Glory of God appearing in our character

The Face of Moses and Law on Tablets of stone

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the Law on stone tablets, his face shone. (Exodus 34)  The apostle refers to that in his letter to the Corinthians.

“Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was,” (2 Corinthians 3:7 NIV)

Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (Romans 5:20) and we had condemnation but Jesus spread the Good News and brought the ministry of righteousness and therefore exceeds in glory. [Galatians 3:10] Believing in the death of Christ accepting that this dead man was taken out of the gave by his Father, we have the epistle of Christ, ministered by the apostles, not having been written with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, the Father of Christ Jesus [2 Corinthians 3:3 ] but also our Father to whom we can come up thanks to Jesus his offering and his will to communicate in our name with his Father. Jehovah God allowed Jesus to mediate on our behalf.

With the death of Christ Jehovah accepted Jeshua’s offering and that old system of law etched in stone was led to death. Today we should not have our ‘law of God‘ on tablets of stone, but in fleshly tablets of our heart. Like Moses his face shone with the glory of God so also did Jesus his face shone with even more glory.

Flames in heart and soul

After Jesus had gone away from this earth, taken up in the sky by his Father, God gave the disciples of Jesus His Power, the Holy Spirit, who came down on them in the room where they had hid themselves, afraid for the persecutors of the followers of Jesus. By receiving the Holy Spirit those men got the glory from God to speak in Jesus his name but also to speak in God His name. Before the Holy Spirit came over them they where like buried in that room. They had died in the fear for men who were against Jesus Christ.

Are you afraid for those who do not like it that you speak with admiration for Jesus? Are you afraid to show your reverence for the son of God, daring to tell the world that it was a man of flesh and blood who was willing to give his life because he believed in the Creator of heaven and earth in which you believe too? In admiration for Christ Jesus we should go out into the world and spread the Gospel of liberation brought by a man who proofed he could be faithful to the One and Only God.

The apostles got the Holy Spirit over them, but we when we became baptised also got the Power of God in us. We should feel that force, and it should give us also the power it gave those first Christians to tell others the Truth. Shouldn’t we expect also far greater glory when the Holy Spirit is giving life to us? If the old or first covenant, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new covenant, which makes us right with God! We believe in that sanctification by the blood of Christ. God is a Spirit who has no flesh and no blood and can not be seen by man, but Jesus was a real human being who shared lots of his time with the underdogs of the community who could see and touch him. He was not afraid to be considered part of the mad ones or the ones to be avoided. The oppressed and poor listened to his voice which brought a message of love and peace, telling them about a better world where we can be part of it.

Showing divine character

In everything Jesus did he showed a divine character. He showed the love of his Father. He showed others how his father was prepared to take them all up in His Kingdom when they where willing to follow the words of Christ and changing their character as well. We too have to work at our character and blend it in with the Law of Christ and with the Law of God.

We know now that that first glory by Moses was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new covenant. So if the old covenant, which has been set aside, was full of glory, then the new covenant, which remains forever, has far greater glory.

“7 If, however, the administration of death, written with letters and engraved on stones, began in glory, so that the children of Israel could not gaze steadily on the face of Moses, because of the glory of his face–a glory even then fading– 8 how much more shall the ministry of the Spirit abide in glory? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, far more is the ministry of righteousness radiant in glory. 10 Indeed that which once was glorious has lost its glory, because of the glory which surpasses it. 11 For if that which was fading came in glory, far more will that which ever abides be glorious.” (2 Corinthians 3:7-11 MONTNT)

It’s because in the presentation of Jesus as an ransom offering for all, the wisdom, love, justice, mercy, goodness, and the faithfulness of God are displayed in all that God has done. He displays His glory in the ‘Cross’.

Becoming part of the Forgiven much

When we accept the death of Christ as a peace offering we also may be part of the people called ‘the forgiven much’.  In that understanding we should also be willing to take on the armour of Christ and be willing to become like him. It shall demand of us to work on our attitude and to rebuild our character. We shall to be prepared to learn from the Word of God and intensify our Bible Study. When we understand that, we will love much and will serve much, and worship much, and adore Him, out of a heart of devotion and not just do it because we’re Christians’ and we’re meant to do that kind of thing.

In the resurrection  of Christ Jesus we can see the acceptance of God and we can find that kind of hope to excite us. When we listen carefully to all those prophesies in the Old Testament and compare them with the writings of the New Testament, we can come to the understanding that those books complement each other and can give us all reason for nothing to hold us back.  In the glory of the dead Christ taken up into the realm of God we are giving the hope of the resurrection and should  have nothing to hide any more. Everything can come out in the open with us.

“12  Therefore, cherishing such a hope, I use great freedom of speech. 13 I do not do as Moses did, who used to cover his face with a veil to keep the children of Israel from beholding the passing of a fading glory.” (2 Corinthians 3:12-13 MONTNT)

Being transformed

The apostles were “being transformed” into the likeness “with ever-increasing glory.”  Even more than that, back in the days of Moses it was an outward and a physical reflection, whereas this glory the Holy Spirit creates in us is an inward spiritual transformation. At the time of of Jesus’ Transfiguration the disciples looked on with utter amazement at what was happening to Jesus. Peter really didn’t know what to say other than to want to stay there. The glory of God was shining right through him. It defied description. God has a transfiguration to accomplish in us so that we are changed into the same image. All creatures are made in the image of God, but they have to shine by becoming part of God His World and not by being part of the unbelieving world.

Even today when the proclamations of that old, bankrupt government are read out, humans can’t see through it. Only Christ can get rid of the veil so they can see for themselves that there’s nothing there.  Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are — face to face! It is up to us to recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiselled stone.  All those illustrations, crosses with a Jesus on it, sculptures presenting holy figures or even presenting God, are an abomination to the Most High and going in against His Commandments not to make any statue to worship in front.

Radiant with the very glory of God

We should not need any figures or images to bring us an idea of a Godhead or to show us the Glory of God. The Glory of God should shine in our heart. It is that glory which should get our heart beating even faster, bringing it ‘on fire’.  Our character should be made by the feeling of the presence of God. Yes He is personally present, a living Spirit. This Eternal God should bring new life in us bringing awareness in us that, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it!  All of us! By the blood of Christ everything became whitewashed and all the borders and fences between us and God were taken away. This liberation should make our faces shining with the brightness of Jesus his face. And so we should also become transfigured much like the Messiah.

From our baptism onwards, we should enter into a new word of grace and glory in which our lives gradually will becoming brighter and more beautiful as Jesus enters our lives and we become like him.

 “15 Yes, to this very day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies on their hearts; 16 but when their heart turns to our Lord the veil is stripped away. 17 (The Lord means the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord abides there is freedom.) 18 And we all, with unveiled faces, reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are ourselves continually being transformed into the same likeness, from glory to glory, as by the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:15-18 MONTNT)

It’s the sole prerogative of God the Holy Spirit to transform our characters that they might be radiant with the very glory of God. The Holy Spirit shall work from the inside out to change us into the image of the Lord Jesus, so that he may be glorified through us.  The Spirit of the living God has all the power to renew us and to make us ‘anew’.  We do a real injustice to God’s greatness and majesty when we limit His power, and the possibilities of His power, in our own minds. One of the great things about being in Christian ministry is seeing God’s power by the Holy Spirit taking broken and spoiled people and making them into new people. It’s fantastic to see how God etches into their lives something of the glory and beauty of Jesus. This is what gives us the strength to go on.

When the glory of God begins to appear through a person, it shall make that person more human, not less human. There’s a fire in the glory of God that not only burns but also warms and draws people into God’s love. And it’s this way that people are set free to be truly human and truly natural. We can never be all that we’re meant to be until God’s spirit begins his work in us.

It is by sharing the glory of Christ, wanting to have a shining face, expressing the love for God, love for the Word of God and the love for the whole creation that we can build up a community of people wanting to follow the master teacher Jesus, and as such becoming true Christians.

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Preceding article: In the death of Christ, the son of God, is glorification

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3. How do trinitarians equate divine nature
4. Creator and Blogger God 2 Image and likeness
5. The Law of Christ: Law of Love
6. Ransom for all
7. Golden rule for understanding in spiritual matters obedience
8. A learning process for each of us
9. Faith a commitment to the promises of Christ and to to the demands of Christ
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11. We have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace
12. How we think shows through in how we act
13. Followers with deepening
14. Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience
15. Raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair
16. Abhor evil. Adhere to goodness
17. Our attitude at a difficult task
18. Spread love everywhere you go
19. Ask Grace to go forward
20. In the death of Christ, the son of God, is glorification
21. We all are changed into the same image from glory to glory
22. Life in gratitude opens glory of God
23. Invitation to all who believe

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