THE LORD OF GLORY AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD
1 Corinthians 2:6-10; 2 Corinthians 3:6,17,18
I have in mind, beloved brethren, to draw attention from these scriptures to the Lord of glory and the glory of the Lord. The Lord of glory speaks of the Lord Jesus as the Dispenser of glory, the One who can make glory effective in the saints, whereas the glory of the Lord is something that we can look on now.
The scripture in 1 Corinthians brings home to us how man as man is unable to take account of the things of God. It says “for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory”. It was folly on the part of men to crucify the Lord of glory, and Paul is bringing out here that it was a matter of ignorance on their part. Lying behind that are the activities of the enemy, whose object was that this glory seen in the Lord Jesus should not be known to men. Paul is speaking about God’s wisdom in a mystery, “which God had predetermined before the ages for our glory”. God had predetermined that there would be men who would take on glory. It is affecting to think that God had predetermined this before the ages for our glory, that God had prepared things for the saints. “Things which eye has not seen, and ear not heard, and which have not come into man’s heart, which God has prepared for them that love him”. It is affecting to think of the way that God thought about us, and of what He has prepared for those that love Him. These things, beloved brethren, are known by the Spirit. It says “but God has revealed to us by his Spirit”; think of God revealing them to us by His Spirit. It is the only way we can enter into and understand these things. The glory which God has in mind for us is in Christ Himself, the One who is the Lord of glory. Men in their ignorance crucified Him, and Satan had in mind that the glory would not be known by men, or taken on by men. Satan, in getting men to crucify Christ, thought that would be the end of it, but, beloved brethren, it was not the end. God purposed that men should take on this glory, the glory that is displayed in the Lord Jesus Himself.
In the second epistle, Paul is bringing out what is in Christ now; chapter 3 brings out the glory of the new covenant, and the spirit of it as seen in the apostle. The glory of the Lord would convey the particular way in which the Lord is the Mediator of the new covenant. In the next chapter, Paul writes about what is shining in His face. The glory is shining in the face of Jesus Christ. Beloved brethren, it is a wonderful thing that, by the Spirit, we can behold that glory. We are able to look upon Him. I believe that this is the way the glory is taken on – it involves the Spirit's work in us. Paul says that we “are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit.” There is a close connection here between the Lord and the Spirit. “Now the Lord is the Spirit”; that is a reference to the Lord Himself, who is the Spirit of the new covenant. When we come to the end of the section, it says “even as by the Lord the Spirit”; I believe that is a reference to the Spirit Himself. Beloved brethren, this is open to us. I am sure we know something of it, so that the saints take on glory. “But we all, looking on the glory of the Lord, with unveiled face, are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory”. There is an added feature of glory every time we look upon the glory of the Lord, and that glory will remain. It says in Revelation in relation to the assembly, the holy city, that it has the glory of God (Rev.21:10). That is what is being acquired now, and it will be displayed in the day to come.
It is a great thing to see that the enemy has not triumphed, and that this glory has not been obliterated. The Lord of glory was crucified. There is no place in this world for Him; there is no place in this world for this glory. The glory of Babylon is there, but the glory of God is shining in the face of Jesus Christ and we are able to look upon it. There is nothing more blessed than to look upon that glory and for the saints to take it on. I am encouraged by this second epistle. Paul had had to write severe things to the Corinthians in the first epistle, but he is able to write to the saints at Corinth in his second epistle as taking account of something having been effected in them. He looks at them in their real beauty.
I would encourage us all, beloved brethren, that whatever the conditions are outwardly, we can look upon this glory. However few we may be, we can take on glory and we can become like one another. I think this is the way to true unity. It is not only that we agree – it is important to agree – but we are taking on the same glory, the same image “according to the same image from glory to glory”. So there can be a testimony to God now as the saints take on this glory. May the Lord help us in it, in His name.
Word in meeting for ministry, Bad Endbach, Germany
7 October 2014
J. Wright
EXTRACT (Cont’d)
… "Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed". I ask, do you know what this salvation is? The first thing is that the work is completed, not merely to get me out of misery and judgment, but to place me in glory. That is the reason I have read about the thief on the cross. Directly his eyes are opened, and he sees the just One suffering for the unjust, he says, "Remember me, Lord, when thou comest in thy kingdom" (Luke 23:42). He saw Jesus as King; the Lord says to him, "Verily, I say to thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise" … The effect of Christ's work was to transfer that man from the deepest misery to the greatest happiness. See what he was transferred from, and what to! By the efficacy of the death of Christ, that man passed from the lowest, deepest, darkest place of misery ever known to man, into the brightest, holiest, most blessed place of ineffable bliss with the Lord. That is the transition. That is what Christ has done.