The (Humble) King of Glory

Glory, I noted in a previous post, is a term representing the extreme brightness, weightiness or value of a person or object; the outshining or expression of their greatness, magnificence, beauty and splendor. When we are greatly attracted to the extraordinary beauty, excellence or magnificence of a person, object or event, we are attracted to it or their glory; attributes they or it possess, which when displayed are experienced as highly beneficial or which elicit in us an extraordinarily high level of enjoyment, pleasure, excitement and satisfaction.

Politicians proclaim their glory; artists, athletes, actors and musicians display their glory; championship teams share their glory, while great entrepreneurial minds and inventors market their glory.   However, their glory and all other glory found in the creation is a derived or extrinsic glory, a glory that proceeds or comes from a far superior glory, one in whom glory is an inherent, permanent and essential attribute of His nature, namely God.  And the glory that comes from Him to His creation is a contingent glory, which means it is dependent upon certain conditions being met.  And that condition is and will always be man’s perfect and glad obedience to God (Deuteronomy 28:1) (James 2:10) (Psalm 40:8).

In recent posts I have noted how man was created in the glorious image and likeness of God, to know and love and be loved by God, to rule over and enjoy God’s good and perfect creation, living in God’s immediate presence knowing only fulness of joy and everlasting pleasure and delight.  I looked at how Adam’s one sin, one act of disobedience, resulted in the forfeiture of this glorious life with God for all mankind, with the glory of both man and nature being corrupted, and man sentenced to death (Genesis 3:17-24).   I also noted how God promised at that time to restore His glory in man and creation (Genesis 3:15), a promise that works itself out in the course of redemptive history, finding its initial fulfillment in the coming of God the Son, Jesus Christ – Immanuel (Matthew 1:18:22).

He comes as the King of Glory, as the one possessing infinite glory, the one alone having the authority and ability to accomplish everything necessary to restore sin corrupted men and women back to the glorious image of and relationship with God for which man was created (Psalm 24).

He is revealed in verse 8 to be the LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle, who will come into this world to overcome, to conquer, on man’s behalf and for God’s glory, all that has brought reproach upon God’s name, and corruption and death into His good and glorious creation.

Although infinitely more glorious, infinitely more powerful than any prideful earthly King or ruler, Jesus, God the Son, will temporarily lay aside the fullness of His glory and His rightful authority to rule. And in the ultimate expression of HIs humility, He leaves the glories of Heaven, and comes into this sin cursed world in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:5-11).  He is motivated to do so by a passion for His Father’s glory (John 6:38) and compassion for disgraced, fallen, condemned humanity (Isaiah 49:13).

Without ceasing to be God, He takes upon Himself the fullness of humanity, and as a man He will experience what it means to be a man at every level of human existence – from conception to death.

He comes into this world as a frail, helpless baby (Luke 2:4-7), dependent upon sinful human beings to care for Him, provide for Him, protect Him and nurture him in the knowledge of God.

He is born into a family of few means, develops physically, mentally, socially and emotionally as any child would (Luke 2:52). He grows into an adult with no outstanding physical qualities that would attract men to Him (Isaiah 53:2).  During his 3 ½ years of ministry he was essentially homeless with few if any material possessions (Luke 9:58).

We are told (Philippians 2:7) that He took on the role of a bondservant – one who becomes a slave or servant to pay off a debt.  In this case, He would pay off ours – our unpayable debt to God for our sin.

Isaiah, the Old Testament prophet, describes this promised Messiah in Isaiah 53:3 as a man of sorrows who was acquainted with all of the grief, sorrow and sadness that comes from living in this God ignoring world – sorrow, grief and sadness which over the course of His life, He would have likely experienced much more intensely than we do, because life in this world so greatly contradicts the glorious life of joy and gladness from which He came and for which He created us.  In His death He would take on the sorrow and grief, the punishment deserved by all whom He would save from Hell (Isaiah 53:4-6)

Isaiah further describes Him in Isaiah 53:3 as being despised and rejected by the very men and women whom He created to love – and came to save.

However, we are told in John 1:11-12, that those who would receive Him as the promised Messiah; believing Him to be God the Son, the King of Glory to whom they would submit their lives; to them He would graciously grant the status of a beloved child of God (1 John 3:1-3).

Grace and Peace ×