Notes - 19th February 06

Bible passages:
'Exodus 33:12-23'
'Romans 3:21-31'

'Glory' is not something we think about a great deal, nor does it enter our daily vocabulary very often - perhaps because it is not a characteristic that naturally belongs to human beings. Conversely, 'glory' is something that is very important to God.

'What is the glory of God? It is who God is. It is the essence of his nature, the weight of his importance, the radiance of his splendour, the demonstration of his power, and the atmosphere of his presence. God's glory is the expression of his goodness and all his other intrinsic, eternal qualities.' (p53)

Read (Exodus 33:12-23).
Moses wanted confirmation that God's presence would be with him and the people as they went into the Promised Land. The words of promise did not seem to be enough for Moses. He asked to see the glory of God. The Lord describes this as 'all my goodness'.
Why do we tend to think of the goodness of God as something that is not awesome, or majestic, but something that is familiar and accessible to us?
What is there in this encounter that would challenge this idea?
How does the glory of God relate to the holiness of God?

If the glory of God is seen in everything God is, and everything God does, where is the glory of God? Just look around, everything created by God reflects his glory in some way.

Read (Psalm 19:1-4).
Can you think of anything you have seen in the created world that made you feel you were seeing the glory of God in some way? What was it that made you think of God in that moment? Paul makes it clear that the glory of God in his creation is a universal message to all people about the reality of God's existence and character. Read (Read Romans 1:20).

How would you explain the meaning of that verse to someone who said they were an atheist or an agnostic?

Paul makes it clear that this is the basic problem for human beings, not experiencing the life and future that God intends for us, namely, the problem described in (Romans 3:23), a passage we will look at later. Think about some of the graphic images that have spoken most powerfully to you about how so much of what we see and experience in this world, is a distortion or negation of the glory of God - any examples come to mind?

The gospel proclaims that God's glory is best seen in Jesus Christ.
'He, the light of the world, illuminates God's nature. Because of Jesus we are no longer in the dark about what God is really like. The Bible says 'The Son is the radiance of God's glory. Jesus came to earth so we could fully understand God's glory. The Word became human and lived among us. We saw his glory. . a glory full of grace and truth' (John1: 14)' (p54)

What in the character of Jesus, as you know him from the gospels, most clearly reveals the glory of God?

But Jesus did more than come to show us God's glory in a way that Moses was not able to imagine. Jesus also came to make it possible for us to be restored to living in the presence of God's glory here on earth, but completely in heaven itself.

(Read Romans 3:21-31).
How as sinners, are we quite unable to live a life that glorifies God by our own efforts? How did Jesus deal with the barrier of our unrighteousness that keeps human beings from knowing the glory of God in our lives?
How do we access this step into glory? (v25)

We are then commanded to recognize his glory, honour his glory, declare his glory, praise his glory, reflect his glory, and live for his glory. How can we do this?

The rest of the book will look at the 5 key ways we can do this in our lives. Here is an overview:

1 We bring glory to God by worshipping him

2 We bring glory to God by loving other believers

3 We bring glory to God by becoming like Christ

4 We bring glory to God by serving others with our gifts

5 We bring glory to God by telling others about him.

Living for the glory of God with the rest of your life, is absolutely radical in terms of the priorities, schedules, relationships and values we must hold for the future.

What will you live for?

Who will you live for?

'Right now God is inviting you to live for his glory by fulfilling the purposes he made you for.'
How do you respond to that offer, that invitation?

'It's really the only way to live. Everything else is just existing.' (p58)
How do you respond to that?