THE GLORY OF GOD
2 Corinthians 3:18; Hebrews 1:2,3
Our brother referred in his prayer to glory, which has been in my mind a little recently. It is something which may be difficult for us to take in when we are younger. We might sometimes feel that glory is a little remote, in the clouds or something like that, but I have an impression about how tangible is the glory of the wonderful divine system that we have been brought into. It is a good thing for us to see that Christianity is marked by glory. Our brother has referred to happenings in this world, and there is a verse somewhere that speaks about those who glory in their shame (Phil.3:19). That would be a different kind of glory; this world has a glory, but it is not a glory that is based on anything that is morally worthwhile. The glory of this world could be summarised as “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16); that is the glory of this world. It does us good, particularly when we are younger, to remind ourselves that all the glory of this world really will come to nothing. We were reminded at the weekend that if the princes of this world had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor.2:8). So while we have to do with things in this world, God’s glory and the glory of the Lord Jesus would eclipse the apparent glory of this world.
I was drawn to these verses in Corinthians and in Hebrews. Glory is one of the great themes of scripture. God’s glory shines out in many different ways, and it is tangible. We could think of it as a shining out; the scripture that we read in Hebrews would show that. It is an effulgence, that which fully represents a glory which is in something else. God’s glory shines, and it has always been there even when there was no creature to take account of it; indeed we read of that in John, “the glory which I had along with thee before the world was”, John 17:5. What creature was there to take account of that? There was none, but glory was there, the glory belonging to divine Persons. How wonderful that is! But we can take account of this glory now – we read in 2 Corinthians about looking on the glory of the Lord Jesus. It is a well-known passage and I cannot say much about it other than just to bring it before our hearts to encourage us. Looking on the Lord’s glory is to have a result, and not just a superficial result. It would be a good thing, when we get home from the Lord’s supper, to write down some of the impressions that we have had. It has been said that we come to the Supper as a blank sheet of paper, and I trust that we would all get impressions of the glory of the Lord Jesus. I find for myself that I often forget impressions that we have had. Perhaps if we wrote them down, we could go over them and trace them back to Scripture, because as the Holy Spirit brings us impressions of the glory of the Lord Jesus, we should always be able to trace them back to the Scriptures.
This scripture in 2 Corinthians seems to be set in a collective position. No doubt we can each look individually on the glory of the Lord Jesus, but here it is “we all”. That is a fine thing, is it not? Are we all looking on the glory of the Lord Jesus? What a beautiful thing it is, that there are persons who appreciate His glory. Our brother has referred to the way in which we must come to know the Lord Jesus as Saviour, and that would be the starting point, the way into appreciating His beauty and glory. That is another way to look at glory; it is something that would attract our hearts. It is a beautiful thing. Glory and beauty would go together, and as we come to know the Lord Jesus as Saviour, we would move on from what the prophet said in Isaiah 53 that there was no beauty or lordliness that we would desire Him (v.2). Of course, we would understand that there was not anything of nature in us that drew us to the Lord Jesus. The appreciation of His glory has been put in us by the working of divine Persons, so here it is, “we all, looking on the glory of the Lord”. How wonderful this dispensation is! The previous dispensation was marked by glory, but that glory may in a sense have made us fear. Think of the account of the glory at mount Sinai; what glory that was, but glory known in a way that would make the heart of even a God-fearing Israelite fear. But think now of the glory in Christianity – the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus (2 Cor.4:6) would cause our hearts to be attracted. That is another wonderful aspect of the glory that attaches to Christianity. I do not think that, if we are in a right state, it would ever repel us, it would always attract us. What a wonderful power of love it is that would attract us.
So there is to be a result. It has often been pointed out that the result is to be permanent, “according to the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit”. How necessary the Holy Spirit is. We will not get very far at all in appreciating this glory in our own strength. The eyes of the two on the way to Emmaüs were looking the wrong way. When the Lord Jesus drew near, their eyes were no longer clouded, and “he opened their understanding”, Luke 24:45. It is like the sufferings of Christ and the glories after these (1 Pet.1:11). Dear brethren, glory is to have a moral effect on us. ‘Moral’ is a word that we often use and it is a good word; it is a word that we come to understand as we progress in our Christian experience, and indeed we come to love it. I was thinking of that book of Mr Bellett’s, ‘The Moral Glory of the Lord Jesus. That was a dear believer who had looked on the glory of the Lord Jesus and had been transformed by it himself, and he was able to pass on impressions that he had gleaned as to that blessed One.
I have been affected recently that brothers in thanksgiving have quite often referred to this verse in Hebrews, “who being the effulgence of his glory and the expression of his substance”. How wonderfully capable the Lord Jesus has been, and is, in showing forth the glory of God. Everything was given into His hands by God. What blessed divine trust there was in that Man when He was here on earth, the Lord Jesus ever doing the will of His God and Father. What glory there was in Him; a Man, outwardly no different to you or me, yet fully able to express everything that was of God. This first chapter in Hebrews would go along with the first chapter of John and the first chapter of Colossians; it is good to go over these chapters again and again, and get something of the glory of the Lord Jesus into our hearts. We get a wonderful impression of the majesty and greatness that there is in this One, God in His own Person, who is able to show forth everything of what God is as revealed. Everything that we can know, or ever will know of God, is seen perfectly in the Lord Jesus, so it says “the effulgence”. The note is very helpful, ‘That which fully presents the glory which is in something else. Thus light makes us know what the sun is’. What a matter that is; what radiance would shine out! Another effect of glory is that it would warm us. This world would make us cold, but appreciating and looking at the glory of the Lord Jesus would, I think, warm us in relation to Him. I also think that glory would be very similar to love. I think it has been said that the glory of God really is His love, shining forth, “the expression of his substance”. How majestic that is! Think of all that is in God, and yet the Lord Jesus is able to show it to us. This One is so great, “upholding all things by the word of his power”, and yet He has time for each one of us, time to teach us about His glories. The Holy Spirit too would teach us about them.
I have been very hesitant to speak about these things. At the present phase of the dispensation, with the testimony no doubt in its last days, Christianity may not seem outwardly to be a system of glory, but dear brethren, it is. We could speak more to each other of these glories and encourage our hearts as to them, and love them. I think the end result in appreciating these glories, great as they are, is not exactly just for its own sake, but there is to be a change, and too, there is to be a return in glory. Think of those two sons of oil in Zechariah. They were emptying the gold out of themselves, and I think that is the result. God delights to show us His glory and the glory of the Lord Jesus, and as we have in Chronicles, it is “of that which is from thy hand have we given thee”, 1 Chron.29:14. Let us be affected afresh by the glory of divine Persons, and by the glory of the blessed system that we have been sovereignly brought into, indeed brought into its very centre with the Lord Jesus, for His name’s sake.
Word in meeting for ministry, Grangemouth,
4 February 2014
A. B. Brown