Now to him who is able
to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of
his glory with great joy, 25 to the
only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty,
dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
THE STUDY:
In verse 25 four
virtues are attributed to God: glory,
majesty, power and authority. Over the next few days we will be looking at
each one individually.
Glory
(doxa) describes the overwhelming
radiance inherent to God’s being. The virtue of glory is present in virtually every doxology in the NT (except for
1 Tim 6:16 and 1 Pet 5:11). The English word doxology (= a word of glory) is actually derived from the Greek word doxa (glory).[1]
Ascribing
glory to God is merely acknowledging an essential aspect of his being, for in
essence God is glory. On earth Christ’s followers reflect the glory of God in
word and deed. But when they enter heaven, believers are glorified and share in
God’s glory (Rom. 8:30).[2]
WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY
WITH ….
- We walk away this morning with the understanding that the Glory of God is the totality of God. As believers we reveal His glory in our words and actions.
APPLICATION:
A few months ago my teenage son wanted to buy
a shirt. Let me correct that statement: My teenage son wanted ME to buy him a
shirt. After scanning the writings on the shirt which was not bringing Glory to
God, I told him I was not going to purchase that specific shirt. As he walked
away dejected I heard him say, “I wish I was not a preachers kid.” I asked him
to repeat what he said and then I shared some information that, I believed,
shocked him.
I told him, “It’s
not because I am a preacher that we are not buying this shirt. Even if I was
not a preacher we would still not be purchasing the shirt.” We were not going
to buy it because as a Christian we are to bring glory to God in our words and
our actions. Purchasing that shirt would not have done that!
My morals and character are not
based on what I do for a living (minister) but on who I live for. I have told
my children as they would head out of the house to a friends house, the park,
or somewhere out of my supervision, “Remember, you are representing yourself,
this family, but most importantly Christ!” Do us proud!
Today, as you head out into this
weekend remember, your representing yourself, your family, but most importantly;
Christ. Let His Glory shine through you today. Do Him Proud!
Blessings my friends
Pastor Rod
[1]
Powers, D. G. (2010). 1 & 2
Peter/Jude: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible
Commentary (301). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.
[2]
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 16: New Testament
commentary : Exposition of the Epistles of Peter and the Epistle of Jude.
New Testament Commentary (412). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
No comments:
Post a Comment