Getting Into Glory

[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 Glory, 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. But what the disciples saw was far more.  The Transfiguration was like cream on the pudding.  It was the daily experience of being with Him, seeing Him as 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. 

Their eyes beheld Him as He intended.  What they saw is what God wanted them to see and to pass on.  Eyewitnesses, that’s what they were.  They had witnessed with their eyes.  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, then Paul, James and Peter. 

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.

What they saw was the glory of God revealed in relationship.  Jesus loved the Father.  He loved the disciples.  He loved everyone with whom He came in contact even His enemies.  His love was part of His glory.

When Jesus taught it grabbed at the hearts of those listening.  Whether it was the Sermon on the Mount or just a passing comment, it was His uniqueness that did something within those who heard Him.  His glory was unique.

 The sense of the 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 dead Lazarus from the tomb.  His glory was from another dimension.

 The glory in Jesus was seen in His faith.  He was headed to the Cross.  He knew His destiny.  It would be after His death and Resurrection that they 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.

 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. 

 Jesus wants to lift us into His glory. 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, 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 Jesus gave us makes us whole and ready for eternity.

  “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).”