The Glory Of God In The Face Of Jesus Christ

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, 

to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

We cannot by searching find out God. He has revealed Himself in His Son. 

The light of the knowledge of the glory of God is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

From the days of eternity the Lord Jesus Christ was one with the Father. 

It was to manifest this glory that He came to our world.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, 

even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Psalms 90:2.

The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. Matthew 4:16.

Thus the pre-existence of Christ and His worldly mission are presented as living beams of light from the eternal throne. 

The plan of salvation was designed to redeem the fallen humanity.

Christ was appointed to the office of Mediator from the creation of God, set up from everlasting to be our substitute and surety. 

Before the world was made, it was arranged that the Divinity of Christ should be enshrouded in humanity.

A body, said Christ, hast thou prepared me. Hebrews 10:5. 

But He did not come in human form until the fullness of time.

Only by knowing Christ we can know the glory of God

He was the image of God, the image of His greatness and Majesty, the outshining of His glory. 

Who (Jesus) being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his (God) person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, 

when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Hebrews 1:3.

Christ, the outshining of the Father's glory, came to the world as its light. 

He came to represent God to humanity.

Of Him it is written that He was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power, and went about doing good. Acts 10:38.

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: 

but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. Isaiah 60:1, 2.

Thus in the night of spiritual darkness the glory of God is to shine forth through His church in lifting up the bowed down and comforting those that mourn.

Christ's death proves God's great love for humanity

The cross brings us near to God, reconciling us to Him. With the great compassion of a Father's love, Jehovah looks upon the suffering that His Son endured in order to save us from eternal death, and accepts us in the Beloved.

Through the cross we learn that the heavenly Father loves us with a love that is infinite. 

It is our privilege to glory in the cross, and give ourselves wholly to Him who gave Himself for us.

Then, with the light that streams from Calvary shining in our faces, we may go forth to reveal this light to those in darkness.

I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 

And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. John 17: 4, 5.

Jesus emptied Himself. In all that He did, self did not appear. He subordinated all things to the will of His Father.

In representing to the world His Father's attributes, He cast over God's character no shadow to dim His glory. 

He revealed to the world His Father's likeness.

Christ is a perfect revelation of God

No man hath seen God at any time, He says - the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, 

He hath declared Him. John 1:18. 

Therefore, only by knowing Christ we can know God.

In the person of His only-begotten Son, the God of heaven has condescended to stoop to our human nature. To the question of Thomas, Jesus said:

I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 

If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. John 14: 6, 7.

The knowledge of God's glory is gained with mental effort and prayer for wisdom

Many are convinced that the precious treasures of the kingdom of God and of Christ are contained in His Word. They know also that no earthly treasure is gained without painstaking effort.

Why should they expect to understand the meaning of the Scriptures without diligent study? 

The Old Testament sheds light upon the New, and the New upon the Old. 

Each is a revelation of the glory of God in Christ. 

Christ as:

• manifested to the patriarchs

• symbolized in the sacrificial service

• portrayed in the Law of God

• revealed by the prophets

is the riches of the Old Testament.

Christ's:

• life and ministry

• crucifixion and death

• resurrection and assention

• manifestation by the Holy Spirit

is the treasure of the New Testament.

The glory of God is His character

While Moses was in the mount, earnestly interceding with God, he prayed: 

I beseech thee, show me thy glory. Exodus 33:18. 

In answer God declared:

I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; 

and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. Exodus 33:19.

The glory of God - His character was then revealed.

The Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty. Exodus 34:6, 7.

This character was revealed in the life of Christ. 

That He might by His own example condemn sin in the flesh, He took upon Himself the likeness of sinful flesh.

Constantly He beheld the character of God. Thus constantly He revealed this character to the world.

Christ desires His followers to reveal in their lives this same character. In His intercessory prayer for His disciples He said:

The glory (character) which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one;

I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; 

and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. John 17:22, 23.

The glory (character) of God is revealed in His chosen ones

It is done through trial and persecution. Though, hated and persecuted by the world, believers in Christ are educated and disciplined in the school of Christ. 

They are:

• purified in the furnace of affliction

• follow Christ through sore conflicts

• endure self-denial and experience bitter disappointments

Thus they learn the guilt and woe of sin and look upon it with abhorrence. 

Being partakers of Christ's sufferings, they can look beyond the gloom to the glory, saying:

I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:18.

The Kingdom of God is spiritual in its nature

The Son of God revealed the Father's character to people that they might render Him a true worship. 

Moreover, Christ revealed the fact that the strictest adherence to ceremony and form would not save them.

For the kingdom of God was spiritual in its nature. Christ came to the world to sow it with truth. He held the keys to all the treasures of wisdom. 

He was able to:

• unveil the knowledge essential to salvation

• present to humans that which was exactly contrary to the representations of the enemy in regard to the character of God

• impress upon people the paternal love of the Father.

Who so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16.

• urge the necessity of prayer, repentance, confession, and the abandonment of sin

• taught them honesty, forbearance, mercy, and compassion

• enjoin upon them to love not only those who loved them, but those who hated them, who treated them malignantly.

In this Jesus was revealing to them the character of the Father, who is long-suffering, merciful, and gracious, slow to anger, and full of goodness and truth.

Those who accept His teaching are under the guardian care of angels.

They are commissioned to strengthen and enlighten them, that the truth might renew and sanctify the soul.

We are to be one, as Christ is one with the Father

At morning, noon, and night we should meditate upon the goodness and love of God, that we may know God. For this is life eternal.

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. John 17:3.

The Father has given the best gift to us. Let us seek for this oneness, and by and by we shall see Him as He is, and enjoy His presence through the ceaseless ages of eternity.

We will have the life that measures with the life of God. It will take all eternity to comprehend the science of salvation.

Moreover, to understand something of what it means that the Son of the infinite God gave His life for the life of the world.

Conclusion

In the sacrifice of Christ for our world, His mediation is made visible. This is the evidence of things unseen, and makes faith in the gift of God.

For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

and having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; 

by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. Colossians 1:19, 20.

This is the knowledge that every true witness will have. Upon this rock one will stand. 

Their faith in Christ as the Son of the infinite God, the Mighty Counselor, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, will give them assurance.

Thus resting their faith in Christ they will become one with the Father. They will have a knowledge from experience of what Christ is to the believer.

Furthermore, realizing that no member of the human family of themselves can meet the claims of the low of God, but that Christ is the justifier of those who believe.

As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 

And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one;

as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. John 17:17-21.

References:

1. DA 19; AG 322; PK 718; Mar 76; AA 209, 576; RH, Aug, 1898; CE 75; RH, Apr, 1906; ST, Jan, 1893; - The Ellen G. White Estate

2. The Bible, King Jame Version (KJV)