The Glory of the Person of Jesus
(Be sure to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
1 Timothy 3:16, "Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body."
Here is a mystery before which angels bow in wonder and adoration: Jesus is God and Man in one glorious Person. In Him are united two distinct natures: the eternal, infinite, almighty nature of God--and the finite, frail nature of man.
The One who had no beginning, entered time.
The One whom heaven cannot contain, dwelt among men.
The eternal Son took our nature upon Himself, yet remained what He eternally was--Almighty God.This is:
the very summit of our faith,
the foundation of the Church,
the Rock upon which all our hopes rest.Here the infinite God has drawn near to us in the Person of Jesus. Here is the astonishing condescension of divine love: God dwelling in our nature, yet without the sin of fallen humanity. The eternal fire of the divine nature dwells in the bush of our frail nature, yet the bush is not consumed. What a mystery! What a Savior!
O Christian, do not merely give intellectual assent to this glorious truth. Behold Him! This is not a subject to be hurried over as a theological proposition. It is the supreme object for the faith, love, and contemplation of the redeemed soul. What are the passing treasures of earth, compared with the glory of Jesus? What are wealth, honor, possessions, pleasures, and human applause; when set beside Him in whom all the fullness of God dwells?
The world fills its mind with vanities, and its heart with perishing trifles. But the soul that has caught even one true glimpse of the glory of Jesus cries, "Whom have I in Heaven but You? And on earth I desire no one besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!" The more clearly we behold His glory, the more this present world loses its attraction.
We must behold Jesus through the Scriptures. There we find the great treasure-house of His glory. The Bible is the appointed looking-glass in which the glory of Jesus is revealed to faith. Search it diligently. Meditate upon Him frequently. Let your thoughts return to Him again and again throughout the day. When His glory overwhelms your feeble understanding, do not turn away. Let faith rise into holy admiration, love, adoration, and thanksgiving.
And here is the searching question:
Do you truly desire Jesus Himself?
Many profess to desire Heaven, who rarely desire Jesus on earth.
But Heaven is the perfection of what grace begins here on earth.
The soul that truly loves Jesus, longs to behold His glory.
His presence is its treasure,
His beauty is its delight,
His Word is its food,
and His likeness is its desire.One day faith will become sight. We now behold Jesus but dimly, we shall then behold Him in perfect glory. Until that day, let us turn again and again from the fading glories of earth, to the unfading glory of Jesus--the eternal Son, the God-Man, the Savior of His people, and the everlasting delight of the redeemed.
"Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory you have given Me because You loved me before the creation of the world!" John 17:24
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Today's choice AI resource: What Would a Church Look Like If We Simply Took the New Testament Seriously? (with audio)