I see God’s glory as His manifestation to men. If this is true what other passages speak of things declaring His glory? If its not true what exactly is God’s Glory?
i’ve been wondering this too.
glory could mean general shineyness…but that means nothing without someone to appreciate it.
but such a definition leads to a possibility of God being narcissistic, which…isn’t true.
i would think that as a great King can add to His reputation by being just but merciful, for being wise, for genuinely loving His kingdom to the point of self-sacrifice, God’s glory (reputation? beauty?) can only be enhanced in our eyes.
and His glory merely shines in the darkness for no one to see if not for us, and would be significantly diminished if He was not capable of the love which He has already demonstrated to us in Christ.
also, holiness is another weird one. we often think we know what it means…but what does it mean REALLY? in practical terms?
Hi. I always think of holiness as WHOLENESS. This is contrasted by the more extreme definition which goes way further into making God kind of maniacally intolerant of imperfection, like a dad being angry and gagging while changing a diaper. He is whole, complete in Himself, perfect and without need of anything. This IS why He can love us so…He needs nothing from us. It’s not the thing that keeps Him from us. As for glory, not really any idea.
Like Corpse said, it seems to be something experienced by someone beholding God or a work He’s done, which is a pretty interesting concept because it would mean that God actually wanted something to express Himself to and we get to be His outlet in a way. Awesome!
I think its interesting that the Bible doesn’t say that it declares His Glory. As for Holiness, Only God is Holy and Him in Us makes us holy. We act as if its something we can achieve as if God had to achieve His Holiness. He Just IS.
I wrote a post at my blog about this subject last week. Here’s the link – my take on the subject, for what it’s worth. wp.me/p1bhiA-ve I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about glory, and I think it’s an important subject.
Blessings, Cindy