We are not detached observers. . . .

         We are not detached observers in life. I've lived in the academic world all my adult life and taught professionally for 42 years including many Bible classes and preaching. I have 3 degrees and have written extensively and have been well-trained in the aura of “professionalism” as a “detached observer.” But there is no such person, though many are self-deluded (or “victims of their own propaganda.”) You can't “observe” life without being a participant. You're here on planet earth in this universe in this time and place and history. You're part of the problem and you're not totally objective no matter what you think. Besides that, you're finite, a created being, and you have what we call “the Old Sin Nature.” In other words, you're a “fallen creature in a fallen world.” “A creature”, a “created being”--not God or “a god” whatever that might mean.

         On the other hand, “subjectivity” certainly is not the “solution” to the problem! And that does tend to be the trend today! I'm shocked at how often I see people implying that they are the “authority” and the final word in whatever issue they are discussing. Just because they believe it or say it, they seem to assume that you are supposed to accept it. And so I ask them, “By what Authority do you say these things or believe these things?” You are not your own “authority” and you are not “autonomous.” You didn't create yourself and you don't keep yourself alive. You are dependent on God for the very breath you breathe and for the ability to breathe it. But it's provided by God, not by you. The same is true of your water and food and all else in life. “ In Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28 “and have our being”? Yes, our very existence! You are not “self-created” and neither is anyone else.

           The Bible never assumes a “detached observer” status. It's designed to glorify God and lead us to Him and in the process show us “how to live” and what to believe. God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. In wisdom He made them all. His great power provides food and the ability to produce it and use it with thankfulness to 5 billion people and untold numbers of animals of the field and forest, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea. What He gives, they gather. Psalm 104:28 So also are we dependent upon God's provision and are thankful for it.

         God not only created all the stars and planets, but He calls them all by name and holds them in orbit. He positioned the earth in just the right relationship to the sun to sustain human life and maintains that stability throughout history. So then where is history going? Scripture reveals that, too. ^“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-7 ESV

        Back then to that elusive question, “How then should we live?” The heart of the answer is, among other places, in 2 Corinthians chapter 4: “. . . by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. . . . , but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. . . . For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 4:1-6

A festal gathering

        How sweet it is for joyful people to gather with their family and friends around a festive table! The preparations are exciting as the feast takes shape and family and friends gather together to a warm welcome among those who love them. We've all experienced those wonderful days at Thanksgiving and Christmas, celebrating God's goodness and bounty and grace and His Presence among us: God with You—Emmanuel. And if our dearest treasures have already gone Home ahead of us, we still have the memories and thankfulness to our Lord.

          We're ending the holiday season now that began with Thanksgiving and ushers in a new and as-yet unlived year ahead of us. Those festive days and weeks remind us of so much of God's pattern in scripture. Six feasts and one fast (Yom Kippur—Day of Atonement) were part of the Mosaic law to celebrate God's continual goodness to His people. At the feasts there was music and dancing and joyful, happy conversation and abundant food carefully prepared.

          When the exiles returned from Babylon to their home in the Promised Land, Ezra the Priest brought out the Book of the Law of God and read it aloud before the great assembly from early morning to midday. When the people realized how they had fallen short of obeying the Lord with all their hearts, they wept and repented and sought the Lord. But after awhile
“Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, . . . said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.   “Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.” Nehemiah 8:8-12 ESV

         The greatest feast of all still awaits us and surely anticipating the glory that is yet to come will fill our hearts with joy and keep us from being discouraged even in the midst of difficulties and pain. “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Isaiah 25:6-9 ESV

         Not only so, but even before those days if the Lord takes us Home before He returns, we will immediately see Him in His glory and we will see our loved ones who have gone before us, and we will be participating in a joyful festive assembly. ^“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, [in joyful assembly NIV]. We will know joy and delight in a way we've never experienced before when we see Jesus in His glory.

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

That Christ may be all and in all 

       We stand in an unbroken historical line straight back to Jesus. And it is Jesus who many times attested to the truth and reliability of scripture as given by God Himself. ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Matthew 4:4 ESV And He was quoting Old Testament scripture when He said that. And in another place He testified, “the Scripture cannot be broken.” John 10:35 And in that wonderful scene on the Emmaus Road after the Resurrection, Jesus walked along with the two disciples “and beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” Luke 24:27 The Old Testament scriptures are about Jesus.

       The New Testament scriptures are also about Jesus—all of them. It was He who inspired them and gave them authority. Jesus told the disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Mt. 28:18 ESV The night before He died, Jesus told the disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit who would “bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” So it was the authoritative words of Jesus that brought about the New Testament. He told the disciples that they had two Comforters or “paracletos” “called alongside to help” first Jesus and then the Holy Spirit. “I will not leave you as orphans,” He told them, “I will come to you.” And He came in the person of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit inspired or “God-breathed” all the New Testament scriptures as well as the Old Testament.

       So everything centers around Jesus Himself, including the inspiration of scripture, “that in all things he might have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:18 That's why we can sing, “From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny.” Be thankful that you were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4) and that He gave us the scriptures and preserved them for two thousand years so that you were able to hear the gospel and were convicted by the Holy Spirit so that He brought you to Christ.

                                                               --Pastor Burnside

"Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!" 2 Cor. 9:15

Recently we studied 2nd Corinthians chapter 9 with its emphasis on giving and ministering, not out of compulsion or pressure, but with a willing heart and a kind, generous spirit.  And Jesus, as always is the example who, you remember, told us, "It is MORE blessed to give than to receive."  Acts 20:35  We were "ordained to walk in good works" Eph. 2:10 so we should live a life of good works with a willing heart, serving the Lord.

        The chapter ends with this marvelous verse of God's grace, "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!" 2 Cor. 9:15  How can it be that Christ not only saves us and takes us to glory, but actually comes to live within us:  "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Col. 1:27

"Christ liveth in me." Gal. 2:20

        Listen to John Piper, writing in Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ:

1. "Christ does not exist in order to make much of us. We exist in order to enjoy making much of Him. . . . To know the glories of Christ is an end, not a means. Christ is not glorious so that we get wealthy or healthy. Christ is glorious so that rich or poor, sick or sound, we might be satisfied in Him.    "He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." Psalm 107:9   He quenches the deepest soul thirst of all humans--that he is ultimately what all people long for."

2. The glory of who Christ IS in Himself–His excellencies, His attributes, His perfections and His beauty, e.g.  "The first particular glory that upholds all the rest is the . . . eternal existence of Christ. If we will simply ponder this as we ought, . . . Sheer existence is, perhaps, the greatest mystery of all. Ponder the absoluteness of reality. There had to be something that never came into being. Back, back, back we peer into endless ages, yet there never was nothing. Someone has the honor of being there first and always. He never became or developed. He simply was. To whom belongs this singular, absolute glory?  "The answer is Christ, the person whom the world knows as Jesus of Nazareth. . . . ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almghty" Rev. 1:8  ". . . There is no ‘before’ God and no ‘after’ God. He is absolutely there, no matter how far back or how far forward you go. He is the absolute, ultimate Reality. He has the honor of being there first and always. To Him alone belongs this unique glory. He is the Great IAM. The very name for God Yaweh is built on the verb "to be."

3. . . . Jesus Christ is the Creator of the universe. He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. Jesus Christ the Person, never had a beginning. He is absolute Reality. . . .He never came into being. He was eternally begotten. He is God, the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature. Heb. 1:3

4. Seeing and enjoying Christ and His glory is the goal of our salvation. "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me" "which I had with you before the foundation of the world. John 17:24 To feast on this truth forever is the aim of our being created and our being redeemed."

5. Think of the works of Christeternal life. The life of joy (15:11; 16:24; 17:13) and peace (14:27; 16:33) and purposefulness (17:18; 20:21) which we have begun with him in this age will be perfected for ever and ever and ever.

6. He has given us eternal life. The life of joy (15:11; 16:24; 17:13) and peace (14:27; 16:33) and purposefulness (17:18; 20:21) which we have begun with him in this age will be perfected for ever and ever and ever.

7. Jesus removes our guilt and makes us a completely new creation.  He takes away the guilt of all who trust in him; he takes the sting out of death and offers eternal life and resurrection and everlasting glory and joy to all who believe.  He transforms fearful, greedy hearts into peaceful, loving hearts and gives us a deep-seated sincerity that we didn’t have before. He puts all relationships, especially husband-wife and parent-child relations, on a new, solid footing; and  He satisfies our deepest longing for beauty and wonder."

 

         "I appeal to your own self-knowledge. Does not your heart instruct you that if your inner self is the end point and measuring rod for all authenticity and purpose, apart from anything ultimate, life is meaningless? If there is no ultimate reference point by which you can gain your bearings in the world, then your inner life is a pointless bubble on the ocean no matter how much harmony there is with your outer life. Is it not true that the authenticity you desire is to fit perfectly with some ultimate reality? Isn't what we long for that our inner life not drift and float and be tossed and blown, but that it have a genuine, permanent identity, by virtue of being rooted in and formed by some ultimate reality. The great irony of secular humanism is that it can never satisfy the human heart. For it is written on our hearts that we are inauthentic until what we are within corresponds to the eternal reality that gives meaning to all things."  And that eternal reality is Jesus Christ.

–in Creation, in human history, in His providence in your life.

4. 2 Corinthians ch. 3 Glory of God

We're beginning the study of that great chapter 3 of 2 Corinthians which ends with this very significant verse 3:18 ESV "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." As we "behold the glory of the Lord," the Holy Spirit is gradually making us more like Christ "from one degree of glory to another." This is an amazing promise and encourages us to spend much time with the Lord in His Word--beholding His glory.
And what is the "glory of God"? It is who He is in His being--His attributes and all His works that He has done and is doing. So there is the Glory of God's greatness; the Glory of God's goodness; the Glory of God's grace; the glory of God's mercy and God's righteousness and God's holiness and God's wisdom--and everything else about Him. There is also the Glory of His Creation--"the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork." And especially the Glory of Redemption accomplished by Christ on the Cross and through His resurrection and ascension and coming again. God also gave us a visible representation of His glory in the glory cloud in the Tabernacle and in the Temple. Peter, James, and John saw that brilliant physical sight of the glory of God on the Mount of Transfiguration: "And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white." Luke 9:29 ESV
Man is created in the image of God and as such has a certain God-given intrinsic glory. King David observed the glory of God's creation in the sky and heavens above and saw the smallness of man in comparison to God's greatness and asked, "What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor." The New Testament also speaks of the glory of man--but characterizes it as transitory: "For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away." 1 Peter 1:24
We had a good group tonight and we thank the Lord for all of you. 9 people including 4 JBU guys and we talked about the glory of God as an introduction to studying 2 Cor. ch. 3. We read aloud and discussed all of Exodus 33 and 34. That's the remarkable passage where Moses asked the Lord, "Show me Thy Glory!" And God told him, Exodus 33:19-23 ESV "And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The Lord.' . . . [20] But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live." [21] And the Lord said, "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, [22] and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. [23] Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen."
The glory of God in its visible form of the glory cloud or the fire at the burning bush and the pillar of fire in the night sky all represented the Presence of God. Moses told the Lord, "If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here." So God told Moses, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Exodus 33:14-15
We, too, must have the Presence of God in our lives for fellowship, for guidance, and for strength. And He has given us His promise, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Heb. 13:5 So He is there--always--whether we "feel" His presence or not. "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Col. 1:27 "Christ lives in me." Gal. 2:20 We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
"Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. [10] But if Christ is in you . . . , the Spirit is life because of righteousness. [11] If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." Romans 8:9-11 ESV
Because of His Presence within us and with us we should be able to have fellowship with God perhaps patterned after the way Moses did: "Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." Ex. 33:11
We say, "Give glory to God" meaning to acknowledge God's providential hand in what has happened, but that does not enrich God any more than He already is. We can not "add" anything to God's perfections but He does want us to acknowledge our dependence on Him. It pleases Him for us to take our place as a creature before the Creator and to acknowledge His Lordship over our lives.
--Pastor Burnside
Word Study: Glory
1. Hebrew kabod "When applied to God, the word represents a quality corresponding to Him and by which He is recognized, a confession of God as God.
It means "majestic beauty, glorious light, preeminence, and lordship." "Glory and honor are in His presence; strength and gladness are in His place." 1 Chr. 16:27
2. Greek doxa (from dokeo meaning "to seem") = "the honor resulting from a good opinion." The "self-manifestation" of God in whatever way He reveals Himself, particularly in the person of Christ, in whom the fulness of His glory shone forth. The glory of God was exhibited in the resurrection of Christ and in His ascension and exaltation.

Click on this link and then on "Show me thy Glory!" to listen to an excellent message by Steven Lawson, pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama.

http://www.sermonaudio.com/source_detail.asp?sourceid=christfellowship