Marked By His Glory; Known By His Love
(Ref 1/26)

Oil painting done on stretched canvas.
No need to frame - ready to hang on wall

Size of canvas : 120 x 60 cm

South-Africa
R18 500
Postage within South Africa is included

USA
$1175
Postage - canvas rolled in a tube is included in price
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Marked by His Glory; Known by His love.

This phrase most naturally refers to God’s people—the Church.
But who is the Church?
In Romans 11:11–31, the apostle Paul explains that Israel is like a natural olive tree, chosen and cultivated by God. To them belonged the covenants, the promises, and the Messiah according to the flesh. The Gospel came first to the Jewish people through Christ’s earthly ministry. Yet through Israel’s stumbling, salvation was extended to the nations.
The Gentiles, Paul says, are like a wild olive branch that has been grafted into the cultivated tree of Israel—not replacing it, but sharing in its rich root. Together, Jew and Gentile form one redeemed people of God. For this reason, I painted an olive branch in the Groom’s hand, with one branch visibly grafted in. It is an image of the whole Church of Christ—Jew and Gentile united in Him, nourished by the same root, sustained by the same life.

Marked by His Glory
The Church is marked by God’s glory, and this mark is meant to be seen.
In Scripture, God’s glory (kavod) is not merely light or radiance, but the manifest presence of His character—His truth, righteousness, mercy, holiness, and power made visible. When Moses asked to see God’s glory, the Lord revealed His name and nature: compassion, grace, faithfulness, and covenant love (Exodus 33:14–19).
In the same way, the Church bears God’s glory when His nature is reflected in human lives. His presence rests not in a building, but in a people. Where Christ is formed in His followers, God’s glory is revealed to the world.

Known by His Love
Jesus said: “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”  (John 13:35)
The Church is therefore  recognized by its fruit. The servant-hearted, self-giving love Christians show toward one another becomes a living testimony that they belong to Christ. This love does not originate in human effort, but flows from God Himself. The Church is not only marked by glory—it is known by love. Known by God, and known by others, through a love that reflects the love of Christ.
Scripture declares: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
God’s deepest desire has always been to restore humanity to Himself. Out of love, He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, who bore our sin and reconciled us to the Father through the work of the Cross. Through Christ’s righteousness, we are invited back into covenant relationship—sons and daughters who know and are known by God.

The Church as God’s Dwelling Place
Once, God’s glory rested in the tabernacle and later in the temple. Now, His dwelling place is His people. The Church is the living sanctuary where God’s presence abides, where His glory rests, and where His love is revealed to the world. In Christ, God has chosen to make Himself visible through redeemed lives.

The Ayin (ע): Seeing, Salvation, and Living Water
I painted the olive branch in the shape of the Hebrew letter Ayin (ע). The core meaning of Ayin is “eye”—to see, to perceive, to become aware. In Hebrew thought, seeing is not merely visual; it is experiential knowing. To see is to understand truth and to encounter reality as God reveals it. This connects directly to salvation. Salvation is not only rescue from sin—it is the opening of blind eyes.
“The LORD opens the eyes of the blind.”* (Psalm 146:8)
“Once I was blind, now I see.”* (John 9:25)
Throughout Scripture, blindness represents sin, exile, and spiritual death. Ayin points toward redemption because God restores vision: “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known… to open blind eyes.” (Isaiah 42:6–7)
Jesus the Messiah is the Light who enables sight (Isaiah 9:2; Luke 4:18). In Him, Ayin becomes a symbol of Messianic salvation—God enabling humanity to see Him, know Him, and respond to Him. Ayin is also connected in Hebrew imagery to wells and springs, places where life-giving water emerges. This points to Christ, who offers living water:
“Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.”* (John 4)
“Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”* (John 7:38)

The Church as a Living Ayin
The Church becomes a vessel through which this living water flows. Having received sight, the Church now helps others see. Having been filled, it pours out life.
In this way, the Church itself becomes a living Ayin—
a visible source of God’s presence,  a wellspring of His life, a people through whom His glory is seen and His love is known.