Johann Sebastian Bach, the world-renowned composer of the early eighteenth century, was known for placing three letters at the bottom of every finished work—they were the letters SDG. Those three letters represented the Latin phrase Soli Deo Gloria, a phrase drawn from the reformation movement of the sixteenth century which meant “to the glory of God alone.” Bach had so placed them there to convey his desire that all his presented work was, and would be to the glory of God alone. It was a prayer and reminder, if you will, that only God is worthy of the glory—He is the King of glory.
Bach was faithfully echoing the Psalmist of some 2700 years earlier:
Not to us, O Yahweh, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.
— Psalm 115:1
Many questions come to mind when presented with glory itself, and, more importantly, when considering the glory of the Creator God.
When it comes to contemplating the glory of God, there are few efforts more difficult in our finite minds than reflecting on the infinite glory of the Almighty. As well, there are few efforts more valuable than the contemplation of God’s glory. When asked to do so however, we would likely find it easier to ponder the omnipotence of God, or His omnipresence, or His omniscience, or His love, even His eternality. But we often come up a little short in the meditation of His glory.
So again, we struggle to define, much less wrap our minds around the reality of God’s glory, or even what it fully is. Providentially however, glory dominates Scripture in Testaments Old and New. Today, I would like to plant some seeds of glory—that they would grow as you reflect upon the glory of God!
Many theologians would argue that the glory of God is the manifestation of His splendor upon the face of Creation, which is partly true—that is called shekinah glory. We see that Biblically presented in light, fire, clouds, and smoke but to name a few. But what about the glory of God before time, space, matter and energy? Was His glory absent? Certainly not; God’s glory is a constant, and forever will be. So, His glory then transcends His Creation.
In general, we often begin to contemplate God in light of His many perfections—His attributes: His invisibility, immortality, infinity, His will, righteousness, truth, perfection, His majesty, immutability as well as His omniscience, omnipotence, omniscience, and His omnisapience (all-wise). I would suggest that the glory of God is not limited to aesthetic beauty, or an individual attribute, but that the glory of God is the sum total of His attributes, and nature, and Name—what we may call the Godness of God!
We know that Creation reflects His glory, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And the expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” — Psalms 19:1
Mankind as well evidences His glory as we are made in His image (Genesis 1:26). We are image-bearers who are being restored, conformed to that once perfect reflection of His glory, “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 from the Lord, the Spirit.” — 2 Corinthians 3:18
But it is Christ who is the greatest manifestation of the glory of God. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” — John 1:14
“…He is the Lord of Glory” — 1 Corinthians 2:8
The universal capstone of Christian living is found in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
All that we do falls under that umbrella of giving glory to God. That command becomes the motivator of our words, thoughts, and deeds—whether we are giving glory to God; but how do we do that?
We ascribe glory to Him in our words, thoughts and actions. To ascribe is to recognize as the source of glory, or to acknowledge that glory that is held in Him alone. We do that in our worship of the Sovereign. We do that in our word choices. We do that in our selection of entertainment. We do that in our pursuit of Him to love Him with our entire beings (Deuteronomy 6). We do that in loving our neighbor. And forgiving our neighbors! We do that in our vocations. We do that in our marriages. We do that in serving one another in the household of faith. We do that by living holy lives, and confessing our sins. We do that by abiding in Christ and bearing fruit.
To the extent that we set our hearts to do just that, we begin to live out 1 Corinthians 10:31, and evidence those three letters “inscribed” upon our hearts as the reminder and prayer that all we do is to be for the glory of God alone: Soli Deo Gloria!
SDG
