God’s Way for Glory

The following has been adapted from Map 17 of The Map Maker, our first book, written to encourage, edify, and equip leaders in the workplace to become disciple makers and transformation agents. This opportunity and adventure is available to all Christians. Well… all who will pursue God’s way for glory.

Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day. Psalm 25:4-5

What would you think and say if I asked you, “What is the fastest speed you have ever travelled?” Some might think of a car and sheepishly say, “145 mph.” Some might think of an airplane and answer, “over 600 miles an hour.”

The way we think, and our perspective, really matters. So, step back and think from a heavenly perspective.

Did you know the Earth is rotating around its axis at approximately 1000 miles per hour, or hurtling through space at more than 67,000 miles an hour?

This gives us a wonderful new reason to celebrate next New Year’s Eve night: We have once again traveled 587 million miles in our orbit around the Sun without a major planetary catastrophe.

How do we move so fast through space with no sense of motion? It’s a mystery and a miracle.

And so, we thank God, and we stand in awe of His handiwork.

Now, if God can manage the movement of planets, stars and galaxies, it shouldn’t be too hard to believe He is capable of orchestrating everything in our short lives.

God is an orchestrator, not a watchmaker.

He has and will continue to orchestrate every circumstance, connection, and interaction that brought each of us to this place and time. He is working all things… (Romans 8:28).

And so, we thank Him, and we stand in awe of His attention to details.

Let’s take this one step further: God being the orchestrator of all things big and small, is it too difficult to believe He has a way for everything?

Think about it: What is the most audacious thing God has promised you? For me, John 14:12 comes to mind:

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

God has a way for every promise He has ever made.

What is the most challenging commandment God has given to mankind? Love your neighbor as yourself? Rejoice in persecution? Love your enemies?

God has a way for every command He has ever given.

God has a way for everything. He has a way to accomplish all that He desires in your life and mine. God has a way for every desire He has placed in our hearts. He has a way for His people to survive and thrive in the chaos and storms of this decade. He has a way for me to share this message.

Knowing God’s way for something is like knowing His desire, will, and plan – all wrapped together. Searching out the ways of God should be one of the most spiritually important activities in our lives. God’s ways can most often be found by asking, “LORD, how would you have me join You in this?”

Of course, we most often discover God’s ways for the big things in Scripture (e.g., God way for salvation, faith, and living together in community). God’s ways are sometimes obvious. His recipe for peace, found in Philippians 4:4-7, comes to mind. God’s way for evangelism is another good example; and can be found in John 17:20-23.

But many times, God’s ways are mysteries – mysteries that must be searched out.

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2

Searching out the mysteries of God plays a part in His way for bringing many sons to glory.

This matter of glory is what we want to share with you here (#iamjustthepen). As amazing as it may sound, God has a way for our return to glory and the return of that glory to Himself.

As interesting side note: Many of God’s ways overlap. For example, God’s way for glory overlaps with His way for our maturity as Christians. Maturing as Christians overlaps with our being made into houses that will stand in the storms and chaos of life. Houses that stand in the storms of life enjoy God’s way for faith, salvation, and making disciples.

The Importance of Glory

The Hebrew word translated as “glory”, kāḇôḏ (kaw-bode’), appears 200 times in the Old Testament. The Greek doxa (dox’-ah) appears 168 times in the New Testament. The importance of glory cannot be overstated.

From Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, we learn that doxa has a rich and dynamic meaning:

1. Majesty;
2. A thing belonging to God – the kingly majesty which belongs to him as supreme ruler, majesty in the sense of the absolute perfection of the deity;
3. A thing belonging to Christ – the kingly majesty of the Messiah, the absolutely perfect inward or personal excellency of Christ;
4. The majesty of the angels (as apparent in their exterior brightness);
5. A most glorious condition, most exalted state – of that condition with God the Father in heaven to which Christ was raised after he had achieved his work on earth;
6. The glorious condition of blessedness into which is appointed and promised that true Christians shall enter after their Savior’s return from heaven; which condition begins to be enjoyed even now through the devout contemplation of the divine majesty of Christ, and its influence upon those who contemplate it.

The definition of “contemplation” is very interesting, as it relates to our topic. It is “the action of looking thoughtfully at something for a long time.” Another common and accepted definition of glory is “out-raying” – the manifestation or display of glory.

Keep those two things in mind: the definition of contemplation and idea of “out-raying”.

Lost Opportunity

As we search out the passages that define God’s way for glory, I hope you will recognize them as stepping stones along a path which leads from the beginning of God’s story to the end – from Genesis to Revelation.

In Genesis 1:26, God says, “Let’s us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” From the beginning, God intended every man, woman, and child to be the image bearer of His glory. But, as we discover in Romans 3:23, “… and all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

In the rebellion, we lost the image of God’s glory. But all was not lost, for God has a desire, a purpose, and a plan to restore what was lost. We find some encouragement of this in Psalm 8:3-5:

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

In Hebrews 2:10, we discover something absolutely incredible:

For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

God the Father is bringing many sons to glory. Stop for a moment and think about that. Understand, this is not talking about bringing many sons to heaven after they die, but to glory while we are still in our earth suits on this side of heaven.

Preparing the Way Back

As we all know, God had to do something dramatic to prepare the way for our return.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:8-10

Justified, reconciled, and saved – the work of God to prepare the way for our becoming the image bearers He intended. Here’s some more of the Gospel:

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:4-10

If anyone ever asks you, “Why does God want to save me?”, you can always share John 3:16 and say, “Because He loves you.” But don’t forget to also tell them what He says in Ephesians 2:10: We have been saved to be God’s workmanship, to walk in the good works He created for each of us.

In speaking of the good works God has created for us to walk in, many translations read, “that we should do them.” This is inaccurate. “That we should walk in them” is the correct translation. The Greek for “do” does not appear here; the Greek for “walk” does.

This is an important distinction. We find out why in Matthew 5:16:

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Notice the command is not to do good works, but to “let your light shine before men.” Remember “out-raying”? How many times have we heard ourselves and other Christians say, “I just want people to see more of Jesus in Me?” That’s Matthew 5:16!

In Matthew 5:14, Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world. But where does that light come from? What is its source?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. John 1:1-4

Jesus is the source of the light men should see in the good works our Father in heaven has created for us to walk in. It is enlightening and encouraging to recognize and remember Jesus modeled walking in the Father’s good work.

Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. John 14:10-11

Notice the connection of the Father and Son abiding together manifests in the work the Father does through His Son. Jesus lived out Matthew 5:16 while He walk the Earth – to show us what was possible, and to glorify His Father in heaven. Indeed, the Father’s glory was – and is – very much on Jesus’ mind.

Father, glorify Your name. John 12:28a

And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:13

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you
will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. John 15:7-8

Following the Master’s Example

This brings us to a critical question: How do we follow our Master’s example? Consider the definition of contemplation (i.e., the action of looking thoughtfully at something for a long time) in light of 2Corinthians 3:18.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

As you may recall, metamorphoo (translated here as transformed) is my favorite Greek word. It brings to mind a very specific picture, and a great metaphor. The cocoon experience – messy caterpillar death for the glorious butterfly life – encourages our participation in God’s way for glory.

The two additional uses of metamorphoo edify and encourage us further.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2

Our transformation from glory to glory requires the renewing of our mind. This itself is a spiritual process – a way of God – given to us for our maturity in Christ. We’ve written much about this in An Enemy Lies Within.

The third occurrence of metamorphoo is quite interesting.

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. Matthew 17:1-2

Notice that Jesus’ clothes became as white as “the light”. Not “light”, or “a light”, or “the sun’s light”. I wonder what that could mean – particularly in light of “the light” we find in Matthew 5:14.

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

To be the light of the world is to be the image bearer of God. In other words: Of all that is in all of creation, the sons and daughters of God are the vessels of the light, which is the out-raying of God’s glory. Let that sink into your heart for faith, and renew your mind for transformation.

Now, look how Peter’s describes the incredible moment when Jesus was metamorphooed.

For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 2Peter 1:17-18

The glory of God shone out of Jesus on the Mount of Metamorphoo when He received honor and glory from His Father. The Father gave His glory to His Son – in word and manifestation.

And now He, Jesus, gives it to us.

And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me… John 17:22-23a

Is that amazing, or what? Jesus simply gives us the glory given to Him by His Father. We receive the glory offered by beholding Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us, beginning with the renewing of our minds, as we walk in the good works God created for us, in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

That is God’s way for restoring the glory mankind rejected (and rejects) in our rebellion against Him.

A Pause for Consideration

In Part Two, we will explore God’s way for getting back the glory He has entrusted to our care and responsibility and explain the secret entry point – the key that opens the door – into God’s way for glory. In the meantime, prayerfully examine the passages shared here. The truth will make you free to walk in the fullness of God’s glory.

God bless you with the spirit of wisdom and revelation for the good work He created for your return to glory.

Humbly yours and forever His,

Rob

#iamjustthepen