(3rd article in the God's End Time Army Series)
In my last article I discussed what it means to fear God (Do You Fear God?).
You’ll remember that an angel speaking through God’s end time army, is warning mankind. The warning is:
“FEAR GOD and GIVE HIM GLORY, because the hour of his judgment has come. WORSHIP HIM who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Revelation 14:7
In this article, I’ll discuss, how to give God glory. Before we can give God glory we have to understand what His glory is.
What is God’s Glory?
The glory of God is the essence of His being. It’s an inner beauty that is reflected in His creation.
The following Psalm tells us that the heavens declare God’s glory:
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
Psalm 19:1-4
But scripture also tells us that DUE TO SIN, the reflection of God’s glory within His creation is FADING:
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it (that is by the sin of Adam).
Romans 8:20
In order to restore His creation to it’s former glory, God had a PLAN. What is that plan?
God In You
God’s plan was to place His glory directly IN man. Man would become God’s glory, not merely a reflection of it. In doing so God would create a new species (2 Corinthians 5:17). Man would become the dwelling place of God (1 Corinthians 3:16)!
To understand how this is possible we have to study the composition of man.
Originally God created man in His image (Genesis 1:27). Man's image looked like this:
Man is comprised of body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). God is also comprised of body (Son), soul (Father) and spirit (Holy Spirit).
But then Adam sinned, his spirit died (Genesis 3:2-3). He no longer existed in the image of God. After sin, Adam’s composition looked like this:
Since that time, all men have been born in the image of Adam— not God (Romans 5:12). Therefore men, although outwardly similar to God, do not reflect God’s inner glory— that is His spiritual glory.
Without a spirit and the ability to communicate with God, men are nothing more than the “walking dead”. Like God’s creation they are fading into decay and in need of salvation.
The Reason Christ Came
Christ came to pay for man’s sin and restore man’s fallen nature. God wants to restore man’s dead spirit. But not only restore it, God wants to place his glory INSIDE of man. He achieves this through a spiritual rebirth. A spiritual rebirth occurs when with a heart of repentance we BELIEVE in the WORK of God through Christ (John 6:29). By this act of faith we receive the GIFT of God— Christ in you (Romans 5:15; Colossians 1:27).
This what man’s composition looks like when God places His glory in him:
Man’s fallen spirit is restored and God’s Glory comes to live in him (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
How To Give God Glory
We give God glory when we allow Him to DWELL in us. God wants to establish His kingdom IN YOU.
In the passage we’ve been studying, Revelation 14:6-7, Christ is just about to come a SECOND time to set up an earthly kingdom. But before he comes a second time, He wants to establish His INTERNAL kingdom in you.
By placing His glory in you, you are SEALED and become part of the Kingdom of God (Ephesians 4:30).
We continue to give Him glory when we allow Him to work in our lives. Yes, by faith we are sealed and saved by Him, but salvation is a 3 step process.
1. Initially God rebirths our spirit by faith and we are born in Him (His Glory is placed in us). The Bible calls this JUSTIFICATION.
2. Then as we continue in our walk of faith, we allow God to “cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Through this process our soul (mind, will and emotions) are transformed (Romans 12:2). The Bible calls this process SANCTIFICATION.
3. Finally, at His second coming, our bodies are caught up and they are changed imperishable (1 Corinthians 15:52). The Bible calls this GLORIFICATION.
Our message to the world, is to begin the salvation process. In order to avoid the coming destruction, acknowledge God and allow Him to place His Glory in you.
While fearing God is something that we do for Him (Do You Fear God?), glorifying God is something that He does us— he places His Glory in us.
Conclusion
Today God’s creation is GROANING under the load of sin (Romans 8:22). But when the CHILDREN OF GOD are revealed (those who are the vessels of God’s Glory), the creation will be liberated from it’s bondage.
For the creation waits in eager expectation for the CHILDREN OF GOD to be revealed. The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
Romans 8:19 & 21
In my next article, Do You Worship God?, I will discuss how to WORSHIP God. Worshipping God is telling Him how you feel about Him. As we begin to understand all that He has done for us, worship becomes a natural overflow of our spirits to Him.