We Have Seen His Glory - The Glory of Christ

I may be the only person who thinks about stuff like this, but have you ever wondered how incredible it is that we communicate with language. It is no small miracle that the thoughts that rattle around in my head can be sorted (that in itself may be the biggest part of this miracle, because it is often a jumbled mess up here!). but then those same thoughts can be transferred to you through the medium of language. It is incredible.

but then even more so how incredible is this, that the perfect and holy and infinite words of God can be given to us as well. that we fallen frail fragile creatures can have access through language, through the written word to some to the thoughts of God is incredible.

and this then Is why I Have such a high view of scripture, for it is what we need, it is our access and rule of life to walk in godliness. It is the vessel by winch we have access to both the gospel and the life that the gospel provides. It is God’s tool for both my salvation and my sanctification! God’s word is incredible.

And I bring that up because in all of Scripture there may be no more incredible PORTION then John 1:1-18. Just like my words, some can be just a grocery list, some can be words of admonishment to you all, some can be some dumb dad joke and some can be words of affection to my family, so Too with God’s words some are, I would argue imbued with a little different weight and glory. This is not to say that all are not beautiful, because they are. Also all of them are useful for teaching reproof and correction. All are worth all our time and devotion and attention for they are the words of God, but there is a reason that John 3:16 is the most well known verse. there is a reason that when believers sit and ponder the beauty of Ephesians their hearts soar. there is a reason that when we study Revelation our brains hurt. this is HOW God uses different passages for his different purposes.

Well this morning, because of the richness and depth of What we are looking at I am going to channel my inner Charles Spurgeon and we are looking at not just one verse, but one part of one verse. Again Our passage this series is from John 1, today we are looking at a tiny little middle section of John 1:14

John 1:14 ESV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

An Exalted PEOPLE

Here first I would like to look, not at Jesus, not at the word that we have been talking about this whole series, but ask a basic, but super important question: who is the “we”

John 1:14 ESV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

And on a surface level we can ask: who is we and us? well its us! WE have seen his glory, praise be to God that he sees fit to reveal to us, such broken people the grace and mercy available in Jesus. Praise the Lord that he saw fit to allow a people such as us to witness the Glory of the the Lord, this is a great miracle. But beyond that we can say more about the nature of the “we” described by John here.

We are a chosen people. Eph 1:3-6

Ephesians 1:3–6 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

we are a loved people 1 John 3:1-3

1 John 3:1–3 ESV

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

We are a blessed people James 1:16-18

James 1:16–18 ESV

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

truly it is good to be God’s people! But I feel the need to stress, we must be on one hand extraordinarily bold in our declaration and yet on the other hand humble. on one hand we can proclaim with as much passion and boldness as we can muster how good it is to be loved by God. how incredible to receive his marvelous wonderful matchless grace. How enlivening to live with the assurance that we have that if God is for us who can be against us? how fulfilling it is to know that God has, as we read once again in Ephesians 1 chosen us. He ;looked upon us and said that he wanted us to be in his family, to be his children. We should be bold but yet, this boldness is tempered with great humility. because it was God who did this work, it is all a work of God and his grace. I was not good enough, in fact it was quite the opposite. I am not strong enough/righteous enough/ good enough/worthy of this gift and yet God uses the foolish of the world to confound the wise.

but yet God, because of his rich mercy opened my eyes (again, this was of God) to see the precious truth. Which brigs us to the next thought about the people who are blessed to see Christ, we have an exalted POSITION.

An Exalted POSITION

Here we speak specifically of the position in what we would call redemptive history. John Writes that “WE HAVE SEEN his glory”. Note we have not just heard about, we have not just longed for, we have not hoped for.. We have seen it!

First lets think through what this means in the past.

flip with me to Hebrews 11:13-16

Hebrews 11:13–16 ESV

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

exegete passage.

but even in the heavenly realms we who have seen Chrsit have an exalted position.

1 Peter 1:10–12 ESV

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

Our position is that we get to SEE what God has done through Jesus Chrsit our Lord!

but in fact we know and celebrate that in this specific advent season that our position is especially blessed as we live in what is called the interadvent period. We live in the time where we get to on one hand look back and SEE what god has done but on the other we still long for and hope for his soon coming return.

which then ties to the next point, the EXALTED PERSPECTIVE

An Exalted PERSPECTIVE

the vantage point that we see from is beautiful, that we look back and see our savior, and look ahead and see him there too. but more than that I want to show us that we are blessed because of the perspective of what we get to see.

John 1:14 ESV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

we have seen his glory. my favorite OT passage is Exodus 33:12-23

Exodus 33:12–23 ESV

Moses said to the Lord, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

moses is allowed a passing glance at the radiance of God’s Glory and he is physically changed. His face shines Exodus 34:29-33

Exodus 34:29–33 ESV

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

but we have seen the Glory of Chrsit. We have seen his GLORY!

The glory of, John continues, the only Son from the father. The glory of the second person of the trinity, the Glory of God, but God became man. the glory of one who was sent to us that we may have life, the glory of one who came to make a way for us, the glory of one who, because he was the lamb who was slain has now (Paul says) recieved a name above all other name.s the glory of one who will receive all glory honor and praise for all eternity in heaven as we say, as his ransomed people, Worthy worthy worth and Holy Holy Holy is He. that is our perspective. So as a note, if Moses saw the passing Glory of God and was changed so profoundly, how can WE SEE HIS GLORY and not be changed by that perspective. It is not enough to just come and experience some feel better thing and walk away the same, our perspective should change us.

If you have ever heard interviews with astronauts, specifically those who have been to the moon, one fairly universal thought you will hear is that when your perspective of the world changes that much you can’t help but think differently about things. Well our perspective is even more earth shattering than seeing the earth from the moon, we have seen the GLORY OF GOD through the person of Jesus Chrsit!

which leads us to one final thought for all of this series. Inn everything we have said thus far. that the word was God, he was divine, he is the creator of all things, he is the one who gives light and he shines with radiance and glory we see this picture shows us AN EXALTED SAVIOR!

An exalted SAVIOR

we could go a lot of places and I could say a lot here, but lets finish by taking a look at Philippians 2:5-11

Philippians 2:5–11 ESV

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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