True glory is the presence of God. God’s splendor, majesty, might, brightness, awesomeness, perfection, and holiness so infinitely transcend human comprehension and belief that when we glimpse them (even faintly), we stand undone in amazement and call it His glory.

Hearts that are tender, meek, and poor in spirit can sense God’s glory everywhere. “The heavens declare the glory of God.” “Christ in you” is “the hope of glory.” Life was never intended to be lived unaware of and apart from God’s glory. However, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

The death of Jesus ripped the veil in the temple. When people turn to the risen Lord His blood tears the veil in our heart so that we can behold the Lamb of God. Then we can grow daily in our awareness and experience of God’s glorious presence as we learn to be directly and inwardly led by the Spirit.”

The ministry of the Spirit” is even more glorious than the glory that was on Moses’ face after He encountered the presence of God. The glory on Moses faded, yet even that fading glory was too much for unredeemed people to behold, so the Israelites demanded that Moses cover his face with a veil. That veil still remains in fallen human hearts but is taken away when we turn to the Lord. Then begins the calling to and the anointing for the lifetime journey and process of salvation and sanctification–being continually transformed from within (not reformed by rules or human effort) into the image of God from glory to glory.

The living resurrected Jesus is “the way” (“the narrow path”) to that journey. To surrender your will to Him and to actively follow and obey Him daily is the key to being “led by the Spirit” and to living in the “surpassing glory” of “the ministry of the Spirit.” Take “the keys of the kingdom” and unlock your heart and life to be enthralled by and possessed by the glory of God and the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Modern Christianity has an abundance of exalted experts at giving religious explanations but far too few exhilarating examples of Spirit-led discipleship. Christ in a programmed sanctuary service can seem pretty stuffy, but Christ in real life interaction is powerfully transformative.