What do you think about when you think of “excellence?” Some may think of perfectionism. When we are talking about God we have to understand that He is the Author of excellence and is excellent!
When we look up the word “excellent” in the Hebrew it has so many positive explicit and implicit meanings. Here are just a few: abundance, increased, huge, plenty, multitude, numerous and more.
Heaven is Excellent!
When David said, “How excellent is Your Name in all the earth!” He has so much more in mind as He understood the fuller meaning of the word. When we say that God is excellent we are also saying that He is the BEST! There is no one like the Lord. Even the heaven of heavens is excellent as it has been created by God.
In the context of having a heart of wisdom we see the Book of Proverbs has something to say about excellence:
Listen, for I will speak of excellent things,
Proverbs 8:6
And from the opening of my lips will come right things.
We can see that as we are in Jesus, welcoming His Spirit and abiding in His Presence that His most excellent qualities should also be manifested in us. Through our lives God is continually peeling back the multiplied layers of thinking, things that are not in alignment with His heart, so He can manifest His excellence in us. His plan in sending Jesus is that we might be conformed to His image, even being transformed by the renewing of our minds.
Have I not written to you excellent things
Proverbs 22:20-21
Of counsels and knowledge,
That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth,
That you may answer words of truth
To those who send to you?
His Excellence Manifested
In life it is easy to haphazardly embrace thoughts that can’t be further from the truth. When this happens it not only affects us as we can be buying into lies, but also corrupts the process of His transformation in our lives – because God wants the beauty, magnificence and excellent of Who He is manifested in us for the world to see. When we say that we want God to be glorified in and through our lives it is about the excellency of His goodness and glory shining out of us.
This is nothing we can earn, work for or create a list to achieve – but rather it is discovered through a yielded life to His Holy Spirit, the truth of the scriptures with an honest and humble heart to welcome the transformation in our lives.
As for the saints who are on the earth,
Psalms 16:3
“They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”
God delights in us as His excellence is seen in our lives. A life of wisdom embraces the excellence that God gives to us. He desires to awaken our hearts to Who He really is – to see Him as He is. He is the King. Just imagine how you would represent a good King – just a good one. How would you act? How would you represent Him? What would you change? I submit to you that there would most likely be a lot of changes for most of us. Now let’s think of that in the reality of Who Jesus is. He is the King of kings. He is the highest King of all that has ever been and ever will be. Now think about how you can represent Him?! It is mind-blowing that we have the awesome privilege of representing the most excellent King. How do you even begin to represent Him? In the simplicity of His wisdom and devotion to His heart we can. By living lives yielded to Him He can manifest His Glory.
The Excellent Glory
For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
2 Peter 1:17
Of all the words that Peter could use to describe the glory of God that was manifested on Mount of Transfiguration he recalls it as the “Excellent Glory”. WOW! The voice of God came to Peter out of that most excellent glory. The majesty, the excellence of God, was projected into Peter’s life in that moment. He saw something about Jesus that He has not seen up until this time – this quality of the glory of Jesus was revealed where it resounded into His heart. How breathtaking an experience He had to see the heavenly side of the Lord of Glory on this mountain. He had been acquainted with the Kingdom of God being manifested through the earthly ministry of Jesus in the miracles, wonders and signs, but now He has a front row seat to see the Excellent Majesty of God upon Jesus – even as He was clothed in a heavenly brilliant white robe.
Oh that we would have just some of the excellency of Jesus found in our lives! Just a portion of His Spirit and manifested glory! Even the treasures of wisdom Who has a voice and is speaking to us in this time. We need to rediscover this most excellent wisdom, glory and the light of God that we may arise and shine for His Name!
I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.
Daniel 5:14
Discovering His Excellence Through His Promises
Through God’s promises we find entry into the divine nature being realized in our lives. There are so many promises of God for us in scripture – some have counted over 8,000! As a son of God you have promises that are like keys to open doors of His life and blessing to you.
But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
Hebrews 8:6
See in this passage how Jesus has been given this most EXCELLENT ministry as He has given us a better covenant with better promises. Draw near to God, embrace all that He is. Don’t settle for mediocrity in your life. Don’t be frivolous and foolish with your life. Discover how God wants to bring you into covenant and alignment with Him and His family, how He desires to pour His most excellent nature into you as you BELIEVE and walk into His promises for your life. Don’t be an orphan with no commitment, covenant or family. Discover your place of sonship.
Don’t waste your life in foolishness but embrace the gift of being part of His most excellent family in the earth as He calls you to partake of His most excellent life!