In the last post, we defined only a small part of what the Bible declares “the knowledge of God” to be: It is the knowledge of His ways, not merely of His acts (Ps. 103:7). It is a deep and growing awareness of who Jesus is, what He’s like, and what He desires from humanity. It also includes a personal desire to house Jesus’ same nature within ourselves – when we truly find the knowledge of God, it will solicit a desire to absorb His loving qualities as our very own (Jer. 15:16; Job 23:12).

Today, as we continue learning of the Biblical definition, we will see this knowledge to be more of an experience than an intellectual reckoning. In short, the Bible defines the knowledge of God as the knowledge of His glory!

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:5-6).

“For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14).

What is God’s Glory?

The Hebrew word used predominately throughout Scripture for the “glory” of God is “kabowd“, and means, “honor, abundance, splendor, dignity, and reverence“. It comes from a root word, “kabad“, that means, “to be heavy; to be weighty; burdensome; to make honorable“. Much can be said of this topic, but I’d like to focus on a singular point: These definitions show us that God’s glory is something to be felt and experienced. Knowing Jesus is primarily a matter of the heart – not only the mind (Ezek. 36:26). Paul likened the influence of God’s glory to natural wine (Eph. 5:18). It refers to the tangible love of God that is made most evident as we seek Him whole-heartedly. We can discern when He manifests Himself and when He does not.

“The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.” (2 Tim. 4:22).

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:17-18).

Moses’ experience with God in Exodus chapters 33 and 34 provides another detailed description of what God’s glory is. We see it to be the tangible outpouring of His goodness toward humanity:

“And (Moses) said, I beseech Thee, shew me Thy glory. And (God) said, I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee…” (Exod. 33:18-19).

From this verse we discover the very identity of God’s glory: It is His goodness, outpoured. It is His loving pleasure that’s to be felt as it flows from God’s heart to ours.

“And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped” (Exod. 34:5-8).

At Moses’ hunger, the Lord “descended in the cloud and stood with him“. God’s manifest presence then “passed by before him (Moses)” and proclaimed the truth about His own holy nature: “The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth…” Yes, God’s glory is an overwhelming saturation of His loving nature. The presence and glory of God will proclaim His holy character and evoke a response from us in return. God’s glory is a thunderous proclamation of who He is, and we will either fall before Him in worship (Exod. 34:8), like Moses, or cry for the rocks to hide us from His glorious face (Rev. 6:16)!

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11).

“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24).

Paul references the glory of God when he speaks of “the communion of the Holy Ghost” (2 Cor. 13:14). Quite simply, it refers to the spiritual love affair Christians should be experiencing with the Lord Jesus on a daily basis: We become “exceeding glad with (God’s) countenance” (Ps. 21:6)! The word Paul uses for “communion” in 2 Corinthians 13:14 literally means, “intercourse; fellowship; intimacy“. We know this isn’t a natural truth, of course not, but surely the Lord is trying to communicate something deeper to us – We’re to tangibly experience the love of God on a regular basis! This becomes part of truly knowing Him! This is why the Bible likens the Christian walk to an intimate, husband-and-wife relationship (Eph. 5:25-32; 2 Cor. 11:2). Yes, to truly know the Lord is to know His glory, and to know His glory is to fellowship with His manifest presence (Jn. 14:21-27). Oh what a God we serve!

To be continued…