What Brings God Glory?

All Glory Belongs to God 

The first mention of God's glory is found in Exodus 16:7. Moses said to the grumbling Israelites, "in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord." Psalm 148 is the praise psalm that gives Him honor in all He has made. The psalmist writes, let all give Him honor, "Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven" (v. 13). 

The book of Revelation contains many anthems of praise to His glory. A heavenly chorus in cries out, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God" (19:1). The word hallelujah
is a Hebrew composite word meaning "Praise the everexisting One!" The word is a triumphant shout used at the end of many of the Psalms. The apostolic church picked this up for its use from the Hellenistic synagogues, and it became familiar even to the most unlearned of the early Christians.1 While there are eight Hebrew words for glory, the most common is the word kah' vohd. In the non-theological sense the word refers to weigthtiness, impressive appearance, something that has splendor, magnificence, like the forests of Lebanon (Isa. 10:18; 35:3). This word is the best way the Hebrews could describe the magnificence of the Lord, His grandeur and greatness. If something in the physical world was majestic, how much more the glory of the Lord!

The Greek word for glory is doxa and is parallel to the Old Testament word. The word is related to the idea "to think." Glory and honor are given to God when one thinks about Him! The word doxa may be translated splendor, magnificent .In the New Testament alone the word glory is used over 240 times as both verb and noun. Concerning the Father and glory: He is to be glorified forever (Phil. 4:20); feared and given glory (Rev. 14:7); His abode is glory (2 Cor. 4:;17); He is glorified in the church (Eph. 3:21); The Lord's salvation comes by the glorious gospel of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4); sinners fall short of His glory (Rom. 3:23); Christ was raised by the glory of the Father (6:4); and salvation brings forth "the praise of the glory of His grace " (Eph.1:6, 12, 14); and His glory will illumine the eternal New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:23). Putting it simply, He is the Father of glory (Eph. 1:17).

In the Old Testament it is said that: the Lord's glory filled His temple and house (2 Chron. 7:2), He is a shield and glory to David (Ps. 3:3); His name is to be glorified (66:2); His glory will be set among the nations (Ezek. 39:21); and He will be glorified in the midst of Israel (Zech. 2:5). It is said, "He who is the glory of Israel does not life or change His mind" (1 Sam. 15:29). The heavens declare His glory (Ps. 19:1); the angelic seraphs cry, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory" (Isa. 6:3).
God's glory is unending. It never stops, nor is it diminished. While it is true to a degree people may receive glory,
the Bible, … mainly speaks of God's glory. When it does it refers to what God is in his essential being or nature. That is to say, God's glory is simply the inescapable "weight" of the sheer intrinsic Godness of God, inherent in the attributes essential to him as the Deity. As an application of this idiom, the Bible often substitutes the word "glory" for a specific attribute of God, the attribute intended having then to be determined from the context.2 His Son brings Him Glory The Lord Jesus brings glory to His heavenly Father, both by His obedience unto death, and when His millennial reign begins. For example, when He takes control of the earthly kingdom, the Son of Man will be given "dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples and nations, and men of every language might serve Him" (Dan. 7:14). His throne is called "a glorious throne" (Matt. 25:31).

Jesus is due His own glory, but He also reflects the glory of His Father, as when He manifested His "glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father" (John 1:14). When on earth He said of Himself, "'I did 'not seek My glory,'" but came to show the Father who is the One who judges (6:50). With certain miracles like the raising of Lazarus, both Christ and His Father were to receive glory. He said to Mary and Martha, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it" (11:4).

Peter closes his first letter by speaking of "the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ" (1 Pet. 5:10).

The Salvation of the Church brings Him Glory
It is said of God the Father: "to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever" (Eph. 3:21). The church receives the "righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God" (Phil. 1:11), and because of Jesus, God supplies all the needs of the believer "according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (4:19).

The church is the redeemed company of Jews and Gentiles, who have been called out to salvation in this dispensation. This is a unique body, a special time, and an ingathering that is taking place worldwide. When the church age is over, the Lord God will particularly receive a great reception of honor and glory, but that very same glory will also be bestowed upon Christ. In the heavenly chorus singing just before the tribulation begins in Revelation 6, around the throne of God we hear,
"Worthy art Thou, our Lord [Jesus] and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created". (v. 11) Israel will bring Him Glory
No man, nor the nation of Israel, has intrinsic and innate glory . God in the Old Testament is Himself called by Samuel "the Glory" of the nation of Israel. In a rebuke for his stubbornness, Samuel reminded Saul, that the Lord was first of all looking for obedience, even above some statement of glorifying His name. God Himself is sufficient Glory for His people! Samuel said, "Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind" (1 Sam. 15:29).

In the book of Isaiah, to Israel the Lord calls Himself "your Redeemer, and the one who formed you [Israel] from the womb" (Isa. 44:24). In a future prophecy in verses 27-23, He says "the Lord will redeem Jacob and in Israel He will show forth His glory." When that redemption takes place for the Jewish people, the Lord says "I shall set My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment" (Ezek. 39:21).
When Ezekiel saw the millennial temple in a vision, he cried out, "And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house" (43:5).

Though Israel has been a sinful, rebellious, and scattered people, their re-gathering will bring glory to God for His grace and mercy toward them. He will be honored again through their redemption that will be witnessed by all the nations.

The completion of History will bring Him Glory
When the millennial kingdom begins, "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Hab. 2:14). This is the moment when the world will know of God's glory, "When, in God's time, He manifests Himself so that men acknowledge His Sovereignty, all violence will be swept from the earth."3 When this kingdom begins, God will gather the peoples of the earth. "The time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. … [the tribes of earth] will declare My glory among the nations" (Isa. 66:18-19). On this passage the rabbis comment:
God's glory and power will be manifest over all the nations of the world who, as a tribute to His Sovereignty, will bring, with many marks of respect and honour, all the Israelites who lived among them in exile.4 Following the millennium, and the Great White Throne Judgment, the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven, "having the glory of God" (Rev. 21:11), with that glory illuminating the city (v. 23). The coming of this eternal New Jerusalem, history is capped off and finished, as we know it. The Lord will have the last word as history comes to an end, and He will receive glory and honor throughout the eons of eternity.

God is worthy of Worship
When the temple was dedicated by Solomon, the Scriptures tell us God sent fire down from heaven and consumed the burnt offer and the sacrifices, "and the glory of the Lord filled the house" (2 Chron. 7:1). The people fell back when the glory of the Lord filled the temple, and everyone "worshipped and gave praise to the Lord, saying, 'Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting" (v. 3). When the temple was restored, and Ezra was reading the Law to the crowd, "they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground" (Neh. 8:6).

Throughout the book of Revelation, multitudes in heaven saw God in His throne room, and burst forth with praise and appreciation for who He is. Angels and the redeemed fall "on their faces before the throne and worshiped God" (Rev. 7:11). As the end of the tribulation is in sight, those in glory with the Lord again fall down and give Him glory and worship (11:16).
God's glory has attended Him from eternity past, and His glory shared with His Son and His Spirit will continue through eternity future (John 17:5; 1 Peter 5:10; 2 Peter 3:18). The Son has returned to His glory with the Father (Heb. 2:9). God now calls us to His eternal glory in Christ (1 Peter 5:10). Christ will bring "many sons to glory" (Heb. 2:10; cf. 2 Tim. 2:10). Then believers will forever be in glory and see the glory that the Father has given the Son (John 17:22, 24).5 Finally,
it is important to underscore the truth that when we speak of God's "infinite, eternal, unchangeable" being, etc., we are speaking of those attributes that comprise what the Scriptures intend when they speak of God's glory. That is to say, God's glory is the sum total of all his attributes as well as any one of his attributes. For the creature to deny him that without which he would no longer be God. Or to ascribe to him any attribute which he himself does not expressly claim to have, which ascription can only cancel out some attribute which he does claim to have, is again to represent him as something less than he is and thus is to attack his glory. For this reason it is imperative to listen carefully to God's description of himself in Scripture.6 _________________

1. Mal Couch, gen. ed., A Bible Handbook to Revelation (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2001), 288.
2. Robert L. Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998), 166.
3. A. Cohen, The Twelve Prophets (London: Soncino, 1970), 222.
4. ________, Isaiah (London: Soncino, 1972), 324.
5. Mal Couch, gen. ed., The Fundamentals for the Twenty-First Century (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2000), 581.
6. Robert L. Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith, 165.