The Glory of God: Abstract or Concrete?

When I was a senior in college, I was told that a friend of mine named Jon Bonker was planning to deliver a sermon related to this question. I had never before thought of the glory of God being something concrete, something substantive, but it got my mental cogs wheeling (and yes, wheel is normally used a noun, not a verb.....but it painted the desired picture, did it not?)

So you're asking yourself, "Why should I care about this question?" Because it relates to why we were created and our ultimate goal and the meaning of life. God’s people are created for His glory (Isaiah 43:7). Listen to what God inspired Paul to write to the church at Corinth: “Whether then, you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31). The keywords here are ‘all’ and ‘glory of God’. How does a Christian apply this verse?

In order for someone to ‘do all to the glory of God’, one should first know what the glory of God is, right? Or, in Inductive Bible Study terms, interpretation precedes application.

I used to always think of the glory of God in abstract terms. And I feel like I had Biblical reasons for doing so. Here are but a few passages that (in my opinion) refer to the glory of God in abstract terms:

Ascribing glory to God (1 Chronicles 16:28-29, Psalm 29:1-2)

Glory paired with other abstract entities (Psalm 84:11, Jeremiah 13:11, 1 Timothy 1:11, Hebrews 2:9, Jude 1:25, Revelation 4:11)

Glory as something given by humans to God (Joshua 7:19, Psalm 115:1, Isaiah 42:12, John 9:24)

But how about these verses, which suggest that God’s glory is concrete?

Human(s) seeing the glory of God (Exodus 16:10, Leviticus 9:23, Numbers 14:10, 16:19, Isaiah 35:2, 60:2, Ezekiel 3:23, 44:4, Luke 2:9, Acts 7:55)

Glory associated with something observable, such as fire, smoke or light (Exodus 24:17. Revelation 15:8, 21:23)

Glory of God in spatial relation to something physical (i.e. the glory of God moving, or hovering over something) (Exodus 40:35, Isaiah 10:16, 58:8, 59:19, 60:1, Ezekiel 10:19, 11:22, 43:2)

So, is the glory of God abstract, concrete, or both? And what then does it mean to 'do all to the glory of God'? Post your thoughts here!

God more glorified through money or time?

The Geography Division of the US Census Bureau (translation: where I work) is relocating in August. At that time, I will be taking the Metro into work most of the time. My brother and I discussed various options: parking at Vienna and Metroing in from there, taking an Express Bus from the Herndon-Monroe Park and Ride to Rosslyn, then Metroing from there, taking a regular bus to West Falls Church etc. Some options are quicker, others are more cost efficient. At the end of our conversation, my brother said something to the effect of, "The best plan depends on whether you want to minimize travel time, cost, or some cross-section of both."

This statement got me thinking - what is God's criteria for the situation? If I minimize travel time, that frees up a little more of my day for other activities - prayer, meditation, reading, etc. If I minimize cost, that frees up more money to invest in worthy causes - such as world missions. Choosing an option with a lengthened commute time does not preclude me from some activities like prayer or reading, but I find them harder to do when I'm passively or actively engaged in another action (ex: traveling).

Maybe I should 'play it safe' and try for the third option - finding a balance between cost efficiency and commute efficiency. What do you think?

The Trinity

"I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.........And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne." - Revelation 5:1,6-7

The passage got me thinking about what I believe regarding the Trinity: God as a triune Being. By triune, I mean someone who is 'ever three, yet ever one.' But what does that really mean?

I looked to Desiring God Ministries for help. They have an article dedicated to explaining the doctrine of the Trinity. The writer of the article makes three major assertions:

1) The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three distinct Persons.
2) Each Person is fully God
3) There is one God

I agree with all three of these statements. Yet I struggle with how they fit together. The article's author states that God is One in Essence and Three in Person. Essence there is defined as 'what you are' or 'Being', while Person is 'something that regards himself as "I" and others as "You" '.

And so I wonder - 1) Does God maintain three distinct, yet unified streams of thought at any given moment? 2) Does 'prayer destination' have any significance (in other words, directing your prayer toward a particular Person of the Trinity)?

Admittedly, I have little insight regarding the answers to these questions. The article's author suggests that Ephesians 2:18 is the general model of prayer found in the Bible. Prayer should 'to the Father through the Son and in the Holy Spirit.' Again, what does that mean? That I should direct my prayers to the Father, recognizing that I am able to communicate with Him because of Jesus Christ the mediator, and that what I communicate to Him are not my words, but the cries of the Holy Spirit?

I don't know the answers, but I do know that Romans 8:26 says "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;"

One thing I discovered after reading the article is how inaccurate one of my previous analogies was in illustrating the Trinity. I used to say something like, "In the same pattern as there is Graham the worker, Graham the housemate and Graham the friend, there is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit." However, my analogy does not speak of three distinct Persons, but merely one person with three roles. The second half of the pattern actually is God the Father the Creator, God the Father the Sustainer and God the Father the Judge (or any other set of His roles). Clearly, this pattern leaves out mention of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, who both are active in all of God the Father's activity, for they are all One, and yet Three (are we back to square one??)

If you have any comments about this topic, or illustrations that help convey the concept of The Trinity, feel free to respond to this post.

Welcome

Hey there! Thanks for checking out this blog. You can view my profile to get all of the important information about myself.

On this blog, I will be posting my thoughts. Theology, challenges I'm facing at a particular life juncture, controversial issues, and maybe even a little humor might find its way into my writing.

As a general clarification, any Bible verse quoted on this blog is taken from the New American Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.

Enjoy!

GCX