Last week, in The Heavenly Temple, Part 6, we saw that our first and foremost reason for approaching God’s throne should not be our list of petitions. Rather, the most important reason needs to be to give God glory!
When we think of the throne of God, the thing that often comes to mind is the glory of God. Are there some hints in the Heavenly temple that would help us to comprehend God’s glory?
The answer of course is “yes,” for the glory of God is what the temple is all about: It is a place of residence for His glory.
There are many references to God’s glory in the New Testament, and we will take a brief look at just seven of these to see if there are any lessons we can glean from them for our heart-temples today:
“Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?'” (John 11:40)
The story takes place at the death and resurrection of Lazarus. Martha, stricken by grief at the death of her brother, warns Jesus to not roll away the story. Jesus reminds her that he had told her she would see God’s glory through her brother’s death. He then proceeds to call Lazarus forth from the grave.
Just what was this “glory” that Jesus told Martha she would see?
The miracle of the dead coming to life!
Are there any dead areas in our heart-temples? If so, let’s surrender them to Jesus, then, like Martha of old, we can sit back and watch while the Glory of God resurrects those dead areas, bringing new life to our hearts!
The next reference to God’s glory is found in the book of Acts, taking us to the story of Stephen’s stoning. Knowing he will soon make his place in history by becoming the first Christian martyr, Stephen is given a vision of Heaven: “But [Stephen]…gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God…” (Acts 7:54-55, NKJV)
Why God’s glory? Why not show Stephen his mansion in Heaven, or the sea of glass or the throne of God?
What Stephen needed most at that moment in time was the courage and strength to face his eminent death, and God revealed this to him in His glory.
No matter what the valley we are asked to walk in life, let’s remember that God’s glory is there, in our heart-temples, and it is enough to give us the courage and strength to prevail.
The next reference to God’s glory that we will examine is found in Romans 5:2: “…through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Rom 5:2, NKJV)
It is interesting to note that this is the precise text that precedes the famous, much quoted verses of Rom 5:3-5, which gives us clues as the why we suffer trials and tribulations. We don’t usually include Rom 5:2 in this quote, but when we look at this, the preceding verse, we see that no matter what we are asked to endure, we can rejoice in hope–in hope of the glory of God! Let’s remember this, friends, the next time we are going through troubled times! No matter what, we can rejoice in the hope of the glory of God!
The next three references come to us from the book of Revelation:
“The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.” (Rev 15:8, NKJV)
In this passage we see that the glory of God keeps everyone from entering the temple. Thus we understand that God’s glory is a powerful presence, not to be taken lightly, but One to be respected, awed, even feared.
The next reference is from Rev. 21, where we have a detailed description of the New Jerusalem: “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.” (Rev 21:10, NKJV)
Why shouldn’t Jerusalem have God’s glory? After all, His glory cannot be separated from Him!
And finally, Rev. 21:23: “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.”
Here we see that God”s glory is light, and when God’s glory illuminates the lamb, the lamb becomes the light of the city new earth. Thus, we see that God’s glory is light, life, courage, strength, hope, resurrection power, and our response to His glory should be one of awe and reverence.
But how can we access this “glory of God?”
This final reference to God’s glory that we will address is found in 2 Cor 4:6, and it gives us the answer: “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” ( NKJV)
We can come to know the glory of God by looking at the face of Jesus Christ.
Let’s remember this. When we want to know the glory of God, all we have to do is look to Jesus, to the many images of Him that we are given in the New Testament, and we will know the glory of God, for it is written on the face of Christ Jesus!
Want to shine for God’s glory? Look to Jesus. Reflect His ways.
Want to resurrection the dead areas of your life? Submit them to Jesus!
Want to have that hope, courage and strength that will carry you through anything, even death itself? Meditate on Jesus Christ!
Want God to use your heart-temple for a bit of His glory? Let Jesus shine through you!
Join us next week for The Heavenly Temple, Part 8: The Table of Shewbread.
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.
(To access the entire “The Heavenly Temple” mini-series, please click here.)