THE EXCELLENT GLORY

^[p. 216] THE EXCELLENT GLORY

Acts 6: 15; Acts 7:1-3; Acts 7:54-60; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Peter 1: 16 - 18

What I have in mind is to dwell a little on glory Stephen brings to mind the thought of glory, secondly the glory of the Lord and then the glory of the Father, “the excellent glory”. The passage in Peter has been selected because it shows how glory is graded. The occurrence of the thought of glory in the Scriptures is affecting as we pursue it; God coming out in creation and in redemption, having His glory in mind, and this is to be distributed in vessels — vessels of glory. We, as christians, are vessels of mercy fitted for glory, and we are told also that one star differeth from another star in glory; the sun has one glory and the moon has a glory. These are mere physical things, but still they set out in figure, at least, what is in the mind of God; for the vessels of His glory are those who are selected in mercy and fitted, prepared for glory. So that there is distribution of the divine glory in selected vessels. Christ is personally the glory of God, and the assembly is the glory of Christ as the woman is the glory of the man. There is a wonderful variety of thought in regard of it and the epistle to the Romans, which is foundational, is marked by it; the word that is peculiarly stamped on it is, “Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father”: showing how glory entered into that transaction supremely, for it is really a question of love shining out in whatever form it may take, and it is thought that Romans indicates how we are vessels of glory, in that it is said, “Whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified”. This evidently alludes to the ^[p. 217] distribution of the Spirit to us; we are glorified in that respect in a positive way, a tangible glory: the anointing is glorious in a positive, substantial way. It was thought if we look at Stephen a little we get this exemplified for he, I believe, is intended to represent a vessel of glory. First in his face, for it says, “And all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel”, and then in the end of chapter 7 he is seen in moral glory, acting like Christ in his sufferings, and he speaks of seeing the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God; as if only one who is himself glorious is competent to speak of glory. He begins his address by saying, “The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham” and this was in connection with Abraham’s movement out of the world into the land of promise.

That is what one had in mind; it is rather a wide subject but we can touch on it briefly perhaps in Stephen as an exemplification of it.

FI Do I understand that as speaking of the God of glory, the glory as such stands only in relation to God, but is seen reflected in those who are formed after Him, Eke Stephen?

JT That is what I was thinking. In creative glory we have the sun, moon and stars, each having its own glory: David says, “The heavens declare the glory of God”. So that the thing is there and, obviously, what God has in mind is that it should be seen in us as vessels of glory.

FI It is seen in us as reflected from God.

JT Stephen’s face is as that of an angel and that would be the reflection of some glory, and then what he was in suffering, as depicted at the end of the chapter, would show that he was morally glorious, reflecting Christ’s glory as a sufferer.

JM Would the glory at the end of chapter 6 be ^[p. 218] of a judicial character as in contrast to the glory at the end of chapter 7?

JT I thought it indicates how Stephen may be taken to represent what we get in 2 Corinthians 3, “from glory to glory”. You have angelic glory which would be judicial glory, I think, and then moral glory: Stephen is privileged to look into heaven and see the glory of God, and he was able to speak about it.

WW Would you mind saying a word as to what is involved essentially in the feature of glory? We use it rather lightly sometimes, I think.

JT Well, if we think of the glory of the sun or the glory of the moon or the glory of the stars, I suppose it is assumed that we are intelligent enough to depict what is in our minds in either case. We look up into the firmament of the heavens at night, what a glory there is; and the sun in the daytime, what a brilliancy of light, what a glory! God commanded the light to shine out of darkness, but there is no substance mentioned, simply “Let there be light: and there was light”. There is substance in the sun, and so it is said of Jesus, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men”. There is substance behind the light — it is Christ as Man. I am speaking now of the sun: how we come to an advance of glory, the life of Christ here below was the light, and that could easily be followed in the wonderful variety of expressions of life in Christ’s path here and how every expression was light. So the glory of God — the heavens declare the glory of God creatively. Then we come to redemption glory, this must be seen in what God is: “Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father”, Romans 6: 4. It is a transaction by glory. You can perceive what a blank there was to Him during the three days in which the Lord Jesus lay in death: what it was to Him, and to heaven and to all spiritual intelligence, but especially to the Father. It was a question of time; He ^[p. 219] was, as it were, waiting for the moment to arrive, because the Lord was to be three days and nights in death — there must be a complete period, and God waited for the finish of that and acted. It would be as if all His affections were active in bending forth, so to speak, to take up the Object of His love out of death: all His affections would be in that; and so, relatively, in every one of us the reflection of glory is in the actings of love. It is what we are. It was what God was in a moral way, stepping forth to lift His beloved Son out of death, it was an act of love. So if we are glorified, as it is said in Romans, it would be the same power operative in us because the gift of the Spirit is glory, and therefore it would be the actings of love, the fruit of the Spirit is love: it is in what we are in the actings of love that the whole scene is lit up with glory in that way. A great deal more could be said, but this is a sort of general idea of what glory is, I think.

WW I was thinking of it as displaying all that God is in Himself in whatever He is touching or dealing with.

JT Quite so.

Rem It has been well defined as distinctive excellence in display. I was going to ask, is it not striking that in John’s gospel when the Lord says to Martha, “Did I not say to thee, that if thou shouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” it is connected with the fourth day, Lazarus having been in the grave three days already — linking on with your suggestion in Genesis of the sun being set in the heavens on the fourth day.

JT If it be a question of resurrection, in Christ’s case it was the third day, the Father’s glory shone in that, in the presence of the complete testimony to the power of death. He did not see corruption, the Father’s Holy One should not see corruption, the glory of God took Him out in accordance with ^[p. 220] Psalm 16, as quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost. The fourth day is corruption in regard of death, so it would be the glory of God in the resurrection of the saints which is not equal to the Father’s glory in the resurrection of Christ. I mean there are greater glories, and I think we can see that the glory of the Father in raising Christ is a peculiar form of words, that is, He saw no corruption but still He was actually in death: it was real death as Abraham’s was, although he had been in the grave for centuries and saw corruption. The Father waited for the three days to expire and His love entered into it; He raised His Son from the dead — “Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life”, Romans 6: 4. There is a reflection of glory in every one of us.

EH In Romans 8 we read, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you”. You were speaking of the Spirit of God in relation to the glory indwelling us, does that link up?

JT That helps in what I was saying in connection with “whom he justified, them he also glorified”. The fulness of that will be the quickening of our bodies; it contemplates not persons dead but persons alive when the Lord comes, being quickened on account of His Spirit which dwells in us. I suppose there is the distribution of glory in us as the Spirit dwells in us — there are two names, Christ and Jesus.

EH I noticed that; will you say a little about it?

JT It is a remarkable form of words, because I think it means that we are reflecting Christ as having the Spirit, “the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus” refers to what He was personally as Man down here “Jesus” is the Man down here, but “Christ” is what He was in testimony, I suppose. Both thoughts should attach to us if we are to be vessels of glory.

^[p. 221] What we are personally is after Jesus, and Paul says, “The life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body”, 2 Corinthians 4: 10.

EH Are both these seen in Stephen?

JT I think he is the exemplification of them.

AB It speaks of the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ.

JT It is what God is in the gospel, I think. In 2 Corinthians 4 we have “the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”, but I think those references in Romans help as to each one of us as to how each is a vessel of glory. One would like to think that in one’s relations and circumstances there is glory. So that Stephen is a deacon, appointed with six others, to look after tables, and no doubt he served well, although that is not stressed very much; he was a man “full of faith and the Holy Spirit” — he would be glorious in doing it. It was the idea of looking after material things for the brethren, and this is sometimes thought very little of, but that is how Stephen began his service. Now he is found suffering for the testimony, really accused falsely; and he is glorious in this new position. The thought is that we should be glorious in every circumstance; in visiting the widows, or the sick, you would be glorious in distributing the bounty of the saints, for the apostle speaks of distributing to the needs of the saints. Saul had tried to drag the saints to the tribunals — he was a minister of the devil, but Stephen was a minister of Christ. Now, by false accusation, he is found in the midst of the council and he is glorious.

WW It speaks of him in chapter 6: 8 as “full of grace and power”.

JT One has been thinking of it as bearing on assembly service, the Lord seems to make that the terminus of all our enquiries just now, to get in the idea of the service of God and how all these things merge in the service of God. So one has thought of the anointing, “Whom he has justified, these also he has glorified”. There is a reflection of glory in every circumstance. The Lord said to the paralytic man, “Thy sins be forgiven thee ... . Arise, take up thy bed and go unto thine house”. He was forgiven and glorious for he was carrying his bed; he had never been in the house like that before, he had been a burden but now he was glorious.

FI I was just thinking that. He is glorious in what he is doing. Is that where the glory is seen The blessed God has given expression to His glory by that which He has brought into being?

JT It is what is done — you are glorious. So the carrying of his bed to his house was an act of glory, the inmates of his house would see it like that.

AH Does it necessitate a touch from the glory for us to enter into this circle where glory is known?

JT You feel you like to be in full dress when you come in and as you sit down in the assembly and then you are ready for “from glory to glory”. The idea is appearing in glory: Stephen appeared in glory in the council, it was a peculiar circumstance, he did not seek it out, he was brought there by false accusation, but he was glorious.

FI So that Saul on the road to Damascus was touched by the glory above that of the sun. It says, “A light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun”, which would bring into view the glory which was attached to the blessed God in grace, how He could move to deliver a man.

JT He speaks of the light in different ways.

Rem “Among whom ye appear”, it says in Philippians, “as lights in the world”. Mr. Darby has an interesting note that this is an astronomical allusion relating to the heavenly bodies.

JT Just so, it is like the position in John’s gospel which has already been alluded to; and then the Lord came six days before the passover and there ^[p. 223] they were, all brilliant, a beautiful cluster of glory, they were reflecting glory, and He came back to enjoy the result of His own work.

Ques Is the full result seen in the heavenly city? “Her shining was like a most precious stone” — the same word being used.

JT That kind of shining.

JM Does Peter’s reference to the glory — God having called us by glory and virtue — show the attractive power?

JT It is a feature of Peter that God works through qualities, not simply by light in a general way, but by different qualities, glory and virtue, for instance — one thing affects another. It is a cumulative thought of qualities, emanating from God, including glory.

EH Do you take account of the last verse of 2 Corinthians 3, “Looking on the glory of the Lord” as something beyond the covenant?

JT It is an inclusive thought of the covenant as to what he is speaking about: he had said, “The Lord is that Spirit” (verse 17), meaning the Spirit of the new covenant, and then “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty”. That is the thought, the Lord is more than the Spirit of the new covenant. He is said to be a quickening Spirit in 1 Corinthians 15 and that is a greater thought — He is a Man but a quickening Spirit. So, “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty”, that would be the full thought of what He is in an authoritative way; He deals with us authoritatively, passing over nothing in us so as to have us for Himself, but still, in doing it, there is liberty.

EH That is, things are not done in an arbitrary way?

JT If I go to see a brother or the like in that way, in an arbitrary way, the brother has not liberty, but if the Lord is in it there is liberty although there ^[p. 224] may be serious matters to be dealt with. So that the glory of the Lord in verse 18, whilst carrying through the great thought of the new covenant, would be more because it is without any qualification — it is “the glory of the Lord”.

EH How does that come in at the Supper, “Beholding ... the glory of the Lord”?

JT I think it is the principle with which He deals with us there, He must be recognised in a dominical sense, but He releases our affections, liberates us, whilst correcting anything that may be there that is contrary to the moment.

AB It says in Psalm 50, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me”.

JT That is another side and you get that very much in Luke — everything done glorified God; offering praise glorifies God.

AH Would you say a word as to John 17, “The glory which thou hast given me I have given them”?

JT He imparts what is communicated to Him, conferred upon Him. There are different glories in the chapter; first He says, “Father ... glorify thy Son”, then, “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do”. Well, that is between the Father and the Son, really incommunicable glory, the glory of the Deity. Then He speaks of the glory conferred upon Him (verse 22) which, I suppose, is sonship. He was a Son, of course, “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee”; that was God conferring that honour upon Him. Christ is born Son, He is the only One who was Son by birth. He confers that upon us, as I apprehend, “the glory which thou gavest me I have given them”. That is, He carries us with Himself so that we may share in the service with Him. Then He says, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me”: that again ^[p. 225] would be personal but not non-communicable, it would be seen.

WL How do you regard chapter 2 of John’s gospel, “This beginning of signs did Jesus ... and manifested his glory”?

JT That would be a kind of glory by itself. Thus, as we were remarking, glory is graded. Therefore, I thought in Peter we have the word ‘excellent’ alluding to the Father’s glory.

WW We have, too, the word ‘surpassing’ here in connection with the new covenant in 2 Corinthians 3.

JT That is the glory that excels the glory of the first covenant but it does not go on to the glory of the mount of transfiguration.

WW It speaks of ‘subsisting in glory’.

JT That is the ministration of righteousness — it is a fuller thought. We might look at 2 Corinthians 3 from verse 7, it is a fuller thought, it is the ministry of the Spirit — that subsists in glory, and it goes on “For if the ministry of condemnation be glory, much rather the ministry of righteousness abounds in glory. For also that which was glorified is not glorified in this respect, on account of the surpassing glory”; “that which was glorified” refers to the glory of the first covenant — that is excelled, eclipsed, you might say, and we have not yet come to the glory of the Father which Peter alludes to as ‘excellent’. He says, “there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory”. Years had gone by since the transfiguration but he calls it “excellent glory”. So that it seems as if we ought to allow our minds to run on those lines as to this great subject. Glory is graded — the whole universe, whether physical or moral, is full of glory and we are specifically stated to be vessels of mercy, prepared for glory, prepared for it, and we want to be shining; that is the idea, I think: Stephen is a sort of exemplification of the whole matter.

FI ^[p. 226] So being prepared for glory, as taking account of the glory of the Lord, we should be changed from glory to glory?

JT That is the thought, and there seems no end to it.

FI First there must be the preparation. “Vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory” that is God’s side, but being prepared for it, we are able to take it on and we take on the various grades as we view the glory of the Lord.

JT So that as we come to the glory of the Father we take on greater glory, sonship glory, the glory which Christ gave us, gave His disciples. One, I suppose, thus is fitted for eternal things; so Paul speaks of “an eternal weight of glory”.

FI The thought in relation to the Supper has been referred to. Do you think that as we continue, moving together as viewing the glory of the Lord, it would bring us to a point in which we would see Him in His wondrous position in relation to the Father, and thus we should enter into that which is the glory of the Father?

JT The question is, can I take on that glory, so it is “from glory to glory”, and so the glory referred to in John 17 would qualify us in having part in the Father’s glory. He has imparted that glory to us the disciples on the mount were not equal to it but the thought is that they could have been equal to it. The glory came out and the voice was heard; Peter was equal to it afterwards. That is the idea, we advance from glory to glory. So that in any position in which the believer is he should be suitably glorious.

AB What would be the contemplation of His glory referred to in John 1?

JT That touches on what we are speaking about “We have contemplated his glory, a glory as of an only-begotten with a father”. That, of course, is personal glory — we do not share in that, it is like the ^[p. 227] glory we are speaking of, we come relatively into it. It should appeal to us; if we are to be in the assembly we must learn to take on glory and to be right in every case, and if I advance to the glory of the Father I take on what is suitable. Stephen was right in every case, right in visiting the saints, right in the council, and when it comes to his sufferings, the stoning, he is right there, he is glorious in a moral sense for he is able to pray for his murderers: that is morally glorious, he is like Jesus going into death, it is moral glory. He says, “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right-hand of God”. Now, he is breathing his last and he says, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”. That glory shone on the cross when Jesus said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit”. I mean all these things are illustrative of what is in my mind, and when the Lord calls on one to die (if He does), well, one wants to be glorious in falling asleep, why not? Christ was in His death, Stephen was in his, and so on. I am to be glorious in every position.

AH Is it seen somewhat in Abigail in very difficult circumstances? How glorious she is in helping David!

JT Very good. That raises another point, that is, what we are in dealing with evil amongst us in the care meeting, as we call it. We need this thought there; that is the judicial glory, I am able to take on things and deal with them and be glorious in them.

WW Is it significant that Paul in 2 Corinthians 4 refers to having received this ministry, “as we have had mercy shewn us, we faint not. But we have rejected the hidden things of shame, not walking in deceit, nor falsifying the word of God”? He was concerned to be in keeping with the glory.

JT Quite so, that is the glory of the ministry. So that in chapter 6 he goes over the ground as to what he was as a minister. He gives thirty-seven ^[p. 228] items, each one different, each stands out, but his glory is in every position. A sudden thing happens and you are not equal to it, something you are not expecting: take the apostle Paul in Philippi, how glorious he was then, but when the message came for them to be released he was not so glorious for he said, “Let them come themselves and fetch us out”.

EH In 2 Corinthians we have one brought before us in perfect keeping with his ministry — Paul.

JT “That the ministry be not blamed”. It ought to be glorious — it is the ministry of glory, and the vessel should be glorious, and this is why the Lord calls him “an elect vessel”: it is the idea of a vessel like Stephen.

JM Do we see two features of glory in Luke 9? As the Lord prayed the fashion of His countenance became different, and then in delivering a soul from the power of Satan, they wondered at the glorious greatness of God.

JT He is glorious in each case.

AL The priests’ garments were for glory. What do you understand by that?

JT That is what we are talking about: they were for glory and beauty, showing that in the service of God, the priest is glorious. It refers to the purification of the priest in approach to God — he is suitably dressed.

AB So would you say that Paul and Silas in the prison were glorious in that they sang praises to God in those conditions?

JT Just so. The prison was turned into a temple of prayer and praise.

WL Would you say that the Lord delights to commit Himself in glory where conditions are right, as you were saying? For instance, Moses and Aaron fell upon their faces on several occasions, and on each occasion the glory of the Lord appeared.

JT That is God honouring them, and He honours ^[p. 229] us if we are faithful. This thought has far more entrance into our circumstances than we think. In the care meeting, in the visiting of the brethren, and in dealing with evil, we are to be glorious.

CK There is a remarkable verse in the end of 1 Peter, it looks as if it is the ultimate end of God calling us — “But the God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, when ye have suffered for a little while, himself shall make perfect, stablish, strengthen, ground: to him be the glory and the might for the ages of the ages. Amen”. It calls forth a doxology from the apostle’s heart — the thought of it. I have often been struck with that; it shows what God’s aim was in calling us. I suppose none of us had the slightest idea of what we had been called to when we were first converted; but God has called us to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus.

JT That is a very rich passage.

HP I would like to ask with regard to Stephen he speaks of the “God of glory” calling Abraham, and then he goes on in the recital of all His dealings with the people. Would it be right to take account of it that he had learnt God in the way he was speaking of Him in relation to all the movements of the people from Egypt, and that we might be learning the God of glory that has called us and dealt with us and been with us right through?

JT Quite so. We do not get this expression in Genesis. It waited for Stephen to tell us it was the God of glory. The whole history that Stephen goes over is lit up with glory.

AHH Is it possible for us to hear as Peter heard and to recount ‘we heard this voice from heaven’?

JT The point in mind is that it is a mature thought. When we are converted we are very feeble and shallow and God is very patient with us. He took Ephraim and taught him to walk, and it was so with Peter, he had to be taken by the hand and ^[p. 230] taught to walk. When he was on the mount he was able to take in very little of the great vision he saw, but he did not forget it and it developed in his soul. The idea is that whatever glimpse we get it carries through and becomes enhanced. So here he is about to put off his tabernacle, and he says, “We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount”. The impression was very small at the beginning — it was like a seed of glory in his soul — but doubtless he went over the vision many a time with God, and the thing became more and more magnified; so at the end he is able to speak of the “excellent glory”, and had increased in the appreciation of it. That is the idea with us as vessels of glory, the germ of glory that comes as we receive the gospel becomes developed so that at the end we are vessels of glory and able to speak of it in a right way so that we are fitted for the assembly.

AHH Would you gather something from the thought “from heaven”?

JT It is the Father’s glory.

AH It is a progressive movement to which you are referring. Would it not be exemplified in Ezekiel 47 in the man moving in the waters, ankle deep, knee deep, to the loins, and then waters to swim in, waters that could not be passed over?

JT It is that sort of thing; he progressed in realising the depth of the river of grace and finally discovers it is infinite. I cannot pass over and nobody can, and the nearer we get to God the more infinite it all is. That is ^[p. 231] the idea.

FT Does the apostle speak of it in saying, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels”?

JT That is the thought. I think when Paul was converted he got a glimpse of glory and it was sown in his soul; he was blind and had to go into the city to have his eyes opened, and he developed and developed, and now he speaks of it as a treasure — it was in earthen vessels.

AHH Would it be too much to ask for a word on 2 Peter 1: 19?

JT He is alluding there to the ministry that had come from the prophets — “Ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts”. That is, he is getting back to first principles with them, that whilst what he was saying was “excellent glory”, yet each and all had to move along in the course of the testimony making full use of the prophets until “the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts”.

AHH In the light of what we are saying, should we give more heed to the prophetic word?

JT God is helping us in the Old Testament and it all tends to the morning star — it will be seen in the coming day of Christ.

RB Do we get this thought in respect to the queen of Sheba? She came to see the glory of Solomon, and she was so affected that there was no more spirit in her; she was like God in her giving. She was able to go back and, in speaking of it, she says, ‘the half had not been told’.

JT The word would be for us to progress according to what we have received. How much progress has one made since one was converted? How much better can we speak of the truth now than when we received it first?