A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
by Steve West
Table of Contents
1 Our Glorious God
2 The Glorious Divine Project
3 The Pathway to Glory
4 Glorification, the Prospect
5 Who Will Be Glorified? Who Will Be Excluded?
Conclusion
Summary
Chapter 1: Our Glorious God
We are being transformed from one degree of glory to another, and this means that as Christ’s disciples we are increasingly reflecting God’s divine glory. As a result, it is essential for us to understand the nature of God’s divine glory. In Hebrew, kabod denotes weight, and refers to something substantial. It connotes honor and importance, as well as things like greatness, power, majesty, reputation, and wealth. As the infinite, exalted king, God’s glory is connected with his being and status. God’s glory is worthy of praise and is the source of our worship.
Psalm 19 celebrates God’s work in creation, and it praises God for revealing his glory in what he has made. Psalm 8 likewise praises God for his creation, and the author marvels that although God’s glory is higher than the heavens, God cares for human beings. When God brought Israel out of Egypt, he revealed his power and majesty, and he was praised for revealing his glory and triumphing gloriously. At Sinai God manifested his glory, and then revealed his name in terms of his goodness rather than raw power. Despite the sin of the people, God’s glory took up residence in the tabernacle. Those who saw his glory at Sinai rebelled in the wilderness and were punished for their wickedness by being excluded from future glory in the Promised Land. Isaiah’s vision of the thrice-holy Lord God was a vision of the glory of the pre-incarnate Son. The Book of Ezekiel opens with an incredible vision of the glory of God, but as the book unfolds, God reveals that he will remove his glory from the temple and city because of the grotesque sins of the people. In light of their idolatry and evil, God’s glory withdraws from Jerusalem. Nevertheless, at the end of Ezekiel, God promises that one day his glory will return and he will have restored fellowship with his covenant people.
The revelation of the glory of God takes a special turn in the person and work of Jesus Christ. John’s Gospel tells us that the Word became flesh, “and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14). Jesus is the temple and God’s glory in human form. At the wedding at Cana Jesus performed the first of his signs that reveal his own glory. This glory he reveals is his glory from eternity past (cf. John 17:5); it is the glory that is shown radiantly at the Transfiguration. When Saul was converted on the road to Damascus, the radiant glory of Christ shone brighter than the noonday sun. At the end of Revelation, the New Jerusalem comes down to earth, and the glory of the Lamb is all the light that is needed. God’s glory may be considered almost like a summary of God’s attributes, a way of describing the beauty and splendor of all that God is. . . .
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