In the New Testament the Greek word translated as ‘glory’ is doxa. Basically this word is glory, but is the Greek way of expressing the Old Testament concept found predominantly in the Hebrew word kabod? This word (kabod) consistently means weight. Proverbs 11:1 declares that “Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight”. How can the scales of justice between God and humanity be balanced? Can we add our own weight of goodness to the scales to balance the goodness of God?
The short answer is no (Romans 3:23). However, being made in the image and likeness of God, and further having our spiritual eyes opened by Christ, we can now appreciate that we already have the weight of God’s honour to give us a just balance. This means that in humanity’s relationship with God we are all honourable (glorious).
The term shekinah glory is often heard, especially in pentecostal or apostolic christian denominations. Wikipedia defines this as the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning dwelling or settling, and denotes the divine presence of God. This term does not occur in the Bible but is from Rabbinic literature. It seems to have been derived from the references to the presence of God dwelling in the Tabernacle with Moses. In the New Testament the word parousia is used which translates as the presence, as in ‘having already arrived’.
