God's Glory
What does it mean to see the glory of something? It means to realize in the heart the significance and beauty of what you see and how it relates to and affects you. To behold the glory of the Lord means that what we are seeing of the person and work of Christ is affecting us in heart and life. The way the Spirit produces His fruit within us is by "shining the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6).
"God’s glory is not an attribute as much as it is the sum total of all God’s attributes. In viewing God’s glory, we are not directly viewing God, but the impress and effects of His majestic greatness. ...
Holiness, glory, and beauty are inseparable. We must recognize the connection between them. God’s holiness (otherly presence) is manifested in glory (majestic splendor and brilliance) and the form it takes is beauty. This combination produces both fear and longing within us. God’s “terrible” beauty - God’s “awe-full” beauty - simultaneously repels and attracts. It is both shocking and soothing, disruptive and fascinating, unnerving and restorative. It provokes both fear and love. Unless we embrace this full range of engagement with God’s glory, we evidence that we have not truly encountered it" (Read more: TheoCentric)
The Holy Spirit glories in and magnifies the beauty of the person and work of Jesus by unveiling it to our spiritual understanding (cf. John 14-16; 2 Corinthians 3:18). The essential work of the Spirit is to set Christ before our eyes until in adoration our hearts find Him more beautiful than whatever our flesh desires to have or do.
"God’s glory is not an attribute as much as it is the sum total of all God’s attributes. In viewing God’s glory, we are not directly viewing God, but the impress and effects of His majestic greatness. ...
Holiness, glory, and beauty are inseparable. We must recognize the connection between them. God’s holiness (otherly presence) is manifested in glory (majestic splendor and brilliance) and the form it takes is beauty. This combination produces both fear and longing within us. God’s “terrible” beauty - God’s “awe-full” beauty - simultaneously repels and attracts. It is both shocking and soothing, disruptive and fascinating, unnerving and restorative. It provokes both fear and love. Unless we embrace this full range of engagement with God’s glory, we evidence that we have not truly encountered it" (Read more: TheoCentric)
The Holy Spirit glories in and magnifies the beauty of the person and work of Jesus by unveiling it to our spiritual understanding (cf. John 14-16; 2 Corinthians 3:18). The essential work of the Spirit is to set Christ before our eyes until in adoration our hearts find Him more beautiful than whatever our flesh desires to have or do.
Are we to say then that the law has no use in the process of sanctification? Absolutely not. The issue at stake in the sanctification/law debate is one of revelation versus power. If we see the law as one way the power of God works in us to make us like Christ, we err. We have already established that we are not made like Christ by obeying the law. But if we see the law as a revelation of the character of Christ, we see rightly. I’m sure you would say that if someone perfectly kept the Law, he would be like Christ. Why would you say that? Because the Law is the revelation of His character.
The law is useful for believers to reveal His character to us (we can gaze upon the beautiful character of Christ through the Law) and as a goal for which we should strive in the power of the Holy Spirit - with the certain knowledge that we will fail daily in this life and then the Law becomes our Tutor to drive us back to Christ (back to the good news of God’s provision for our failure).
It is interesting to note here that the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is essentially the Law at the heart level. The Spirit works to internalize the Law within us (He works love within us which is the summary of the Law). The fruit of the Spirit is just that, the fruit of the Spirit's work in our lives by (again) "shining the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6).
“The gospel isn’t one class among many that you’ll attend during your life as a Christian -- the gospel is the whole building that all the classes take place in! Rightly approached, all the topics you’ll study and focus on as a believer will be offered to you ‘within the walls’ of the glorious gospel.” (C.J. Mahaney, The Cross Centered Life, 75-76)
Viewing the Gospel rightly offers a correction to "a costly mistake made by Christians who view the gospel as something that has fully served out its purpose the moment they believed in Jesus for salvation. Not knowing what to do with the gospel once they are saved, they lay it aside soon after conversion so they can move on to “bigger and better” things (even Scriptural things). Of course, none of us thinks this is what we are doing at the time, yet after many years of floundering in defeat we can look back and see that this is exactly what we have done." (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 7)
"Over the course of time, preaching the gospel to myself every day has made more of a difference in my life than any other discipline I have ever practiced. I find myself sinning less, but just as importantly, I find myself recovering my footing more quickly after sinning, due to the immediate comfort found in the gospel. I have also found that when I am absorbed in the gospel, everything else I am supposed to be toward God and others seems to flow out of me more naturally and passionately. Doing right is not always easy, but it is never more easy than when one is breathing deeply the atmosphere of the gospel." (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 8)
"In most of Paul’s letters to churches, sizable portions of them are given over to rehearsing gospel truths. For example, Ephesians 1-3 is all gospel, Colossians 1-2 is gospel, and Romans 1-11 is gospel. The remainder of such books shows specifically how to bring those gospel truths to bear on life. Re-preaching the gospel and then showing how it applied to life was Paul’s choice method for ministering to believers, thereby providing a divinely inspired pattern for me to follow when ministering to myself and to other believers." (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 13-14)
[T]he gospel changes my view of God’s commandments, in that it helps me to see the heart of the Person from whom those commandments come. When I begin my train of thought with the gospel, I realize that if God loved me enough to sacrifice His Son’s life for me, then He must be guided by that same love when He speaks His commandments to me. Viewing God’s commands and prohibitions in this light, I can see them for what they are: friendly signposts from a heavenly Father who is seeking to love me through each directive, so that I might experience His very fullness forever.
When controlling my thoughts as described above, the gospel cures me of my suspicion of God, thereby disposing me to walk more trustingly on the path of obedience to His commands. (Deuteronomy 5:29, Acts 20:32, Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 19)
Viewing the Gospel rightly offers a correction to "a costly mistake made by Christians who view the gospel as something that has fully served out its purpose the moment they believed in Jesus for salvation. Not knowing what to do with the gospel once they are saved, they lay it aside soon after conversion so they can move on to “bigger and better” things (even Scriptural things). Of course, none of us thinks this is what we are doing at the time, yet after many years of floundering in defeat we can look back and see that this is exactly what we have done." (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 7)
"Over the course of time, preaching the gospel to myself every day has made more of a difference in my life than any other discipline I have ever practiced. I find myself sinning less, but just as importantly, I find myself recovering my footing more quickly after sinning, due to the immediate comfort found in the gospel. I have also found that when I am absorbed in the gospel, everything else I am supposed to be toward God and others seems to flow out of me more naturally and passionately. Doing right is not always easy, but it is never more easy than when one is breathing deeply the atmosphere of the gospel." (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 8)
"In most of Paul’s letters to churches, sizable portions of them are given over to rehearsing gospel truths. For example, Ephesians 1-3 is all gospel, Colossians 1-2 is gospel, and Romans 1-11 is gospel. The remainder of such books shows specifically how to bring those gospel truths to bear on life. Re-preaching the gospel and then showing how it applied to life was Paul’s choice method for ministering to believers, thereby providing a divinely inspired pattern for me to follow when ministering to myself and to other believers." (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 13-14)
[T]he gospel changes my view of God’s commandments, in that it helps me to see the heart of the Person from whom those commandments come. When I begin my train of thought with the gospel, I realize that if God loved me enough to sacrifice His Son’s life for me, then He must be guided by that same love when He speaks His commandments to me. Viewing God’s commands and prohibitions in this light, I can see them for what they are: friendly signposts from a heavenly Father who is seeking to love me through each directive, so that I might experience His very fullness forever.
When controlling my thoughts as described above, the gospel cures me of my suspicion of God, thereby disposing me to walk more trustingly on the path of obedience to His commands. (Deuteronomy 5:29, Acts 20:32, Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 19)
"Outside of heaven, the power of God in its highest density is found inside the gospel. This must be so, for
the Bible twice describes the gospel as “the power of God.” Nothing else in all of Scripture is ever described in this way, except for the Person of Jesus Christ. Such a description indicates that the gospel is not only powerful, but that it is the ultimate entity in which God’s power resides and does its greatest work. Indeed, God’s power is seen in erupting volcanoes, in the unimaginably hot boil of our massive sun, and in the lightning speed of a recently discovered star seen streaking through the heavens at 1.5 million miles per hour. Yet in Scripture such wonders are never labeled “the power of God.” How powerful, then, must the gospel be that it would merit such a title! And how great is the salvation it could accomplish in my life, if I would only embrace it by faith and give it a central place in my thoughts each day!" (Romans 1:16, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 24, Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 1 - Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 15).
"The glory of God is the most powerful agent of transformation available to mankind. It is so powerful that it transforms those who merely gaze upon it. The Apostle Paul gives personal testimony concerning this stunning fact. “But we all,” he says, “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.” From Paul’s testimony I learn that if I wish to become all that God wants me to be, I must behold His glory each day. But where do I find God’s glory to behold? Indeed, the glory of God is revealed throughout all of Creation, but the Bible indicates that, outside of heaven, the glory of God in its thickest density dwells inside the gospel. It is for this reason that the gospel is described in Scripture as “the gospel of the glory of Christ” and “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God.” Consequently, as I habitually gaze upon the glory of the Lord revealed in the gospel, I can know that actual deposits of God’s very glory are attaching themselves to
my person and transforming me from one level of glory to another. This transformation is deep and abiding, and unfadingly displays the glory of God to others." (2 Corinthians 3:18, Psalm 19:1, Isaiah 6:3, 2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 Timothy 1:11, 2 Corinthians 3:13, 18, Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 17, 18)
the Bible twice describes the gospel as “the power of God.” Nothing else in all of Scripture is ever described in this way, except for the Person of Jesus Christ. Such a description indicates that the gospel is not only powerful, but that it is the ultimate entity in which God’s power resides and does its greatest work. Indeed, God’s power is seen in erupting volcanoes, in the unimaginably hot boil of our massive sun, and in the lightning speed of a recently discovered star seen streaking through the heavens at 1.5 million miles per hour. Yet in Scripture such wonders are never labeled “the power of God.” How powerful, then, must the gospel be that it would merit such a title! And how great is the salvation it could accomplish in my life, if I would only embrace it by faith and give it a central place in my thoughts each day!" (Romans 1:16, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 24, Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 1 - Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 15).
"The glory of God is the most powerful agent of transformation available to mankind. It is so powerful that it transforms those who merely gaze upon it. The Apostle Paul gives personal testimony concerning this stunning fact. “But we all,” he says, “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.” From Paul’s testimony I learn that if I wish to become all that God wants me to be, I must behold His glory each day. But where do I find God’s glory to behold? Indeed, the glory of God is revealed throughout all of Creation, but the Bible indicates that, outside of heaven, the glory of God in its thickest density dwells inside the gospel. It is for this reason that the gospel is described in Scripture as “the gospel of the glory of Christ” and “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God.” Consequently, as I habitually gaze upon the glory of the Lord revealed in the gospel, I can know that actual deposits of God’s very glory are attaching themselves to
my person and transforming me from one level of glory to another. This transformation is deep and abiding, and unfadingly displays the glory of God to others." (2 Corinthians 3:18, Psalm 19:1, Isaiah 6:3, 2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 Timothy 1:11, 2 Corinthians 3:13, 18, Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 17, 18)
God says in Isaiah 42:8, "I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols," yet, Paul explains, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." Is this a contradiction? No, when we look in the face of Jesus, the glory of God is revealed and "actual deposits of God’s very glory are attaching themselves to my person and transforming me from one level of glory to another. This transformation is deep and abiding, and unfadingly displays the glory of God to others" (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer). Our participation in God's glory is not a participation that reveals the weightiness of our worth, but this transformation via the Gospel reveals the weightiness of God's worth, namely His glory.
Jesus Himself said, "And the glory which You have given Me I have given to them" (John 17:22) "And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thessalonians 2:14) "those whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Romans 8:28-30) "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself" (Philippians 3:20-21).
"Christ in you, the hope of glory” is the heart of the gospel - God’s story of glory. In Christ and by the Spirit, we are hallowed (sanctified), glorified, and beautified. This glory is permanent rather than fading (2 Corinthians. 3:18; 4:16-18). It finds its fullest expression in glorified resurrection bodies in a renewed and restored new heavens and new earth. Through the saving work of Jesus, humanity is liberated from sin, and all creation is as well. The earth, created to be a cosmic temple where God’s glory permanently resides, finally fulfills its intended purpose: “And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22-23).
Jesus Himself said, "And the glory which You have given Me I have given to them" (John 17:22) "And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thessalonians 2:14) "those whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Romans 8:28-30) "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself" (Philippians 3:20-21).
"Christ in you, the hope of glory” is the heart of the gospel - God’s story of glory. In Christ and by the Spirit, we are hallowed (sanctified), glorified, and beautified. This glory is permanent rather than fading (2 Corinthians. 3:18; 4:16-18). It finds its fullest expression in glorified resurrection bodies in a renewed and restored new heavens and new earth. Through the saving work of Jesus, humanity is liberated from sin, and all creation is as well. The earth, created to be a cosmic temple where God’s glory permanently resides, finally fulfills its intended purpose: “And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22-23).
The glory of God is the source, means, and end of existence. It is the purpose and goal of all things. God will not rest until “all the earth is filled with the glory of the Lord” (Num 14:20) - until all creation is hallowed, glorified, beautified by God. For this reason, the Western church has spoken of the beatific vision - a holy and glorious vision of God that leads to the eternal enjoyment of God’s infinite and inexhaustible glory. “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36). (TheoCentric - The Weight of Glory)
