BEHOLDING HIS GLORY

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6).

 

Jesus Christ is the A to Z, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the Author and Finisher of our faith, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  He said that no man can come to the heavenly Father, but by Him.  He is the light of the world, and God has commanded that His light should shine into the darkness of this world, and into the darkness of our hearts.  With this light comes the knowledge of the glory of God.  That is, we can see and know the glory of God simply by believing and receiving His Son Jesus Christ. 

 

There are many who think that God likes to hide Himself from man, and that it is difficult to know what it is that He requires of us humans.  This could not be further from the truth.  The fact is, God delights in His fellowship with man, and it is His deepest desire to speak with man and reveal His will to him.  When God first created man, He communed continually with him, and man knew his Creator and beheld His glory.  It was Adam's sin that changed all of that.  After the fall, Adam felt compelled to hide from his Maker because of his shame and guilt.  So, you see, it is not God Who separates Himself from man, but quite the opposite.

 

Man's fallen state has brought a separation between him and his heavenly Father, and what was true in the beginning is just as true today.  As the prophet Isaiah said, "Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear." (Isaiah 59:1, 2).  Until man acknowledges his sin, he cannot have fellowsip with God.  Man now reacts to God more out of fear instead of seeking to restore the love relationship that God desires to have with him.  He may try to soothe his guilt by good works and charities, or by endeavoring to stick to a moral code of ethics.  He may even seek to find peace in church membership, or by adhering to some religion.  None of these things bring the peace of mind that man seeks, nor bring him any closer to His Creator.  Peace with God can only come by one way, and that is by repentance from our dead works and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (John 8:36). 

 

In the Old Testament, when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai after being in the presence of God, and receiving the Ten Commandments, his face shone with the glory of God.   "And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai—and the two tables of testimony were in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mountain—that Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone through his talking with Him [God].  And Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come near him." (Exodus 34:29-30 Darby).  In order for the people to look at him, Moses had to put a veil over his face.  When he talked with God, he removed the veil; but when he talked with the people, he put the veil over his face again.  What a tragedy that the children of Israel could hear the law, but they could not behold God's glory.  Similarly, in the temple of God there was a veil placed between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies where God's glory dwelled, and the Israelites were unable to enter behind that veil.  Only the high priest was allowed to enter that sacred space, and then, only once a year.

 

Unless we come to God through His Son Jesus Christ, then Christianity remains just a bunch of laws, rules, and rituals which are difficult to understand and impossible to keep.  There remains a veil between us and God that may reveal His acts, but hides His ways, His purpose, and His glory.  In the Old Testament we read about God's wrath toward sin and disobedience because of the death and destruction that these things brought on the world and on mankind; but in the New Testament we read about the Son of God Whom the Father sent to save the world, and not to condemn.  In Christ, the veil is ripped away, and we behold the glory of God as we look on Jesus' face.  “...which vail is done away in Christ.”  “Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.” (2 Corinthians 3:14b, 16).  In the Lord, we find the power and the ability to do His will, and comprehend His plan.  As we grow in the knowledge of God, we are transformed into His nature by His Holy Spirit working inside of us.  We serve Him because we love Him, and know that He loves us.  There is nothing so incredible as to have the veil removed and to really see and know the love that the Father has for His children.  We may now enter into the very holy of holies and behold God's glorious beauty!

 

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SIMON OF CYRENE

“AND AS THEY led Him [Jesus] away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.” (Luke 23:26).   Three of the Gospels in the New Testament mention a man by the name of Simon in connection with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  He is only mentioned once in each of the accounts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as told by St. Matthew, St. Mark and St. Luke.  There is much that we can learn, however, from the scant details of his story.   Scripture tells us that Simon was from the city of Cyrene which is in present-day Libya.  Cyrene was at least 850 miles from Jerusalem – a very long trip for folks in Jesus’ time.  During this period, there was a strong Jewish community in Cyrene of about 100,000 or more.  Simon may have been a member of this community and made the long trip to Jerusalem for the Jews’ yearly Feast of Passover.  If so, this woul...
Read more

O, SING UNTO THE LORD!

“ Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.   Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.   Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name .  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” (Psalm 100).   My wife, Terry, and I were both saved in 1971.   It was toward the end of the “hippie” era, and we considered ourselves part of that counter culture.   We were part of a rock and roll band along with a few of our friends.   We did covers of songs by many popular rock bands of the time.   We were involved with all of the experimentation and excess that went along with that culture.   We experienced much of the angst associated with the civil unrest, racial tensi...
Read more

JACOB HAVE I LOVED

The Jewish patriarch, Isaac, had two sons who were twins.   Esau was the firstborn and Jacob was literally born on Esau’s heels because scripture tells us that he took hold of Esau’s heel as he was being birthed and was delivered immediately after.   “And when her [Isaac’s wife Rebekah’s] days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.  And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.  And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob : and Isaac was threescore years old when she [Rebekah] bare them.” (Genesis 25:24-26).   The two boys couldn’t have been any different from one another.   It was not just their appearance, but their personalities and inclinations were also quite different.   Scripture says, “…Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.” (v. 27).   Esau wa...
Read more