Good Afternoon Dear Church,
One of my favorite things to do as a pastor is to get together with people and read through the Bible/books. Today, I was finishing up reading through Jude with someone. And we were talking about what it means that God will present us “before his glory” (Jude 24). After all, how can we be put in front of someone’s glory? Is God’s glory like his righteousness or truth an attribute? How could you stand in front of his attributes?
Luckily, I think we have some cues in Scripture. First, let’s think about the meaning of “glory” for a minute. The word glory translates the Hebrew Kabod, which means, literally, “heavy or hefty.” God’s glory is his supreme weightiness, his place as the center of spiritual gravity, the worthiest object of our affection and attention. God’s glory is what draws in our hearts like a tractor beam. Secondly, in Exodus 33-34, we are told that God causes his glory to pass before Moses (Ex 33:21-23, 34:1-9). Moses was not allowed to see the glory in all its fullness, only his “back” (34:23).
Now, the New Testament tells us this astonishing truth, that those who have seen Christ “behold the glory” (2 Cor 3:18). Hebrews tells us that Christ is the “radiance of the glory” of God (Heb 1:1-4). Simply put, Christ is himself the weightiest, highest, and most supreme expression of God’s glory. There is none that is more beautiful, none more majestic, none with more majesty than Him.
To be presented before the glory is to be presented before Christ! Jude tells us this stunning truth: one day, we’ll be presented before him “blameless.” By beholding him now, we are being transformed from one degree of glory to the next (2 Cor 3:18). As we behold him now, we are becoming more like him. But one day, the transformation will be over. One day we will “see his face” (Rev 22:4). One day we will know him even as we are known (1 Cor 13:12).
Here is Jude’s promise: God takes responsibility for this. In the end, God will make us blameless. One day, God will reveal himself and we will see him in his glory. That vision will be enough for us, and we will be irrevocably changed. One day, his glory will be ours’ and we will be his.
Until then, we get a glimpse of his glory in his Word and among his people. They are our blessed foretastes of that day. Every time we crack open our Bible, every time we gather together with his people, we are getting a glimpse of eternity. And we are changed, just by degrees, more into the image of that glorious one.
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Matt