Glory: “Show Me Thy Glory”

MEMORY VERSE: “‘And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one.’” John 17:22.

STUDY HELP: God’s Amazing Grace, 322; That I May Know Him, 131.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: “The glory of God is His character.”

Introduction  “The glory of God is His character.…This character was revealed in the life of Christ.  That He might by His own example condemn sin in the flesh, He took upon Himself the likeness of sinful flesh.  Constantly He beheld the character of God; constantly He revealed this character to the world.  Christ desires His followers to reveal in their lives this same character.”…Reflecting Christ, 214.

“The Heavens Declare”

1    What evidence of the glory of God may be seen by all?  Psalm 19:1.  Compare Psalm 8:3, 4; Isaiah 40:26.

NOTE: “The glory of God is displayed in His handiwork.  Here are mysteries that the mind will become strong in searching out.  Minds that have been amused and abused by reading fiction may in nature have an open book, and read truth in the works of God around them.  All may find themes for study in the simple leaf of the forest tree, the spires of grass covering the earth with their green velvet carpet, the plants and flowers, the stately trees of the forest, the lofty mountains, the granite rocks, the restless ocean, the precious gems of light studding the heavens to make the night beautiful, the exhaustless riches of the sunlight, the solemn glories of the moon, the winter’s cold, the summer’s heat, the changing, recurring seasons, in perfect order and harmony, controlled by infinite power; here are subjects which call for deep thought, for the stretch of the imagination.”  Child Guidance, 49.

2    What does the Bible tell us about man’s creation? Psalm 8:4, 5; Isaiah 43:7.

NOTE: “God created man for His own glory, that after test and trial the human family might become one with the heavenly family.  It was God’s purpose to repopulate heaven with the human family, if they would show themselves obedient to His every word.  Adam was to be tested, to see whether he would be obedient, as the loyal angels, or disobedient.  If he stood the test, his instruction to his children would have been only of loyalty.  His mind and thoughts would have been as the mind and thoughts of God.…God made Adam after His own character, pure and upright.  There were no corrupt principles in the first Adam, no corrupt propensities or tendencies to evil.  Adam was as faultless as the angels before God’s throne.  These things are inexplainable, but many things which now we cannot understand will be made plain when we shall see as we are seen, and know as we are known.”  God’s Amazing Grace, 344.

3    What prevents man from giving glory to God? Romans 3:23.

NOTE: “The only definition we find in the Bible for sin is that ‘sin is the transgression of the law’ (1 John 3:4).  The Word of God declares, ‘All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23).  ‘There is none that doeth good, no, not one’ (Romans 3:12).  Many are deceived concerning the condition of their hearts.  They do not realize that the natural heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.  They wrap themselves about with their own righteousness, and are satisfied in reaching their own human standard of character; but how fatally they fail when they do not reach the divine standard, and of themselves they cannot meet the requirements of God.”  Selected Messages,Book 1, 320.

“Show Me Thy Glory”

4    When Moses asked God to reveal His glory, what was he shown?  Exodus 33:18, 19; 34:6,7.

NOTE: “The glory of God is His character, and to us it is manifest in Christ.  It is by beholding Him that we become changed,—by contemplating the character of Christ, learning His lessons, obeying His words.  Enlightened by His Spirit, the believer sees no virtue or merit in himself.  There is naught but deformity.  But he beholds Jesus, and the glory of the Redeemer manifested in His atoning sacrifice, and His justifying righteousness, His fullness of grace, not only to pardon but to sanctify, fills his whole soul with admiration of the holiness and love of God; and in contemplating this goodness and mercy and love, he becomes transformed in character.”  Present Truth, December 29, 1892.

5    How did John describe the glory of the incarnate Christ?  John 1:14.

NOTE: “All that man needs to know or can know of God has been revealed in the life and character of His Son. . . . Taking humanity upon Him, Christ came to be one with humanity and at the same time to reveal our heavenly Father to sinful human beings.  He was in all things made like unto His brethren.  He became flesh, even as we are.  He was hungry and thirsty and weary.  He was sustained by food and refreshed by sleep.  He shared the lot of men, and yet He was the blameless Son of God.…Tender, compassionate, sympathetic, ever considerate of others, He represented the character of God, and was constantly engaged in service for God and man.”  The Faith I Live By, 17.

6    What was the purpose of Christ’s life?  John 17:4.

NOTE: “In all the gracious deeds that Jesus did, He sought to impress upon men the parental, benevolent attributes of God.  In all His lessons He was seeking to teach men the wonderful truth that ‘God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’  Jesus would have us understand the love of the Father, and He seeks to draw us to Him by presenting His parental grace.  He would have the whole field of our vision filled with the perfection of God’s character.  In His prayer for His disciples He says, ‘I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do.  I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world.’  Jesus came into the world to illustrate the character of God in His own life, and He swept back the misrepresentations that Satan had originated, and revealed the glory of God.  It was only by living among men that He could reveal the mercy, compassion, and love of His heavenly Father; for it was only by actions of benevolence that He could set forth the grace of God.  The unbelief of men was deep seated, and yet they could not resist the testimony of His God-like example, and His deeds of love and truth.”  Sons and Daughters of God, 139.

“The Glory Which Thou Gavest Me”

7    Who is to continue this work of revealing God’s glory to mankind?  John 17:22.

NOTE: “Christ desires His followers to reveal in their lives this same character.  In His intercessory prayer for His disciples He declared: ‘The glory [character] which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me’ (John 17:22, 23).  Today it is still His purpose to sanctify and cleanse His church ‘…that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing…’  (Ephesians 5:26, 27).  No greater gift than the character that He revealed, can Christ ask His Father to bestow upon those who believe on Him.  What largeness there is in His request!  What fullness of grace every follower of Christ has the privilege of receiving!…O that we might more fully appreciate the honor Christ confers upon us!  By wearing His yoke and learning of Him, we become like Him in aspiration, in meekness and lowliness, in fragrance of character.”  God’s Amazing Grace, 322.

8    What command forms the heart of the First Angel’s Message?  Revelation 14:7.

NOTE: “To give glory to God is to reveal His character in our own, and thus make Him known.  And in whatever way we make known the Father or the Son, we glorify God.…Satan is seeking to veil Jesus from our sight, to eclipse His light, for when we get even a glimpse of His glory we are attracted to Him.  Sin hides from our view the matchless charms of Jesus; prejudice, selfishness, self-righteousness, and passion blind our eyes, so that we do not discern the Saviour.  Oh, if we would by faith draw nigh to God, He would reveal to us His glory, which is His character, and the praise of God would flow forth from human hearts, and be sounded by human voices.  Then we would forever cease to give glory to Satan by sinning against God and talking doubt and unbelief.  We would no longer stumble along grumbling, and mourning, and covering the altar of God with our tears.  If we would behold Jesus, believing His words, we would reflect the image of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light, and what a wave of glory would flow back from earth to heaven!”  Signs of the Times, October 17, 1892.

“Hope of the Glory of God”

9    What experience gives us the hope that our lives may reveal the glory of God?  Romans 5:1, 2.

NOTE: “The great work that is wrought for the sinner who is spotted and stained by evil is the work of justification.  By Him who speaketh truth he is declared righteous.  The Lord imputes unto the believer the righteousness of Christ and pronounces him righteous before the universe.  He transfers his sins to Jesus, the sinner’s representative, substitute, and surety.  Upon Christ He lays the iniquity of every soul that believeth.  ‘He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.’ 2 Corinthians 5:21.…Through repentance and faith we are rid of sin, and look unto the Lord our righteousness.  Jesus suffered, the just for the unjust.…Having made us righteous through the imputed righteousness of Christ, God pronounces us just, and treats us as just.  He looks upon us as His dear children.  Christ works against the power of sin, and where sin abounded, grace much more abounds.  ‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.’  Romans 5:1, 2.  God has made ample provision that we may stand perfect in His grace, wanting in nothing, waiting for the appearing of our Lord.”  The Faith I Live By, 112.

10   Having been justified by faith, how are we then to live?  1 Corinthians 10:31.  Compare 11 Corinthians 4:6, 7.

NOTE: “We are commanded, whether we eat, or drink, or whatsoever we do, to do all to the glory of God.  How many have conscientiously moved from principle rather than from impulse, and obeyed this command to the letter?…There are many who are servants of Christ in name, but who are not so in deed.  Where religious principle governs, the danger of committing great errors is small; for selfishness, which always blinds and deceives, is subordinate.  The sincere desire to do others good so predominates that self is forgotten.  To have firm religious principles is an inestimable treasure.  It is the purest, highest, and most elevated influence mortals can possess.  Such have an anchor.  Every act is well considered, lest its effect be injurious to another and lead away from Christ.  The constant inquiry of the mind is: Lord, how shall I best serve Thee, and glorify Thy name in the earth?  How shall I conduct my life to make Thy name a praise in the earth, and lead others to love, serve, and honor Thee?  Let me only desire and choose Thy will.  Let the words and example of my Redeemer be the light and strength of my heart.  While I follow and trust in Him, He will not leave me to perish.  He will be my crown of rejoicing.”  Testimonies,vol. 2, 129.

“The Earth was Lightened with His Glory”

11   What call to service is given to God’s people? Isaiah 60:1, 2; 62:1–3.

NOTE: “This is to be the experience of those who hold fast the beginning of their confidence firm unto the end.  The whole of the sixty-second chapter of Isaiah is a representation of the work Christ will do thru those who follow His example.  ‘Go thru, go thru the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway, gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.  Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.  And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord; and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.’”  Signs of the Times, May 29, 1901.

“Wake up, wake up, my brethren and sisters.  You must do the work that Christ did when He was upon this earth.  Remember that you may act as God’s helping hand in opening the prison doors to those that are bound.  Wonderful is the work that God desires to accomplish through His servants, that His name may constantly be glorified.  He is waiting to work through His people.  Those who are willing to be used will obtain a rich experience, an experience full of the glory of God.”  Review and Herald, October 15, 1901.

12   How is this final work of revealing God’s glory pictured in Revelation?  Revelation 18:1–4.

NOTE: “Servants of God, endowed with power from on high with their faces lighted up, and shining with holy consecration, went forth to proclaim the message from heaven.  Souls that were scattered all through the religious bodies answered to the call, and the precious were hurried out of the doomed churches, as Lot was hurried out of Sodom before her destruction.  God’s people were strengthened by the excellent glory which rested upon them in rich abundance and prepared them to endure the hour of temptation.  I heard everywhere a multitude of voices saying, ‘Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.’”  Early Writings, 278, 279.

“The Lord Made the Heavens”

13  In proclaiming God’s glory, what truth is especially to be made prominent?  1 Chronicles 16:24–26.  Compare Revelation 14:7, last part.

NOTE: See The Great Controversy, 436, 437.

14   By what means has God planned that this truth shall remain fresh in men’s minds?  Exodus 20:8–11.

NOTE: “‘The importance of the Sabbath as the memorial of creation is that it keeps ever present the true reason why worship is due to God’— because He is the Creator, and we are His creatures.  ‘The Sabbath therefore lies at the very foundation of divine worship, for it teaches this great truth in the most impressive manner, and no other institution does this.  The true ground of divine worship, not of that on the seventh day merely, but of all worship, is found in the distinction between the Creator and His creatures.  This great fact can never become obsolete, and must never be forgotten.’— J. N. Andrews, History of the Sabbath, chapter 27.  It was to keep this truth ever before the minds of men, that God instituted the Sabbath in Eden; and so long as the fact that He is our Creator continues to be a reason why we should worship Him, so long the Sabbath will continue as its sign and memorial.  Had the Sabbath been universally kept, man’s thoughts and affections would have been led to the Creator as the object of reverence and worship, and there would never have been an idolater, an atheist, or an infidel.  The keeping of the Sabbath is a sign of loyalty to the true God, ‘Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.’  It follows that the message which commands men to worship God and keep His commandments will especially call upon them to keep the fourth commandment.”   Ibid., 437, 438.