Come, Lord Jesus, in Glory

For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and ‘will then repay every man according to his deeds’ (Matthew 16:27).

The word ‘glory’ is doxa, from which we get the word ‘doxology’. A doxology is a hymn of praise to God. Sometimes we sing the Doxology in worship: “Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below, praise Him above ye heavenly host, praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Amen.” When Jesus returns to establish His Kingdom on earth it will be in the glory of His Father with His angels. In Scripture the glory of God refers to His divine attributes, character, and nature. 

God is sovereign. He is subject to no one and to no other authority than His own. He has absolute authority over all He has created, including mankind, Satan, the angels, etc. (Job 38 - 42; Psalm 115:3; 135:6; Isaiah 40; Romans 9:1-25).
God is holy. He is set apart from all other things and is not affected by His creation. He is perfect in all things. There is no sin or evil or wickedness, or shadow of such in Him (Psalm 99:9; Isaiah 6:1-3; Revelation 4:8; 15:4).
God is omnipotent. He is ‘almighty’ meaning His power exceeds all powers in creation (Job 42:2; Isaiah 43:13).
God is omniscient. He knows all things, even our thoughts, our sins, our motives, our desires (Hebrews 4:13). He knows our past and our future (Job 34:21-23; Psalm 147:4-5; Daniel 2:19-23,27-28).
God is immutable. He does not change in nature, character, or attributes (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 1:10-12; 13:8; James 1:17).
God is love. His love is not characteristic of human love; it is not sentimental, indulgent, or conditioned by emotion. God’s love is motivated by His desire to help us and is directed by His will. The essence of God’s love is the desire to do good, to be benevolent, and to express joy in the object of His goodwill. God’s love sees and understands what a person needs, then chooses to meet that need regardless of who that person may be (Deuteronomy 7:7-8; Jeremiah 31:3; Matthew 5:45; John 3:16; Ephesians 1:4-5).
God is wrathful. People don’t like this aspect of God’s nature and character, but that’s because they don’t understand the nature of God’s love. Our anger is stirred up when our love and desires are ignored or rejected. The same is true with God, but His anger is not stirred by emotion. His anger is stirred by His holiness and justice (Romans 1:16-18; 3:25-26; 5:8-9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10).

When Jesus returns to establish His earthly Kingdom, these aspects of His nature, character, and attributes will govern His Kingdom for 1,000 years, and then for eternity in the new creation.

“Thank You, Lord, that the coming Kingdom will be one of joy, celebration, and peace because You will rule over the nations with holiness, justice, grace, mercy, love, and sovereign authority. I pray Your Kingdom will come soon. To Your honor and glory I ask, Amen.”

Pastor