THE GLORY OF THE LORD
Peter Buchan *
John 1: 47–51; 6: 62, 63; 18: 4–9
I have in mind to speak of the glory of the Lord, and of the wonderful system of glory of which He is the centre. He is the glorious centre of what is for God. What a thought for us, to be engaged with the glory of the Lord! I do not know a greater occupation. This gospel writer, the apostle John, brings the Lord’s glory before us in a wonderful way. He begins with His personal glory, His deity, the Person of Jesus, who He is. He is the Word, “In the beginning was the Word”, John 1: 1. Let us dwell upon the greatness of Christ; that is what is before us, His infinite greatness. It becomes a question of whether we really believe it. That is why John’s gospel was written. He tells us of the signs Jesus did, “but these are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye
* Departed to be with Christ, 28 March 1993
might have life in his name”, John 20: 31. There is no life elsewhere.
There is a system Hof glory to which we can become contributors. What wonderful grace that such as you and I should become contributors to this wonderful system of glory, for it involves the saints! That is why they are so wonderful in His sight. In the last scripture we read He went forward to meet the great power of the enemy, the power of death. Let us look upon the matchless glory of the One who stood there and said, “I am he”. It says that they went away backward and fell to the ground. The enemy’s power was there. The Lord says,
“this is your hour and the power of darkness”. Luke 22: 53. Think of the powers of darkness marshalled against the Son of God. Could they match His power? They could never match it!
Then He says, “I told you that I am he—if therefore ye seek me, let these go away”. The disciples were so precious, and we are so precious, to His heart, that He was prepared to go that way on our account, to establish in His death a whole order of things in which we have part with Him and in relation to Him. That is the system of glory.
In this first chapter we have the reference to the heaven opened. Nathanael hears Philip, saying, “We have found him of whom Moses wrote in the law, and the prophets, Jesus, the son of Joseph, who is from Nazareth” (John 1: 45). Nathanael says, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nazareth was despised and of no account. Philip says, “Come and see”. Jesus saw Nathanael coming. He knew all about him. He knew every detail of that man from the beginning; He saw him under the fig-tree. Nathanael says, “Whence knowest thou me?” He knows every one of us. There is not one in this room that He does not know absolutely. He knows you in every detail; He knows your thoughts; He watches you all the way, with tender care. If only you knew the infinite love and care which is expended on each one of us! There is not a problem you have which
He is not able to resolve. That is the greatness of Christ.
So here is Nathanael coming to Him, saying, ‘How do You know me?’ Jesus says, “Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee”. Just think what was in this man’s soul when he answered, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel”. The greatness of Christ was before his heart. Let His greatness shine before our hearts so that we are attracted and drawn into this glorious system. It is by the glory of the Lord.
Then He says, “Thou shalt see greater things than these ... Henceforth ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man”. You might ask,
‘How do they ascend first?’ ‘The angels begin there, where Jesus is. He is equal to being up there because He is indigenous to heaven, He is native to heaven. That is the Son of man according to John’s gospel, a Man of a heavenly order. He is equal to being there. He is spoken of as ascending up there too, as our second scripture points out.
The word was hard. Many people cannot take it in. Many of the disciples in John 6 said,
“This word is hard; who can hear it? “(John 6: 60). Then He says, “Does this offend you? If then ye see the Son of man ascending up where he was before? It is the Spirit which quickens, the flesh profits nothing”. He has a right to ascend. It is His own right because of who He is. He can ascend, but He can also descend. Oh, beloved, think of the descent! Who can tell it? I feel that I am in the presence of great things, and am speaking of glory of the highest order. This is the glory of the Son of man, and the glory of the Son of God. How great it is! He can go up, but think of the descent. Do you know that there is a vessel that will descend too? John, in his writings, brings into view the glory of the heavenly city. He says, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and
the sea exists no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming sown out of the heaven from God”, Revelation 21: 1, 2. It is a glorious descent. It is not falling down. The Lord speaks of Satan falling out of heaven (Luke 10: 18), but this is something else; this vessel is coming down in heavenly dignity. There is dignity attaching to the great system of glory, and there is a blessed Man who is the centre of it all. Let our hearts be directed to Christ tonight!
I would like to refer briefly to chapter 18. The Lord is going forward. It says that He went forth. It is beautiful to watch Jesus going forward there. Think of the dignity and glory of these, movements. He went forth to meet the foe. We often sing—
‘To stand between them and the foe,
And lay down His life in their stead!’ (Hymn 103)
That is what He did. He stood between us and the foe. It says, “if therefore ye seek me, let these go away; that the word might be fulfilled, which he spoke, As to those whom thou hast given me, I have not lost one of them”. As believers, we are in safe hands. We are absolutely safe. He went into death to secure us, to make us His own. We belong to Himself and are part of a wonderful system. Let our walk and ways here be in consistency with what He has won for us at infinite cost.
May the glory of Christ and His matchless love freshly stir our hearts in attachment to Himself. I like that reference to the Spirit, “It is the Spirit which quickens”. He is a divine Person here, He has the right to quicken, and He does quicken. I believe He is quickening hearts in this very room tonight. He is quickening them in affection for Christ. May it be so.
Word in meeting for ministry, Grangemouth, 22 September 1992
EXTRACTS
A Plant of the Lord
You are a plant of the Lord, set by Him in His plantation on earth, to have a certain leaf, and blossom, and fruit. He knows where He has set you, and He takes into account all the adverse influences which bear on you. He puts the plant where it can best show forth the beauty He has given it. He knows the amount of frost, and wind, and sun which suits it. As the plant of the Lord you are an exotic, and there is no other plant like you. I think it is a great thing to be assured that I am not only a peculiar plant, but that I am placed in a peculiar spot, and that if I do not express the virtues and qualities of the exotic there, that I should do so less in any other circumstances. The Lord knows the only spot in His plantation where you can or could grow according to His intention. Whatever our circumstances may be, dark or bright, they are really the most favourable and the most adapted for growth, and this is an immense comfort.
J. B. Stoney
We are often inclined to think that the chastening is doing us no good, and that it is more a hindrance than a help. Beloved brethren, let us remember that a Master Hand has ordered those exercises for us, and deep eternal love is behind them all. How blessed to be able to look upon every trial and difficulty, upon every pressure and cause of exercise, as an express token of the Lord’s love! We feel it to be “not joyous, but grievous”; it is a very real check upon us—it would not profit us if it were not; but we know the love that is behind it and this is enough.
C. A. Coates (‘The Paths of Life’, p.37)
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