The Glory of God is not something we just read about in bible passages written long ago as if it has no meaning for us today.
It has a real practical meaning even now in our lives so we should ask ourselves, “Where is the temple of God now and how is He being glorified in it?
All Glory (honor) to God that no physical temple is needed today as we learn in the New Testament that our bodies are the temple of God with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within each one of us that believe in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We do not have a pillar of cloud with God’s radiating glory lighting our way but the light of the Holy Spirit who leads us into all righteousness for his names sake as David put it so eloquently in Psalms 23.
The Apostle Paul wrote:
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or 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.”
The Holy Spirit is the seal of our salvation when we first believed or as scripture tells us, an earnest (guaranteed) payment on our eventual glorified spiritual bodies. He also leads us into all understanding of the Word of God, using them to sanctify us (make us holy) so that we are slowly transformed back into the image of God as it was originally intended.
Ephesians 1:13-14 “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. “
In the New Testament, there are many mentions of Christians doing things for the Glory of God. In this sense, glory and honor are synonymous.
Can we glorify God in what we do as Christians? Yes!
1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”.
When we act in a way that’s pleasing to God, such as treating everyone as better than ourselves and just as we would have it for ourselves, we are imitating our Lord Jesus Christ as he showed us and by doing these things we are giving glory to God because others will recognize God’s influence in the way we act and give him thanks for it.
We are honoring and glorifying God for what He has done for us through the sacrifice of his Son Jesus Christ. God loved us first and while we were yet still in our sins, He sent his only begotten son in the likeness of human flesh to take away our sins so that we might be saved from His wrath.
Our testimony of Christ is in us and it shows forth in the way we act toward others:
God forgave us for transgressing his laws so we forgive those who transgress against us.
God loves all in the world so we love our neighbors as we would have it for ourselves.
God did not return evil for our own evil so we do not return evil upon those who do evil things to us.
God is longsuffering towards us from the very beginning so we put up with each other’s failings with patience and kindness.
What are some simple examples of day-to-day kindness that we can do?
- Lending a helping hand
- Run an errand for someone
- Give without counting the cost to those in need
- Forgive and forget
- Open a door for someone
- Pull out a second shopping cart for the person behind you
- Pour that cup of coffee for someone
- Clean up after someone
- Saying a heartfelt “hello” and a “how are you doing” to a complete stranger
- Listening anyway even though you’ve heard them say it before
God showed his mercy and kindness toward us when he did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves which is to make us righteous through the blood of Jesus Christ so we have mercy on those when they can’t do for themselves. The kind of mercy here is not in showing empathy for someone’s plight but rather to act in kindness as we can to help relieve them of it. It’s doing something for someone who can’t do it for themselves. It’s giving someone something they need but do not have. And perhaps when you do, they will glorify God when they say “thank God you helped me or thank God you got here in time.”
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Someone wrote this which sums up our glorifying God:
“To glorify God in everything, one must exercise faith (Hebrews 11:6), love without hypocrisy (Romans 12:9), deny oneself (Luke 9:23), be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), and offer oneself as “living sacrifices” to God (Romans 12:1).
Every area of life is important to evaluate and live to its fullest for the glory and honor of God. We should remember that God is watching everything we do and think so we ought to strive for every thought and deed to bring joy to our Father in heaven.”
God is abundant in Goodness and Truth and is Holy. We are not Holy as God “is Holy” but we can “be holy” in how we act by the workings of the Holy Spirit that is transforming us through a process called “sanctification”. God is working in us to make us holy in all we do so that in the life to come we will truly be in the image of God, full of goodness and truth, merciful, kind and forgiving.