John 1:14: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

As humans, we measure our success by accomplishments:  trophies, medals, records, degrees, awards, citations, net worth, number of followers, etc.  These are our “glories.”  They demonstrate how great we are or how hard we have worked.  Some might even mistakenly believe these “glories” make them important – at least more important than others.  When we think about the glory of God, however, there is a huge difference.  God’s glory is the manifestation of all the holy perfection that God actually is.

Pause for a moment and slowly think about some of the attributes of God we have already studied, and others you probably already know.  How indescribable is God!  Ponder His immensity, power, wisdom, perfection, eternity, goodness, holiness, righteousness, love, mercy – how could He be anything other than glorious?

Consider all the spectacular visions and appearances of God in the Bible:  Moses at the burning bush and the Mount, the pillars of cloud and fire, Elijah’s chariot ride, Ezekiel’s visions of the glory cloud, Isaiah’s heavenly vision, and the transfiguration of Jesus.  Common elements are blinding light, fearful power, and perfection.  God’s glory is a scary thing.

As we have learned in this study on the attributes of God, all the attributes overlap, primarily because of the simplicity of God.  God is one.  The attributes are facets or dimensions of this one God.  God’s glory is not a trophy shelf or framed diploma.  It is the eminence of this one magnificent God.  This is why God’s glory is unique to Him.  It is the sum total of all that God is.  It is not His accomplishments; rather it is Himself.  Everything He does is glorious, because He is glorious.  God’s glory is as though God is radioactive, emitting a radioactive cloud.

In Christ we see the glory of God in human form.  Christ is the fullness of God in bodily form, the radiance of His glory, the exact imprint of his nature (Col 2:9; Heb 1:3).  Through Christ and Christ alone we can now bring glory to God in everything we do and say.  We cannot somehow add to God’s person or make Him more prestigious, but by the power of the Holy Spirit we can reflect the wonderful glory of God in our daily lives.

1 Cor 10:31:  So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.