The Glory of God?

 "Such was the appearance of the glory of Yahweh..." Ez. 1:28b

Does the glory of God look the same to each of us? Do we each need to see the glory of God the same way that Ezekiel did? Might there be both commonalities and distinctive facets?

Certainly the glory of God comes from Christ Jesus, flows from Christ Jesus, displays Christ Jesus; in fact, Christ Jesus is the express image and likeness and manifestation of the Glory of God, He is the Glory of God. (Col. 1:15 – 20; Heb. 1:1 – 4).

 

In Christ Jesus we are His Body of many members, and since we differ in our gifts and graces and the facets of the glory of God which those graces and gifts manifest, we can anticipate that there is unity in diversity and diversity in unity in our perception and expression of the glory of God in Christ Jesus.

 

I write this because we have a propensity to use our individual experience as the measure of the experience of others. This practice is not always wrong, we ought to all have the experience of knowing Jesus, of truly knowing Him – I have that experience and I want others to have it – for Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; in Him is eternal Life. Yet, within the experience of knowing Jesus I also want to recognize that He is the Great Shepherd and that He has a distinctive relationship with each of us – we all have much in common in Him, and we also have much that is distinct. Ah…mysteries.

 

Perhaps I am writing this because I recently read the job description for a position with a congregation, and in the section on qualifications for the position it was stated that certain distinct spiritual experiences were necessary for the applicant to have had. Even though I knew this to be the case within this “tradition,” seeing the qualifications in writing took me aback and I thought, “O my, there may be gifted people who could fill this ministry position but who are excluded because they’ve never had such and such an experience.”

 

It also struck me that the emphasis on qualifications was not on the character of ongoing life in Christ and maturity in Him, but rather on having past experiences subsequent to entering salvation, that is, after having the initial experience of salvation in Christ Jesus.

 

Then we have the opposite of what I’m writing, and those are the folks who say, “If you have had this particular experience you need not seek to serve Christ with us because we will not have you. We don’t consider such experiences valid.”

 

I imagine that some reading this will have a sense of what I’m saying, and others will have no clue what I’m saying – not because they are unintelligent, but probably because they haven’t been exposed to these crosscurrents within the professing church. Frankly, I’m wrestling with even to post these thoughts since I won’t give specific examples; not wanting to name any specific groups I am not as clear as I could be and there is just no way I can tie-up loose ends. Moving on…

 

Ezekiel saw His glory as part of his call to prophetic ministry, and I think we are all called to see His glory, both as an element of our individual calls to service and as we learn to live in Christ Jesus – in the Trinity and with one another (John 17:22 – 24). I think that our vision and sense of God’s glory expands, deepens, and unfolds as we continue knowing Him – as individuals and as a people in koinonia with one another in Him.

 

“The path of the Righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the Full Day.” (Proverbs 4:16). There is Only One who is truly and intrinsically Righteous, and that is Jesus Christ, and so I see this verse in line with Ephesians 4:11 – 16; His Body is growing up into Him, into the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. We are collectively the embodiment of His unfolding Glory. This perspective does not negate an individual testimony of Proverbs 4:16, in fact I’ve seen this reality in others – the closer they get to the heavenly portal the greater the Presence of Christ is in them – we rejoice in 2 Corinthians 3:17 – 18.

 

As I have (hopefully) grown in Christ, I have had greater respect for how my brothers and sisters behold the glory of Christ. Sometimes I behold God’s glory in the Bible, sometimes in prayerful communion, sometimes in creation, sometimes in my brothers and sisters – His glory is full of surprises and splendor. I used to think, “You are missing out if you haven’t experienced Christ in such and such a way, God has so much more for you.” Now I tend to look for the glory of God in my brothers and sisters as our Father has chosen to manifest Himself. What can I learn and receive from others? What can I contribute to others?

 

I have seen His glory demonstratively and exuberantly in my own life, and I have also seen it quietly and in splendor and mystery. I know what it is to play my tambourine, and I know what it is not to touch it. I know what it is to shout to the Lord, and I know what it is to keep my mouth shut before in the Lord.

 

Many years ago I participated in a “concert of prayer” that lasted quite a few months in Richmond, VA. That remains one of the sweetest experiences I’ve ever had. Some months we’d meet at a suburban type of church, other months at an inner-city type of church; we met in large churches with many rooms and in storefront churches. There were Lutherans and Baptists and Pentecostals and Presbyterians and Methodists and others; we were from pretty much every socioeconomic background in and around the city.

 

The unity in Christ was amazing, our sharing and praying was beautiful – both in large groups and in small groups. There was a sense of honoring one another in Christ, of appreciating one another, of serving one another, and of interceding for our city, region, country, and world. The glory of God was flowing from the Throne into and through the Body of Christ – it was heaven touching earth.

 

Well…where is the glory of God? How shall we see His glory? Paul tells the Thessalonians that they are his “glory and joy” (1 Thess. 2:20). This is not a bad place to begin seeking the glory of God, to see it in and through our brothers and sisters…not a bad place at all.