“Hallowed by thy name” is the first petition in the Lord’s Prayer. Its placement is significant. According to Jesus, the greatest need of every person is to recognize and properly respond to God’s glory. When we pray this way, we call everybody – including ourselves – to hallow God’s name, to give God glory, to recognize and rightly respond to God’s “awe-full” beauty.

With these words, Jesus reorders our priorities and reorients our perspective. Jesus teaches us to put God first. He also calls us to see the glory that surrounds us – the glory that often goes unnoticed because of human sin. By regularly praying Jesus’ Prayer, we will progressively see the world in a whole new light – the holy light of God’s glory.

On Holiness, Glory, & Beauty

God is holy. Even a cursory reading of the sacred Scriptures evidences this. Old Testament scholar, J. A. Motyer, writes, “God’s ‘name’ is qualified by the adjective ‘holy’ in the Old Testament more often than by all other qualifiers put together.”

In Isaiah’s famous vision of God, the prophet sees God surrounded by seraphim – glorious, six-winged, angelic creatures. While flying around God’s throne, these creatures cover their feet and their eyes while a perpetual song of praise echoes from their lips: “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3b). With this threefold declaration of God’s holiness, the seraphim emphasize God’s holiness to the highest degree. In English, when we want to emphasize a word, we use punctuation (underlining, exclamation points, italics). In Hebrew, emphasis is given through repetition. Thus, God is not simply “holy”; God is “holy, holy, holy” – holy to a super-superlative degree!

The semantic root of “holy” means “to cut” or “to separate.” Contrary to popular thought, the emphasis is not on God’s moral purity (God is separate from sin) but on God’s ontological otherness (God is distinct, separate, a cut above all others).

When speaking of God’s holiness, often people emphasize God’s transcendent moral purity. For example, for theologian R. C. Sproul God’s holiness means that God is “free from every stain, wholly perfect and immaculate in every detail.” Certainly, this is true. God is perfectly good. “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). God’s holiness draws attention to God’s absolute moral perfection – the absolute point of reference for all that is good.

However, the greater truth of holiness has to do with how it communicates God’s complete “otherness.” God is set apart from everything else in all creation. God is infinitely above and beyond us. As the Psalmists put it, God is lifted up above all he has made. There is no one like God; an infinite chasm exists between God and everything else. It is this absolute otherness – this supreme and transcendent majesty – which merits our honor, reverence, and worship.

God’s holiness reveals that everything about God is “otherly.” God’s love is unlike any expression of love we have ever received. It is holy – a cut above, separate, a love unlike any other. In the same way, God’s goodness is completely other, and so on and so forth. Everything about God is holy.

It is important to recognize both aspects of God’s holiness – his moral purity and his radical otherness. Indeed, his moral purity is simply his goodness and justice demonstrated in an “otherly” fashion. If we fail to recognize this, we may end up with a God who is so absolutely morally pure that he is unable to be pleased or merciful with anyone or anything unless he, she, or it, is absolutely flawless and perfect as well. For many Christians, this is the truth about God’s holiness. Thus, God’s holiness only provokes fear. Yet it is God’s holiness – his radical otherness – that is the reason his love is so far above ours, and thus, worthy of our love.

We get a glimpse of this holy love in Hosea. Through the prophet, God declares how his holiness and love unite in their attitude toward a wayward people:

How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, O Israel?...
My heart is turned over within Me,
All my compassions are kindled.
I will not execute My fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim again.
For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst,
And I will not come in wrath. (Hosea 11:8-9)

God refuses to act out in anger upon a wayward people for one reason – God is holy. It is God’s holy love – God’s otherly love – that refuses to do what normal love in the same circumstance may choose to do. For some Christians, God’s holiness is the very reason he must judge sin and destroy all that is imperfect. But when God’s holiness is understood rightly, we discover that it is the very reason God refuses to come in judgment. God’s holiness points to a love of another kind!

Theologian Ralph Martin strikes the proper balance concerning how God’s holiness should impact our lives: “There is nothing twisted, dark, perverse, or selfish about God… There is no manipulation or deception or disappointment in his love. We can open ourselves to be loved by God without fear of being violated or taken advantage of.”

Glory. God’s holiness must be connected with God’s glory. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). God’s holiness is manifested in the explosive brilliance of God’s glory. Jesus’ prayer, “Father, glorify your name” (John 12:28), is simply another way to pray, “Our Father, hallowed be thy name.”

Glory is primarily translated from two words: (1) the Hebrew “kabod” which means heavy, weighty, profoundly important or impressive; (2) the Greek “doxa” which means brightness, splendor, magnificence, fame, or excellent reputation. Taken together, the word “glory” embraces the following three ideas:

Weightiness or Heaviness. Glory communicates a gravity, immensity, and depth that arises from the aura and sheer magnificence of God’s presence. It speaks of a reality of infinite greatness and unspeakable worth. The old hippies’ saying, “Heavy!” comes close to communicating this aspect of glory.

Beauty and Splendor. Glory communicates a brightness, radiance, and majesty. It speaks of God’s dazzling beauty and resplendence. The glory of God is the visible manifestation of the excellence of God’s character. It shines with unequalled splendor from the infinite greatness of God. God’s glory communicates God’s beauty – God’s loveliness, attractiveness, and alluring splendor.

Honor. God’s glory demonstrates God’s unique and incomparable worthiness. It calls for the response of respect, esteem, and worship – a humble, grateful acknowledgement of God’s worthiness. God uniquely possesses this inner glory and has the divine right to be acknowledged as supreme. No other being possesses this right because no other being possesses this glory. All creaturely glory is derived. God’s glory is intrinsic and original. The glory of creatures – no matter how great – is merely a reflection of the glory of God. Our sin is that we see glory in everything else beside God! We love the reflection more than the source. This is the essence of sin: “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

God’s glory is not an attribute as much as it is the sum total of all God’s attributes. In viewing God’s glory, we are not directly viewing God, but the impress and effects of His majestic greatness. In comic books, when an object or person possesses worth, an artist surrounds it with “glory lines” – lines that emanate from the object to the surrounding area. These lines reveal that the object possesses great value and worth. In the same way, glory emanates from God and points to God’s great value and worth.

Holiness, glory, and beauty are inseparable. We must recognize the connection between them. God’s holiness (otherly presence) is manifested in glory (majestic splendor and brilliance) and the form it takes is beauty. This combination produces both fear and longing within us. God’s “terrible” beauty – God’s “awe-full” beauty – simultaneously repels and attracts. It is both shocking and soothing, disruptive and fascinating, unnerving and restorative. It provokes both fear and love. Unless we embrace this full range of engagement with God’s glory, we evidence that we have not truly encountered it.

The Gospel: God’s Story of Glory

God’s glory is so central to God’s character, God’s story, and God’s salvation that the gospel can be understood as God’s story of glory. All human history is for the purpose of manifesting and sharing in God’s glory.

The story begins with God’s glorious creation. God creates earth and intends it to be a cosmic temple where he will reside. Human beings – the pinnacle of God’s creation – are crowned with glory and majesty, as image-bearers of God (Ps. 8:5).

Through sin, humanity falls short of God’s glory. All creation, once intended to be a cosmic temple, is now impacted by humanity’s sin. The ripples of human rebellion stain the whole of creation. Though human beings and creation still bear vestiges of God’s glory (Ps. 19:1), they also demonstrate its loss – like the magnificent ruin of an abandoned castle that hints of former glory.

God refuses to abandon his creation. Very early in God’s story of glory, God reveals his glory to Israel for the sake of the whole world. After the exodus from Egypt, God’s glory appears to the people in a cloud (Exo. 16:10), and then at Mt. Sinai where God’s law is given (Exo. 24:16). God’s glory is then visibly manifest at the Tabernacle and then the Temple (Exo. 40:34-38; 1 Kings 8:10-11; cf. Ps. 26:8).

Having established himself with Israel, God clearly declares his plans for the world: “Indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord” (Num 14:20). It is this that the prophets announced: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14). The promise that God’s glory will be revealed to all flesh is the heart of Isaiah’s gospel (Isaiah 40:5; 60:1-2, 19; 66:18-19).

God’s glory is fully revealed in Jesus, the Holy One of Israel. Jesus is the new tabernacle of God — dwelling with his people and revealing God’s glory: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14). Jesus perfectly manifests God’s glory: “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature” (Heb. 1:3).

Amazingly, we discover God’s glory most fully in the human face of Jesus (2 Cor. 4:6). Jesus, the holy one of God is God’s glory! Our search for the sacred, for glory, for beauty is satisfied in Jesus. The question is not what glory is, but who glory is; not what beauty is, but who beauty is! Ultimately, the sacred glory we seek is not an abstract ideal but God in human form – “the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).

But the story does not end with Jesus. God reveals his glory in Jesus in order to share his glory with his people. God’s glory is shared with his saints on the basis of union with the Son. The Scriptures are abundantly clear on this point:

• “And the glory which You have given Me I have given to them” (John 17:22)
• “And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 2:14)
• “those whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Rom. 8:28-30)
• “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21)
• “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings” (Hebrews 2:10)
• “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.” (1 John 3:2)
• “To this end also we pray for you always… that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thess. 1:11-12)
• “the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Romans 8:21)
• “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:18)

“Christ in you, the hope of glory” is the heart of the gospel – God’s story of glory. In Christ and by the Spirit, we are hallowed (sanctified), glorified, and beautified. This glory is permanent rather than fading (2 Cor. 3:18; 4:16-18). It finds its fullest expression in glorified resurrection bodies in a renewed and restored new heavens and new earth. Through the saving work of Jesus, humanity is liberated from sin, and all creation is as well. The earth, created to be a cosmic temple where God’s glory permanently resides, finally fulfills its intended purpose: “And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Rev. 21:22-23).

The glory of God is the source, means, and end of existence. It is the purpose and goal of all things. God will not rest until “all the earth is filled with the glory of the Lord” (Num 14:20) – until all creation is hallowed, glorified, beautified by God. For this reason, the Western church has spoken of the beatific vision – a holy and glorious vision of God that leads to the eternal enjoyment of God’s infinite and inexhaustible glory. “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).

What Does it Mean to Hallow/Glorify God’s Name?

“Hallowed be thy name” is a prayer for God’s glory to be universally revealed and positively responded to. It could be translated: “Be manifest, the glory of you.” It is a prayer that God might be all in all – that the glory of God would be manifest here and now. It expresses our desire to see God supremely respected, treasured, and loved.

How do we personally glorify God? First, it must be intentional. All creation passively manifests God’s glory, that is, without effort. In contrast, we must actively decide to glorify God. We do not naturally glorify God – it takes conscious effort.

Second, this manifestation must be both internal and external. The puritan, Thomas Vincent, spoke of the inward manifestation in this way: “When we have the highest estimation of God, the greatest confidence in God, and the strongest affections for God, then we are glorifying God in our spirit.” In short, we must worship God alone, trust God implicitly, and love God wholly.

This inner work must be externalized. Outwardly, there are at least four ways we glorify God:

By offering worship and praise. Worship means “to honor, extol the virtues of, magnify the reputation, or to cause others to think positively about God.” It involves declaring the greatness and goodness of God. We glorify God by offering sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise (Ps. 50:23; Hebrews 13:15). We should never underestimate the importance of loving, grateful, adoring praise. No matter how we feel, God is always worthy of our praise. It is always good to worship the Lord!

By yielding obedience. We are called to “walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls us into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thess. 2:11-12). We do this through faithful obedience. Jesus put it very simply: “By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples” (John 15:8). The apostle Paul put it even more bluntly: “Glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

By sincerely endeavoring by our actions to promote God’s interests. Our actions among believers and unbelievers should always be guided by God’s glory. To live for the glory of God is to point beyond ourselves to the sheer wonder of God. In short, all that we do is to be for this end:

• Among unbelievers: “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt 5:16)
• Among believers: “Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:11)
• In everything: “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31)

By imitating Christ. Jesus lived to glorify God: “I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do” (John 17:4). Glorifying God was at the heart of Jesus’ mission on earth. Jesus lived to manifest God’s kingdom to others, to obey God’s will, to love God and others in all things, and to embrace the vocation God gave to humanity to live as a holy priesthood. When we reflect Jesus’ mission, we reflect God’s glory.

Conclusion

According to Jesus, “hallowed be thy name” is the first and most necessary petition. This is the greatest need of every person, indeed, of the entire world.

• Does this match our priorities? Is this our prominent passion?
• Is this how we see the world? As a theater of God’s glory?
• Is this what we long for with passion? That God’s glory would be revealed in and through our lives?

“Hallowed by thy name” “is the cry of the one who has seen and recognized God, and knows that only in this vision and encounter can he find the fullness of life, full inspiration, and full happiness.”[1]

Is this our priority? If so, we must make every effort to reveal, rather than obscure, God’s glory. “The greatest obstacle to the Christian truth is the church, the body of Christ, those of us to call ourselves believers but who nevertheless obscure rather than reveal his glory.”[2]

The Lord’s Prayer constantly reminds us of the weight of glory that surrounds us and seeks to invade and transform us and the entire world. To see this glory is a tremendous joy and yet a great burden. We dwell in theater of glory, haunted by glory, looking for glory in everything; and yet, so rarely in God. Our sin is that we settle for so little. Like C. S. Lewis reminded us, we are creatures desperate for glory who are far too easily pleased.

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. (C. S. Lewis, “The Weight of Glory”)

Our call is to nurture our passion for glory through diminishing the draw that the pseudo-glories of sin has in our lives, so that we can purely and passionately reflect God’s glory in this world.

To this end, we should pray “Hallowed by thy name” with great passion every day. As a guide, we can follow the great Orthodox theologian, Alexander Schmemann, who provides us this expanded version:

“Hallowed be thy name” - may everything in the world, beginning with my own life, my deeds, my words be a reflection of this sacred and divine name, which has been revealed and given to us. May life once more become an ascension towards the light, an exaltation, praise, the power of good. May everything be filled with divine wisdom and divine love.[3]

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Good article on the "glory" of God. Do you recommend any books for further study of this topic? Thanks. Rich: There are many great books out there. Most evangelicals instantly think of John Piper. Though he is helpful, I believe his works suffer from a number of fundamental flaws and thus, ultimately distort - albeit unintentionally - God's glory. Here are just a few more obscure titles: Art and the Beauty of God by Richard Harries and Experiencing the Trinity by Darrell Johnson. Also, make sure to check out my article, Stargazing. Whatever we make of God's glory, we must never forget Irenaeus' ancient wisdom, "The glory of God is humanity fully alive!"