Transformation Glory
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:17–18
I’ve been shocked by Moses’ request in Exodus 33 for many years. How dare he be so bold to ask to see God’s glory! Yet even more shocking is God’s love for Moses, as He honoured his request.
How do we define God’s glory? It’s so elusive and “other.” One of John Piper’s attempts is that “The glory of God is the manifest beauty of his holiness. It is the going-public of his holiness.”
There are many references to God’s glory throughout Scripture. In the Old Testament it was seen by a pillar of fire (Exodus 13:21–22), when God gave Moses the law, and in Ezekiel’s vision by the river of Babylon (Ezekiel 1). In the New Testament, we see it in Jesus (John 1:14) and his miracles (John 2:11). God displays his glory in creation (Psalm 19:1), and in the Spirit’s leading.
So, what then is our response? As we are transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, we ought to be obedient, and to give God all the glory (1 Corinthians 10:31). Let’s thank the Lord today that Jesus will soon return “on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).