28 Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming. Luke 9:28-32 (NASB) (Read verses 30-32 on the site)
As we continue in our discussion and deeper look at the makeup of the dividing line between genuine Christianity, that which is God centered, and counterfeit Christianity, that which is man-centered, let us look at the vast difference in how each side understands the concepts of God’s glory and the praise that is His due….
The word most often translated as praise in the New Testament is δόξα (doxa). It is also translated even more often as glory. However, in secular Greek, δόξα means opinion or conjecture, especially favorable human opinion, which then includes an evaluation placed by others, such as fame, repute, honor, or praise. Is this what is meant in God’s Word when δόξα is used in reference to God’s glory and the praise that His due? I submit that that definition exactly defines most professing Christians’ understanding of praise and worship, but is not in any way shape or form what is true δόξα. While the secular usage of δόξα is as defined above, in the New Testament we see a totally different picture. Yes, we still honor the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and we guard our Lord’s reputation above all, the concept of personal opinion vanishes entirely. Of the 165 occurrences of δόξα in the New Testament, not one regresses into man’s personal opinion. Also, not one of the post-apostolic fathers use it that way either. In other words, the Biblical usage of δόξα has transformed it from the realm of the subjective, shifting, selfish opinion of man thereby showing us that man-centered Christianity is worthless. Man’s opinion about God and His honor and praise and glory matters not at all. Instead, true Christianity is God Centered in that all that matters is the eternal constant of God’s fame, repute, honor, and praise.