December 18, 2007
-
JMac - The Glory of the Lord
The Glory of the Lord
1In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
The whole concept of the glory of the Lord surrounds the Christmas scene. The glory of the Lord is the expression of God's person and the manifestation of God's character. Anytime God reveals Himself, it is the manifestation of His glory. God's glory is seen in Creation. Everything that exists in the universe is a manifestation of God's glory because all things were made by Him. You see His glory in the farthest star and in the smallest flower. But even with those, we do not have the complete story. There is more that we need to know.
God revealed himself at different times and in different ways. God did not remain silent or invisible. He shone the light of glory in creation. He also revealed His Word to the prophets, so that the greatest revelation in time past is the understanding of the Old Testament (Amos 3:7) In creation God only whispers, but in the Old Testament he speaks in a full voice.
But there was still mystery. The prophets didn't get the complete picture of what God was really like. And then God sent His Son. Now that is God shouting. Jesus is God and you see all of God in Him: His judgment, His justice, His love, His wisdom, His power, His omniscience. The fullness of God is seen as it was never ever seen in Jesus Christ. He shouted in His Son and the New Testament gives us that revelation. Who is Jesus Christ? He is the glory of the Lord. (John 1:14, Matthew 17)
In the cradle in Bethlehem you see the glory of God in human flesh. Every time Jesus performed a miracle, every time He healed a lame man or gave sight to the blind, or hearing to the deaf, or a voice to the dumb, every time He forgave sin, God was revealing His glory. It says in verse 3 that He was the express image of His person. The Greek word means "an engraving tool, a die or a stamp or a mold or a mark that is made by a seal." It has the idea of a copy or reproduction. And he is saying, "Christ is the image of God. He is the character of God revealed (II Corinthians 4:4, Colossians 1:15,2:9)
To support that, the writer gives us the excellencies of Christ, His inheritance, His initiation, His influence, His invervention and His installation. First, His inheritance, verse 2: "Whom He hath appointed heir of all things." Sonship demands inheritance. See Psalm 2, Colossians 1, Romans 11:36. Jesus is rightful heir to the earth. He unrolls the scroll in Revelation 5 and repossesses the earth to establish His Kingdom. He is the one who has the right to rule and is given the inheritance by God.
Second, His initiation, is told of in "By whom also He made the worlds." Christ not only will receive it in the end but He is the source of its origination in the beginning. (John 1:3) The Greek word for "world" here is not kosmos, it is not talking about the physical worlds alone. It goes way beyond that. The word is aionas and it means "ages." It is not that He just created the physical worlds and the physical things that exist in the universe, it is that He created the concepts in which physical things can exist. He created time and space and force and energy and matter.
Third, we see His influence in verse 3, "He upholds all things by the word of His power." He holds the whole thing together. It is His influence. It is Him that makes the atom move in its proper orbit, the building block of all things. The verb there has to do with supporting present continuous action. He continually holds all things together. This universe would disintegrate and fly to pieces if it weren't for His upholding power.
Fourth, we see His intervention in verse 3. "When He had by Himself purged our sin." Did you know He did it by Himself? That was a greater work than creation or upholding the universe. He made purification. He cleansed our sins. That was His intervention into the human disaster. And for a brief moment, the glory departed and went black.
Finally we see His installation. When He was done, He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High, a name for God. His right hand is the place of honor, the place of blessing, the place of power. He sat down. Why did He sit down? He was done. In the temple there were no seats, ecause a priest never finished and so he never sat down. Sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice by the millions and they never sat down because it never ever was a finished work. Jesus made one sacrifice and when it was finished He sat down. He sat down. It was over. There was nothing more to do. (Hebrews 10:12)
Those who are believers are in the forgiving work of Christ on the cross are gazing at His glory and being transformed into His image in the process. Your first look at Christ in faith may be like the ugly duckling who first saw the swans. You have an overwhelming sense of your own ugliness and yet there is an irresistibility in Christ that turns your heart inside out.The ugly duckling responded from his deepest being because he was a swan and that's what he was made to be. Deep within ourselves we really don't know why we respond that way but it's because that's what we were meant to be. And then one day as we face humility in our ugliness, as we gaze in the mirror, we see we are becoming that very beautiful thing we long to be. And with humility in our walk and gratitude in our hearts, we live our lives before God.
God wants to transform you into His own image from one level of glory to the next. It is staggering for me to perceive that the Lord Jesus Christ is the glory of the Lord revealed TO us. It is more staggering to reveal that He is the glory of the Lord revealed FOR us. It is most staggering of all to understand that He is the glory of God revealed IN us. "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Let's not miss Christmas. Let's focus on Him so that we can become what we were created to be, radiating that very same glory.
Comments (1)
Comments are closed.