Created to Glorify God
CHRISTINE GORDON | CONTRIBUTOR Glory be to God! We say it and we mean it; we want our lives to reflect God’s glory. According to the Westminster Catechism, part of our creation design as humans is to glorify God. But what exactly does that mean? What is a Biblical definition of glory? And how do we give it to God? This word “glory” is all over the Bible, used in different eras and contexts. In the Old Testament it is the Hebrew word “kavod” meaning weight, value, honor, or respect. In the New Testament it is the Greek term “doxa,” from which we draw our word, “doxology.” The Glory of Christ John 16 and 17 are great places to settle in and investigate in order to understand “glory” in the context of Jesus and his church. In these chapters, Jesus just shared the Passover meal with his disciples and was teaching them one last time about why he had come and what was soon to happen to him. After promising the Holy Spirit would come and minister to them, he described the Spirit’s ministry in John 16:14: “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” The ministry of the Spirit is to make clear to the world the person and work of Jesus. Like a bright light shining through a dark December night onto a beautiful Christmas wreath, the Spirit highlights the beauty of Christ. The Holy Spirit takes what belongs to Jesus and show it to his followers. The Spirit displays Jesus’s power, moral excellence, love, grace, and beauty. He platforms the holiness of Christ. Jesus’s glory is all that he is and all he has done. It is his resume and his person.[1] It is the overflowing radiance, intensity, and energy of divine life and holiness.[2] All of these things are revealed to the people of God by the Holy Spirit...