The Glory of God Displayed in Christ

I have noted in previous posts that the glory of God, His revelation and display of the infinite perfections of His eternal being, is the central theme of the Bible, the purpose of all of creation, particularly the creation of man (Isaiah 43:7). The Bible reveals that God displays His glory in four ways: In the creation of the universe and all that occurs in it, in the creation of man in His image and likeness, and in the truths and events found written in the Bible regarding His person, purposes and ways (Psalm 19:1-6) (Psalm 8:3-6) (John 17:17).  It is displayed, however, most prominently, manifested most clearly and demonstrated most fully in the person and redemptive work of God the Son – the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is revealed in Hebrews 1:1-4  as the one who is the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, the exact representation of His divine being, the one who made and upholds the universe and all that is in it, the one who after accomplishing God’s purpose in sending Him into this world as a man to save sinners, sits on His throne at the right hand of God ruling and reigning over that universe and all that is in it.

Thus, I would like to use this post to briefly look at the glory of God as revealed and displayed in the person and work of Christ, glory which all the Apostles personally beheld, glory that was revealed further to them and to us in the Bible by the Holy Spirt, a glory that the Apostle John wrote most directly about so that we “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 1:14) (John 16:12-15) (John 20:30-31).

In Jesus, we have displayed the glory of God’s infinite wisdom in devising a just and righteous way to reconcile and restore his enemies – sinful men and women like you and I – back to right relationship with Himself, and not compromise His own righteousness and justice in doing so (Colossians 2:3).

In Jesus, we have displayed the glory of the greatness of God’s faithfulness in fulfilling His promise, made thousands of years before in the Garden of Eden of sending the seed of the woman to destroy the work of Satan, a promise that was reiterated in various ways and forms throughout redemptive history to men such as Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, King David, Isaiah and Jeremiah in the Old Testament (Luke 24:44-45).   The fulfillment of this promise is first revealed to Mary and Joseph, then to Shepherds, them to Simeon and Anna when Jesus is dedicated in the temple, all who were by faith awaiting the coming of the promised Messiah (Luke 2:1-40).

In Jesus, we have displayed the glory of God’s humility as He voluntarily comes to earth in the form of a man, experiencing all of the frailties, sorrows and discomforts of the human condition.  He does so out of love for both God the Father and sinful men, giving His life as a “ransom” to free us from our slavery to sin and God’s judgement on it, which He does by willingly suffering and dying in our place without complaint – even offering forgiveness to those who tortured and crucified Him.  His humility is seen clearly in His willing submission and obedience to the Father, as even within the agony of anticipating all of the horrors of the cross and hell that He will experience, He is able to proclaim to the Father, not my will but your will be done (Matthew 20:28) (Philippians 2:5-11) (Luke 22:42) (Isaiah 53:3).

In Jesus we have displayed the glory of God’s majestic power seen in the virgin birth of Jesus, in the miracles performed by Jesus while on earth, in the resurrection of Jesus from physical death and ultimately in His resurrecting us from spiritual death to eternal life, and ultimately resurrecting our physical body to conformity to His glorious resurrected body (2 Peter 1:3-4) (Ephesians 2:1-7) (Philippians 3:20-21).

In Jesus we have displayed the glory of the beauty of God’s holiness seen in Jesus’ perfectly holy – sinless life, wherein Jesus was undefiled and untouched by sin, unyielding to the allurements of this world and to the temptations of the devil (Hebrews 4:14-15) (Hebrews 7:26).

 In Jesus, we have displayed the glory of God’s sovereign authority – wherein Jesus exercises that authority over demons, over nature, over sickness and death, as well as the souls of men (Matthew 11:5-6) (Matthew 28:18-20).

In Jesus, we have displayed the Glory of the preciousness of the truth of God’s word, as He fulfills every law, every commandment, every prophecy while perfectly displaying every attribute of God’s glory in His life, death and resurrection (John 1:1-5) (John 18:37).

In Jesus, we have displayed the glory of God’s incredible patience, as for 30 + years He bears up under the sin, grief and sorrow of a world that will reject Him, hate Him, and resist His call to repentance and faith throughout His ministry.   In the midst of this, He consistently shows compassion and kindness – forgiving men’s sins – calling them to repent, and waiting on God the Father to vindicate His work and to restore to Him the splendor and glory He temporarily divested Himself of when He left heaven (John 1:10-11) (John 17:4-5).

In Jesus on the cross, we have displayed the glory of God’s justice, judgment and wrath whereby He Himself becomes the object of it on the cross, in our place, wherein doing so He displays the glory of God’s abundant mercy, His amazing grace and unfailing love by offering Himself up as the just means by which sinful men and women can be forgiven and escape the Hell that we all have earned and deserve and be qualified for a Heaven no sinful human being could ever earn or deserve, where we will glorify God by enjoying Him in all of His goodness, forever (Isaiah 53:5-6) (Matthew 27:45-46) (John 19:28-30) (John 17:24-26).

John Calvin in his commentary on the Gospel of John, commenting on John 12:23 writes, while in all creatures, indeed, both high and low the glory of God shines…nowhere has it shined more brightly than in the cross.  The cross is “the hour” when the Son of man is glorified.  There, in a magnificent theater, the inestimable goodness of God is displayed before the whole world. There the fearfulness of God in all his great justice and mercy is most clearly and profoundly displayed.

In Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to His throne in Heaven, we see the glory of God in man restored, as those who put their faith in Him will be made like Him – and will rule and reign with Him in the new heavens and new earth that He will create at His second coming (1 John 3:1-3) (Revelation 5:8-10).

Therefore, let us now join the saints and angels who are now in Heaven in their continuous worship of the Lord of Glory (Psalm 24:7-10), in their praise of and thanksgiving to the one who loved us and gave His life for us (Galatians 2:20), men, women and angels who are at this moment proclaiming – “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” AMEN. (Revelation 5:8-14)

Grace and Peace ×