The Greek doxa is one of the richest words in the New Testament, meaning glory, honor, splendor, renown, or the divine radiance. In secular Greek, it primarily meant 'opinion' or 'reputation', but the LXX's use of doxa to translate the Hebrew kavod (weightiness, glory) transformed the word into a primary vehicle for divine revelation.
Doxa is the New Testament's central word for divine radiance and the purpose of human existence. God's doxa is His own self-manifestation — the blazing, overwhelming reality of who He is when He makes Himself known (Exodus 24:16–17; Luke 2:9; Revelation 21:23). Human doxa is derivative — we were made to 'reflect' God's glory (2 Corinthians 3:18) as the moon reflects the sun. The gospel narrative is a doxa story: the eternal Word 'became flesh and we beheld his doxa' (John 1:14); Jesus was glorified through His death ('the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified', John 12:23); and believers are being transformed 'from one degree of glory to another' (2 Corinthians 3:18). The end goal of redemption is that all creation will be 'filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea' (Habakkuk 2:14).