Review last week Isaiah 60:1-3

The glory of God, in the context of what we are studying refers to “an expression of who God is, and what He does”. The glory of God is a tangible manifestation of God’s nature, power and attributes.

God desires to reveal His glory through His people “...my glory shall be seen upon you”.

The rest of Isaiah 60 describe what happens when we become a people of His glory – a people who manifest His glory.

Isaiah 60:14 shows us that God is speaking to Zion. Therefore, all that is said here can be applied to the Church in a spiritual sense.

Today we desire to develop this further and talk a little bit more on Manifesting His glory

Romans 3:23

God’s original intent was for us to walk in the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 11:1-16

We wish to focus on vs 7.

1 Corinthians 11:7

For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man.

Both man and woman were created in the image of God. We were created in God’s image and likeness to manifest His glory.

Genesis 1:26,27
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Life in the Garden & Man’s Mandate

Adam and Eve walked in an intimate relationship – communion – with God. God visited and communed with them in the garden.

These 4 factors characterized life in the garden:

a) Relationship – they walked in intimate communion and worship of God
b) Submission – they walked in obedience to His command not to eat of that one tree
c) Responsibility – they had a God-given mandate to be fruitful, multiply, subdue, have dominion...to fill the earth with people in the image and likeness of God – who will manifest His glory.
d) Dominion – they were given authority to guard the garden – to protect the garden from an obvious enemy who seemed interested in intruding the garden. It is quite possible the this enemy had access to other parts of the earth, but the garden. Therefore, man was given dominion – the power to subdue and rule – and fill the earth with the glory of God.

Their ability to subdue and have dominion flowed naturally out of who they were and as they walked in the fulfilled the first three – maintained intimate relationship with God, walked in submission to Him,
and fulfilled responsibility He had given.

They had no other ‘weapon’ to exercise authority on the earth – no word of God, name of Jesus, blood of the Lamb, etc. These came into effect a later on.

At its very core our ability to manifest His glory and exercise authority on the earth - flows naturally out of who we are as sons and daughters of God - and as we walk in an intimate relationship with God, walk in submission to Him, and fulfill responsibility He has given us. The ‘weapons of our warfare’ we use are tools to express the authority that flows from these.

To the extent His is glorified within me, He is also glorified through me.

To the extent He reigns in me, He can also reign through me.

Restored in His Image

Sin cause us to fall short of the glory of God, and disturbed the original plan.

Ephesians 4:24
As a new creation man, your inner person in now created in the image and likeness of God
You and I are designed to walk in and manifest the glory of God – carry about a manifestation of who God is and what He does.

1 Corinthians 15:45-49

The Perfect Example

Jesus, is the expression of God's glory
John 1:1,14 2 Corinthians 4:6 Hebrews 1:3

Jesus Christ, His life on earth, is the perfect example of a life that did not fall short of the glory of God.

He is the perfect example of a life that lives manifesting the glory of God.
1 John 2:6 We are called to walk in His steps.
John 17:5 Jesus had an Eternal Glory with the Father. But in the incarnation He walked on the earth as a Man, in sonship glory.
John 17:22 Jesus walked in “sonship glory” – the glory that Man as a son of God, was designed to walk in. Before He left the earth, He made sonship glory available to all who would follow Him

How is this sonship glory manifested?

John 1:14 Grace (character, virtue) and Truth (integrity, purity, holiness, light, wisdom) manifest the glory of God.
John 2:11 Healings, Miracles, Supernatural Manifest the glory of God
Jesus was able to meet whatever need He was confronted with in His assignment. He did this as a Man manifesting the glory of God.

Side Note:
God’s authority is demonstrated through those in the marketplace
Zechariah 1:16-21

craftsmen Heb. a fabricator of any material, carpenter, craftsman, engraver, maker, mason, any skilful worker.

The horn is a symbol of power. The horns therefore symbolize the powers of the world, which rise up in hostility against Judah and hurt it.

God’s uses craftsmen to destroy these powers of the world.

Since life in the garden was disturbed, we have to re-discover, what God originally intended.