Editor’s Note: The glories of our Lord Jesus Christ shall occupy our hearts in worship and praise for all eternity. They ought to fill our hearts with praise even now as we meditate upon them. We trust the following two-part series may be used to this end for each who read.
Glory is manifested excellence. The personal glories of our Lord Jesus Christ are many and varied. Some are intrinsic and some are acquired. Some are veiled and some could not be veiled. Some are shared with the redeemed and some cannot be shared.
His Godhead Glory
This essential glory in deity was not something the Lord Jesus acquired. It ever belonged to Him, for He was “with God” and “was God” (John 1:1). He is “the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person” (Heb. 1:3). He is “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see” (1 Tim. 6:14-16).
When the Lord Jesus came into manhood there was a union of His divinity with humanity which is inscrutable (Matt. 11:27; Rev. 19:12). His Godhead glory was veiled in the body of His human flesh (Heb. 10:20). One exception was when He let a glimpse of that glory shine out—all those who had come to take Him fell backwards (John 18:46).
While this glory was veiled to man in the flesh, it has been revealed to faith. We know Him as the eternal God, though we cannot fathom the infinite depths of His person. Upon His return to His Father on high the Lord prayed that this union of His humanity and divinity would be taken into the glory from whence He came so that He would have it as a glorified Man (John 17:5). This is a glory that will never be shared; it belongs to Him alone.
His Sonship Glory
This is a glory that Christ has as being the only begotten Son. It is not an acquired glory, for He always was the eternal Son of God. He was the one concentrating object of His Father’s delight, for He ever dwelt in the bosom of His Father (Prov. 8:30; John 1:18). This glory was first manifested when He came among men. “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we have contemplated His glory, a glory as of an only-begotten with a father)” (John 1:14 JND). The parenthesis in this verse defines the character of this glory which men beheld. It is that which an only begotten child would have with his father, having his full, undivided attention.
To illustrate this a brother told of the time when he was waiting for his wife outside a department store. He noticed in the car in front of him a young father with his newborn son. The young man was totally absorbed in his son, never taking his eyes off the baby. Similarly, when the Lord Jesus came among men they saw Him living in the full enjoyment of His Father’s love, being the object of His undivided attention. Joseph’s coat of many colors is also a type of this, distinguishing him as being the son of his father’s special love (Gen. 37:34).
His Creatorial Glory
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork” (Psa. 19:1). “That which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead [divinity]” (Rom. 1:19-20).
The Bible also reveals that all three persons of the Godhead were involved in creation (Gen. 1:1; “Elohim”—plural). The Father was the source (Heb. 3:4; Acts 14:15), the Spirit was the power (Gen. 1:2; Job 26:13), but the Son was the agent by which the work was done (John 1:3,10; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2; Rev. 4:11). The Lord Jesus Christ was the Creator of the universe. This is not an intrinsic glory, but something He acquired through His work in creation. This glory is not veiled but is displayed before all (Psa. 19:24).
His Moral Glory
Being who He was, when the Lord Jesus came into manhood, everything He did was perfect. Of all the men that have ever lived on this earth, only He could say, “I have glorified Thee on the earth” (John 17:4). There was a moral glory connected with all that He said and did that simply could not be hid or veiled. He “went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil” (Acts 10:38). People wondered “at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth” (Luke 4:22). He never said one word in a wrong tone of voice!
There is a type of this moral perfection in the “fine flour” of the meal offering. It speaks of the perfect evenness of His moral character (Lev. 2). This glory will be shared with the redeemed, for they have been given the very life of Christ. At His coming (the rapture), the saints will be glorified, and thus rid of the fallen nature, so that they will be like Christ morally (1 John 3:2) and physically (Phil. 3:21). The moral conformity to Christ has begun even now by the work of the Spirit, but it will be complete then (2 Cor. 3:18).
B. Anstey
(to be continued)