The fall of man in the garden of Eden marked the beginning of the loss of the
glory of God since creation began, simply because God’s glory cannot stand the
presence of sin and rebellion. Mankind was created to thrive only in the
environment of God’s glory, and it is for that reason the Bible says that men are
created in image and likeness of God. Every time a man will find himself leading a
life minus the glory of God then that man will experience high level deficiency and
shall remain highly incapacitated so much so that he can’t fulfill the purposes of
his life.
God created men for a purpose and that purpose can only be revealed and
manifest in a life filled with the glory of God. Romans 3: 23 – for all have sinned,
and come short of the glory of God. The events in the Bible following aftermath of
the fall of man and departure of the glory of God brings to the fore the first
pronouncement of curse to the ground by God, the fullness of the repercussion as
far as this curse is concerned meant that man was cut off from the life of plenty
that he used to enjoy in the garden at the beginning before the fall. Adam and Eve
were expelled out of the garden of Eden where all provision was made sufficient
by God.
The glory of God isn’t just a feeling, an event or an Old Testament experience, it is
a spiritual tsunami of everything contained in the character of God. The word
glory is literally translated “heavy weight,” meaning the heaviest, grandest thing
about someone. The glory of God is the manifest presence of God; in fact, it is
greater than just presence it is the power. When Jesus resurrected from the dead
it was this power that resurrected him. Our source of deliverance power is from
the glory of God, this power is greater and stronger than any other power on
earth and in heaven
Some people might think that the glory of God is untouchable may be because it
is power reserved only for certain individual or some churches; the truth is that
God intended all men to operate in the power of His glory and to enjoy every
influence that comes with it. God’s glory is not meant only for a Sunday service
when we go to church, it is supposed to be a lifestyle experience, a twenty-four
hour seven days’ experience with God. It’s inbuilt capacity to establish God’s
kingdom through us as His ambassadors here on earth. The place to see God face
to face is on the platform of His glory. Men are able to interact with God safely on
the platform of God’s gory because when God comes and meets a man soaked in
His glory then He only sees His glory and that gives God comfort.
The Lord’s glory is the supernatural power that enables wealth creation. The
ground lost its power of abundant production of crops and fruits and instead
started producing thistles after the fall of man. Other series of many challenges
like enmity between mankind and other wild animals started at this point of time
of the departure of God’s glory. It was at this point that snakes became a
dangerous enemy to mankind while initially the two co-existed peacefully. Many
hostilities being experienced by mankind until today can be directly or indirectly
traced back to the time when God’s glory departed from mankind in the garden of
Eden after the fall.
The need for redemption of God’s glory in the life of mankind is so much
pertinent such that it cannot be overemphasized. All men have the opportunity to
enjoy the free justification by the grace of God through Jesus Christ the son of the
living God. (Romans 3:23-24 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God. And all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that by Christ
Jesus.) This scripture provides the only sure way of restoration of the lost
relationship between God and man. The act of redemption through the grace of
God comes with such a great number of blessing to all who believe in Jesus Christ
and are saved by the blood.
The seven blessings associated with the glory of God in mankind
i. Filling of the Holy Ghost – Holy Spirit of God is one of the perfect gift to
all men who believe and love the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal
savior. We all have the opportunity to experience redemption through
the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Revelation 22:1 –
The angel of the Lord showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as
crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb) The blood
always brought the fire down in the old covenant, and so it is today, the
blood brings the Spirit of the Lord down upon your life. The river of life
refers to the Holy Spirit. He proceeds out of the lamb who is the Lord
Jesus Christ who died on the cross for the sins of the world.
ii. Uninterrupted, abiding cleansing through His shed blood
The book of 1John 1:7-9 – But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His son,
purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive
ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful
and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness. This is an a biding continual cleansing. When God looks
at you He sees the blood of His son Jesus and the power of the glory.
The image and likeness of God is restored back to mankind through the
blood of Jesus shed on the cross. Your righteous is not made on the
account of your good works, but it is purely on the account of the power
of the blood of Jesus.
iii. You receive your sanctification through redemption
We are washed by the blood of Jesus and not by our good works. The
work done by the blood of Jesus on the cross was sufficient to transform
us and that made us to be called sons of God. (1Corinthians 6:11 – We
were washed by God. Because of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
because you trusted in Him, and because His Spirit has transformed your
life, you are a new person.) The old nature of the old man gets
swallowed by the power of the blood of Jesus Christ, you become a new
creation. Your identity is changed and you become a child of God
iv. You get reconciled back to God through redemption
In the book of (Ephesians 2:13 – But now in Christ Jesus you who were
once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ). The
blood of Jesus restored your lost relationship with God, all the benefits
of being a child of God also gets restored by the same blood. The power
that comes with the glory of God also gets restored through the
redemption. The book of (Colossians 1:20 – and through Him to
reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in
heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross)
Everything in man was created to function only in the presence of God
and this is the purpose why God in His own wisdom saw the need to
reconcile man back to Himself. You are the one to benefit in the
redemption plan because your source of power for you to operate
optimally is solely founded in God’s presence. Away from God’s
presence is death.
v. Because you are redeemed, God does not remember your sins
Jeremiah 31:34 – No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one
another, “know the Lord; because they will all know me, from the least
of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord.” For I will forgive their
wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” There is such a great
importance that comes with our sins being washed away. Our place in
heavenly kingdom is guaranteed by the cleansing power of the blood of
Jesus Christ. There is no more death penalty by the washing of our sins
through the blood of Jesus Christ. Our son ship to the kingdom of God is
reaffirmed through the washing of our sins. The real impact here is that
all the accusations the enemy has labeled against you before the court
room of heaven is removed completely. You are set free by the blood of
Jesus.
vi. You become perfected through redemption
Perfection simply means, the action or process of improving something
until it is faultless. Can you imagine what it means being declared
faultless before God? It is amazing for sure what the blood of Jesus can
help us achieve. (Hebrews 10:14 –For by one sacrifice he has made
perfect forever those who are being made holy) When we become
perfect it means that we can deliver our targets because we are efficient
in our ways of operation. A perfect man can become a perfect husband
not because of his own strength but because of the divine power behind
his activities. The God given perfection will ensure that your talent is
sharpened for it to function properly. You can achieve your goals and
purposes in life without much struggle because God is behind every
project you are engaged in. Your family becomes God’s agenda when
you gain perfection with God, your battles becomes God’s business
when you gain perfection with God. Perfection power in you activates
the power of covenant with God to be aroused, you are escalated in the
spiritual realm to walk at the level where certain things will just begin to
manifest even without you praying over them because the Holy Spirit
will be doing some prayers on your behalf with words that men cannot
understand.
vii. Because you are redeemed you have both victory and protection
The power of redemption in your life is meant to usher in a new
dimension in your life as far as your spiritual warfare is concerned.
Winning battles one after the other becomes a normalcy because of
redemption. (Revelation 12:11 – And they overcame by the blood of the
lamb and the word of their testimony.) Exodus 12 describes the Passover
in Egypt when Israelites marked their doorposts with the blood of the
lamb, symbolic of the blood of Jesus. You now have victory over the
enemy and protection by the redemptive blood of Jesus. You can engage
in offensive spiritual warfare and nothing shall harm you because you
are fully protected by the blood of Jesus. The nations which are
regarded as super power like United States of America are indeed given
that status because they have the capability to both defend their
territory and also take any decisive offensive military measure to
neutralize anything that poses potential threat to their security as a
nation.
The relevance of man’s life on earth is hidden in the glory of God. Great servants
of God have stood out in their generation because they carry unique measure of
God’s glory. Jesus himself is on record testifying after he came from the forty
days’ prayer and fasting that the glory of the Lord God is upon him to accomplish
the task God sent him to do, meaning that he has been empowered now by the
glory of God to execute the task God sent him to do here on earth. The moral
lesson we can learn here is that not a single man can by himself alone accomplish
the purposes of God in his life without the backing of the glory of God. Isaiah 60:1
– Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
It is the glory of God that will enable you to arise and stand out among your
peers. When you discover the secrets on how to dwell in the presence of the glory
of God then you will always find yourself a head of your competition. God’s glory
is able to inspire divine wisdom and understand which is above academic
knowledge. Joseph was able to interpret dreams not because he was more
schooled than those of his time but simply the power of the glory of God which
was operational in his life. The official agent carrier of God’s glory is the Holy
Spirit of God.
There is a need for the manifestation of the glory of God for one to practically
experience a tangible change and transformation in the physical realm. The world
is tired and sick of theoretical Christianity where there is a lot of talks but very
little practical manifestation. The famous story of the dry bones coming back to
life valley of dry bones in the book of Ezekiel happened because God found a
faithful man by the name of prophet Ezekiel who was used by God to unveil the
glory of God. The very single aspect that distinguishes prophets from other men is
that they are men and women who carry the grace of God. Prophet Ezekiel
unveiled the glory of God by having faith in God and he did so by practically
obeying the instructions of God even when it appeared not make sense.
One of the requirements that will help you manifest the glory of God is practical
faith in God. The Bible tells us in the book of John 11:40 – Jesus said unto her,
“Did I not tell you that if you believe you would see the glory of God?” You can
see the glory of God manifesting to raise the dead if you believe, but for you to
witness this then your faith must be alive.
What is FAITH?
Faith is obedience to God.
Faith is not just mere believing; faith is more than believing. Believing is part of
the process of faith. Faith is the name given to the action that we take, actions of
obedience based on our conviction of who God is and the integrity of His word. If
there is no obedience component to your definition of faith, then that is not faith
according to the word of God.
Faith is an action of obedience. Even if you take action without obedience to the
word of God then still it does not measure to the definition of faith. Many people
sometimes take action based on a different motive for instance some will take
action to be seen by men because they want to please men, that action is not
action of faith at all.
Faith with works
- Faith comes by hearing the word – Romans 10:17
- Faith is established by confession – Mark 11:23 – Whosoever shall say to
this mountain, be thou removed - Make your faith complete -Vs 22 -Faith is made complete by what we do
Speak prophetic word to manifest the glory of God
Prophet Ezekiel was instructed by God to prophesy and indeed he prophesied. He
did not just act or prophesied according to the way he wanted to do things as a
person, he acted according to the way God commanded him to do. Following the
direction as per the command of the Lord is a very key component factor to
manifesting the glory of God. Sometimes people do certain thing because they
seem to be a good idea. Not every good idea is God’s idea. If you want to
manifest the glory of God, then you must learn to discover the will of God and
test the spirit so that you can establish the presence of God in that action before
you engage in it. For you to manifest God’s glory you must understand the
scriptural conditions connected to every promise of God. Knowing the promises
of God is good but it is not enough. You must understand the scriptural
requirements connected to that promise then take an action of faith according to
that scriptural requirement.
Purpose to live in obedience to God
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 – “If you fully obey the Lord your God and observe to do His
commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the
nations on earth”
There are numerous blessings associated with obedience to God. It is the power
of the glory of God when it is unlocked by the act of obedience to God that
escalates you to the next level of life. The benefits of obedience include blessings,
deliverance, and miracles. Some of the ways in which a believer in Jesus Christ can
exercise obedience include keeping God’s commandments, trusting God, living a
life of humility, praying always, studying the word, and living in love.
Most believers have not paid keen attention to study the participatory role they
need to inject for God to reveal His glory in and through them. There is a space for
grace when God’s manifestation is to happen and also there is a space for work
required from men as a contributory factor to enable the complete circuit of the
miracle.
Abraham also chose to obey God when he accepted to go to a place he did not
know. God finally unveiled his glory upon the life of Abraham and he got a child of
promise in the long run
Hebrews 11:8-22 – It was by faith Abraham obeyed God’s call to go to another
place that God promised to give him. He left his own country, not knowing where
he was to go. It was by faith that he lived in the country God promised to give him.
The action of Abraham leaving his own mother land to a country he did not know
was an act of faith. The glory of God will follow the first step of faith we take in
life. Some acts of faith might look like foolishness before the eyes of men but one
needs not to bother what men will say because it will bear forth great dividend.
Faith without works is dead
A person is justified by faith alone apart from works for heaven, but he is justified
by works for usefulness on earth.
James 2:17 – In the same way faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is
dead.
It is the role of man to input tangible work in order to activate the results of faith
in the physical realm. God is a spirit and as such God has no legal authority to
work anything on earth until he finds a man to use as a vehicle. The terrestrial
world is under the authority of mankind and that is part of the reason Jesus had
to put on the suit of the body of a man for him to operate on earth. The God Jesus
could not die because God is immortal, he needed to leave his glory, come down
on earth to wear the body of a man so that he became like one of us that is when
he could carry the punishment of men on behalf of men. Faith is obedience to
scriptural requirements that commits God to reveal His glory in you.
Diligence in serving God
God told Israelites in the Old Testament to prepare themselves for three days if
they wanted to see Him. In Exodus 19:10-19 – The Lord told Moses, “God down
and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and
have them wash their clothing. Be sure they are ready on the third day; for on
that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch”
God’s glory cannot just be accessed casually as if you are taking a walk in the park,
there is need for proper preparation. The process of preparedness on our side is
what will pave the way for the Lord to appear in our circumstances. The glory of
requires a specific spiritual infrastructure for it to land on safely; just in a similar
manner you cannot land an air plane anywhere. A broken heart and a contrite
spirit God cannot despise. Israelites needed to separate themselves apart for the
glory of God to come; and God instructed them to take three good days of
cleansing process. The nation of Israel needed to put away every idol in the land,
they needed to engage in prayers of repentance and exercise forgiveness. The call
to washing of the clothing was a connotation of spiritual purification process. Our
God is a Holy God hence the need for us to be Holy if we are to see the glory of
God in our life.
It is not enough just to say that I believe and stop there, there is more that needs
to be done after confessing that you believe. There are many people believing
when they say that I believe I will be healed, I believe I will prosper, I believe I will
get a child. All these powerful confessions sound good but it is not the end of the
road as far as faith is concerned. If all you do is just believe meaning to agree then
that is not enough. There are conditions given by God. Every promise in scripture
has conditions connected to it for its manifestation to come forth. Believing is one
of the requirement but not the only requirement.
Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of
things not seen. Faith is the purchasing power of things not seen. Faith is the
currency that purchases thing for us in the realm of the spirit. Romans 10:17 –
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. This tells us that faith is
movable, it can move from one place to the other. Faith can move from a location
outside your spirit in to your spirit.
There is need for men to understand faith. Failure to understand faith is what
makes many believers to remain stagnant in their journey with God. There is a
relationship between your faith in God and expression of the glory of God in your
life. Four times in scripture the Bible talks about the just shall live by faith.
Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38 All of these four
scriptures point very clearly that the just shall live by faith. In Mark 11:22-23 –
And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to
this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea, and does not doubt in his
heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.”
Jesus was giving the disciples an understanding the need to have faith in God
Bible based Faith is predicated on two attributes of God and these attributes
assists in manifesting the glory of God
i) Attribute of integrity – The word integrity comes from the word integer,
meaning semblance, consistency – Numbers 23:19 – God is not human,
that he should lie, not a human being that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Men don’t lie because they are bad but because they are men. Lying is a
system that is enshrined in men and for various reasons they lie. Every
time God speaks he submits to what he says and that is what
distinguishes him from man. When God speaks even him he is bound by
his word. There men who are sincere but they lack integrity in their
ways of operation. In life there are no guarantees except in God alone,
the word of God is the only guarantee that you can trust and it will come
to pass. Men can change their mind and disappoint you. The Bible says
cursed is the man who trust in another man, but blessed are those who
put their trust in the Lord. Your guarantee is in the word that proceeds
from the mouth of God. You therefore need to learn to hear the word of
God at all times. When we study scripture it gives us an opportunity to
vet the integrity of the word of God. God is not afraid to allow you to
prove His integrity. The Bible is a compendium of God’s integrity. God
can be trusted. Regardless what you can see God can be trusted,
regardless of the medical report God can be trusted. It does not matter
the bills arrears you are currently in but one thing that remains constant
is that God can be trusted. Make a choice to trust in God today and your
life will never remain the same again. God will turn around your
situation to make sure that your trust in him is fully compensated to the
maximum. When God promised Abraham that he will make his name
great it came to pass and today we are the seed of Abraham standing as
a manifestation of the faithfulness of God.
ii) Attribute of Grace and Truth
Jesus being the son of God possessed these attributes and he
manifested them during his ministry here on earth. Christ was the glory
Himself. His divine glory was veiled during His earthly life. The glory of
God in this attribute is the magnificence, worth, loveliness, and the
grandeur of His many perfections. The power of forgiveness through the
blood of Jesus shed on the cross was the clearest demonstration of the
power of God’s grace. In the book of John 1:14 – The word became flesh
and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory if
the one and only son, who came from the father, full of grace and truth.
We all need this glory for us to experience the fullness of salvation of our Lord
Jesus Christ, without which our life in salvation will always remain a struggle. The
church needs this glory for her to impact the world according to the plan of God.
Church cannot continue doing the work of ministry as per the head knowledge
and assume that all shall be well. The things of God are spiritual and only the
divine empowerment from God through His glory is the only cure for this gap.
The need to look for the glory
There are four ways in which we can use to tap the glory of God into our life. One
of the ways is you learn to look for the glory. Stephen being full of the Holy Spirit
gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, Acts 7:55 – But Stephen full of the
Holy Spirit looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at
the right hand of God. Looking for the glory of God is a very critical component in
life because what we see in life determines our decision making process. Our
world view is shaped by what we can see; we can lose hope when we look at the
many things that are not working. God commanded Moses in the wilderness to
lift up a serpent for Israelites just to look. The serpent was symbolic of God’s
glory; it was made in a way that anyone who would look at the serpent would be
saved when they are bitten by a snake.
The same glory that Stephen saw is the same glory that raised Jesus from the
dead, it was manifested as fire by night and cloud by day time (Exodus 13:21).
This same glory separated Israel and the land of Goshen from the rest of Egypt
when there was light in the land of Goshen, but not in Egypt (Exodus 10:23). We
need to see that glory of God’s presence even in this generation.
The need for prayer
Secondly we need to pray for the glory of God to come. Jesus went into the
wilderness where he prayed and fasted for forty days and forty nights. In Look
4:18 – The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to proclaim
good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and
recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free. There can never be any
other better source of freedom apart from that which is given by the glory of God.
Nelson Mandela in South Africa fought for freedom and independence and he
was jailed at Robben island for twenty-seven years, but finally he died and did not
enjoy that freedom. Many South Africans today are yearning for fresh leadership
that can guarantee freedom despite having gotten their political freedom many
years ago.
Freedom that comes from the glory of God is everlasting and very much
sustainable because God himself is the one who pays the bills. You need to start
looking unto Jesus who is the glory of God then you will receive the liberty that
comes with that glory. Your expectations and hope should be focused upon Jesus
who is the source of our glory given to us by God the father. Seek him and he will
be found ask it will be given to you knock and the door shall be opened unto you.
Prayer is the master key to the store room of heaven where the glory of God the
father is kept.
You need to pray that the glory of God will be revealed to you and in you. You can
see and experience the glory of God but you must pray that God may reveal His
glory upon your life. Miracles, signs, and wonders will become a normal thing in
your life when the glory of God comes down upon you. The story of God’s glory in
the upper room still remains as the most spectacular day when God manifested
His glory upon his children, Acts 2:1-4. The Bible says all of them were filled with
the power of the Holy Spirit and they spoke in tongues. Each and every believer in
Jesus Christ born again has the capacity to see the glory of God through the filling
of the Holy Spirit. Prayerfulness is extremely key in experiencing this divine
encounter. A prayer less Christian is a powerless Christian, while a prayerful
Christian is a powerful Christian. Pray in the morning, in noon time and in the
evening. Pray about everything both small and big things.
Pastor need to pray for their families, church members and nation at large. Pray
that the will of God be done here on earth as it is in heaven. Pray that God’s
mercy be revealed and that the world may come to the knowledge of Christ Jesus
by receiving his salvation. Seek God in prayer that the great commission may be
fulfilled according to the will of God the father.
The need for preparation
Thirdly the need for preparation for the glory of God is very critical if you are to
see and experience the glory of God. The glory of God does not just come upon
anybody anywhere. The manifest presence of God calls for serious spiritual
preparation because it’s a consuming fire, it can kill if not handled with care by
demonstrating maturity. Preparation from our end as children of God is very
patient because God has delegated to us the authority to have control of our
body and the earth. Failure to prepare our mind to embrace the glory of God is in
itself good enough to hinder the move of God in us, hence lack of manifestation
of God’s glory. You have the power to choose good or evil, God does not chose for
you because he says in His word that he has laid before life and death and it is
upon you to choose.
You must prepare your spirit if you want to walk in the fullness of experience of
the glory of God. Romans 5:5 – And hope does not put us to shame, because
God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has
been given to us. We must learn to walk in love and obedience to the commands
of the Lord, meditating upon the word day and night. God commanded Joshua to
meditate on His word and observe to do all that which is written in the book of
the law, then he will experience the glory of good success. We must overcome the
heart diseases that easily clog our spiritual arteries in order for us to stay healthy
spiritually. You must learn to love everyone around you unconditionally because
that is the love of God, this will help you to increase the amount of God’s glory in
your life. Avoid at all cost the spirit of strife, bitterness and anger. Forgive easily
those that wrong you and learn to forget.
The need to walk in the glory
The glory of God looks for a permanent dwelling place, an environment where His
presence is very much welcome. It takes a mindset which is ready to have a long-
term journey in God’s presence. 2Cor 3:18 – And we all who with unveiled faces
contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-
increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. It is important to
realize that the ultimate goal for the glory of God is to transform us so that we
may experience restoration of the image of God in our life. The process of
transformation can be long and tedious but it requires resilience and serious
commitment.
When you choose to take a walk with the agent of Satan you can be sure that the
end result is going to be disastrous. Simple research will tell you that most of the
decisions you have made in your life were influenced by the friends you have
been walking with. Learn to walk with God at all times. Remove all the red tapes
in your life, some of the zones you refer to as private till they become private and
no go zone to God, these are the areas that needs transformation. God is ready to
walk with you so that He can transform your life today. Only say yes to His will
and you will experience a life full of the glory of God.
