What is the supreme motive for evangelism? You might be surprised to learn what it is. Like many truths you learn about God they are empowering.
This is a review of John MacArthur’s book Keys To Spiritual Growth with comments and study questions along the way. Feel free to study along and answer the questions or ask your own in the comments section below to enrich our learning. To go to the start of this series click here.
Previously…
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THE MASTER PURPOSE – THE GLORY OF GOD
- God’s Intrinsic Glory
- Magnifying God’s Glory Before Others
- God’s Glory Through The Ages
And now…
Reflected glory and the veil.
What Moses saw was the shekinah – a visible manifestation of God’s glory. What was the effect of it on Moses? Some of the afterglow rubbed off on him, and his face shone, although he was unaware of it (Exodus 34:29). In fact, his face shone so much that Aaron and the ochers were afraid to get anywhere near him (Exodus 34:30). Even the dim reflection of God’s glory in Moses’ face was an awe-inspiring sight.
When I was a young child, my parents took me to Knott’s Berry Farm, which had a store that sold all kinds of items that glowed in the dark. I thought it was the greatest thing I had ever seen. My parents told me to find something I liked, and they would buy it for me. So I selected a little figure and kept it in a bag for the rest of the day. When I got home that night, I took it out and put it on my dresser. It didn’t glow, and I felt deeply disappointed.
“Do you know why it doesn’t glow?” my father asked. “You have to hold it up to some other light. It doesn’t have any of its own. “So my dad held it up next to a light bulb for a minute or so, and then I took it back to my darkened room. Now it worked beautifully!
Moses was something like that little fluorescent figure. He had no light of his own, either. But after standing near the most brilliant light in the universe, he glowed. His face was charged with the glory of God. The Lord chose to send Moses off that mountaintop with a little of the glow of deity. For a time Moses placed a veil over his face so that the people could come near him. When Moses reentered the presence of God he would remove the veil. Then he would speak to the Lord in open fellowship. The glory on Moses’ face would be briefly renewed, and again he would veil his face when talking to the people (Exodus 34:33-35).
Why did Moses wear the veil?[1] Not because the reflected glory on his face posed a danger. The glow was gradually fading away, and he didn’t want the people to be distracted by a fading kind of glory. That little figure I had sitting on top of my dresser didn’t glow for more than an hour or so without some recharging from another light source. And that’s what happened with Moses. The New Testament tells us that Moses did not want “… the sons of Israel [to] look intently at the end of what was fading away” (2 Corinthians 3:13). Moses knew that the glory was not his own. It was fading, and he didn’t want his people to see the glory leave his face.
Twice in human history God had visibly manifested His glory – once in a place, once in a face. The people of Israel must have wondered if they would ever see such a manifestation again.
Glory in a tent.
God did display His glory visibly to Israel again: in the Tabernacle (a sort of temple in a tent), which was built to glorify God. God often chooses to use lowly, humble things to reveal His glory. That was certainly true of the Tabernacle. We often think of it as a pretty place, but in reality it was made of many weather-beaten, dull, unattractive animal skins staked out with tent poles. It was basically just a big, ugly, portable shelter. What made it special was what it symbolized: the God of Israel and His glory. It was the dwelling place of God’s Spirit during the Israelites’ journey from Egypt. Here God chose to manifest the shekinah to a whole nation.[2]
God had given the Israelites detailed instructions about how to build the Tabernacle. When at last it was finished, “the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34, 35). Picture the scene: the twelve tribes of Israel – perhaps several million people – lined up in order as God had positioned them. Right in the middle was the Tabernacle, with the glory of God filling it so that no one could enter.
Later, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies and stood before the ark of the covenant. You may think of the ark as beautiful, gleaming gold, but it was probably dulled and encrusted with the sacrificial blood the priests had sprinkled on it. The only beautiful thing about it would have been the wings of the cherubim stretched out over the mercy seat. Yet here God chose to visibly manifest His glory. Each time the high priest entered into that sacred place, he saw the glory of God.
Next in the Temple.
For several hundred years God manifested His glory in the Tabernacle, but as in the Garden and on the face of Moses, this was only temporary. Eventually, during the reign of Solomon, the Tabernacle was replaced by the Temple. Just as God had given instructions concerning the building of the Tabernacle, so also He gave blueprints for the building of the Temple. Its purpose was to house the glory of God. It was a magnificent building, taking nearly eight years to build and probably costing the equivalent of several million dollars.
At last the day of dedication came, and what a day it was! “It came about when the priests came from the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 8:10, 11). Once again, God in His condescending grace manifested His presence among His people.
Although the Temple was built as a permanent dwelling place for God’s glory, God’s people didn’t always give Him the glory He was due. In fact, on one occasion, Solomon took credit for the glory that was rightfully God’s. Second Chronicles relates the story of the state visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon’s court. When she had tested his wisdom, surveyed all his wealth, and viewed the Temple he had built, “…she was breathless” (1 Kings 9:4). “They hadn’t told me the half of it,” she said, and then went on to describe how wonderful and wise Solomon was, how lucky his servants were, what great things he had done, including, no doubt, what a marvelous Temple he had built. Evidently she left for home without ever realizing that it was God’s glory that dwelt in the Temple, not Solomon’s. Unfortunately, the record doesn’t reveal that Solomon ever corrected her.[3]
From that point on, we see a gradual but marked decline of the Temple and its glory. The shekinah is no longer mentioned. Idolatry slowly moved in on God’s glory, beginning during the latter part of Solomon’s reign (1 Kings 11:4). Worship of the true God in His own Temple had all but disappeared by the time the prophet Ezekiel came along.
From glory to shame.
When God’s people fell into sin and failed to honor Him, God withdrew His glory. Ezekiel saw this in a vision, recorded in Ezekiel 8. In that vision, God showed Ezekiel the idol worship being carried on right inside the Temple grounds. What Ezekiel saw greatly disturbed him: “So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of creeping things and beasts and detestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around” (Ezekiel 8:10). Then he went into the inner court of the Lord’s house and there he saw men with their backs toward the Temple of the Lord, bowed down with their faces coward the ease, worshiping the sun (Ezekiel 8:16).
No wonder Ezekiel was so disturbed. God wasn’t being worshiped and glorified in His own Temple – Satan was. God cannot tolerate sin in His presence (Habakkuk 1:13), so He vacated His own Temple. The withdrawal of God’s glory occurred in progressive stages, almost as if God left reluctantly – and in great sadness. Ezekiel recounts how the glory retreated step by step. The glory rose up from the sculptured cherub and stood over the doorway (Ezekiel 9:3). Next, the glory moved from the doorway and rested on the wings of the living cherubim of Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 10:18). From there, it hovered over the east gate of the Temple (Ezekiel 10:19). Then it went up from the middle of Jerusalem and stood on a mountain to the east (Ezekiel 11:23). Finally the manifestation of glory was no longer visible, for it returned to heaven. God removed His glory from the Temple back to His throne.
Now, instead of glory shining in the midst of the building, it was as if the word lchabod, meaning “the glory has departed” (1 Samuel 4:21), had been carved into the doorposts. Sadly, the day had come when even the magnificent Temple was no longer a fit receptacle for God’s glory. No wonder God finally allowed the Babylonians to burn the building down. God’s glory was gone! Would it ever come back?
Glory incarnate.
God’s glory did return, many centuries later. John 1:14 tells us: “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
God’s glory came back in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. When was it most fully manifested? On the mountaintop at the time of the Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36). There, for a few minutes, in the presence of three disciples, the Son of God allowed all His splendor to shine through. Here was glory – not as a glow in the Garden or as a reflection on Moses’ face or in the brightness of the Tabernacle or Temple, but glory intrinsic to the God-man – Jesus Christ.
Although the glory of Christ is permanent, like His other attributes, this manifestation of it was only temporary. One day wicked men arrested Him, took Him away, condemned Him falsely, hideously tortured Him, nailed Him to a cross, and He died. They wanted to dispose of the greatest expression ever of God’s glory.
But they could not extinguish that glory. Our Lord rose again from the dead. Even the terrible wounds in His body were glorified. His earthly work finished, He ascended to heaven.
Glory to come.
Will God’s glory ever be manifest again? Our Lord gave the answer in Matthew 24, His great discourse on the Mount of Olives. Jesus told the disciples of a time of great tribulation that’s coming. He outlined for them the events surrounding His return to this world. When Jesus descends bodily from heaven, something spectacular will happen: “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).
What is the sign Jesus speaks of? It is the visible manifestation of His glory. It is the total brilliance of God coming down out of heaven in the Person of our Lord. It is the shekinah glory revealed in His body, just as it was briefly displayed to three disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration.
Once again, sinful men will try to extinguish it. They will oppose Him, even though He comes as “…King of kings, and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16). When they see His flaming glory descending out of the sky, they will fire off their missiles, hoping to blow that glory out of the sky.
But they won’t be able to do it. With only a word, Jesus will exterminate those who seek to restrain His glory. From that time on, He will rule the nations with a rod of iron and will reign on David’s throne with power and glory – far greater glory than He revealed at His first advent.
Do you want to know something exciting? We who know Him are going to be there! All the dead in Christ, as well as those caught up with Him at the rapture, will return with Him in His glory. Paul told the Colossian church, “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). The promise extends to all who have trusted Him. When He comes back, He will give us new, glorified bodies fit to enjoy His glorious presence forever.
Have you ever wondered what we will do for all eternity? In the book of Revelation we learn the answer:
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
Revelation 7:9, 10
Not only will we give God glory, we also will see His glory for all eternity. Revelation 21 describes “…the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God…. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:10, 11, 23).
Glory in the present.
That’s a brief look at the glory of God in the past and a glimpse of the glory that shall be, as revealed in Scripture. What about the glory of God right now? Where is the glory of God presently?[4]
In this age God’s glory is manifest in His people, the church. It is our privilege, our purpose, and our duty to manifest the glory of God. Paul tells us that we are a holy temple housing the glory of God (Ephesians 2:21, 22). The purpose God has left us on this earth for is “…to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).
Although we are earthen vessels – clay pots, if you will – we carry within us the glory of God (2 Corinthians 4:7). God has chosen the humble things of this world to bring glory to Himself (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). He transforms us by the power of the Holy Spirit and allows us to radiate that glory. If the world is ever going to get the message of that glory, it must come through us.[5] People must see Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). The more mature we are, the more we can be used to radiate God’s glory. “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Glory for His Name
Some Christians witness for the Lord out of a sense of obedience, because they are commanded to do so. Others share the gospel because of their love and concern for the lost. Those are worthy motives, but not the highest one.
The supreme motive for evangelism should be the glory of God.[6] That is what moved the Apostle Paul. He labored, evangelized, preached, and poured out his heart “…for His name’s sake” (Romans 1:5). Paul loved the lost and was obedient to Christ’s command to evangelize. But the passionate desire of Paul’s heart was to bring others to the Savior so He might get the glory due Him. If God is God and God alone and the sole Creator and the Lord of men, then He has a right to exclusive worship and a right to be jealous if He is not worshiped.
Henry Martyn, that godly missionary to India, watched people bowing down before their idols. Seeing those people prostrate before Hindu gods “excited more horror in me than I can well express…. I could not endure existence if Jesus was not glorified. It would be hell to me.”
I must confess that God has rebuked me time and again because I don’t always feel that way. It hasn’t always been “hell to me” to see someone who does not glorify Jesus Christ. But I pray continually that God will give me such a love for the glory of Jesus that it will break my heart every time someone doesn’t give my Lord the glory He deserves.
He is most worthy of glory:
Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11
The hymn writer pleads eloquently: “Let ev’ry kindred, ev’ry tribe, On this terrestrial ball, To Him all majesty ascribe, And crown Him Lord of all.”
The glory of God – we see it in the heavens, in the earth, in salvation, in Christian living, in the promised return of Christ, in every dimension of life. I call it the Master Purpose for unlocking all the spiritual riches hidden in Jesus Christ.[7] Now if that is the Master Purpose of living, how can we build upon it? How, practically, can we glorify God? For that we need another key – the Master Plan.
Questions & Notes
- Why did Moses wear the veil? ↑
- What was the Tabernacle? ↑
- True or False: The Queen of Sheba saw the glory of God. Explain your answer. ↑
- Where is the glory of God presently? ↑
- If the world is ever going to get the message of that glory, it must come through _________. ↑
- What should be the supreme motive for evangelism? ↑
- What is the Master Purpose for unlocking all the spiritual riches hidden in Jesus Christ? ↑
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