The glory of god in Pauline thought

Abstract

It is clear that for Paul the motif has some precise meaning. There are occasions when he would seem to use it in a general sense when he wishes to express the unutterable in greatness and majesty of God. Particularly is this so in concluding words in letters where he expresses the hope that the name of God will he ascribed glory for ever. However, by far the majority of uses can be given a more precise definition. When it is used in reference to God is, on most occasions, not just an attribute of God, as has often been thought, but denotes the sum of his eternal perfections, the nature of his being. Further, it is because God’s nature is that he has purposed to create and especially redeem a people for himself so that he might receive glory. God is not dependent in any way for his existence upon his creation, but in his glory he has willed to create and recreate. Furthermore, it is in the person of Jesus Christ, that God's glory is supremely manifest to men. This is true not just of the pre-Easter Jesus, but especially so of the post-Easter exalted Christ, who, because of his sacrificial death bestows his own glory, that is the Glory of God, upon God's sons and heirs. Again, it is because God is the eternal God of glory that it is right that he should expect men whom he has created in his own image to express their relation to him in glorifying him in their lives by trust, obedience and thankfulness. However, man has chosen to attempt to ignore God and has suffered the consequences. Nevertheless God seeks to bestow glory upon man, but can only do this when his righteousness is made manifest in the shedding of the blood of the perfect man, God's own son. Through faith in the person of Jesus Christ men can be assured that they receive the glory of God. But is not simply an eschatological idea. While the main thrust of the motif is forward-looking to the day when the glory of God will be revealed and the glorification of believing men will be manifest to all, there is also the present aspect. Just as here and now God declares his people to be his sons, so too does he already bestow upon them his nature of glory, that is, he changes the inward direction of Christians so that they may be transformed from one glory to another in the present age.