Displaying the Gospet

5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

Genesis 3:1 ESV

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

Genesis 1:3 ESV

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Spiritual Light

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (Moses, Gideon, …)8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

We are sore pressed at every point but not hemmed in. We are persecuted by men but never abandoned by God. We are at wit’s end but never at our hope’s end. We are knocked down but not knocked out! William Barclay

A Matter of Life and Death!

10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Dying but Living! (10-12) This is paradox at its finest!

There is no abundant life without first an abasing death.

When we die He lives; when we lose He wins; when were weak He’s strong; when we are dependent He is powerful.

13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

In the face of Jesus - He who has seen Me has seen the Father.

John 14:9 NIV

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

In Jesus we see what God is like! WE should ponder the many faces of Jesus that have bee revealed in the scripture...

​​​​​​​I see the glory of God when I look into the face of Jesus:

As a baby born into poverty;

As a 12 year old sharing His wisdom;

As a Carpenter serving in His divine leisureliness, performing His menial/humble tasks daily, content to await God’s time ;

As a Compassionate man meeting the needs of the hurting or hungry;

As One in Authority over Satan in wilderness

As One showing Mercy in forgiving sin;

As One on the cross where He laid down His life…for me; As One who rose triumphant over the grave, death, evil;

; As One who rose triumphant over the grave, death, evil; As the One who ascended into heaven.

As the One who ascended into heaven.

As the returning King!

“Like supermarket cereal, when Christianity is brightly packaged & sugarcoated & enticingly offers free prizes on the inside, we fail to see the fine print on the side of the box. And so we never know about all the empty calories we’ve eaten…or realize how malnourished we’ve become.” (Charles Swindoll, pg.50.)