would no longer experience the glory of the LORD and revel in his glorious light, as they chose to challenge his authority and take sides with the serpent, who is destined for eternal darkness (Rev. 20:7-10). This separation from God did not change the fact that humankind was made in the image of the Creator, but it did mean that humanity would no longer have the privilege of living with the glorified bodies that they were meant to have. Humans would no longer be able to realize the glory of God because they would now be subject to the deceptive voice of the devil. Their act of disobedience also gave Satan the right to rule over the earth as opposed to God’s image bearers having full dominion (Gen. 1:26-31, Gen. 3).

Every human is stamped with the image of the Creator (Gen. 1:26-27) and because of this reality, mankind fervently seeks their Maker, the Author of life. There is a void in the life of every human soul that can only be filled with an intimate relationship with their Creator (Ecc. 3:11). It is not surprising that people struggle to find the utopia that was meant for humanity from the beginning. This world brings strife and discord as opposed to the peace and harmony that humanity was created for. It is natural to seek out the good and to desire our own good because our genetic structure and memory innately knows that something is not right with the world around us.

This inner desire is to be unified, once again, with our Creator and to use our gifts and talents to create and thrive. The devil does everything that he is allowed to do to break that human spirit, even making humans believe that it is selfish to desire their own good. James writes that we do not get what we ask for because we do not believe (James 1:5-7). The problem is that the enemy deceives people by placing doubt and self-deprecating voices in their consciousness. C.S. Lewis noted in his book that even our grandest desires are too small for God.[1] With God all things are possible (Mark 10:26-28) even the dreams that seem far out of reach.

The ruler of this age (John 14:29-31) has convinced most of the world’s population that their unfulfilled lives can be filled if they could manage to amass worldly wealth. The enemy lies by persuading people to believe that the void which they sense can be filled with earthly pleasures (1 John 2:15-17). Unfortunately, earthly pleasures will not fill the void that humans seek, instead they leave the pursuer feeling empty and unfulfilled. Man’s way requires wealth and eventually the desire for more leads to an insatiable appetite for power. The pursuit of earthly treasures inevitably becomes a distraction from seeking the true source of life (Luke 16:12-14). The modern man has drifted so far from God’s glory, over the millennia, that the enemy has had generations to seduce the hearts and minds of all humanity.

The enemy of the human race has placed a spell over mankind. An enchantment that keeps people in a state of blindness. A spell that entraps humanity into placing more value on the here and the now and on the things that can be seen, rather than on the unseen glory of God. People desperately seek to create a heaven on earth, a type of paradise without God. Satan knows that if we get even a glimpse of the glory of God and his amazing plans for each one of us, that we will naturally seek our Creator more than we seek the dead-end diversions of this earth and the spell of deception will be broken. As civilization has become more complex, the enchantment of worldliness has become stronger than ever before, prayer is the only antidote that can break this spell.

Getting Back To Basics – Experiencing The Glory of God

God created the natural order of life and placed his image bearers in a ready-made playground paradise. The very moment Eve and then Adam doubted their Creator, they elevated the position of the enemy, the devil, and because of this the whole of creation began to decay (Rom. 8:21-23). The essence of God is his glory, and it is humanity’s source of life. In order to get a glimpse of the glory of God we need to flip through the pages of history and his relationship with his chosen people.

Aside from the creation event, the Creator has manifested his glory in various ways to humanity. Moses first experienced God’s glory in the form of a burning bush (Exod. 3:1-3) and again on the top of Mount Sainai where he appeared as a cloud of smoke and fire, and they revered the LORD as they were in awe (Exod. 19:3-11). The people later affiliated the glory of God with the Ark of the Covenant once they began to settle as a people of Yahweh (1 Sam. 4:5-6, 21). The psalmist, king David, was also in awe of God’s glory as he reveled in the beauty of the created order (Ps. 19:1). David recognized the vastness of God’s hand in the wonderous creation. Many years later, when Soloman’s Temple was completed the people of God would physically experience the glory of God manifested in a cloud of smoke that filled the Temple (2 Chron. 5:14) and they worshipped. In the midst of the trials of everyday life, the religious leaders and the people began to drift from the wonder of Yahweh as the years passed and as a result, they became distracted and worshiped worldly things.

The nation would face the consequences of rejecting their God. The prophet Isaiah however, reminded the people of Judah that they would eventually recover and once again represent the glory of God to the world (Is. 60:19). The people of God were to take pride in the fact that they were the only ones ordained to bring life to the world, by pointing people to Yahweh.

It was not until after their exile to Babylon that the Hebrew people would see Yahweh’s glory again. This time it was in His word, as it was read aloud in the re-built Temple court and they wept bitterly as the glory of the LORD weighed on their hearts (Neh. 8:1-10). Hundreds of years and an incredible amount of tumult later, God’s Messiah was manifest to the entire world through the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The glory of God would now extend to every human who accepts the Word of the LORD (John 14:14-16). Jesus promised that for those who believe in him that they would be glorified in Christ (John 11:40). Many are invited to be like Christ, not just a few (Matt. 22:14). Those who are in Christ will rule with Christ in the millennia (Rev. 20:4-6).

Sensing The Weight of God’s Glory

God’s glory has always been available to those who seek his face and for those who experience his glory, it is a tremendous responsibility (Zech. 1:3; Matt. 7:6-8). God rewards those who seek him with all of their heart, soul, and might by revealing himself to them through various signs and wonders as well as extending his unwavering grace to them. The only way that one will ever recognize God’s glory is when the individual realizes who they truly are as they stand before a holy God. The enemy is always ready to hinder one’s desire for God by insisting that humans are innately good and deserve God’s grace when they make “mistakes” or that they do not really need God at all. The human propensity is to sin against the Creator, to harbor hate and jealousy, to lie, and to cheat to get ahead, but the devil is ready to downplay these offenses through delusional excuses for bad behavior.

If we do not comprehend our sinful nature, then we will not experience the glory of God. When we do recognize our offenses against others and against the Master of the universe, and we are broken to the point of true repentance, God’s unmitigated grace brings us to our knees. This is when we sense the weight of his glory as it overwhelms us like it did for those who stood and worshiped at the hearing of his word in Nehemiah. When Moses sought the face of God and his glory, he had to hide in the cleft of a rock as God passed by, or the grandeur of the Father’s glory would have overwhelmed him to his death (Exod. 33:18-23). In our current fleshly state, we cannot handle the weight of God’s glory. It is only until we are given our glorified bodies that we will be able to stand side by side in the glory of the Father. Until that time, however, true repentance and a heart for God will invite the LORD to open our eyes to his glory as he envelopes us with awe struck wonder.

[1] Lewis, C.S., The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, (The Macmallin Company: New York, 1949)