Ask anyone to define “glory” and they will struggle for words.

How would we give a definition of “God’s glory”? What does it mean to “glorify God”? How are we to understand the “Spirit of Glory”? Here are my thoughts.

God’s glory is the totality of his majestic nature. As Thomas Watson said, “Glory is the sparkling of the Deity.”

God is glorious. He has the highest position over all. He is full of power and dignity and splendor. He is worthy of respect and reverence and praise.

The glory of the Lord is his manifest presence among his people.

To give God glory is to honor him with appropriate greatness.

We glorify God by making him look good and great in the eyes of others, so they see him as he really is.

When we suffer for Christ, we especially experience the Spirit of Glory upon us.

“If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” (1 Peter 4:14).

When we are verbally abused, ridiculed, or slandered for the sake of Christ, the Spirit of Glory infuses us with a deep closeness and consciousness of God’s presence.

The Spirit of Glory rests upon us. He strengthens us to carry on. He empowers us to be and do what God wants us to be and do. This is the same Holy Spirit who rested upon and empowered Jesus.

The glow of God’s glory shines in and through us in the present as a down payment of future glory (1 Peter 4:13).

Whatever we suffer for the sake of Christ is a privilege, not a penalty. It is a glory, not a loss. The Spirit of Glory certifies it and places his stamp of approval upon us. In this we rejoice.

Moreover, as Thomas Aquinas wrote, “God destines us for an end beyond the grasp of reason.” That is glorious.