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God 2.6: Jesus, the Glory of God

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WEI Supplemental Course - WHO IS JESUS? Lesson Six: Jesus, the Glory of God

Introduction

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no
speech or language where their voice is not heard” (Psalm 19:1-3).

A picture of Andromeda was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Andromeda is a twin to our Milky Way galaxy, except it is more than twice as large, with one trillion
stars. Light, traveling at 186,000 miles per second, must travel for 220,000 years to get from one side of Andromeda to the other. Yet, Andromeda is like a speck when
compared to the entire universe.

How does that make you feel? No wonder David prayed, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is
man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:3-4).

Before you start feeling insignificant, however, remember that the vastness of the universe is not designed to make us feel small. The universe is not about us. It is about
God. It reveals his glory. Few things are more awe-inspiring than looking up at the stars and planets on a dark, clear night.

“The Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him. . . . Ascribe to the Lord, O families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength, ascribe to the Lord the
glory due his name”(1 Chronicles 16:26b-29a).

God’s Glory Is also Seen on Earth.

Who can watch the morning sun glisten on the majestic Grand Tetons above Lake Jackson without feeling a sense of awe? Or who can watch the moon rise over Half
Dome in Yosemite National Park, with its mile-high granite cliffs, and not be moved by God’s glory?

The prophet Isaiah had a vision of God in the temple. Around God’s throne, angelic beings called to one another, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth
is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). God is a God of glory, splendor, radiance, and honor.

Human Beings Reflect God’s Glory

The face of Moses was radiant when he came down from Mount Sinai having been in the presence of God (Exodus 34:33-35; 2 Corinthians 3:7-18).

Human beings were created to reveal God’s glory. God said to Isaiah, “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth–everyone who is called by my
name, whom I created for my glory” (Isaiah 43:6b-7).

The apostle Paul wrote, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). We were made to behold God’s glory and to
reflect it.

But there is a problem among human beings. The problem is that many people have ignored God. God has revealed his eternal power and divine nature in the things he
has created (Romans 1:20). Yet, some people neither glorify him as God nor give thanks to him (Romans 1:21). Instead, they have “exchanged the glory of the immortal
God” for idols of their own making (Romans 1:23).

Idolatry comes in many forms. Self-worship is idolatry. So is greed. Untold billions of people worship money and spend their entire lives trying to acquire it. Others worship
fame, power and pleasure. Anything that consumes our thoughts and pulls us away from God is an idol–a false god.
When people push God out of their thoughts, they become fools (Romans 1:28). Their foolish hearts are darkened (Romans 1:21-22). They give themselves over to sinful
desires and sexual impurity. Their depraved minds lead them to all kinds of anti-social behavior: wickedness, evil, greed, depravity, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice,
gossip, slander, God-hating, insolence, arrogance, boastfulness, disobedience to parents, heartlessness, and ruthlessness (Romans 1:21-32).

As a matter of fact, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We need someone to lead us back to God and to show us his glory.

Jesus Brings Glory to God.

The night Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a great company of angels appeared to shepherds in a field, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace to men on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:13-14). The birth of Jesus brought glory to God.

The elderly prophet, Simeon, took baby Jesus in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, . . . my eyes have seen your salvation, . . . a light
for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32). This infant that Simeon held in his arms would become the “light of the world.” He would
reveal God’s glory to mankind (John 8:12).

While Jesus and his apostles were across the Jordan River east of Jerusalem, they received news that Lazarus was ill. Jesus said to his apostles, “This sickness will not
end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it” (John 11:4).

By the time Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for four days. His corpse had been wrapped in linen and laid in a tomb, and a stone had been rolled across
the entrance. Jesus said, “Take away the stone” (John 11:39). Martha, the sister of Lazarus, said, “But Lord, by this time, there is a bad odor” (John 11:39). Jesus replied,
“Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40).

Then Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out wrapped in his grave clothes. Jesus said, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go” (John
11:43-44). By raising Lazarus from death, Jesus and God were glorified.

Jesus Shares the Glory of God.

The apostle Paul warns that Satan, “has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2
Corinthians 4:4). The gospel of Christ is about the glory of Jesus.

At the same time, it is about the glory of God. God has “made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2
Corinthians 4:6). God’s glory is seen in Jesus.

Jesus Has Had Glory from Eternity.

On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed, “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began” (John 17:5).

Jesus was divine, but he emptied himself of his divine prerogatives and became a human being. He was obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has
highly exalted him. Ultimately, people, angels, and demons will all bow before him and confess him as Lord “to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11). Worshiping
Jesus brings glory to God the Father.

Jesus and God Share Names.

In Revelation 1:8, God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega . . who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet. Omega
is the last. There is no letter before Alpha, and there is no letter after Omega. No one came before God, and no one will come after him. God is eternal.

In Isaiah 44:6, God said, “I am the first, and I am the last.” Yet, Jesus made the same claim when he said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning
and the End” (Revelation 22:13). These words were NOT spoken by God Almighty. They were spoken by Jesus (Revelation 22:16).

How can God Almighty and Jesus Christ both be “the Alpha and the Omega”? How can they both be “the Beginning and the End”? The only logical answer is that they are
ONE. They are two divine persons who constitute one God, not two.

Jesus and God also share the name “I AM.” God told Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14). God is the eternal, self-existent one. Yet Jesus
also used the name “I AM” with reference to himself when he said, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I AM” (John 8:58). With these words, Jesus claimed to be
the eternal, self-existent one.

John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God (Greek, ton theon, meaning ‘the God’), and the Word was God (Greek, theos, meaning ‘God’)” (John
1:1-2). John makes a distinction between “the God” and “the Word.” Both are divine, and the two constitute one God, not two. John continues, “The Word became flesh and
made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The Word (the divine
Logos) came from the Father and became flesh when Jesus was born.

Again John writes, “God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known” (John 1:18). Jesus Christ is called “God, the One and Only.” He is at the Father’s
side, and he has made the Father known to us.

Paul wrote, “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [Jesus]” (Colossians 1:19). Therefore, “we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God
and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). Paul calls Jesus “God and Savior.” Peter, too, calls Jesus “our God and Savior” (2 Peter 1:1). Though distinct from the Father, Jesus is
our divine Savior.

Similarly, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory, and the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3). The scriptures about
Jesus’ divinity stack up. Jesus is the glory of God. He is the divine Word who became flesh.

Conclusion

Jesus showed us how we can be sons and daughters of God who see and reflect his glory. We see God’s glory in his creation, and we see God’s glory in Jesus Christ, who
has shared the Father’s glory from eternity.

Now, answer the questions in this lesson.

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