{"id":7926,"date":"2022-02-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-25T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/gods-glory-revealed\/"},"modified":"2024-12-09T17:17:59","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T17:17:59","slug":"gods-glory-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/gods-glory-revealed\/","title":{"rendered":"God’s Glory Revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

How does God reveal God\u2019s glory to humanity?<\/p>\n

1. Through the universe.<\/h3>\n

Along with the psalmist, the Jesus follower confesses with a heart filled with awe: \u201cThe heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.\u201d (Psalm 19:1). The Jesus follower exalts the greatness of God: \u201cLORD my God, You are great\u201d (Psalm 104:1b).<\/p>\n

The psalmist expresses admiration in Psalm 104 for the divine majesty that radiated through the processes in nature, even though the ancient poet expresses it in the language of mythology and cosmology. For the psalmist, the variety of creatures that fill the earth expresses the wisdom of God. His admiration for the glory of God made him want to rejoice in God (v. 34). He even wants God to rejoice over all the fruits of God\u2019s work (v. 31). When the divine glory, that is, the majesty and wisdom of God, covers the heart of a believer, the Jesus follower rejoices in God. Furthermore, the believer wants to unite with the joy of God over all the divine works that have revealed the glory of God.<\/p>\n

Thus, for a follower of Jesus, the universe is the theatrum gloriae dei, the stage on which the glory of God is presented, as said by John Calvin, an early Reformed theologian.<\/p>\n

2. Through Jesus Christ.<\/h3>\n

The follower of Jesus understands that Jesus Christ was the Word made flesh. Through the Word, God made all things (John 1:3); the heavens and the earth and all that is in them (Genesis 1:1-2:4a). Then the Word was incarnated, made flesh in Jesus Christ (John 1:14). He who was \u201cin the beginning\u201d (John 1.1) and \u201cin the beginning was with God\u201d (John 1:2), enjoys the deepest fellowship with God (John 1.18). Jesus has come into the world as a human to interpret God (John 1:18) for humanity, that is, to reveal God\u2019s heart to human beings.<\/p>\n

The whole life of Jesus reveals that God is willing to be Father\/Mother\/Parent for humans. By God\u2019s willingness to become a Father\/Mother, God reveals God\u2019s grace and truth in the life of Jesus to humanity, accepting humans as God\u2019s children. Whoever accepts Jesus Christ becomes a child of God. Whoever believes in the name of Jesus knows for sure that God has become Father\/Mother. The glory of God, revealed in Jesus, is the glory that invites everyone to experience God\u2019s grace, and the truth that God is completely trustworthy.<\/p>\n

3. Through the church.<\/h3>\n

Based on Christ\u2019s victory (through his death and resurrection) over the powers and principalities, the church is the mode Jesus Christ exists in the world today. Christ, who \u201cascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty\u201d to reign as the Messiah, is no longer physically present in the world. According to God\u2019s plan, Jesus is present through the church, which is \u201chis body\u201d (Ephesians 1:23), meaning the representation of Christ or sign of Christ\u2019s presence in the world.<\/p>\n

Through the church, Christ continues to \u201cpreach peace\u201d (Ephesians 2:17; Ephesians 6:15). Through the church, Christ also proclaims victory over the powers of the world (Ephesians 3:10), over the structures that make humans exploit, oppress and marginalize each other, even plunder and destroy nature!<\/p>\n

Sociologically, the church, which is called the Body of Christ, is a community. The church is a community made up of people who through faith (and believers\u2019 baptism) have committed their life (and death) to Jesus Christ. It is remarkable that Christ presents himself in the world through \u201cthe sociological.\u201d How can the \u201csociological\u201d represent Christ in the world, be a sign of his presence that greets the world with peace, and proclaims his victory over the powers? The answer is by the work of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

Jesus Christ, the Messiah, has poured out his Spirit to empower the church. First of all, in union with Christ, every believer or follower of Christ is united to one another. Unity has a concrete form, namely a community. That\u2019s the church. Then the Holy Spirit, who indwells every follower of Christ and is present in the church:<\/p>\n