The Glory of God
Job 38:4-7
Jon Paul Dennison
Part of Convictions & Confessions—What We Believe & What We Profess
October 2, 2022

The glory of God is not only the purpose of life, it’s the end to which all things exist. And when God gives us glimpses of that glory, we begin to understand that He is uniquely set apart from creation.


The glory of God is the purpose of all existence. It’s not only the purpose of life, it’s the purpose of everything. It’s the reason for which all things exist.

37 Now as soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God, rejoicing with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, 38 saying,“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” 40 But Jesus answered and said, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones will cry out!” —Luke 19:37-40 (LSB)

As individuals, we get so caught up in the things of this world that our eyes are veiled to the glory of the omnipotent God who is actively holding all of this together.

v4 - Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you know understanding,

How helpful is it to know that the world isn’t about us?

  • It doesn’t revolve around us.
  • It isn’t dependent on us.
  • And it wasn’t even ultimately created for us.

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. —Romans 11:36 (LSB)

The heavens and the earth are primarily a display of God’s glory.

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And the expanse is declaring the work of His hands. —Psalm 19:1 (LSB)

John Piper describes the glory of God as His “manifest holiness.” It’s how He displays to the world that He is set apart and different from it.

We believe He is holy because His word tells us He is. And we see He is holy when His glory is revealed.

20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, both His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four- footed animals and crawling creatures. —Romans 1:20-23 (LSB)

The unbelieving world attributed the glory of God to creatures. They literally glorified the proof, as if it somehow created itself.

But in His mercy to us, God gives us glimpses of his holiness that are thankfully veiled so we can live to tell about them.

18 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” 19 And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” 21 Then Yahweh said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; 22 and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove My hand, and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.” —Exodus 33:18-23 (LSB)

These were mere glimpses of God’s glory. But they had to be veiled, which brings us to the miracle of the incarnation. The glory of God veiled in human flesh.

28 Now it happened some eight days after these words, that taking along Peter and John and James, He went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And it happened that while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming. 30 And behold, two men were talking with Him, and they were Moses and Elijah, 31 who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to fulfill at Jerusalem. —Luke 9:28-31 (LSB)

Moses has gone from asking God to show him His glory to appearing in glory himself, along with Elijah.

32 Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep, but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. 33 And it happened that as they were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three booths: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not realizing what he was saying. —Luke 9:32-33 (LSB)

The glimpses of the glory of God that we are fortunate enough to catch are for the purpose of broadening our perspective, not for bringing it down and restraining it to our little worlds.

When God reveals Himself to us, it’s not ultimately about us. It’s about Him!

34 While [Peter] was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. —Luke 9:34-36 (LSB)

How amazing is the picture of everyone else just gone?! Moses, Elijah, Peter, James, John, gone. And Jesus remains, the true glory of God.

And 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. —John 1:14 (LSB)

2 in these last days [He] spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, 3 who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. 5 For to which of the angels did He ever say,“You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? —Hebrews 1:2 (LSB)

The glory of God is uniquely seen in His Son.
- Above the glory of the angels.
- Above the glory of man.
- Above the glory in all the rest of creation.

v5-6 - Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk?

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And encompassed the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales? 13 Who has encompassed the Spirit of Yahweh, Or as His counselor has informed Him? 14 With whom did He take counsel and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And made Him know the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are counted as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the coastlands like fine dust. 16 Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, Nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering. 17 All the nations are as nothing before Him; They are counted by Him as non-existent and utterly formless. 18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? —Isaiah 40:12-18 (LSB)

God is the only One worthy of worship because only God is holy, unique, and set apart. Not any nation, not any tribe, not any person, and nothing else in all creation.

I am Yahweh, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, —Isaiah 42:8 (LSB)

The word in the Old Testament for glory means weight. This is why God’s ultimate glory shouldn’t be placed on created things. It’s too weighty for them. If the angels couldn’t bear worship, how could we?

v6-7 - Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

God is the One worthy of all praise and honor and glory. Cherubim and seraphim, angels and men, women, and children, every creature and every rock were all created to glorify Him!

11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” 13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever and ever.” —Revelation 5:11-13 (LSB)