For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious,” 2 Corinthians 3:9-11 (NKJV).
In the New Testament, the glory of God is found in the face of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ represents and embodies God’s glory (John 1:14). ‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth,” John 1:14 (NKJV.
Paul reveals in 2 Corinthians 4:6 that the knowledge of the glory of God is in the face of Jesus. This means that the spotlight on what the glory of God is can be seen in Jesus’ life. On the completion of his earthly ministry, the Father honoured Jesus with the glory, which they had in common before the world began (John 17:4-5).
Again, Paul states that Jesus Christ in us is the hope of future glory. “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory,” Colossians 1:27 (NKJV).
The disciples learned from Jesus Christ at the Mount of Transfiguration that prayer is one means of experiencing God’s glory. On this occasion Jesus, I am sure deliberately, took his disciples to the Mount for a prayer session. While there, as he prayed he was transfigured. Then, we read: “And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him,” Luke 9:30-32 (NKJV).
That this experience on the Mount impacted Peter and possibly the other disciples could be seen in the following statement Peter made: “Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’ — not knowing what he said,” Luke 9:33 (NKJV).
Much later, Peter wrote to validate their experience at the Mount. He said: “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honour and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard this voice, which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain,” 2 Peter 1:16-18 (NKJV). Without any doubt, Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the glory of the Father.
Jesus Christ’s lesson about the place of prayer as a means to encounter the glory of God serves an important message to us. Moses had also encountered the glory of God when he spent 40 days and 40 nights in prayer (Exodus 24:9-18).
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