"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His GLORY, the GLORY as of the only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14
We come to the third epoch of God's manifestation of Himself in the tapestry of creation. And this is the GLORY epoch! God's will and purpose is to show forth the fullness of His Glory in and through His Son. The image of that glory was shattered in the first epoch, it was barely noticed in the second, but now, The True Light now shines! (I John 2:8)
Do you remember the blaze of God's Glory at Mount Sinai? Do you remember the human reaction? Exodus 19:9-25 & 20:19 & 21 "Then they said to Moses, 'You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us lest we die. So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was." God's Glorious Presence had to be veiled for "And God said, you cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me and live." (Exodus 33:20)
But now we enter into a Glorious stage in God's revelation of Himself. "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life." (I John 1:1) John is here speaking of that same Word spoken of in the verse at the head of this post. This Word's Glory is the same as the Glory of the Father. "For it was fitting for Him (the Father) for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things in bringing many sons to GLORY, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one (flesh) for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren........Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil". Hebrews 2:10-11 & 14 (Remember Genesis 3:15 and the Headcrusher?) In quoting Psalm 40:6-8 later in Hebrews, the author by the Holy Spirit puts an interesting twist on the lips of Jesus--"Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me." Hebrews 10:5-10 The Delighted Obedience of Psalm 40 becomes the Body of the Glorious Son of God Who was made flesh and dwelled among us. It was this Unique Man's obedience to His Father's Will, even to the death of His body upon the cross that is humanities only hope!
We see the greater glory of this Unique Man in Hebrews 1:3, "Who being the brightness of His GLORY and the express IMAGE of HIS PERSON, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the Majesty on high." This Unique Man, this God/Man, a Man Who died, and in so doing purged our sins, this Man who rose from that human death, is now seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, this Man is the full blazing brightness of the Father's GLORY, the exact, expressed Image of the Father! (Hebrews 1:3)
In Colossians 1:15, after the astounding truth that we have been transferred into the Kingdom of the Son of the Father's Love, Paul says, "In Whom we have redemption, through His blood (blood is a human thing), the forgiveness of sins. He is the IMAGE of the invisible God." And then in vs 19, "For it PLEASED the FATHER that in Him (this Unique Man) all the fullness should dwell." And just in case we didn't get the message, Paul says again in 2:9, for in Him (Christ Jesus, this Unique Man) dwells ALL THE FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD BODILY." And then he adds a topic for another time--"and you are complete in Him."
Here is the marvel, all that God is, the Same God that scared the socks off the Israelites at Mount Sinai, the Glorious God that man cannot look upon without dying, That very same God has made His own Son flesh and blood like us and placed every ounce of His Eternal Glory in His Sons' Body!!!!!!!!!!!
Do you now understand the radical nature of John's words in I John 1:1. He is speaking of handling, looking upon, leaning on the breast, of the God Who became flesh, as jam packed with the Fullness of God as was Divinely possible---and John and the eleven apostles lived to tell about it!!!!!!
And what did Jesus say about this? "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also, and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." Philip answers along with most contemporary church members, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." And Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? HE WHO HAS SEEN ME HAS SEEN THE FATHER; so how can you say, show us the Father?"
Jesus said earlier in 14:6 "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." And on the basis of Exodus 33, we might add, lest they die! Jesus is the only Way to the Father. Jesus is the Embodied Truth of the Father. Jesus is the very Embodied Life of the Father. He says in John 6:53 "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you!"
This Unique Man, this God come in the flesh, is the True Flesh and Blood, our only eternal hope. He is the IMAGE bearer and the IMAGE restorer. He came as the living manifestation of the GlORY of God in bodily form that we might dwell in the Presence of the Most High God eternally---and not die!
So what are we to do? In John 6:29, after being asked by a bunch of bread-seekers what they should do that they might work the works of God, Jesus says, "This is the Work of God, that you believe in Him Whom He has sent." Are you drawn to believe in this Unique Man, this Glorious God/Man? That is the working of God. Are you believing in this Word that was made flesh? Then you are doing the only work God requires. But ignore Him to your Eternal Peril!!!! Unless you are feasting on the blessed Body and Blood of the God/Man as the only hope of your body and blood (and we feast by coming to Him and believing Him John 6:35), you have no life in you
We come to the third epoch of God's manifestation of Himself in the tapestry of creation. And this is the GLORY epoch! God's will and purpose is to show forth the fullness of His Glory in and through His Son. The image of that glory was shattered in the first epoch, it was barely noticed in the second, but now, The True Light now shines! (I John 2:8)
Do you remember the blaze of God's Glory at Mount Sinai? Do you remember the human reaction? Exodus 19:9-25 & 20:19 & 21 "Then they said to Moses, 'You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us lest we die. So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was." God's Glorious Presence had to be veiled for "And God said, you cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me and live." (Exodus 33:20)
But now we enter into a Glorious stage in God's revelation of Himself. "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life." (I John 1:1) John is here speaking of that same Word spoken of in the verse at the head of this post. This Word's Glory is the same as the Glory of the Father. "For it was fitting for Him (the Father) for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things in bringing many sons to GLORY, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one (flesh) for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren........Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil". Hebrews 2:10-11 & 14 (Remember Genesis 3:15 and the Headcrusher?) In quoting Psalm 40:6-8 later in Hebrews, the author by the Holy Spirit puts an interesting twist on the lips of Jesus--"Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me." Hebrews 10:5-10 The Delighted Obedience of Psalm 40 becomes the Body of the Glorious Son of God Who was made flesh and dwelled among us. It was this Unique Man's obedience to His Father's Will, even to the death of His body upon the cross that is humanities only hope!
We see the greater glory of this Unique Man in Hebrews 1:3, "Who being the brightness of His GLORY and the express IMAGE of HIS PERSON, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the Majesty on high." This Unique Man, this God/Man, a Man Who died, and in so doing purged our sins, this Man who rose from that human death, is now seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, this Man is the full blazing brightness of the Father's GLORY, the exact, expressed Image of the Father! (Hebrews 1:3)
In Colossians 1:15, after the astounding truth that we have been transferred into the Kingdom of the Son of the Father's Love, Paul says, "In Whom we have redemption, through His blood (blood is a human thing), the forgiveness of sins. He is the IMAGE of the invisible God." And then in vs 19, "For it PLEASED the FATHER that in Him (this Unique Man) all the fullness should dwell." And just in case we didn't get the message, Paul says again in 2:9, for in Him (Christ Jesus, this Unique Man) dwells ALL THE FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD BODILY." And then he adds a topic for another time--"and you are complete in Him."
Here is the marvel, all that God is, the Same God that scared the socks off the Israelites at Mount Sinai, the Glorious God that man cannot look upon without dying, That very same God has made His own Son flesh and blood like us and placed every ounce of His Eternal Glory in His Sons' Body!!!!!!!!!!!
Do you now understand the radical nature of John's words in I John 1:1. He is speaking of handling, looking upon, leaning on the breast, of the God Who became flesh, as jam packed with the Fullness of God as was Divinely possible---and John and the eleven apostles lived to tell about it!!!!!!
And what did Jesus say about this? "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also, and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." Philip answers along with most contemporary church members, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." And Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? HE WHO HAS SEEN ME HAS SEEN THE FATHER; so how can you say, show us the Father?"
Jesus said earlier in 14:6 "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." And on the basis of Exodus 33, we might add, lest they die! Jesus is the only Way to the Father. Jesus is the Embodied Truth of the Father. Jesus is the very Embodied Life of the Father. He says in John 6:53 "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you!"
This Unique Man, this God come in the flesh, is the True Flesh and Blood, our only eternal hope. He is the IMAGE bearer and the IMAGE restorer. He came as the living manifestation of the GlORY of God in bodily form that we might dwell in the Presence of the Most High God eternally---and not die!
So what are we to do? In John 6:29, after being asked by a bunch of bread-seekers what they should do that they might work the works of God, Jesus says, "This is the Work of God, that you believe in Him Whom He has sent." Are you drawn to believe in this Unique Man, this Glorious God/Man? That is the working of God. Are you believing in this Word that was made flesh? Then you are doing the only work God requires. But ignore Him to your Eternal Peril!!!! Unless you are feasting on the blessed Body and Blood of the God/Man as the only hope of your body and blood (and we feast by coming to Him and believing Him John 6:35), you have no life in you
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