GLORY: Living for Glory

WELCOME

guests

PASTORAL PRAYER

Vietnam Missions Team: have individuals stand and church gather around.

INTRO

Where we’ve been:

Defined Glory & Our Quest for More

Just as a reminder, here’s a Biblical Definition of God’s Glory:

The glory of God is the weight of all that God is — the fullness of His character, His beauty, His perfections, and holiness expressed visibly and tangibly. In Scripture, God’s glory is often tied to His name, His fame, and His renown. God’s glory is both intrinsic (who He is) and ascribed (how we respond through worship and obedience). Everything exists to glorify Him.

Key Texts for Definition:

Isaiah 6:3 – ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’

Habakkuk 2:14 – ‘For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.’

John 17:1 – ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.’

Ephesians 1:12 – ‘so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.’

Psalm 115:1 – ‘Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory.’

Looked at what Kingdom we’re building: The Big Kingdom of God, or our own Smaller Kingdoms

Considered the Glory War that happens in our own hearts and how Christ won the Glory war.

I shared earlier in our series the picture of a stained-glass window in a dark church. On its own, it looks dull, almost lifeless. But the moment sunlight streams through, the glass explodes with color. The beauty isn’t in the glass itself but in the light shining through it.

That’s what our lives are meant to be. We are not the source of glory.

Our craving to matter, to be seen, to have weight. That longing is real.

But it was never meant to terminate on us.

It was meant to be satisfied in God’s glory shining through us.

So what does it mean to live for glory? Today’s texts give us three clear pictures.

1. Living for Glory Means: Radiating Christ in Our Weakness (2 Corinthians 4:5–7)

Paul writes:

2 Corinthians 4:5–7 (ESV)

5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Jars of Clay

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

The treasure = the glory of God in the face of Jesus.

The jar of clay = us. weak, ordinary, fragile.

God’s design is that His glory shines most clearly not through our strength but through our weakness.

Think of a cracked pot with a candle inside. The cracks actually let the light out. In the same way, God uses our brokenness to reveal His glory.

But God’s glory shining through us is not just for the individual. It’s also communal and in the heavens. Let’s look at Revelation 21.

2. Living for Glory Means: Anticipating the Glory of the New Creation (Revelation 21:22–27)

John writes:

Revelation 21:22–22:7 (ESV)

22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

The River of Life

22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Jesus Is Coming

6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

This is the destiny of every believer:

No temple, because God Himself is the temple.

No sun or moon, because God’s glory is the light.

All nations bringing their “glory”

Not idols, but their redeemed cultural beauty and creativity into the presence of God.

God’s glory is not just a future reality.

His Spirit manifests His presence now, giving us glimpses of that future light.

This is the tension of the “already and not yet” of the kingdom.

We experience glimpses of it now, but we await its fullness.

Caution against ‘triumphalism’

Triumphalism in Christian theology is the attitude that the church or the believer already fully possesses the triumph of Christ in such a way that it downplays present suffering, weakness, or the tension of “already/not yet” in God’s kingdom. It assumes glory without the cross, and victory without the endurance of present trials.

Biblical caution: Scripture warns against this way of thinking by reminding us that while Christ has won the decisive victory (1 Cor. 15:57)

we still “groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8:23).

Paul rebuked premature triumphalism in Corinth: “Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings!” (1 Cor. 4:8).

The New Testament consistently places our present hope not in claiming full triumph now, but in waiting for Christ’s return when every tear will be wiped away (Rev. 21:4).

If this is where history is headed, how do we live for glory in the here and now? Paul and Jesus both tell us.

3. Living for Glory Means: Making God Visible in Everyday Life (Philippians 2:13–16; Matthew 5:14–16)

Paul says:

Philippians 2:13–16 (ESV)

13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Jesus says:

Matthew 5:14–16 (ESV)

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Living for glory means this:

Radiating, not generating.

We shine His light through our lives, not our own.

Ordinary faithfulness.

As we saw last week: even eating and drinking can glorify God (1 Cor. 10:31).

The extraordinary Glory of God breaking into the ordinary momemnts of everyday life.

Visible witness.

Our good works become windows through which people glimpse God’s glory.

A lighthouse doesn’t generate light on its own. It radiates the power of a lamp. An internal source. Its purpose is not to draw attention to itself but to guide others safely to shore. That’s the calling of believers in the world.

This is not about trying harder. Living for God’s glory is possible only because of Christ.

Christ Connection:

Jesus rescues us from living for our glory and restores us to living for God’s Glory

Where we exchange God’s glory for a lie (we saw this earlier in the series from Rom. 1:23), Jesus lived perfectly for the Father’s glory.

In His incarnation, He revealed “the glory of the only Son from the Father” (John 1:14).

In His life, He proclaimed not Himself but the Father’s works (John 5:19).

In His death, He gave up His visible glory to redeem glory thieves.

In His resurrection, He was exalted to the name above every name (Phil. 2:9–11).

Through Christ, our fractured glory hunger is healed.

Through His Spirit, we are empowered to live for God’s glory here and now, as we await the day when His glory fills the earth as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14).

Applications: Living for Glory in Everyday Life

Returning to our series framework — Display, Honor, Proclaim, Spread:

Display His Glory – Where in my weakness can God’s strength be made visible?

Practical: Share a testimony of God’s sustaining grace, even in struggle.

Honor His Name – Do my words and habits project God’s holiness?

Practical: Begin and end each day with Psalm 115:1: “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory.”

Proclaim His Renown – Who am I declaring His works to?

Practical: Share one story of God’s faithfulness this week with a child, a neighbor, or a coworker.

Spread His Fame – Where is God calling me to radiate His glory publicly?

Practical: Identify one place — workplace, home, or online — and intentionally ask: “How can this be a window into God’s greatness?”

Closing Summary Across Series:

[slow down here]

5 Solas: Salvation comes by Scripture alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone…

SCRIPTURE ALONE: God's Word reveals His glorious nature and our calling to live for His renown.

GRACE ALONE: It is by grace that we are transferred from self-glory to God-glory living.

FAITH ALONE: We trust in Christ alone to restore us to a life that matters eternally.

CHRIST ALONE: Jesus is the ultimate demonstration of God's glory and our pathway to glory.

TO THE GLORY OF GOD ALONE: This is the point of everything — to live for the glory of God alone.

Challenge:

Church, do we realize how living for the Glory of God calls us into a renewed vision of life?

not consumed with survival and comfort, but captivated by the surpassing worth of Jesus and the honor of making His glory known to the ends of the earth.

The Glory of God is not an add-on into the mix of life.

The Glory of God is the aim of the believer’s life.

Let’s not come out of a series like this and have an intellectual engagement with the Glory of God and some new verses to think through without recognizing the claim that living for God’s Glory makes on the everyday, “ordinary” moments of life.

The Glory of God totally reorients our lives, which is for our good and surrendering to Christ as Savior and submitting to him as Lord themselves bring God Glory!

Conclusion: Radiating the True Light

Living for glory means Christ shining through us in weakness, anticipating the glory of the new creation, and making Him visible in everyday moments of faithfulness.

And the good news? We’re not called to shine on our own.

God is glorified through the community of his church, an outpost for his Kingdom and a place where our individual living for the glory of God is multiplied in the beauty of the community of the gathered church.

So let’s live in a way that displays His glory, honors His name, proclaims His renown, and spreads His fame.

“To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph. 3:21).