Christ IN you, the Hope of Glory! The divine nature of our Creator is a subject that is so worthy of our attention. When you think of qualities about our Father in Heaven, which one do you of think of first? The Love of God is probably at the top of most lists, with patience, mercy, righteousness, and others, following afterwards. But one quality which must not be overlooked is the glory of God; that high opinion we ought to have of Him because of His great works and the same glory we should try not to fall short of but rather, do all we can to promote! Listen to these words from Paul, noticing the parts that concern the eternal glory of God, then meditate on what he is trying to communicate to us concerning our Father in Heaven: Ephesians 1:17-20: “For I always beseech the God of our Lord Jesus Christ--the Father most glorious--to give you a spirit of wisdom and penetration through an intimate knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened so that you may know what is the hope which His call to you inspires, what the wealth of the glory of His inheritance in God’s people is, and what the transcendent greatness of His power in us believers is as seen in the working of His infinite might when He displayed it in Christ by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His own right hand in the heavenly realms, The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,” Ephesians 3:16: “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;” Philippians 4:19: “But my God--so great is His wealth of glory in Christ Jesus--will fully supply every need of yours. And to our God and Father be the glory throughout the Ages of the Ages! Amen.” Colossians 1:25: “I have been appointed to serve the Church in the position of responsibility entrusted to me by God for your benefit, so that I may fully deliver Gods Message-- the truth which has been kept secret from all ages and generations, but has now been revealed to His people, to whom it was His will to make known how vast a wealth of glory for the Gentile world is implied in this truth--the truth that ‘Christ is in you, the hope of glory.’ Him we preach, admonishing every one and instructing every one, with all possible wisdom, so that we may bring every one into God’s presence, made perfect through Christ. To this end, like an earnest wrestler, I exert all my strength in reliance upon the power of Him who is mightily at work within me. To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory!” If you can read these words from the beloved apostle Paul and not be in awe of God’s indescribable glory, it is because your heart has settled on some inferior glory; the fading glory of this world. “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, there is no love in his heart for the Father. For the things in the world--the cravings of the earthly nature, the cravings of the eyes, the show and pride of life--they all come, not from the Father, but from the world. And the world, with its cravings, is passing away, but he who does God’s will continues forever.” (I John 2:15-17). Many professing Christians are holding on, with all their might, to the earthly glory of looking like a teenager and obtaining the glory of being cool and accepted by society, rather than pursuing the glory of having Christ in us and being happy to be accepted by the Father in Christ! The world needs to see that eternal glory has nothing to do with hair color or skin condition: Eternal glory is heard in kind words and seen in loving deeds. While Jesus was here, He was known, not for his appearance, but as the man “who went about doing good.” (Acts 10:38). You will not glorify God for how long you were able to preserve this body, but for following in the footsteps of Jesus and other godly servants of God who gave up their earthly lives for the Lord. When Peter died as a martyr for Jesus, he glorified our Lord, showing that his Savior was more important that his own life. But when Peter denied Jesus thrice on the night before the crucifixion, who and what was glorified then? Not Peter. Not Jesus. Not the things of the Kingdom. Who or what will be glorified in your life today? There is something that is due unto the Lord from every one of us who has ears to hear: “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” (Psalms 29:2). I’m going to go with the eternal glory that grows brighter and brighter each day. “And all of us, with unveiled faces, reflecting like bright mirrors the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same likeness, from one degree of radiant holiness to another, even as derived from the Lord the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 20:16:46 +0000
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