God chooses when and with whom He may reveal even a glance at His glory. The best way to experience God’s glory is through obedience to His word. Then His glory fills our hearts and souls. If we obey and submit to God’s loving, righteous will, we will more and more be transformed into His son Jesus’ glorious character image.

Moses’ face “shown” because he had communed with God, but the reflection of glory on his face faded. The Apostle Paul wrote about the difference between the glory on Moses’ face and the glory of the true Christian believer.

2 Corinthians 3:7-9,16,18 (ESV), “7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone (the Law), came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. … 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil (of unbelief) is removed. … 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Please note, there are no Bible verses which state a believer’s face will literally shine with God’s glory. None of the faces of the apostles nor New Testament believers had shining faces. Today, it is our characters which “shine” with Christ’s character image.

So, how do we behold the glory of the Lord? We accept Jesus as our Savior and give our lives and wills over to God. We strive to do only God’s will. When God accepts our sacrifices, He gives us a measure of His power and influence, the holy spirit. It is the transforming power of God’s spirit that helps us to grow the fruit of the spirit, to become more loving, to be obedient, and to withstand suffering for righteousness’ sake. In every step of obedience to God’s will, we behold His glory.

Additional Resources:
Christian Questions Podcast
Episode #1029: “What Does it Mean to Glorify God?”
Defining the breadth and depth of extolling Almighty God
Preview Video
CQ Rewind Show Notes

For children, parents and Bible class teachers:
Animated video: Why can’t we see God?