What is glory? A common definition is, “of high renown, honor or magnificence.” As with anything that God defines as good, the god of this world has a counterfeit of it that appears enticing on the surface but is utterly destructive.
For many, glory is the thing that is so desperately sought for self – to be glorified in the eyes of others. It is the very thing that Satan sought when he ascended into heaven in his attempted coup of God and His government. The result was not what he had sought, however, and his failure left him bitter, resentful and angry. Thus, he opposes God and His begotten ones to this very day. The fruit of self-glory is seen all across the globe today in the form of fracture, hatred and violence. There is no mistaking it.
The glory of God, however, defines His highest honor, renown and magnificence. To His glory, He embodies the word love so that the good of others becomes His obvious outward focus, which is away from self. It is the same focus that each of His begotten ones are to have. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being” (1 Corinthians 10:24.) When we put the well-being of others first, we are doing what our Father does and what He would have us do. Paul goes on to say, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved” (1 Corinthians 10:31-33). Everything that we do is to be done to God’s glory — everything! Everything we do is to align with His standards and aims so that we can be at one with each other and that others might come to the truth as well. In simple terms, we have to be willing to let go of our own will (even though it may be lawful from time to time) in order to seek the other’s well-being. As the apostle said, it may have to do with something we eat or drink, or something altogether different that in some way is an offense to someone else. What we do to God’s glory doesn’t manifest itself in having to be more righteous than someone else – it has to do with loving enough to forbear for the other’s benefit.
Our glory has a specific standard to come up to. “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation” (Galatians 6:14-15). Our glorying can only be in what our Father has given us through Christ because we have been crucified to the world through Him. We have been separated from our own carnal will and ego so that we can truly become a new creature.
These verses sum it up very well. “We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.’ For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:1-6).
Marshall Stiver
