Why is "falling short of the Glory of God" said in the same breath as "all have sinned"?

Mark Quayle

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Why is "fallen short of the Glory of God" said in the same breath as "all have sinned"?

I mean, it's rather obvious that sinning is falling short of God's command and short of the Law, and short of so many other things about God. But his glory?

Why does it mention his glory? Is it as simple as to say that we do not glorify him by sinning, or maybe that we are not as good as him? If that's all it means, why does it bother to say it? --after all, it IS obvious. And, if that's all it means, what are the implications for other doctrines besides the doctrine of sin?

Or is it talking about more than merely that we are not as good as God or that we don't glorify him when we sin?

All my life I have heard this verse, and it never really added up --why does it speak of his GLORY? Are there implications here specific to Hamartiology and Soteriology? Are there implications to other areas of study and life?
 

Hammster

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I think it’s because we have a tendency to minimize our sin, and we compare ourselves to others. “I’m not as bad as so-and-so, even though I do sin.” Kinda like the Pharisee and the tax collector.

So my first impression is that Paul is holding us up against the ultimate Person we should compare ourselves to, and that’s God. “Hey bro, you doing good with your sin? How are you doing compared to God?”

That’s my first impression. These views are subject to change without notice. :)
 
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Maria Billingsley

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Why is "fallen short of the Glory of God" said in the same breath as "all have sinned"?

I mean, it's rather obvious that sinning is falling short of God's command and short of the Law, and short of so many other things about God. But his glory?

Why does it mention his glory? Is it as simple as to say that we do not glorify him by sinning, or maybe that we are not as good as him? If that's all it means, why does it bother to say it? --after all, it IS obvious. And, if that's all it means, what are the implications for other doctrines besides the doctrine of sin?

Or is it talking about more than merely that we are not as good as God or that we don't glorify him when we sin?

All my life I have heard this verse, and it never really added up --why does it speak of his GLORY? Are there implications here specific to Hamartiology and Soteriology? Are there implications to other areas of study and life?
"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God". Romans 3:23
The glory of God is perfection. A sinner falls short. Jesus Christ of Nazareth regenerates the true beliver so that we may partake in His Glory forever. Blessings.
 
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paul1149

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God has left a witness to Himself in Creation, and it is glorious. That is true of man's sense of His presence within himself. When we sin we obscure that glory and can no longer sense it. I think that's what Paul is getting at. He's building an argument here that eventually will culminate with the restoration of that presence within us, with God giving us the "spirit of adoption" rather than a "spirit of slavery, leading to fear" (fear because we cannot keep the law and so we expect punishment, Rom 8.15).
 
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Mark Quayle

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I think it’s because we have a tendency to minimize our sin, and we compare ourselves to others. “I’m not as bad as so-and-so, even though I do sin.” Kinda like the Pharisee and the tax collector.

So my first impression is that Paul is holding us up against the ultimate Person we should compare ourselves to, and that’s God. “Hey bro, you doing good with your sin? How are you doing compared to God?”

That’s my first impression. These views are subject to change without notice. :)
I hear ya, bro!
 
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Mark Quayle

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"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God". Romans 3:23
The glory of God is perfection. A sinner falls short. Jesus Christ of Nazareth regenerates the true beliver so that we may partake in His Glory forever. Blessings.
Yes, well put. But forgive me for how this may sound, but that is basically the "obvious" that I mentioned in the OP. Is there no more to it than that? There is, you are right, regardless of what anyone may add, the fact that his Glory is related to his righteousness. It is also related to the truth. So, his perfection.

When I read the context, particularly the first few verses of Chapter 3, a discourse on the same subject brought up elsewhere --"shall we sin that grace may abound?-- is given, in which Paul pretty much does just what you mentioned --pretty much equating God's truth and righteousness (his perfection, you rightly said) with his Glory, or at least making them relevant to his Glory.

But it still feels like I'm missing something there, something to bring Paul's thinking full circle --I can't quite put my finger on it.
 
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Maria Billingsley

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Yes, well put. But forgive me for how this may sound, but that is basically the "obvious" that I mentioned in the OP. Is there no more to it than that? There is, you are right, regardless of what anyone may add, the fact that his Glory is related to his righteousness. It is also related to the truth. So, his perfection.

When I read the context, particularly the first few verses of Chapter 3, a discourse on the same subject brought up elsewhere --"shall we sin that grace may abound?-- is given, in which Paul pretty much does just what you mentioned --pretty much equating God's truth and righteousness (his perfection, you rightly said) with his Glory, or at least making them relevant to his Glory.

But it still feels like I'm missing something there, something to bring Paul's thinking full circle --I can't quite put my finger on it.
There is no more than that. God is not the author of confusion. Blessings
 
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Mark Quayle

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