THE GLORY
[p. 41] THE GLORY
John 2:11; John 2:18 - 25; John 3: 1, 2
I wish to speak about the glory. This gospel refers to it more perhaps than the others. And the explanation is that it presents the Person to us. The opening verses refer to the glory of the Lord. It says, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we have contemplated his glory ... )” (John 1: 14), as if to call attention from the outset to the fact that as He became Man, the glory was there, and it was there to be contemplated. It is to the end that we might become contemplative of the glory of Christ that I felt encouraged to speak to you on this great subject. The Holy Spirit would lay it upon us by this gospel that we should become contemplative. And indeed it is to those that contemplate that things are shown. When Moses was behind the wilderness, it says that a bush burned, as if God would call his attention. We would scarcely credit at the outset how difficult it is that our spiritual attention should be arrested; we are extremely slow to respond to what is presented spiritually. So that our attention has to be arrested. As Moses saw the bush he said, “Let me now turn aside” (he was arrested) “and see this great sight, why the thorn-bush is not burnt”, Exodus 3: 3. It burned, but it was not being consumed. A contradiction of terms, as we may say, in physical things. Spiritual things are always contradictory of physical things. And then it says (verse 4), “And Jehovah saw that he turned aside to see, and God called to him out of the midst of the thorn-bush and said, Moses, Moses!” This would show the importance that heaven lays upon our attention to spiritual things. And then He says (verse 5), “Loose thy sandals from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground”; this would remind us that these things are to be taken in holily. As Peter says, “I stir up, in the way of putting you in remembrance, your pure mind”, 2 Peter 3: 1. So Moses’ feet were to be unshod. For He says, “The place whereon thou standest is holy ground”. And so it is, beloved, as we approach this wonderful presentation of Christ, of God Himself, it is holy ground.
And now John says, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we have contemplated ... )”. He was amongst those who took notice of what came spiritually within their range. They contemplated the glory of the Son of God. It was, so to say, stationary. And he goes on to say, “A glory as of an only-begotten with a father”; he was not speaking of His activity. But when we come to this chapter, it is activity. It is being manifested forth, as it says. And it is of that I want to speak at this time, because what is manifested forth is for testimony.
There is that which may be seen, but what is manifested forth is for testimony. And then I want to show that what is thus manifested forth is to be preserved. It was to be gathered up, so to speak, and preserved in the temple. It is not to be left as other things are left. Man discovers things, as they say, in the heavens and in the earth. Astronomers discover things, but there is no idea of enshrining them in a temple. They are written in books, but a book is not a temple. A book may be burned, but “the temple of God” never. The bush burned, but it was not consumed. All the holy thoughts of God were shining forth, and they were to be preserved. A book is a record, and one would make much of books. Matthew speaks about a book. The first word in his gospel is, “Book”. It is the “Book of the generation of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham”. The Lord in coming into this world speaks about a book. He says, “Lo, I come (in the [p. 43] roll of the book it is written of me)”, Hebrews 10: 7. Indeed, that is the first book, both historically and morally. The book that contains the wholehearted devotedness of the Lord Jesus to His God is surely the first book, both historically and morally. It is the foundation out of which every other book of any moral value must issue. All books that have not their roots in that book must disappear. They are of no moral value. It says “(in the roll of the book it is written of me) to do, O God, thy will”. That was the book. And Matthew, as I said, begins with “Book”; but not the book of eternal thoughts, but a book of historical, but nevertheless spiritual, thoughts.
His generation begins with Abraham. The spiritual line is recorded in that book. “Book of the generation of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham”. A most important book. A book which introduces the King to us. I have been impressed lately with the qualifications of a king. Balaam speaks about a shout of a king being amongst the people of God. There is power. A king is not simply one who rules. He does rule; but he is one who is great personally, who is royal. And Matthew brings Him thus before us. “The king”, he says. It is the royal line. Matthew is a book of the generation of the King, so that we might have Him thus before us. He is the Root and Offspring of David. A paradoxical statement, indeed, for the human mind, but perfectly intelligible to the spiritual mind, and perfectly intelligible to the assembly. Indeed it is to the assembly that the Lord speaks when He says, “I am the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star”, Revelation 22: 16. So that He is the Root of David and the Offspring of David. Only a spiritual mind can take this in. The Lord in dealing with His adversaries puts that question to them. “If therefore David call him Lord, how is he his son?” Matthew 22: 45. It was [p. 44] beyond them. But it is not beyond the assembly. And hence, as I said, the importance of books. Then again John, in this very gospel, speaks about a book. A book is a complete thing. Luke speaks about a treatise, but John speaks about a book, and Matthew speaks about a book. John says virtually, ‘This is complete spiritually. There are many other things Jesus did. But this is complete spiritually. It is a book’. But he had such a sense of the divine Person before him, that he says, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they were written one by one, I suppose that not even the world itself would contain the books written”, John 21: 25. There should be so many of them. He was so impressed with the greatness of the Person he was presenting. But nevertheless he holds to the importance of his own book. It was a complete thing, as was the gospel of Matthew, and so also the book of the Revelation.
But as I said, a book is not a temple. And so as the Lord begins here, as He manifests forth His glory, we have the temple brought in, because the things that are manifested are not simply to be written down, they are to be held in the temple. It is true that the book of the law was in the temple, but it was in the ark. And the ark of the covenant was said to be the glory. That was Christ as cherishing in His heart every divine thought. So that the glory was in the temple, when the ark was placed there.
Well, now I wanted to show how this works out. We have in this chapter a remarkable set of circumstances. It is a marriage. This chapter is one of the most familiar in the Bible. The set of circumstances which it affords does not in any way correspond with the temple. It does not involve the temple. But nevertheless it was a sphere in which Jesus was highly regarded. He was invited to the marriage. He was not invited by way of patronage, as when Simon the [p. 45] Pharisee invited Him. Here He was held in respect. And not only was He invited, but also His disciples. If I invited you and all your children, it is not by way of patronage; but I show that I am interested in you. I show a certain care. Simon did not invite the disciples. Moreover, Jesus’ mother was there. Now it does not say she was invited. But she was there. And she was not a mere guest; she seemed to be of some importance, she had something to say in the course of events. She was interested. So that there seems to have been a sphere at Cana in which the Lord and His relatives and disciples were all free. And it is to be regarded of no mean importance that there was such a sphere, for generally He had to deal with what was contrary to Him. According to John we find that there was very little that was congenial to Him, but there was this sphere at Cana. And at the present time, too, there is found a sphere congenial to Him. Generally He is not at all respected, even by those who nominally believe on Him. But there are spheres where He is respected. The bridegroom and the bride were, of course, of more importance, but nevertheless He was there. And so the chapter is a sort of description of what we may find at the present time. But God is greatly interested in spheres where His beloved Son is to some extent, at least, respected. Even if only an individual has respect for Him, for the Scriptures, for His people, He takes account of that. And so I often feel with young people that this has to be taken account of. If you are not opposed, that is so much to the good. And some day He manifests His glory to you. Parents know how the Lord comes in here. Their children are not opposed, there is respect shown, and some day the Lord will manifest His glory and you will believe on Him.
Well, now you see what happened here, the Lord would acknowledge this position. True enough His attention was called to the deficiency in the supply of [p. 46] wine by His mother. But she was not just right. A situation like this does not ensure spiritual individuals. Nevertheless there is a respect for Christ, and that is an immense thing. His mother says, “They have no wine”. As much as to say, ‘You are my son. It is my prerogative to turn to you. And as my son, you should help’. But that will not do. If we are to get anything from Christ, we must leave what is natural in abeyance. Natural things have their place, but they must not intrude here. And so the Lord says, “Woman”, not ‘mother’. “What have I to do with thee, woman? mine hour has not yet come”. You see she is reprehensible, and so it is wherever the natural is introduced to obtain from Christ. The natural is to be laid aside. But nevertheless she was truly a child of God. When Jesus was born, she presented her tribute. It says of her, “And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour”, Luke 1: 47. But she has dropped a bit; thirty years have elapsed since then, and that makes a great difference. In thirty years you have either advanced or declined. And now after thirty years, she is not spiritually what she had been. But nevertheless she was a true believer. And so she says to the servants, “Whatever he may say to you, do”. If we are to come in for the manifestation of His glory, the first great thing is subjection. You cannot assert your own will. She might have turned away and sulked or complained that He was ungrateful; but, no! You see she was a true believer. And a true believer always responds to a divine rebuke. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are profuse”, Proverbs 27: 6. And again, “Open rebuke is better than hidden love”, Proverbs 27: 5. This was open rebuke. The Lord loved her, but He rebuked her, even though she was His mother. Then He said, “Fill the water-vessels with water”. There were six [p. 47] water-pots. That is necessary, if there is to be manifestation. Then too, they were water-pots of stone. Mary, His mother, is an example of such. She was capable of containing water of purification. And she needed it. When you are out of communion, or where decline has taken place, water of purification is necessary. It is exceedingly important. The Lord came by water and by blood. He came with the means of cleansing. “Jesus says to them, Fill the water-vessels with water. And they filled them up to the brim”. For it is full vessels from which the glory shines. They were to be filled with water of purification. And then He says, “Draw out now”. Everything is to be at His direction. It is an immense thought. “Whatever he may say to you, do”. They draw out and bring to the feast-master. He says, “Every man sets on first the good wine, and when men have well drunk, then the inferior; thou hast kept the good wine till now”. It was the very best wine. It was the good wine. And it says, “This beginning of signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed on Him”.
Now you see we have the glory. It is a great thing to see the glory shine. What are we going to do without it? The next thing is that He went down to Capernaum, which, I have no doubt, would have a dispensational reference. Then He is found at Jerusalem, and there there is hostility; what He finds in the temple of God is men selling merchandise and changing money. How incongruous! Can He bring the glory into that? Is there a home for the glory there? I look abroad today and see the religious system and buildings. Can I put any manifestation of the glory of Christ that I have by the Spirit into any of these buildings? Is there a home for it in them? No! I speak thus, beloved, that you may understand what I have in mind. The temple at [p. 48] Jerusalem afforded no home for His glory. But He manifested it forth. It was not simply accidental or casual. He manifested it forth. That was the point — He caused it to shine, but who was to house it? Well, the temple at Jerusalem was not suitable. He made a scourge of small cords and drove them all out. And He says, “Make not my Father’s house a house of merchandise”. How indignant He was! How indignant He is at the present time as He looks at christendom. He comes into the midst. He walks in the midst of the seven golden lamps. “These things says the Son of God, he that has his eyes as a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass”, Revelation 2: 18. And yet in the midst of all these things there is the manifesting forth of the glory of the Lord. “And his disciples remembered that it is written, The zeal of thy house devours me”. But the Jews answered Him, “What sign shewest thou to us, that thou doest these things?” Think of the hardness of their hearts! He had shown them a sign. It says, “This beginning of signs did Jesus”. But He did not call their attention to that. But He says, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up”. Was He merely answering their question? No, beloved! He was speaking truth. He was announcing there was a temple. The word is changed. It is a different word from that used where they speak of the temple. It referred to the inner thing, the shrine. He was about to die. In resurrection every divine thought was to be taken up and secured. Every ray of the glory manifested was to be gathered up and preserved. But what He said did not convey that to them because they were incapable of receiving such a thought as that. He says, as it were, ‘It is this temple, not that temple’. For that temple was a material temple, but this temple was His precious body. They did not catch His thought. There is not the ability in man to comprehend the divine thoughts.
[p. 49] The Lord was not speaking merely for the Jews. He was speaking for us. And so the Holy Spirit immediately says, “But he spoke of the temple of his body”. The Lord does not say that Himself. It is the Holy Spirit who says it to us; He wants us to understand that the Lord is speaking about a temple that would be in resurrection which would contain and secure every divine thought. Nothing would be lost. All would be gathered up and preserved in Him, as indeed the latter chapters of this gospel prove. As after His resurrection He was amongst the disciples, every thought came out. So this chapter goes on to say, “When therefore he was raised from among the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken”. Now you see the great result, dear brethren, the importance of attending to what is written. The Holy Spirit says it was the temple of His body. “But he spoke of the temple of his body”. Why did they not believe before His resurrection, why did they not believe then? The answer is, beloved, that they were not capable of it. It is only by the Spirit that we take in divine things. Not even the disciples could take in the bearing of the Lord Jesus’ ministry before they got the Spirit. Everything is secured for us in Christ risen. “When therefore he was raised from among the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken”. Hence the importance of resurrection. Did they not believe the Scriptures before? I do not suppose that any of the Lord’s disciples would have denied the inspiration of the scripture. But that is not believing the Scriptures. Believing the Scriptures means to see that it all refers to Christ. You read it and see Christ and believe it. They believed all He said. You believe all that Jesus said, if you understand that He is risen from the dead.
[p. 50] I just close with a word about ‘man’. Immediately after the matter of the temple and believing in Jesus and in the Scriptures, you have brought to your attention that Jesus did not trust man, even though they believed. You cannot trust man simply because they assent or profess to believe on Jesus. And so it says, “But Jesus himself did not trust himself to them, because he knew all men, and that he had not need that any should testify of man, for himself knew what was in man”. There is a remarkable scripture in Ecclesiastes. It says, “What man is, is known”, Ecclesiastes 6: 10. This sheds light on conditions at the present time, because there is so much inquiry into the origin of man. Solomon said, “What man is, is known”. Modern scientific men say, ‘No, we are investigating’. And that means that they do not know. They do not know, and they are only throwing up clouds of dust. How can they know? They shall never know! John would manifest what is known. “We speak that which we know”; that is what you want, what is known. The Lord knew what was in man. He amplifies what Solomon says, “What man is, is known”. John says, as it were, ‘Jesus is the One who knows, and He did not trust man’. They are not to be trusted, not even my own heart, naturally. “What man is, is known”. But then it immediately goes on to say here, “But there was a man”. He is a remarkable type of man. “He came to him by night, and said to him, Rabbi, we know that thou art come a teacher from God”. That is the thing. These notorieties talk about man’s development, but they do not profess to come from God. “Thou art come a teacher from God”; this was said by a man on the way to the temple. I mention this so that you may understand that the temple is now composed of men who recognise that Jesus is come from God, a teacher. The Lord says, “It is needful that ye should be born anew”. There was to [p. 51] be an entirely new start. He spoke of the temple in which everything says, “Glory”. Who is to have part in the temple of God? Men who are born again, only such. The Lord outlined to Nicodemus the truth by which we have men who can be trusted. You cannot have the temple unless you have trustworthy men. The truth contained in the second chapter is Christ risen, and the saints are to correspond with Christ risen. “Do ye not know that ye are the temple of God ... ?” (1 Corinthians 3: 16), and again, “All the building fitted together increases to a holy temple in the Lord”. So that every divine thought is cherished. The assembly comes down from God out of heaven, having the glory of God. Her shining is like a most precious stone; the manifestation of the glory of Christ will shine there.
Well, beloved, that was all I had to say. I hope you will be able to follow so as to get an idea of the temple and that the glory is in it. It is enshrined and preserved there. In due time it will shine forth and that blessed world shall be lighted up with it. “When the Christ is manifested who is our life, then shall ye also be manifested with him in glory”, Colossians 3: 4. Wonderful contemplation, and wonderful hope and expectation! “We boast in hope of the glory of God”, Romans 5: 2.