Would there ever be another prophet like Moses? A man who knew the LORD face to face and could represent Him to the people?
Peter mead, pleased to dwell, 43
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How wonderful that we can answer “Yes and Amen” because of Jesus to that question! Not only is He like Moses, He is better (see Hebrews 3)! Not only does He represent the LORD He knows face to face to us. His face is the face of the LORD! And in the glory of His face we know the glory of God the Father (John 1:18; 2 Corinthians 4:6).
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Why do you think it’s so hard for us to grasp what God’s glory is like? We often use it in a general, rather undefined sense of greatness, power, worship-worthiness. Rarely do we define what glory is all about, or why it should motivate us to worship! Why is that?
Our vision is clouded by the Genesis 3 twisting of what God is really like.
peter mead, pleased to dwell, 41
There are many answers that get to the details of why this is in our day in many of our Christian circles. The root issue, as Peter identifies it, is that we have a twisted view of what God is really like. How does that view get untwisted? As Richard Sibbes once put it, “The very beholding of Christ is a transforming sight.”[3]
Our knee jerk reaction might be to think that the transforming that’s done by beholding Jesus is primarily about changing what we do rather than what we see. Hold on for a moment, because that’s not even how Moses was changed! Moving straight into our work to satisfy what we think God wants, in our sub-par view of what God’s glory, breeds spiritual hollowness. Fullness of that gapping spiritual cavity
can be found only outside of ourselves, in “turning to the Lord”—like Moses—to enjoy communion with God and so “beholding the glory of the Lord” and being transformed into his radiant image (2 Cor. 3:16-18). It is those who look to him who are radiant (Ps. 34:5) and who find their hollowness filled and their faces beginning to shine.
Michael Reeves, Evangelical Pharisees, p. 98
What does God transform by His glory before all else? Our view of Him. Our hearts need to be transformed “from shaking in loathing to quaking in wonder at God” Himself.[5] Why? Yes, one reason is because it’s the only way we can truly be transformed. First, though, it’s because the glory of God is a good, saving glory. God is glorified by saving you, not by you fulfilling an agenda or displaying His greatness. It’s about God’s loving-kindness and undeserved goodness to us, and then through us to echo love back to Him and to those around us.
What is God’s glory?
Goodness? Name? Gracious? Mercy? Is that God’s glory? Why are we surprised?
Peter Mead, Pleased to Dwell, 40
This is the God we encounter in Jesus! The saving God! This is who the Prophet reveals. A God overflowing in “goodness, graciousness, mercy, slowness to anger, abounding in loving-kindness and faithfulness.” Yes, powerful enough to make all of those things meaningfully actual. Yet, the focus always remains on God Himself, and does not stray to a sense of power so easily separated in our minds from God Himself.
Feel free to share! If you read chapter 3 of the book or have read this blog post, has your view of God’s glory changed? If you watched the video, how does Jesus’ work of performing miracles, giving God’s Law, praying for His people, and delivering them, make a difference in your view of God this Christmas season?
If you want to dive deeper into what God’s glory is and is not, have a scroll through this page. I’ve written 19 posts thinking through this issue that I’ve shared with you. They can operate as stand-alone posts, so don’t feel you have to start at the beginning.
[3] Richard Sibbes, Volume 1, p. 20-21
[5] Michael Reeves, Rejoice and Tremble, p. 115
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Standing Before God, This We Are and No More 