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Posts tagged ‘Glory of Christ’

Matthew 17 Calvin’s view on the days of spectatorship

Matthew 17:1. And after six days. We must first inquire for what purpose Christ clothed himself with heavenly glory for a short time, and why he did not admit more than three of his disciples to be spectators. Some think that he did so, in order to fortify them against the trial which they were soon to meet with, arising from his death. That does not appear to me to be a probable reason; for why should he have deprived the rest of the same remedy, or rather, why does he expressly forbid them to make known what they had seen till after his resurrection, but because the result of the vision would be later than his death?

I have no doubt whatever that Christ intended to show that he was not dragged unwillingly to death, but that he came forward of his own accord, to offer to the Father the sacrifice of obedience. The disciples were not made aware of this till Christ rose; nor was it even necessary that, at the very moment of his death, they should perceive the divine power of Christ, so as to acknowledge it to be victorious on the cross; but the instruction which they now received was intended to be useful at a future period both to themselves and to us, that no man might take offense at the weakness of Christ, as if it were by force and necessity that he had suffered. {1 } It would manifestly have been quite as easy for Christ to protect his body from death as to clothe it with heavenly glory.

We are thus taught that he was subjected to death, because he wished it to be so; that he was crucified, because he offered himself. That same flesh, which was sacrificed on the cross and lay in the grave, might have been exempted from death and the grave; for it had already partaken of the heavenly glory. We are also taught that, so long as Christ remained in the world, bearing the form of a servant, and so long as his majesty was concealed under the weakness of the flesh, nothing had been taken from him, for it was of his own accord that he emptied himself, (#Php 2:7); but now his resurrection has drawn aside that veil by which his power had been concealed for a time.

Our Lord reckoned it enough to select three witnesses, because that is the number which the Law has laid down for proving any thing;

at the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses, (#De 17:6).

The difference as to time ought not to give us uneasiness. Matthew and Mark reckon six entire days, which had elapsed between the events. Luke says that it happened about eight days afterwards, including both the day on which Christ spake these words, and the day on which he was transfigured. We see then that, under a diversity of expression, there is a perfect agreement as to the meaning.

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2. And was transfigured before them. Luke says that this happened while he was praying; and from the circumstances of time and place, we may infer that he had prayed for what he now obtained, that in the brightness of an unusual form his Godhead might become visible*; not that he needed to ask by prayer from another what he did not possess, or that he doubted his Father’s willingness, but because, during the whole course of his humiliation, he always ascribed to the Father whatever he did as a divine Person, and because he intended to excite us to prayer by his example.

His transfiguration did not altogether enable his disciples to see Christ, as he now is in heaven, but gave them a taste of his boundless glory, such as they were able to comprehend. Then his face shone as the sun; but now he is far beyond the sun in brightness. In his raiment an unusual and dazzling whiteness appeared; but now without raiment a divine majesty shines in his whole body. Thus in ancient times God appeared to the holy fathers, not as He was in Himself, but so far as they could endure the rays of His infinite brightness; for John declares that not until

they are like him will they see him as he is, (#1Jo 3:2).**

There is no necessity for entering here into ingenious inquiries as to the whiteness of his garments, or the brightness of his countenance; for this was not a complete exhibition of the heavenly glory of Christ, but, under symbols which were adapted to the capacity of the flesh, he enabled them to taste in part what could not be fully comprehended.

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{1 } “Comme si par force et contreinte il fust renu endurer la mort”;  — ” as if by force and constraint he had come to suffer death.”

* Calvin writes from his trinitarian point of view not seeing that Jesus as son of God wanted to do the Will of His heavenly Father and did put his own will aside, emptying himself. Though Calvin recognises that Jesus always ascribed to the Father whatever he did as a divine person.

** 1Jo 3:2 Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if {1 } he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is.

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Preceding

Matthew 17:1-9 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Transfiguration Vision

Matthew 17:10-13 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Elijah Has Already Come

Matthew 17:14-21 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed

Matthew 17:22-23 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Grief and Jesus’ Prediction of His Death

Matthew 17:24-27 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Tax-free Sons No Stumbling-block

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Related

  1. Into the Midst of Theology
  2. On the Mountain
  3. Matthew Chapter A Day – 17
  4. Matthew 17 – The Mount of Transfiguration
  5. The Transfiguration of Christ
  6. Transfiguration Sunday
  7. Matthew 17:1-8 The Terrifying Transfiguration
  8. 4. Witnessed the Transfiguration of Jesus
  9. Jesus’ glory revealed: Mark 9
  10. Mark 9:2-8 – Shining the Light on Our Fears
  11. “It is good for us to be here.” A Sermon of Anastasius of Sinai, bishop
  12. The Glory of Jesus’ Transfiguration
  13. And Jesus alone remains
  14. As no fuller
  15. Uphill and Down
  16. Wake Up and See Who Jesus Really Is
  17. Peter & John — Luke 9:28-36
  18. Transfiguration – Divinization and the Transmigration of Souls

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 humanThere’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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  5. The Law of Christ: Law of Love
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  12. How we think shows through in how we act
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  20. In the death of Christ, the son of God, is glorification
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  23. Invitation to all who believe

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  • Easter 6 – “The Church” (Revelation 21:9-14, 21-27) (revtucher.com)
    You and I have been made a part of the Church through the work of the Holy Spirit. We are brought in through faith and made clean by the blood of the Lamb. We share in the life of Christ and His glory. Notice what John says here: it is the glory of God. He doesn’t say that it is the glory of the people. There is a reason for that: the people of the Church are sinful. It is by Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that the Church reflects the glory of God because we have been clothed with Christ’s righteousness. In other words, it’s not by our doing but by Christ’s doing. That is the way it should be and the way that it has to be.
  • Past, Present and Future of Salvation, Today’s Study of Romans 5 (whatshotn.wordpress.com)
    we boast in the hope of the glory of God. We enter grace, or forgiveness, by faith in what Christ did. And when Paul says that we stand in grace, he implies that this is a state in which we can remain. Because of God’s grace, based on what Christ did in the past, we rejoice in the hope that this gives us for the future the hope of sharing in the glory of God. This hope is not just a “wishful thought”.. it is confidence based on what God has done for us…
  • May 1: Does Your Life Bring Glory to God? (evcthoughtoftheday.com)
    Paul is telling the church at Philippi that their life should be filled with the fruit – the good works, the character, and the attitudes produced by Christ as a result of their salvation – such that their lives become a billboard for God that causes people to give glory to Him.
  • Father’s Glory (wrob77.wordpress.com)
    The Greek word for glory is Doxa, where we get our word doxology, and it has all the meaning of Kabod but includes a greater sense of perfection and display of power.
  • God’s Passion for His Glory (pjcockrell.wordpress.com)
    Isaiah 43:6-7: God says, “bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
  • Rite of Confirmation – “Public Confession” (John 16:12-22) (revtucher.com)
    The Holy Spirit comes to glorify Jesus by introducing Him to people as the crucified and risen Christ. That is what He comes to do for the disciples and that is what He comes to do for us. The Holy Spirit comes to introduce us to what the truth is about: Jesus. The disciples weren’t prepared for all Jesus has to say, as He tells them, for they were too worked up over Jesus’ impending departure. But He wasn’t going to leave them empty-handed. He leaves them the Holy Spirit who will testify of Him and what He has done.
  • Love. Chapter One. (rebellredarts.com)
    Everything is for the glorification of God. Everthing that  we do here on this earth has a purpose. The purpose is the glorification of God. Our work is his work.  Eternal life is knowing God , says Jesus Christ. Jesus tells his Dad that he gave glory to him by finishing the work that he gave him to do. God gives us all work while we are to accomplish, to finish. one day we will all  get to experience this awesome day.

In the death of Christ, the son of God, is glorification

The God Creator the Most High His son

Jehovah God, the Most High, who never lies, had told the people who stood around Jesus that they could see God His beloved son.

“16 As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”” (Matthew 3:16-17 NIV)

That son of David and son of God had now given himself as a sacrifice to the Elohim. The Nazarene man has always tried to do only the Will of the Father in the heaven. Jesus was never interested to do his own will, but only wanted to please his Father. Like David he had in mind only to do God His Will, even in the hour of his death.

“I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”” (Psalms 40:8 NIV)

“”Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”” (Luke 22:42 NIV)

The one who served God His purpose

Like when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, Jesus fell asleep and was buried. But now a miracle happened. The only begotten son of God  was not laid to rest to stay there in the underground (the sheol or hell) He only stayed there in the darkness for three days. Then God took him out of the dead and let him walk again on this earth to meet his friends again and to show them that he was risen. He proofed them that his Father had not let his body to body to decay.

Icon of Jesus being led to Golgotha, 16th cent...

Icon of Jesus being led to Golgotha, 16th century, Theophanes the Cretan (Stavronikita Monastery, Mount Athos). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The blood poured out on the altar of the stake on Golgotha brought the ransom offer of the Lamb of God. By walking around on this earth again Jesus showed the apostles that his Father had accepted his offering and taken him under his alms. Now he could convince them, also by the Power of God, the Holy Spirit which came over the apostles, that he was the Messiah by whom people could come free — free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!

Jesus in his lifetime had always said he could do nothing without his Father, who is greater than him and that the Father could be glorified in the works he did. Never did Jesus take the glory himself, but it was his father who glorified him and made him higher than he was before.

 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18 NIV)

“And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.” (John 5:27 NIV)

“Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19 NIV)

“”You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28 NIV)

“So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”” (Hebrews 5:5 NIV)

“5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8 NIV)

United by bloodshed

Jesus thought of everything, provided for everything the apostles could possibly need, letting his disciples in on the plans he took such delight in making, trying to give them insight in the Torah. All the time he tried to make the Words of his Father clear, so that the people could fully understand the Holy Scriptures and could find the God of heaven and earth. It was this Jehovah God who set it all out before the apostles in Christ. In this son of God, the Nazarene man Jeshua (Jesus) who was brought to death on the wooden stake, his friends now became united to understand the long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth. It’s in Christ that they found out who they were and what they were living for. Long before they first heard of Christ and got their hopes up, he had his eye on them, had designs on them for glorious living. We also may believe that God His Plan for the world is also part of us in Christ. Part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free — signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first instalment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.

“7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. 11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:7-14 NIV)

Our chief end

We in Christ have become freed from our sins, have redemption and be part of God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. But than we may ask “What is it that God really wants for us more than anything else? What is He really after for us?”

The Scottish catechism says, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God.”  Is that according to you also the top goal of living.  For sure God created the universe to be part of One Great Unit in Unison with His wishes.  We should strive to come in unison with the Creator of heaven and earth. That’s the great business of our lives.

God is displaying His glory in His Creation. And in the created order of the universe, what’s the universe doing? “The heavens declare the glory of God; the earth is full of his glory,” says Isaiah.

When God made man, what was his purpose? He made man in His image to bear His likeness and Hebrews tells us that we are crowned with glory.

Faithful to the Father

Jesus, the son of God in his life, always tried to follow the Will of his Father. For him that was very important, not to say the most important thing in his life. Jesus always said to others he could do nothing without his Father. Without God no man can do anything. Jesus also spoke of glorifying God’s name and finishing the work He had for him to do. He also spoke of God being glorified through His death.

God created the world like a theatre in which to display His Glory. He has sent His Son in order that we may see something of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ – He is now working by the Holy Spirit in the hearts and lives of His people that they may be changed into the image of His glory.

Jesus prayed immediately before His death, “Father glorify your Son.”

God who can not die, nor be seen by a living soul or that one would die, found a man who was willing to offer himself for all the other people. Jesus did not mind to have his blood streamed down onto the ground.

Glory and heaviness of action

The original meaning of the word ‘Glory’ in the Bible is really ‘weight’. That’s weight in the sense of the ‘heaviness’ of something.  In Jesus his case it meant the heaviness of his action. It was incredible that he, as an ordinary human from a workers family, wanted to present himself as a worker for God, going to many places preaching the Gospel.  God can not be tempted but Jesus was many times, and it was not always easy for him to make the right choice. Sometimes he had to worry his earthly parents or to ask a lot of his mother Mary (Miriam) He had to show them his good character. He also proofed to God and the adversaries of God that it is possible for man to be faithful to God.

The ‘Glory’ Christ Jesus got is the sign of what he is worth. Those people who take Jesus for God ridicule in a certain way his offering. Because God knows everything, is eternal, can not be tempted and can not die.  When Jesus would have been or would be God, than this God would not always have told the truth, because He spoke about His son and did not say “that is me” or “this is me” and the son said about his Father that He is bigger and he can not do anything about Him. Jesus, in case he was God would have not only faked his death but would also have brought a charade of doing like he was asking the Father in heaven to do something he could not do. God can do everything and knows everything, though Jesus told the people he even did not know when he would come back to the world.

A build up of character

God His character is the most Holy and righteous; It is not a misleading Spirit. Christ Jesus is also not a misleading person. He could have sinned (God does not sin). Jesus did not sin and proofed in that way his faithfulness to the Laws of his Father, never going in against the Will of his Father.

The Glory of both is implicated with their character. In other words, the glory of God is the display of His worth, of His character. Also the manner of behavement of Christ Jesus, following the Will of his Father even bringing him into death shows us how strong this man has been. This is why we see the glory of God as supremely displayed in the ‘Cross of Jesus’, Jeshua finding death on the stake.

John Calvin made this point: “Nowhere in the universe does God display His glory more fully than in the Cross of Christ.”

It’s because there at the torture stake and by the resurrection of His son, the wisdom, love, justice, mercy, goodness and faithfulness of God are on show in all that God has done.
It makes us who believe part of the people called ‘the forgiven much’. 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 are Christians and we’re meant to do that kind of thing.

As Paul writes in Second Corinthians 3:18:

“but we all, with [our] face having been unveiled, having beheld the glory of the lord as in a mirror, are being changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the lord spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 MKJV)

A reliable witness to God His power and His ways

Isaiah in his 24st chapter verse 20 wrote “the earth staggers like a drunken man … its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls ….” We see this as a fitting description of how our world is staggering today. Its transgression of the ways of God are causing it to fall apart. Let us not “put off” developing the faith and the patience and the earnestness, and a sense of “full assurance” – for, said Jesus, “the one who endures to the end will be saved.” [Mark 13:13] and will then be ready to inherit the wonder of what God has promised.

God had promised a Messiah and a Land for His people. In Jesus we should recognise this ‘Christos’ or Man of Salvation, the Christ. The apostle Paul was a devote Jew who knew the Torah very well. He only believed in One God, like Jesus also believed in that One and Only God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah. In his letters to the Hebrews Paul clearly explains that the reality of Jesus as a Son. The apostles like Jesus did believe that the Scriptures also teaches that the heavens declare the glory of God and are a reliable witness to His power and his ways.

The Bible also appeals to us to carefully consider the evidence of God’s creations and what it tells us about God, and that it is a reliable source of knowledge.

When we do not want to accept the Words like they are written down, telling us who is who, we are not only ignoring the Truth, but we are minimising all the actions that took place. In case we do not accept Jesus his position we ignore the words of the prophets who lived before him and are not taking God His Words at heart when He talks about His beloved son. When we take Jesus to be God we do not want to believe a man could do such wonders by the Power of God, or we do not want to accept that God would give such Powers to a man of flesh and blood. By taking Jesus as God or by not accepting the written words ‘black on white’ of the printed Scriptures, in your ignorance of the Truth, you despise the evidence and so reject the knowledge of God that the heavens reveal night after night.

How much glory to the one who gave his life

God can not die but Jesus really did die.

Jesus gave his life for us, how motivated are we to accept what this man really did and to serve him as a result? Recall how Paul expresses it at the end of Romans 5, “…as sin reigned in death (before he/we knew Christ) grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” [Romans 5:21]

Let us see and understand the verse of dire warning in the letter to the Hebrews. After writing of the punishment of sinners under the Law of Moses the question is put, “How much worse punishment, do you think will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the spirit of grace?” [Hebrews 10:29] May we so live that we are among the “vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory – even us whom he has called …” [Romans 9:23-24] In the Scriptures we ‘hear’ him calling! Are you listening properly?

Are we willing to recognise the elements which show us the Grace of God in Christ? And are we willing to accept the position of Christ, who is seethed next to his Father, to be a mediator between God and man? Or do you prefer to think it is Jesus himself who has taken up the throne and the position of God?

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9 NIV)

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—” (Hebrews 2:14 NIV)

“For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17 NIV)

“Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:12 NIV)

“In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you” (1 Timothy 6:13 NIV)

“”You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”” (John 18:37 NIV)

“Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”” (Acts 4:12 NIV)

“All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”” (Acts 10:43 NIV)

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (John 17:5 NIV)

“Now I want you to realise that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” (1 Corinthians 11:3 NIV)

“When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:28 NIV)

“who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” (1 Peter 3:22 NIV)

“20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,” (Ephesians 1:20-22 NIV)

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,” (Philippians 2:9 NIV)

“22 Moreover, the Father judges no-one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father, who sent him.” (John 5:22-23 NIV)

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5 NIV)

“to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:24 NIV)

Coming to Jesus giving him the honour due to him

Are you wiling to accept that Jesus gave his life for you? Are you willing to come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. We should recognise his position and not take it lightly.  When we make him not just a god but the God, Creator of all things, we do not accept that a man could proof to be faithful to God. Then we also do not believe Jesus is the Mediator of the covenant God made with His people. A mediator is namely a person who mediates between two parties, in this case God and the human beings.

God is an eternal Spirit, meaning that he had no beginning and no end. Jesus had a beginning when he was placed in the womb of the virgin Myriam (Miriam/Mary/Maria) God can not be tempted, but after many temptation Jesus had to endure he found an end to his life like it was ‘murder’, unlike Abel’s — a homicide that cried out for vengeance — which became a proclamation of grace.

English: child Jesus with the virgin Mary, wit...

Child Jesus with the virgin Mary, with the Holy Spirit (represented as a dove) and God the Father, with child john the Baptist and saint Elizabeth on the right (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

God is the Most High of all but Jesus, made “not quite as high as angels,” and then, through the experience of death, crowned so much higher than any angel, with a glory “bright with Eden’s dawn light.” In that death, by God’s grace, he fully experienced death in every person’s place. And therefore should receive our full recognition and the glory due to him.

The Saviour being of flesh and blood gave way to rescue us by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Adversary‘s hold on death.  [Hebrews 2:14]

Now we can trust God and his son who came before God as high priest to get rid of our sins. As God rewarded him extravagantly, we also should give Jesus the best of everything, the highest honours, because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch, because he embraced the company of the lowest. Jesus took on his own shoulders the sin of the many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep and we should be grateful for that and give him praise for doing so.

We should be fully aware that  salvation comes no other way, because no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one, the man Jesus, son of God, who was promised many years beforehand. But the world had to wait such a long time, not because God was so much enjoying the suffering of the people, but because it took such a long time before there was at last a man who could proof to the world, to the many adversaries of God (in many Bibles translated with the word ‘Satan‘ or ‘devil‘) that it was really possible that a man could honour and love his Creator so much that he always preferred and did do the will of this Creator, the Only One God.

Not alone in our believes and glorification

Salvation belongs to Jehovah God. He allowed His son to be the human Saviour by bringing his life to an end at the stake, liberating the world form the spell of death.

Perhaps you may say there are not many people who take it for granted that Jesus was the son of God who died for our sins. Not many did want to testify of the wonders the Nazarene man Jeshua (Jesus) did.  But we’re not alone in this. Our witness that he is the means to forgiveness of sins is backed up by the witness of all the prophets and is clearly written down in the Book of Books, the Bible, which we consider the word of God.

It is that Word of God we want to follow and not the dogma‘s or certain teachings people just have to accept, because they are to difficult to understand. God is a God of order and clarity. He wanted all people to find Him and to love Him. He did not reserve the knowledge of Him only to very special educated people. No, everybody should be able to find out who God really is and to whom Glory is due.

Jehovah, God, was asked by Jesus to  glorify him with His very own splendour. God has a Plan and He foresaw the Messiah already from the beginning of the world. In the Garden of Eden when the first man went against God, Jehovah provided a solution to save all those who would come after Adam and Eve, so that the World of God could become a nice Creation into the end, a Kingdom of God, full of peace and tranquillity.

There in that Kingdom of God, the son of God, Jesus may have the glory and very splendour in the presence of the Most High Elohim, who has given him the authority to judge over us and to be king on this earth until Jesus Christ, having the last word on everything and everyone, from angels to armies,  shall have brought everything and everyone finally under God’s rule. Then Jesus, the Son of God, will step down, taking his place with everyone else, showing that God’s rule is absolutely comprehensive—a perfect ending! (1 Corinthians 15:28 )

Therefore let us accept the son of man Jesus (Jeshua) as the son of God,  the Father who handed over to the Son all authority to judge,  so that the Son will be honoured equally with the Father. Anyone who dishonours the Son, dishonours the Father, for it was the Father’s decision to put the Son in the place of honour. [John 5:22-23]

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Please do find also to read:

  1. Some one or something to fear #6 Faith in the Most High
  2. God about His name “יהוה“
  3. God of gods
  4. Pure Words and Testimonies full of Breath of the Most High
  5. The radiance of God’s glory and the counsellor
  6. Fearing the right person
  7. History of the acceptance of a three-in-one God
  8. Heed of the Saviour
  9. Man’s plans prevailed by God’s purpose
  10. Grace and beloved by God
  11. A promise given in the Garden of Eden
  12. About a man who changed history of humankind
  13. Reasons that Jesus was not God
  14. Jesus begotten Son of God #12 Son of God
  15. Jesus begotten Son of God #15 Son of God Originating in Mary
  16. Jesus begotten Son of God #16 Prophet to be heard
  17. Jesus begotten Son of God #18 Believing in inhuman or human person
  18. Jesus and his God
  19. On the Nature of Christ
  20. Clean Flesh #2 Purity of Jesus
  21. Jesus spitting image of his father
  22. Why did Christ not reveal the exact time of his second coming?
  23. Christ having glory
  24. One God the Father, a compendium of essays
  25. Wishing to do the will of God
  26. How is it that Christ pleased God so perfectly?
  27. The meek one riding on an ass
  28. Anointing of Christ as Prophetic Rehearsal of the Burial rites
  29. A Messiah to die
  30. Jesus memorial
  31. No person has greater love than this one who surrendered his soul in behalf of his friends
  32. The day Jesus died
  33. Swedish theologian finds historical proof Jesus did not die on a cross
  34. The Seed Of The Woman Bruised
  35. Ransom for all
  36. The redemption of man by Christ Jesus
  37. Impaled until death overtook him
  38. Jesus three days in hell
  39. Christ has indeed been raised from the dead
  40. Jesus is risen
  41. Why did Christ not reveal the exact time of his second coming?
  42. Ember and light the ransomed of Jehovah
  43. A Jewish Theocracy
  44. Observance of a day to Remember
  45. Around the feast of Unleavened Bread
  46. Through Christ’s death you can be adopted as a child of God
  47. The high calling of God in Christ Jesus
  48. One Mediator between God and man
  49. Festival of Freedom and persecutions
  50. Not bounded by labels but liberated in Christ
  51. The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
  52. Without God no purpose, no goal, no hope
  53. Man’s plans prevailed by God’s purpose
  54. The truth is very plain to see and God can be clearly seen
  55. Written to recognise the Promised One
  56. A Living Faith #1 Substance of things hoped for
  57. A Living Faith #5 Perseverance
  58. A Living Faith #10: Our manner of Life #2
  59. God make us holy
  60. Growth in character
  61. Character is built
  62. Character transformed by the influence of our fellowships
  63. Minimizing the power of God’s Force the Holy Spirit
  64. Praise and give thanks to God the Most Highest

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  • Love. Chapter One. (rebellredarts.com)
    Everything is for the glorification of God. Everthing that  we do here on this earth has a purpose. The purpose is the glorification of God. Our work is his work.  Eternal life is knowing God , says Jesus Christ. Jesus tells his Dad that he gave glory to him by finishing the work that he gave him to do. God gives us all work while we are to accomplish, to finish. one day we will all  get to experience this awesome day.
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    Jesus gives us Glory, the same Glory that God gave him. Why? so that people will believe. So that they will see the Love of God and having seen it, want it for themselves! His whole purpose is Love, and Unity in Love and.. God is Love. Love + Unity = Gods Plan. Jesus wanted everyone to know . Love.
  • Press on towards the goal – Jesus! (thesavingfaith.wordpress.com)
  • Christian Truth (pilgrimpassing.com)
    Mohammed, Buddha, Krishna, and others taught a way to God, some truth about God, and gave instructions on how to live life. These religions did not originally claim to be exclusively true, just better than competing brands. Christianity, however, is unique. It claims “revelation” truth: that God has once and for all “expressed Himself”. Jesus Christ is what God wanted to say.
  • One Way Only: Off The Grid Columnist Bill Heid Argues One Way to Salvation in Latest Article (prweb.com)
    In his most recent article, No Other River, No Other Stream, Off The Grid News columnist Bill Heid discusses God’s grace and the ways in which He gives it. Though many say that truth is relative and that any religion can provide a way to salvation, Heid argues that salvation comes from God alone through the means He has prescribed.
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    Just as Naaman had to follow God’s instructions to be healed, so must people today follow the path of salvation God laid out through His Son Jesus. Grace and salvation are free gifts from God
  • Does your life put Christ in a place of honor? (clydestyle.org)
    We honor judges, politicians, clergy, successful businessman and public officials all because of the service they give. We honor fathers and mothers mostly because the bible tells us so and we even honor our spouses — sometimes whether they deserve it or not. Teachers are honored, seniors are honored and even a person who has done a good deed can get our honor.
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    We know that Christ died, “while we were sinners” and “while we were without strength”. His death, burial and resurrection which are the very facts of his gospel had a profound effect on our place of honor on judgement day.

    You see, his death (shedding of his blood) cleansed our sins and made reconciliation possible. For now God can begin a new relationship with us because of that death. His burial was just as important as it serves as the launch pad for resurrection. You have to have a death and burial or else there is no need for a resurrection. Baptism serves as our burial (launch pad) today as anyone who believes on Jesus and is baptized shall receive a resurrection.
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    Showing Others Sincere Appreciation
    Jesus always uplifted the downtrodden. The King of Kings consistently sought the lost and the rejected by society. Matthew was a despised tax collector. Most of the disciples were untrained fishermen. Thomas was a glass-is-half-empty skeptic. James and John were driven by ambition. Despite their weaknesses, Jesus chose them to be the ones who would bring the Good News of the Gospel to the Jewish people and the nations. What an honor!

  • When we look at the Verse For Today ,John 3:16 (savedbygraceblogdotcom.wordpress.com) we should always remember and be thankful that God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son. Today there are still many who do not want to accept it that it was God His son who expressed the love of his Father.  That he so loved His Creation He wanted to be restored to the beginning and therefore gave his Son to become the first of the reborn new generation, the new creation. The Son did not come to appease the Father‘s wrath, but to fulfill the wishes of his Father and our Father, the Only One God, Creator of heaven and earth. Those who want to make a god of Christ Jesus do not respect the words of Jesus nor of His Father who said “this is my beloved son”.
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