The Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ

The Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ

            The Glory of God is “the highest of all topics and the grandest of all subjects.” To display God's glory was God's purpose in creating the entire universe and its people. And in the process His grace is central so we sing praise to His glorious grace ^“That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:7

            The Glory of God is who He is in His essential Being and all that He has done and is doing. The visible manifestation of the Glory of God is the glorious light that surrounds Him. God “alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light. . . .” 1 Timothy 6:16 ESV Moses and the children of Israel saw the glory of God as the Shekinah Glory led them through the wilderness. The glory of God was in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple. It showed itself as the Glory Cloud during the day and as a pillar of fire at night. Moses saw the Glory of God in the burning bush and on Mount Sinai when God gave “the Law of Moses.”

             The Hebrew and Greek words for glory are both weighty and beautiful. That's precisely what scripture says: ^“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” 2 Corinthians 4:17 And there is no greater majesty and splendor and inherent beauty than the glory of God.

            Used of man, glory speaks of radiance and praise, reputation, and wealth. Vanity and pride is associated with it. It is finite, transitory, and fickle, dependent on the whims of the crowds and the image makers. “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” 1 Peter 1:24-25 ESV And so does the glory of God in His absolute perfection. His holiness, his majesty, his character, His power, His works all contribute to His glory.

           And the glory of God was demonstrated in the Person of Jesus who is the highest revelation of God. He is “the image of the invisible God,” Colossians 1:15 ^“the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholds all things by the word of his power when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:3

             In the Incarnation “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 They all saw the excellence of His character, and Peter, James, and John saw the visible manifestation of His glory in the transfiguration. He “was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun,” “and his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow. . . .” Matthew 17:2 and Mark 9:3 Years later Peter wrote, “We were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” 2 Peter 1:16

           There is also the glory of God's beautiful creation. ^“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1 ESV ^“There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.” 1 Corinthians 15:40-41 ESV

          Does man have intrinsic glory? Well, yes, he does! God gave it to him when He created man in His own image, to reflect in a small, finite way, SOME of the things God can do though infinitely different, still man can think, feel, act, love, make moral and ethical judgments, be creative, love beauty, accomplish worthwhile projects, build, improve. All of the things God gave us to do in the cultural mandate of Genesis 1:26-27. That is the dignity and worth of mankind.

           ^“For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.” Psalm 8:5-6   So man created in the image of God should be accorded the deference and dignity that God has conferred upon him. That's why we should treat everyone with dignity and respect, because we know who they are!--created in God's image.

           But fallen man's conception of “glory” is quite different from that. And to describe it we need a Greek word quite different from doxa which means glory. For this we must use kenodoxos which means man's desire of praise, being conceited and boastful. Man wants to be the center of his own universe and claims to be autonomous or independent of God. When the truth of the matter is that we cannot even breathe our next breath without God.

           In the Graeco-Roman world of Bible times fame and glory were among the most important values in life. And the Jewish rabbis also highly esteemed the honor and praise of man—characteristics that Jesus warned against. In contrast the apostle Paul told the Thessalonians, “We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.” 1 Thess. 2:6

         The Glory of God and the Beauty of God are so closely related they could almost be used interchangeably. Here's how Sam Storms expressed it, “God’s glory is the beauty of God unveiled. Glory is the resplendent radiance of His power and His personality. Glory is all of God that makes God God, and shows Him to be worthy of our praise and our boasting and our trust and our hope and our confidence and our joy.”

“Glory is the external elegance of the internal excellencies of God. Glory is what you see and experience and feel when [you see the beauty of the works of God in creation.]

“Understanding God is but a means to enjoying God. We tell others of this glory and [thus increase our joy and theirs] at what we have told. . . .

“Treasure God. Prize Him. Delight in Him. Enjoy Him. In doing so you magnify Him, you show Him to be the most wonderful and sweet and all-sufficient being in the universe.

“. . . Enjoying God is not a means to a higher end. This IS the end. Enjoying God is not a pathway to the pinnacle. It is the pinnacle, the purpose for which you and I live. As such, it is the solution to our struggle with sin. The antidote to apathy is the enjoyment of God. It is the divine catalyst for human change.”

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV

--Sam Storms, One Thing: Developing a Passion for the Beauty of God. Christian Focus Publications 

“What is the chief end of man?” “To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”

–Westminster Shorter Catechism, 1643

“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord. . . .” Psalm 27:4

“The Faithful witness in the skies”

“The Faithful witness in the skies”

          Did you see the moon last night?! It was so beautiful once again. And the sky was perfectly clear where we live in Arkansas. You've seen it so many times before and you never tire of it. It so reminds us of God's Presence and God's faithfulness when you see a lovely moon in the skies. I'll never forget the time I went to a Christmas program at the mission in Carmel, California. Minnie had taught school that day and was tired and wanted to stay home so I went by myself, which was quite unusual since she was almost always with me. It was the night of a full moon and the skies were clear and crisp as a winter night can be. It was so lovely I decided to drive by Carmel beach and watch the moon in the ocean as the white caps washed gently on the beach and the sand was so white in the moonlight! It was absolutely breath-taking and I immediately wished that Minnie was there to see it, as she had before. I parked my car and just stayed there a long while watching and praising God that He gives us such beauty regularly and faithfully.

         Then I thought about the scripture that calls the moon “God's faithful witness in the sky.” Psalm 89:37 The moon reminds us of God's faithfulness and His goodness and His Presence and His love of beauty which He created because He is the source of beauty. It reminds us of God's promise that “while the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22

        Then I thought about how the moon reflects the glory and power of the sun but has no light within itself, but can only reflect (or tell of) the light of the sun. In the same way Jesus calls us, His disciples, “salt and light.” The light is not our own; we have none. The light we are to reflect is Jesus' Light who truly is “the Light of the World.” “I am the light of the world,” Jesus said, “he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12

         And I thought of the many friends God has given Minnie and me throughout the world and I wondered if you saw the moon last night or was it cloudy and blocked from sight? Did you thank God for it and for its beauty and its faithful reminders of God's creativity and love? Did it remind you of the glory that is yet to come? ^“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” Rev. 21:23

         When you read this, click on Reply from Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Mexico, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, that beautiful pleasant land of Washington, California which I still love in spite of it all (my native state), Arkansas, that lovely state of Colorado, and even the great state of Texas from where God gave me my greatest gift, my wife—and two of our children. Did you see the moon last night? Did you thank God for what you saw? It kinda ties us together, doesn't it, giving us a similar experience.

                                          Love, Pastor Burnside

The Glory of the Moon

                                                         The Glory of the Moon

        Did you see the full moon last night?! (And tonight.)  After so much cloudy and rainy weather here, it was so glorious to have a clear night sky with such a beautiful full moon. I took a few pictures from my doorstep, but the photos don’t capture the reality. I remember so many lovely full moon nights with Minnie on Monterey Bay and Carmel Beach and earlier in Long Beach, California. It is absolutely breath-taking to see a full moon shining over the ocean or a lake.

        The moon is glorious and it reflects the glory of the sun! What a beautiful picture of how our lives are supposed to reflect the beauty and glory of God.

        In the Psalms the moon is called "the faithful witness in the sky." 89:37 Think of the implications of that statement and also the absolute consistency and faithfulness of the lunar cycle each month. We must not take it for granted, but as a gift from God who created it. Think of a clear night sky with so many stars along with the moon. God created all of them and named them all and put them in orbit where He continues to hold all things together by the Word of His power.

        There is so much instability and uncertainty in our culture and in the period of history in which, by God’s grace, we are living. What a contrast to see how God keeps the sun, the moon and the stars and planets and the earth in orbit. They are anchored on nothing except God’s own Being. And that is sufficient because of who He is. We also have "an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast." And our anchor is Christ. We rest in Him and can always count on Him.   "And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted [or tested] beyond what you can bear." 1 Cor. 10:13 "If we are faithless, He remains faithful—for He cannot deny Himself." 2 Tim. 2:13 ESV

        And "the moon is used to lend a regular rhythm to earthly existence." It is the "lesser light" that God created to "rule over the night and to separate the light from the darkness." Gen. 1:16-18 God "made the moon to mark off the seasons." Psalm 104:19 "Because of its predictable regularity, the moon becomes an image of longevity and even eternity." "Established forever like the moon, an enduring witness in the skies." Psalm 89:37 NRSV (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, p. 566) "Thus says the Lord,  who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night. . . ." Jer. 31:35 ESV

        The moon helps us to worship God by being impressed with His power and wisdom and beauty. And it gives us a perspective of our own finiteness, our limited creatureliness. "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" Psalm 8:3-4 NIV Surely that question points us to God’s grace. Why does He treat us so graciously? Because He loves us-- and that is reason enough.

        The beauty of the moon and the beauty of a life lived reflecting the glory of God as Christ shines out through us. "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him." 2 Cor. 2:14 NIV
                                                                                           –Pastor Burnside