Glory ~ Emergent and Attendant

I think that in the Bible, there are two major ways that we see glory function. I will reference the New Testament books of the Gospel of John and Revelation to explore this. They correspond to Being and Doing.

(1) Glory As Emergent (Doing): In the Gospel of John, Jesus or God is described as being glorified or as showing His glory when he performs a miracle such as turning the water to wine (John 2:11) or raising Lazarus from the dead.

"This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it" (John 11:4).

*Note: In philosophy, happiness is often described as being a byproduct of some action taken. That is to say, you do something and happiness results. It emerges. Glory is also a byproduct of action. It is a result of doing. (Happiness is not something you pursue. Rather you live virtuously and happiness results as a byproduct. Likewise, glory is not something you pursue but rather you pursue living life according to the will of God and glory is the byproduct.)  

(2) Glory As Attendant (Being):  In Revelation, "glory" is not something that emerges or is revealed via actions. It is something that is just simply there. It is simply present. In Revelation 4, we have a picture of God sitting on a throne, surrounded by jasper, carnelian, a rainbow that resembles an emerald, thunder and lightning and so on. An awesome majesty accompanies Him. His glory of presence is so awesome, that it provokes automatic worship from the twenty-four elders. This is not a glory that results from God doing something. It is a glory that is intrinsic to who He is. 

On a More Earthy Level: What I mean is that if we look at this on a human level, when a King like Louis XIV, the "Sun King" does something impressive, then glory results. Alternatively, when one enters King Louis XIVs courtroom, he or she is awed by all the majesty, the grandeur, the ornate robes that the King is dressed in and the gold that he is adorned with. Glory is also seen. Perhaps something similar can be said of Akbar or Suleiman the Magnificent. 

“The heavens declare the glory (kabod) of God…” – Psalm 19:1

One more thought: In the Old Testament, in the Hebrew, glory is linked to the term kabod. Kabod quite literally means "heaviness" or "weight". Glory is a kid of kabod or heaviness of presence that is revealed via action (Doing) or simply by being (Being).   

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory (kabod)!” ~ Is. 6:3