It is in a very precise order and for the reasons we will see here that three words "Kingdom", "Power" and "Glory" are cited.
The Kingdom
It's about God's character. It includes His state of mind, His heart dispositions, His moral quality. In the first chapter of the book of Genesis it corresponds to the word "Image" when God says:
« … Let Us make man in Our image … » Genesis 1:26,
« So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him … ».
Genesis 1:27
In verse 27 of this first chapter of the book of Genesis, God informs us that He has already created this man in His image. When we meet him, we see in him all the fullness of the character of God. It is to him that God gave the Kingdom when God said to him:
« … subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth. » Genesis 1:28
By telling him to subdue, to dominate, God...
« … made him to have dominion over the works of [His] hands … » Psaume 8:7
God has
« … [has] placed everything under his feet all sheep and oxen, and even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. » Psalm 8:7 - 9
« … When God subjected all things to him, He left nothing outside of his control ... » Hebrews 2:8
The Power
The living is characterized by this desire to reproduce its character. All living things want to imprint their characteristic features by multiplication and take pleasure in doing so. God also said to him:
« ... Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth ... » Genisis 1:28
This ability to print its character on matter which contained another character, that is Power. It is when a colonizing kingdom subdue a slave kingdom and changes it into the same image as its character and makes the colonized space its domain, its place of development, expansion, establishment and expression.
By blessing him (Genesis 1:28), God gave him the power to be fruitful, to multiply, and to crush his enemies to the point of making him his footstool. He also gave him the power to make his enemies his footstool. (Exodus 23:30, Deuteronomy 7:24) David resumes this conversation between God and man in his image:
« The LORD said to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion: Rule in the midst of Your enemies.. » Psalme 110:1-2
Notice the use of the words "mighty" [powerfull] and "rule" [dominion]
in these first two verses of Psalm 110. Is there anything in creation that does not have the character of God? Man, created in the image of God, received from God Himself the authority, power, calling, mission, to change all creation:
« For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. » Habakkuk 2:14
Imagine such power. The whole living kingdom will take on its character, function according to its model and manifest its glory.
The Glory
Imagine an operation of military conquest. There is talk of glory every time one army has defeated another. In the realm of character, one speaks of glory when traits of a colonist's character are imprinted on the slave host replacing the previous image with that of the colonist's model. There are several ways of observing this phenomenon, notably in the mineral field, in microbiology, in computer science, etc.
It's a question of total glory when the colonizer has subdue everything and exercises his domination over all the avaible territories. At the moment, the colonized territory takes the form of the image of the colonizer and now resembles it. This is the final phase of God's plan when He says:
« … Let Us make man ... after Our likeness … » Genèse 1:26
Glory is obtained by the following formula:
[World] X [Power] > Glory
or
[Image] X [Multiplication] > Likeness
The power being: blessing, fecundity, multiplication, domination, subjugation.
Indeed, the image of God is described by his "Word", Jesus. It is multiplied and reigns thanks to the Power of God, the Holy Spirit, and produces man like the image of God "The Christ".
That's why in the Beginning was God's character "His Word". He was with God. He describes Him because He has the same nature as God. He is God. It is the announcement of the coming of this Word in her womb that the Angel brought to Mary. When she wanted to know how the Word would become a person for her who received it, the angel replied "By the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon you". And to the rest of men, to those who received it, to those who believed in the Word, she gave the Power to become children of God, so that they are no longer born, neither of flesh and blood nor of the will of earthly man, but of God, of the Spirit of God, of the will of God: That they may be made conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ being the firstborn of the race of those who are born again, of water, of spirit, of power and of fire. When the Holy Spirit comes upon them, they become witnesses of God's work in man. And the people in whom the character of God was not yet imprinted, this people will become a people of the sons of the living God (Hosea 1:10).
For Thine is
What is the main point? That the Son of God, Jesus Christ:
« … est l’image du Dieu invisible (le caractère, la parole, l’esprit), Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person (His likeness) »
Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:2-3, 2 Corinthians 4:4.
It is to Him that all power has been given. To Him belongs the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory, for ever.
What about us in this?
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Now we have this treasure [His image] in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
. 2 Corinthians 4:6
Amen!
By Neo Christian SONDI, may, the 31th, 2020, 6PM