Just What is the Glory of God?

[HKHaugan]

“We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and only Son…(Jn.1:14).” “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete (1Jn.1:1-4 NIV).”

OK, what exactly did the disciples of Jesus see?

What they saw was the fullness of God the Son from the moment He called them until they saw Him ascend to Heaven. What they saw was the “Glory”, the radiance, the light, that which only God alone could be, the Glory of God in the flesh. Of course we can talk about the Transfiguration when He took Peter, James and John on the mountain (Mt.17:2). But what the disciples saw was far more. The Transfiguration was like icing on the cake and cream on the pudding. What they saw just being with Him, the way He walked, taught, did miracles, healed, prayed, drove out demons, confronted the Pharisees, was betrayed and denied by Judas and Peter, how He fared under duress, the Cross, the Resurrection appearances and His ascension. They had lived with God in the flesh. What they saw was the “beyond-words-and-description’ nature of God. They beheld the nature of what the word ‘Holy’ was all about. They saw His perfection, His glory.

Let’s look at how we see people today. Look around you and what do you see. Yes, that’s right, ordinary people some of whom have a kind of draw, appeal and fascination. If they are well known personalities or have ‘star power’ or are ‘charismatic’ you know how when you see them in person you look at them in a special way trying to see what is on their inside. I was on a flight from Atlanta and across from me was a recognizable TV sports anchor. You know how you give them a second kind of probing look? What I noticed was how others were doing the same. Are they real or are they just like us?

I’ve shaken hands with two presidents, some famous Hollywood types and sat at the feet of world renowned Bible teachers. I’ve been to movies and stage shows where actors stirred me emotionally and been moved by people I’ve met along the way but I have never been moved enough to drop everything and follow any of them. As far as the Bible teachers were concerned it wasn’t them but who they were teaching about and the insights they were given that drew me to them. For several weeks every Spring for 15 years I used to go to London to hear John Stott teach from Scripture. While I had a great deal of admiration for him it was his brilliant yet humble presentation the Holy Spirit had built in him that gave me a deeper understanding of Jesus and His Word.

So when we shift our gaze to the Apostles there is something quite different about them. Their eyes beheld Jesus as He intended. What they saw is what God wanted them to see and to pass on. He wanted them to see Him. He wanted them to be His eyewitnesses and that’s what they were. They had witnessed Him with their eyes. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, then Paul, James and Peter were drawn to Him. They were called to let us see Him through their words. When Thomas finally saw the risen Jesus and believed by seeing and touching Him, Jesus responded by saying, “Because you have seen me you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen yet have believed (John 20:29).” Believing is also part of the glory of God.

What they witnessed with their eyes went to their minds, was processed in their hearts then, energized in their spirits, they followed Him wherever He went. He met them in their minds, hearts and spirits, the image of God in them. The image reverberated as the Holy Spirit struck the chords of truth, love and faith, the ultimate reality of God.

When Jesus taught it grabbed at the minds of those listening. Whether it was the Sermon on the Mount or just a passing comment, it was His uniqueness that did something to their reasoning. Those who heard Him found their minds challenged. Even the most intellectual of His countrymen were never the same after He taught including those who rejected Him. His mind, His perception, His reasoning were unique.

What they saw was the glory of God revealed in relationship. His heart was a heart that loved like no one they had ever seen. Jesus loved the Father. He loved them, each of them. He loved everyone with whom He came in contact even His enemies. His love was part of His glory. They could feel His love. His sensitivity, awareness and His emotional perception caused them to hunger for what He was and who He was. The more he was with them the more aware they were of God, each other, their individuality in God and the world around them.

The glory of God was captured in faith as Jesus lived it. His faith was the power of the Holy Spirit working in Him. This awesome part of the glory of God cascaded upon the disciples when Jesus walked on water, stilled the storm, drove out demons and evil spirits and called a dead Lazarus from the tomb. The Holy Spirit was the Spirit of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the glory of Jesus and His faith was glorious. Faith as seen in Jesus was not sedentary. Jesus was always on the move. Every day was a moving day. His vision was the salvation of mankind; the Cross His worldly destination and the deliverance of mankind to His heavenly destination, “A long way to go and a short time to get there.” All of this by Jesus’ faith--- the work of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God. It would be after His death and Resurrection that the disciples would appreciate the glory in His faith they had beheld earlier.

The glory in Jesus was seen in His submission to the agony of the Cross. He was more concerned about His Father’s will and our destiny than His own well-being. On the Cross His glory was seen in His compassion for Mary and John, His forgiveness for all those who were crucifying Him, His care for and awareness of the thieves who hung with Him and in His acceptance of inevitable death.

But most of all His glory was seen in His Resurrection appearances, because, what He was demonstrating, was reality itself. His glory was real. It was the transcending fact of His presence. It made everything that went before glorious. His life in every detail was the ‘Tent of Glory’ that would cover us when we arrive in the Kingdom. He is the Tent of Glory. This is why Revelation is the final document in Scripture. It is the crowning of the glory of God in Jesus. He is spread across the Kingdom. He magnifies all that has gone before. He reigns in glory and is the essence of the Kingdom.

This glory was seen in how unfazed He was by hostility and rejection. They could see it in the confidence with which He spoke to crowds and individuals. They could feel it in the power He exuded in the presence of worldly authority that was the same as the power of His humility in the cleansing of the Temple and the power witnessed during His miracles. Here was a man who sure of Himself in every next moment. These are simply reflections of His glory. The glory that is God’s glory was in Him. He is the God of glory and the glory of God.

Jesus wants to lift us into His glory. “When I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all men unto me (John 12:32).” He wants to share the depth and fullness of His glory with us. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Glory. The more we allow the Spirit to access our minds, hearts and spirits, the more ready we are to be welcomed and to welcome. Our task is to be consumed by the Spirit through the exercise of spiritual gifts, gifts that reveal His glory, to be loving as Christ first loved us, to walk in faith every next moment, to let the Scripture retake our minds, for in these things the Spirit makes us whole and ready for eternity.

What this means for us now is that the more we know about Jesus, the more we open to Jesus, the more we study His Word, the more we reach out to the hearts around us, the more we take part in the world as disciples, the more we seek to reason in the Spirit, the more we extend ourselves in faith it’s then the more ready we are to cross into the embrace of Jesus when we leave this world. This is how we live and become the praise of His glory. So each of us has been created to receive, reveal and reflect the glory of God. “For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph.2:10).”

“Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen (2Peter 3:17-18 NIV).”