The Glory of God in the Gospel
“For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name be profaned?
My glory I will not give to another.”
(Isaiah 48:11 ESV)
“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27) is the heart of the Gospel. This Gospel, which is the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, is the power with which God is subjecting all things to Himself. The glory of God is the source, means, and end purpose of existence. It is the purpose, means and goal of all things. God will not rest until “all the earth is filled with the glory of the Lord.”
God is passionate for his glory. What is God’s glory? God’s glory is the weightiness of God’s worth. It is not so much an attribute to behold but a prism which refracts and reflects all God’s attributes. In viewing God’s glory, we are not directly viewing God, but the impress and effects of His majestic greatness. Seeing God’s glory 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). If the fruit of the Spirit is not blooming in our lives, we evidence we have not seen nor been affected by God’s glory in the face of Jesus.
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. 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,” as Milton Vincent wrote in his 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”. Paul also explains, “and it was for this He (God) called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” for “those whom He justified, these He also glorified”, “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” (John 17:22, 2 Thessalonians 2:14, Romans 8:28-30, Philippians 3:20-21).
Paul says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. . . “ The Psalmist expresses this truth as well, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever.” Amen (Romans 1:16-17, Colossians 1:27, Romans 11:36, Numbers 14:20).
Originally posted at http://www.gloriscope.com - http://www.gloriscope.com/2008/01/glory-in-gospel/
