Glory (Bible)

Occurrences in Scripture

In the Old Testament, "the glory of the LORD" refers to God's visible manifestation. Exodus records the cloud and fire that covered Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:16–17), the plea of Moses, "I beseech thee, shew me thy glory" (Exodus 33:18), and the account of the cloud covering the tabernacle as the glory filled it (Exodus 40:34–35). The same thing happened at the Temple in Jerusalem dedicated by Solomon (1 Kings 8:11). Ezekiel saw a vision of the glory departing from the temple (Ezekiel 10) and a vision of its return (Ezekiel 43). Isaiah 6:3 and Psalm 19:1 proclaim that the whole earth and the heavens display the glory of God.

In the New Testament, glory is associated with Jesus in the angels' praise at the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:14), in the statement "we beheld his glory" (John 1:14), and at the Transfiguration.

Meaning of the Terms

The Hebrew word kavod derives from a root meaning "heaviness" and denotes weighty majesty and honor. The Greek word doxa originally meant "opinion" or "reputation." When the Septuagint used it to translate kavod, however, it came to signify the majesty and radiance of God. To "give glory" to God means to acknowledge and exalt His majesty.

Significance Across Scripture

The Gospel of John links the glory that dwelt in the tabernacle and the temple to the Incarnation. In the phrase "dwelt among us" (John 1:14), the original word for "dwelt" means "pitched a tent." John's Gospel describes the hour of Jesus' crucifixion as the hour "that the Son of man should be glorified" (John 12:23).

Paul states that all "come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). He also writes that believers, beholding the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image (2 Corinthians 3:18). The glory yet to be revealed (Romans 8:18) and the New Jerusalem, illuminated by the glory of God (Revelation 21:23–24), connect glory with eschatological hope. In systematic theology, the final stage in which the believer's salvation is completed is called glorification.

Interpretations and Points of Debate

• Reformed tradition: Question 1 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism answers that man's chief end is "to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever." "Glory to God alone" (Soli Deo Gloria) is counted among the Five Solas.
• Lutheran tradition: At the Heidelberg Disputation of 1518, Martin Luther contrasted the theology of the cross with the theology of glory. His contention was that God is made known not so much through power and success as through the suffering and weakness of the cross.
• Eastern Orthodox Church: The Orthodox tradition regards the light of the Transfiguration as a manifestation of God's glory and connects it with the doctrine of deification (theosis), in which human beings are transformed by participating in that glory.
• Shekinah: Preachers frequently speak of "the Shekinah glory." Shekinah, however, is a term used in later rabbinic Jewish literature to denote the presence of God; it does not appear in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

Representative prayers and testimonies commonly close with the words "We give all glory to God." The doxology, a short hymn of praise to God used in worship, takes its name from doxa and means "words of glory." The closing words of the Lord's Prayer, "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory…," are found only in some manuscripts. For this reason the New Korean Revised Version places this portion in brackets, though Korean churches include it when reciting the prayer together in worship.