Some of it this I have written about, and some I haven’t seen until today, so enjoy the Word. Feel free to go and read the scripture references I have put in if you can, and when you have time, because it is just too much information to expand on all of it in one letter, and still stay on the subject.
The glory of God is indeed the light of God Himself. God is light, and there is no darkness in Him, no not in any way (1 John 1:5). This light can physically shine like it did on the skin of Moses’ face (2 Cor 3:7; Ex 34:29) when he came down from Mount Sinai, and from the presence of God. So the glory is the visible Light glory of God, but the glory was always accompanied with supernatural signs, wonders and miracles.
In Matt 5:14-16 (KJV) Jesus said:
5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
John 11:39-45
11:39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been [dead] four days.
11:40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
11:41 Then they took away the stone [from the place] where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up [his] eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
11:42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said [it], that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
11:43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
11:44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
11:45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
The Glory light of God is manifested in works of glory, and we behold His glory when we see miracles performed in His Name.
This means that the way we are to let the light shine, and to make the glory of the Father known to the world, is by our good deeds, the deeds of the light, the works that Jesus did and even greater (John 14:12). Now these deeds are not helping the little old lady over the street, neither is it to bake a pudding for the church fete, but it is to do the works of Christ, the supernatural works that are impossible for the human nature to produce, which show in our broken vessels of clay, our natural limited bodies, the glory of God, so that it might be clearly known to be from Him and not of us (2 Cor 4:7). I do not mean to discourage you from helping the little old lady, or even to turn off the oven. It is well and good, so feel free to continue if you like, but these works Jesus spoke about are faith works, and not works of duty or law. It is supernatural works of glory done by the Father in us. There is a monumental difference.
The works of the law are works that are demanded of man from a legally written code to establish the righteousness of that man who is under that law, and subscribes to its ideas. By law, one can therefore only establish one’s own righteousness, which is as filthy rags according to the prophet Isaiah (Is 64:6).
When we believe in God, however, we receive His righteousness, and not our own.
Rom 3:21-24
3:21 But now the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from the Law, although actually it is attested by the Law and the Prophets,
3:22 Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah). [And it is meant] for all who believe. For there is no distinction, [between Jew or Greek – in context]
3:23 Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives.
3:24 [All] are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is [provided] in Christ Jesus,
We all come short of the glory works of God. No man can demonstrate the glory of God out of himself like Jesus did on the earth. No man can do the miraculous works the Holy Spirit does through believers by dependence on the arm of the flesh, by obeying the Law of Moses, which places the onus on man. Glory works only happen by grace, through faith; by dependence on the message of the cross of Christ.
Gal 3:1-6
3:1 O YOU poor and silly and thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless Galatians! Who has fascinated or bewitched or cast a spell over you, unto whom-right before your very eyes-Jesus Christ (the Messiah) was openly and graphically set forth and portrayed as crucified?
3:2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the [Holy] Spirit as the result of obeying the Law and doing its works, or was it by hearing [the message of the Gospel] and believing [it]? [Was it from observing a law of rituals or from a message of faith?]
3:3 Are you so foolish and so senseless and so silly? Having begun [your new life spiritually] with the [Holy] Spirit, are you now reaching perfection [by dependence] on the flesh?
3:4 Have you suffered so many things and experienced so much all for nothing (to no purpose)-if it really is to no purpose and in vain?
3:5 Then does He Who supplies you with His marvelous [Holy] Spirit and works powerfully and miraculously among you do so on [the grounds of your doing] what the Law demands, or because of your believing in and adhering to and trusting in and relying on the message that you heard?
3:6 Thus Abraham believed in and adhered to and trusted in and relied on God, and it was reckoned and placed to his account and credited as righteousness (as conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action).
Faith works spring from our belief in the cross of Christ, which is our righteousness. Let me explain. When we believe in the message of the cross, faith in Christ arises; saving faith. Faith in His blood, and broken body means the forgiveness of our sins and the healing of our bodies. We have been made righteous by God’s election and according to His righteousness, according to what He had achieved, and not according to what we have achieved. This righteousness becomes ours when we believe. Now that we have been declared righteous, strength arises in us, and the power of God works miraculously through us. This is active faith, and this faith that arises in us, makes all things possible. It only comes by believing the message of what Jesus Christ did on the cross.
2 Cor 5:21 says
5:21 For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
The works of the law depend on man. The works of faith depend on God. Faith and trust in God is therefore needed for Him to do the works through us. These works bring glory to God. Anything supernatural in our lives is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in us. The Tree of Life makes His home in us and consequently He bears His fruit through us.
John 15:7-8
15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul relates the glory of the old to the glory of the new. He said that the glory of the ministration of the law, the ministry of condemnation and death, came with such splendor, that the skin of the face of Moses shone (Ex 34:29). This glory, however, was intended to fade and pass away. The Law of Moses was intended to be in effect until the Seed should come, referring to Jesus Christ, the Messiah (Gal 3:19), Who would come to suffer on the cross, and pay the price for all the sin of all people for all time with a single sacrifice of His body and blood (Heb9:14; Heb14:25-26, Heb 10:10).
Heb 10:9 says that He came to annul the first former order, in order to establish and inaugurate the new, second, latter order. Heb 8:13 says that when God speaks of a new order, He makes the first one obsolete, or out of use, and what is obsolete is ripe for disappearance and to be dispensed with altogether.
Now the point that I want to make, is that the law was only until the Seed should come (Gal3:19), until Christ. Rom 10:4 says that Christ is the end of the law and the fulfillment of all its types. If the glory of the law was intended to fade out, it means that the law now represents darkness. There is now no glory in the law. Looking at the works of the Prophets and the Pharisees clearly proves this point. Moses saw spectacular signs and wonders. So did Elijah and Elisha, but as the time went on, the only thing the Jews had, was the account of what those Prophets did, which was verbally passed on from generation to generation. The works themselves faded and faded until there was no glorious works for 400 years before Jesus Christ was born. In the time of the Pharisees, there was no power at all. No glory was made visible, apart maybe from the angel stirring the water at the bath of Bethesda in John 5. The glory of the law had faded, and they were in complete darkness. Then suddenly a man called John the Baptist appeared, preaching that Israel should repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.
John 1:1
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name [was] John.
1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all [men] through him might believe.
1:8 He was not that Light, but [was sent] to bear witness of that Light.
1:9 [That] was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:
1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Jesus was this Light that has come into the world. The very glory of the Father manifested to the world. When John the Baptist recognized and baptized Jesus the Christ, glory appeared:
John 1:29-33
1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
1:30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
1:31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
1:33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
Matt 3:13-17
3:13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
3:14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
3:15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer [it to be so] now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
To know Jesus Christ and the Father is to know this light and glory which has come into the world.
John 17:3-10
17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
17:7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received [them], and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
17:10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
John the apostle testified that ...we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. When they saw Him and beheld His glory, they beheld the glory of the Father that Jesus showed to the world. They therefore saw the Father when they saw Jesus, because Jesus only did the works of the Father. He only manifested the will of the Father.
John 14:8-9
14:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou [then], Shew us the Father?
Jesus said the following shortly after:
John 14:12-14:
14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do [it].
This means that in the same way Jesus did the glorious works of the Father, we now do the glorious works of Jesus (which are the same glorious works of the Father). The Father is in Jesus, and Jesus is in us. We are one. In this way the Father is manifested through us, because we are one with Jesus.
John 17:18-22 (Jesus praying to the Father)
17:18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
His works now become our works, because we believe in Him and He does it through us. The Light has come into the world and was made manifest in Jesus. To as many as believed, He gave the power to also become sons of Light, so that we too might do the works of the Father through Him. Those who believe come out into the Light so that their works might be shown to be what they are, wrought with God; done with God’s power.
John 3:16-21
3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Those who believed in Jesus, came out of the darkness of the law, into the Light of God, and God started doing the works of faith, the works of the Light through them. Those who stayed in the law, remained in darkness, and they refused to believe. They insisted on establishing their own righteousness in stead of receiving God’s righteousness by faith. Therefore they remained with a righteousness which is like filthy rags, and everything they did was evil. Today the works of the law has no glory at all. No miracle is possible today through the law. The time of miracles according to the law and commandments is forever over.
To this day, those who love the Light, come out into the Light, and do the works of the Light, and those who hate the Light (Gospel of Grace) and love the darkness (faded glory of the Law of Moses) shrink from the Light in fear of being judged and reproved. This fear actually kindles the wrath of the law on them, because they are condemnable under the law, and even the law testifies about the One that should come, and yet they hide in it from the Light of God which purifies and justifies the ungodly. The law can only judge and condemn people, and no glory is now possible in the law. Shrinking from the light, implies that one doesn’t trust the light, but expect judgment from it. They trusted their own works according to the law more than they trusted the salvation that very same law testified about.
Heb 10:38
10:38 But the just shall live by faith [My righteous servant shall live by his conviction respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, and holy fervor born of faith and conjoined with it]; and if he draws back and shrinks in fear, My soul has no delight or pleasure in him.
10:39 But our way is not that of those who draw back to eternal misery (perdition) and are utterly destroyed, but we are of those who believe [who cleave to and trust in and rely on God through Jesus Christ, the Messiah] and by faith preserve the soul.
The law is not of faith. The law and the prophets never produced faith. It has nothing to do with faith. The works of the law doesn’t depend on faith, but on obedience to the law. The law and the prophets testified about Jesus Christ that should come. Therefore the only thing the law could produce in those who believed the testimony of the law and the prophets was hope, not faith. The people under the Old Testament Law had a hope that some day the Messiah would come.
Gal 3:12 & 3:23-35
3:12 But the Law does not rest on faith [does not require faith, has nothing to do with faith], for it itself says, He who does them [the things prescribed by the Law] shall live by them [not by faith].
3:23 Now before the faith came, we (the Jews) were perpetually guarded under the Law, kept in custody in preparation for the faith that was destined to be revealed (unveiled, disclosed),
3:24 So that the Law served [to us Jews] as our trainer [our guardian, our guide to Christ, to lead us] until Christ [came], that we might be justified (declared righteous, put in right standing with God) by and through faith.
3:25 But now that the faith has come, we are no longer under a trainer (the guardian of our childhood).
3:26 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith.
Now Ps 78 says:
Ps 78:1-4
78:1 Give ear, O my people, [to] my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
78:2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
78:3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
78:4 We will not hide [them] from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
The sayings of the law was a parable, and not the truth of the Gospel, in fact, the sayings of the law hides the Truth of the Gospel.
Ps 78:2 in the Amplified translation says
78:2 I will open my mouth in a parable (in instruction by numerous examples); I will utter dark sayings of old [that hide important truth]-
The old in the Bible refers to the Old covenant, the old order of things, which were dependant on obeying the law, and doing all its rituals, and yet it was incapable of achieving anything for man, because it was only intended to testify about Christ that should come. The new is this New Testament which Christ inaugurated when He died. He established the new, and annulled the old (Heb10:9).
We have looked at the faded glory of the law above in 2 Corinthians 3, and I said that the law is now darkness. Verse 1 of Psalms 78 says give ear to my law; the law which is a parable and dark sayings of old that hide important truth.
The law was a parable, which was uttered. The words of the Law had fading glory, and it was hiding important Truth, so that the rulers of this world might not attain unto it. If they had, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory. If this law had not come, sin would not have been punished in the flesh body of Christ.
Heb 9:9
Seeing that that first tabernacle was a parable (a visible symbol or type pr picture of the present age). In it gifts and sacrifices were offered, and yet are incapable or perfecting the conscience or of cleansing and renewing the inner man of the worshiper.
Yet 1 John 1:5 says that God is Light and there is no darkness in Him, no not in any way. That means that the law is not God’s message. The law was only intended to bring punishment of sin, which ultimately Jesus Christ would take for the whole of mankind. That was the function. Today, this function has been fulfilled, and the law is now redundant.
The Truth of God, this important Truth of the Glory of God, the Light of the World, the True Word of the Gospel that was manifested to bring salvation was hidden in the time of the law. It was hidden to everyone who read the dark sayings of the law.
2 Cor 3:14-15
3:14 In fact, their minds were grown hard and calloused [they had become dull and had lost the power of understanding]; for until this present day, when the Old Testament (the old covenant) is being read, that same veil still lies [on their hearts], not being lifted [to reveal] that in Christ it is made void and done away.
3:15 Yes, down to this [very] day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies upon their minds and hearts.
The reading of the law hides the glory of the new, the glory of the Gospel. The more we read the Law, the less we know Jesus, and the more we are blinded by our own guilt and condemnation, and our hearts become hard and calloused, and incapable of believing the forgiveness which comes by the Gospel. The Old Covenant Law and the New Testament Gospel are antagonistic to each other.
2 Cor 4:4-7
4:4 For the god of this world has blinded the unbelievers' minds [that they should not discern the truth], preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image and Likeness of God.
4:5 For what we preach is not ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves [merely] as your servants (slaves) for Jesus' sake.
4:6 For God Who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts so as [to beam forth] the Light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God [as it is manifest in the Person and is revealed] in the face of Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
4:7 However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.
The god of this world in this context can only be the law of Moses and the reasoning of men whose thoughts are governed by the law (the dark sayings of old), that hides important truth. The god of this world which blinds the eyes of the unbelievers are therefore nothing else than the knowledge of good and evil, which is manifested in the law; the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil which brought in deception, sin and death into the world.
There is a good reason for that. If the Law of Moses did not come, God would never have had the jurisdiction to punish sin in the flesh, because Rom 5:13 says: [To be sure] sin was in the world before ever the Law was given, but sin is not charged to men's account where there is no law [to transgress].
The law therefore had to come to expose to men their guilt and to make known the sinfulness of sin (Rom3:20, Rom 5:20, Rom7:13, Gal 3:19). Exposing sin and guilt to men could however never save them, because no one can be saved by obedience to the Law of Moses.
Rom 3:20
3:20 For no person will be justified (made righteous, acquitted, and judged acceptable) in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law. For [the real function of] the Law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin [not mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance, faith, and holy character].
The reason the law could not save man, was because (Rom 7:14) We know that the Law is spiritual; but I am a creature of the flesh [carnal, unspiritual], having been sold into slavery under [the control of] sin.
This means that we would never be able to fully comply with the law. The law demands of fleshly people to live spiritually. It is however impossible to know the ways of the Spirit by the Law, because the law only deal with fleshly things. The law tells fleshly people what they must or may not do. The standard of the law though, is spiritual. Jesus put the real standard of the law back in its place in the sermon on the mountain when He said (speaking to Jews who were not born again, before the cross of Christ): Matt 5:48 You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect.
The standard was too high for fleshly men to achieve. The law never could save fleshly men, and never was intended to bring salvation. God Himself planned from the beginning to bring salvation through Christ. He was the only one Who could live perfectly as the Father is perfect; the only One Who would not fall short of the glory of God, the works of the Father. He was the only spiritual man Who could bring salvation.
Rom 8:3
For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice],
Sin had to be punished in the flesh. Sin could not be punished without a law. The law was given to reveal sin to man, so that man could be counted guilty and so that sin could be punished. Man could not achieve the spiritual standard to save himself, because the power of the law was weakened by the flesh.
Jesus, the Perfect Representation of the Father, the Perfect reflection of His glory (Col 1:15), came on earth and lived a perfect life so that the glory of the Father would again be seen. Then He took the punishment for all men on His body. The righteous died for the unrighteous; the spiritual perfection of God paid the price for the wicked, fallen, fleshly and ungodly people of the world. Sin was righteously dealt with and punished completely in the perfect body of Christ. He
was our offering for sin.
Now it is impossible for God to punish the same sin twice, therefore, those who believe will never be condemned. Those who believe not, however, will be condemned by their own law, not being saved from under its wrath, for the law speaks only to those who are under it. Those who believe not, will be counted guilty of spilling innocent blood, but those who believe will be counted righteous and sanctified because of the offering of the perfect blood of Christ. The same blood can either save, or act as a testimony against the unbelievers.
Matt 27:25 And all the people answered, Let His blood be on us and on our children!
The law blinds the eyes of the unbelievers, making them think that they can make the standard themselves by trying in their own might. The law hides the Truth of the Gospel to those who read it. If this wonderful Truth were not hidden, the rulers of this world would never have crucified the Lord of Glory.
1 Cor 2:6-8
2:6 Yet when we are among the full-grown (spiritually mature Christians who are ripe in understanding), we do impart a [higher] wisdom (the knowledge of the divine plan previously hidden); but it is indeed not a wisdom of this present age or of this world nor of the leaders and rulers of this age, who are being brought to nothing and are doomed to pass away.
2:7 But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by God-[that wisdom] which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification [to lift us into the glory of His presence].
2:8 None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.
So it was hidden from human understanding, from the sense and reason of man without the Holy Spirit, but now it is revealed by His Spirit to us who believe that we are justified, and forgiven, sanctified and holy. It is revealed to those who believe they are standing in perfection before God because of His sacrifice. It is revealed to those who believe that they are saints. This wisdom brings us to glorification, and makes us fit by the Spirit to do the works of the spirit, the works of glory. It lifts us into the glory of His presence, and we live a supernatural life of miracles, in Christ, in the glory of God.
Col 1:25-27
1:25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
1:26 [Even] the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
1:27 To whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Note that the mystery is revealed to the saints, not to unbelievers, or people who stand under the law, but to people who are justified, and sanctified by Christ; people who believe that they are forgiven. The hope, mystery and wisdom we have is the glory of God; the ever increasing glory of the New Testament which is the abiding glory, and which will forever increase and become brighter and brighter (2 Cor 3:18). Therefore we can know that the works of the New Testament, the miracles will increase and increase, and become more and more glorious. It will abide, and never stop. Our hope is not that Christ must come. He already came. Our Hope is the Glory which now follows His suffering (1 Pet 1:11). The glory or miracles will increase more and more in the church, for it is written:
Hab 2:14
2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
And;
Isaiah 60
60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
60:2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
60:19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
60:20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
60:21 Thy people also [shall be] all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
The law was a parable, and the law and prophets testified about Jesus Christ which would come and save the world from sin and damnation through His suffering on the cross, so that we might receive life. The law and the prophets testified about the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow.
1 Pet 1:10-13
1:10 The prophets, who prophesied of the grace (divine blessing) which was intended for you, searched and inquired earnestly about this salvation.
1:11 They sought [to find out] to whom or when this was to come which the Spirit of Christ working within them was indicating when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow [them].
1:12 It was then disclosed to them that the services they were rendering were not meant for themselves and their period of time, but for you. [It is these very] things which have now already been made known plainly to you by those who preached the good news (the Gospel) to you by the [same] Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Into these things [the very] angels long to look!
1:13 So brace up your minds; be sober (circumspect, morally alert); set your hope wholly and unchangeably on the grace (divine favor) that is coming to you when Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is revealed.
The law and the prophets testified about Jesus. The reality of these prophecies did not manifest in their day, but they wrote it for us, the saint, who would become the heirs of God’s glory. The Law people do not even believe their own law, because the law inevitably leads up to Christ, and they do not receive Christ. The law however blinds their eyes, so that they only see themselves and their own sin, not trusting in Christ Who came to sacrifice Himself for our sin.
John 5 38-41 & 45-47 (Jesus speaking to the Pharisees)
5:38 And you have not His word (His thought) living in your hearts, because you do not believe and adhere to and trust in and rely on Him Whom He has sent. [That is why you do not keep His message living in you, because you do not believe in the Messenger Whom He has sent.]
5:39 You search and investigate and pore over the Scriptures diligently, because you suppose and trust that you have eternal life through them. And these [very Scriptures] testify about Me!
5:40 And still you are not willing [but refuse] to come to Me, so that you might have life.
5:41 I receive not glory from men [I crave no human honor, I look for no mortal fame],
5:45 Put out of your minds the thought and do not suppose [as some of you are supposing] that I will accuse you before the Father. There is one who accuses you-it is Moses, the very one on whom you have built your hopes [in whom you trust].
5:46 For if you believed and relied on Moses, you would believe and rely on Me, for he wrote about Me [personally].
5:47 But if you do not believe and trust his writings, how then will you believe and trust My teachings? [How shall you cleave to and rely on My words?]
So the law could not save any person, neither could it produce faith. If the people in the Old Covenant believed the testimony of the Law and the Prophets, they would’ve recognised Jesus as the Christ. The law didn’t produce faith, but hope in the One Who was to come.
Psalms 78 verse 4 said that they had to carefully tell their children of the miracles that happened when the law still had glory, otherwise their children would have no hope in a Saviour which was still to come. The reason they needed to hear about the former works of glory, is because all the glory had faded, and there were no miraculous works for them to witness themselves at that time. The testimony was supposed to bring hope to Israel. Hope in a Saviour that would come in the future to save mankind.
Verse 7 says:
78:7 That they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but might keep His commandments
The law and the prophets was intended to bring hope to Israel. It didn’t bring faith, but hope. Hope is something for the future; something which would surely come in the distant future. If one would believe the testimony of the Law and the Prophets in the time of the Old Covenant, hope would arise of a Saviour that was to come. The people who didn’t believe the testimony of the law and the prophets, had no hope. They therefore saw the law as a means to achieve their own righteousness for themselves, like the Pharisees in John 5, who thought the scriptures would bring them eternal life by doing them in their own strength, in stead of hoping and waiting for the One Who was to come. That is why they did not recognize Him when He came. They were blinded by their consciousness of themselves and their own sin.
1 Cor 1:21-24
1:21 For when the world with all its earthly wisdom failed to perceive and recognize and know God by means of its own philosophy, God in His wisdom was pleased through the foolishness of preaching [salvation, procured by Christ and to be had through Him], to save those who believed (who clung to and trusted in and relied on Him).
1:22 For while Jews [demandingly] ask for signs and miracles and Greeks pursue philosophy and wisdom,
1:23 We preach Christ (the Messiah) crucified, [preaching which] to the Jews is a scandal and an offensive stumbling block [that springs a snare or trap], and to the Gentiles it is absurd and utterly unphilosophical nonsense.
1:24 But to those who are called, whether Jew or Greek (Gentile), Christ [is] the Power of God and the Wisdom of God.
Now the hope the people in the old covenant had, was different from the hope we have today as Christians who are born from above. That which they hoped for, we now have. Those who believed the testimony of the law and the prophets, who did not seek to establish their own righteousness, hoped in the Messiah that would come. Their faith in the testimony was counted to them as righteousness. Their faith however, could not produce miracles, but hope.
That which they hoped for has now come. Jesus came and He has made His dwelling in our hearts. We now have Him. We don’t hope for Him to come. He came! So the best the law could do was to produce a hope in the hearts of those who believed the testimony of Moses and the Prophets.
Today, after Christ came, we would be deceived to hope in the Messiah that is to come. We can’t hope for Him to come, because He came already! So we can’t look at the law and think we must do its demands until He comes. The law was intended to keep the Israelites busy until Christ came. He came! The law and the prophets have been fulfilled (Rom 10:4).
The second coming of Christ is very different from the first. The first time around, He came as Messiah to save the world from the dominion of sin. He will not come as Messiah again, because He died once for all for the sin of the world already. He already came as Messiah. He will not have to suffer yet again for our sins, otherwise His first sufferings would be made void (Heb 9:25-26).
Heb 9:28
9:28 Even so it is that Christ, having been offered to take upon Himself and bear as a burden the sins of many once and once for all, will appear a second time, not to carry any burden of sin nor to deal with sin, but to bring to full salvation those who are [eagerly, constantly, and patiently] waiting for and expecting Him.
The message of the Gospel produces glory in our lives. This glory needs to take over. This light needs to swallow up darkness. Life needs to swallow up death. The message of the cross will bring us who believe to full salvation. It will bring the full manifestation of His glory in our lives, so that we might resemble Him, and be like Him. He will not come again before we resemble Him. When Jesus comes, His salvation will have perfected us in manifestation. His second coming will affirm that the salvation is complete in manifestation. He finished His work on the cross already. Now this message of what He had done is working the fruit of the Spirit in us until we are changed into His glory, and revealed as sons of God.
1 John 3:2-3
3:2 Beloved, we are [even here and] now God's children; it is not yet disclosed (made clear) what we shall be [hereafter], but we know that when He comes and is manifested, we shall [as God's children] resemble and be like Him, for we shall see Him just as He [really] is.
3:3 And everyone who has this hope [resting] on Him cleanses (purifies) himself just as He is pure (chaste, undefiled, guiltless).
So we have a hope that we will be completely saved and brought to complete glory. This hope is turned into reality by faith. Faith is produced by hearing the Gospel. So the more we hear the true Gospel, the more we will resemble Christ. The more we hear what He did the first time He came, the more we will be doing His works, manifesting His glory, and be turned into His image, which will ultimately hasten His second coming. He will not come until we resemble Him. The only way is for the message of the Gospel to change us on the inside.
Our hope is different from the hope of the Old Covenant. They waited for the Messiah to come and deal with sin. We wait for the full redemption of our bodies. We wait for the full manifestation of the glory of God in our bodies, and all over the earth, so that we resemble Him perfectly in manifestation. This is our hope. Christ in us is the hope of Glory!
We now have the realization and manifestation of what the people in the Old Covenant hoped for. Now that He has come, we have Him. We have the realization of the promise. We have the manifestation of that which was hoped for. That’s why Heb 11:1 says
11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith has come (Gal 3:23). We have the Good News of the cross of Christ. He did now come, and the promises are fulfilled, because Christ is the end of the law and the fulfillment of its types (Rom10:4). The message of the cross of Christ now produces faith in Christ. Faith is not something for the future. It is something which is for the present time. Faith operates in the present tense. So if I pray that God will one day use me, I am stuck in the old covenant and the law. If I believe the Gospel, and act in faith, my hands will continually be on the sick, and faith in Christ who has already come will heal the sick. Faith is the substance for the things the old covenant believers hoped for. The evidence of the unseen! This means that the faith we have in the New Testament produces the proof of what God has promised in the Old Covenant. What has He promised?
Isaiah 53
53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, [there is] no beauty that we should desire him.
53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were [our] faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
53:5 But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
53:9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither [was any] deceit in his mouth.
53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put [him] to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see [his] seed, he shall prolong [his] days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
53:12 Therefore will I divide him [a portion] with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
For them, believing meant hope, and something to look forward to. For us, it means the reality of the promises. If we believe this scripture now today, and see its fulfillment in Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, we will see the sick healed, and condemnation will leave our hearts. It’s for now. Is 53 produced hope for the Old Covenant people, but it produces faith for New Testament Believers; faith which is full of glory, and which produces miracles and healings.
The hope we have in Christ, is different than the hope they had in the Messiah. To us He said that He will never leave us, nor forsake us. This couldn’t have been for the people of old, because He had not visited them yet in the first place, let alone leave them! We have a hope that the ever increasing and abiding glory of the New Testament and grace will take over and change the hearts of people. This hope is manifested and brought to reality by faith in the message of the finished work of Christ on the cross. This hope becomes a reality as we preach Christ crucified, and as faith comes to us by hearing this message of the cross of Christ, for faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom10:17).
Believing the Gospel will make the New Testament Believer to go into action and act by faith in Christ who already came, to prove and manifest to the world of today that our hope of Glory is true. To bring the things that we do not yet see into the seen realm, so that they can believe that God has sent us.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. (Rom 10:17). We preach Christ crucified (1 Cor 1:23). This Word will produce faith that is able to move mountains and heal the sick. I already experience the reality of this in a certain measure in my own life. Just last night the Lord Jesus Christ did miracles and healed people in the hospital under my hands. Their pains just vanished, and immediately they glorified and praised God! I already see a little bit of the power moving. But this power and glory will abide and it will only increase until the whole world is filled with the glory.
The supernatural life is by faith, not hope. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom 10:17). Our hopes are brought into reality by faith, which comes by hearing and hearing and hearing the message of Christ crucified. In other words, glory (or miracles) which is our hope, will manifest as we hear the Truth of what Jesus did on the cross.
Doom and gloom is not going to prevail on the earth in the future. We do not have a hope of destruction. We have a hope of glory. The glory of God will take over and fill the earth. That is our hope. God is not going to take us out of the world (John 17:15). God will rather keep us alive in the world, and protect us from evil. He will do signs, wonders and miracles through us, and He will show His power and glory to the world through us, so that all the imperfections of the world can be changed and recreated, and so that the Kingdom of God, and the abiding and ever increasing Glory of Heaven can be established on this earth. This is what creation is groaning for (Rom8:22). This is our hope: that the Glory of God will manifest through us on the earth until we resemble Him in manifestation.
Rom 8:22-32
8:22 We know that the whole creation [of irrational creatures] has been moaning together in the pains of labor until now.
8:23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves too, who have and enjoy the firstfruits of the [Holy] Spirit [a foretaste of the blissful things to come] groan inwardly as we wait for the redemption of our bodies [from sensuality and the grave, which will reveal] our adoption (our manifestation as God's sons).
8:24 For in [this] hope we were saved. But hope [the object of] which is seen is not hope. For how can one hope for what he already sees?
8:25 But if we hope for what is still unseen by us, we wait for it with patience and composure.
8:26 So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.
8:27 And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God's will.
8:28 We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.
8:29 For those whom He foreknew [of whom He was aware and loved beforehand], He also destined from the beginning [foreordaining them] to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness], that He might become the firstborn among many brethren.
8:30 And those whom He thus foreordained, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified (acquitted, made righteous, putting them into right standing with Himself). And those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity and condition or state of being].
8:31 What then shall we say to [all] this? If God is for us, who [can be] against us? [Who can be our foe, if God is on our side?]
8:32 He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?
Our hope is the glory of God which is going to manifest in our bodies, and bring us to complete perfection in manifestation. Our hope is that God will manifest His glory fully in and through us. This hope can only manifest when we believe the Gospel, because when we believe, faith comes to our hearts, and faith is the substance of the glory to come. The faith that arises in us will inevitably produce glorious miracles and will increase until the fullness of the Light of God is expressed through us.
Job 11:16-18
11:16 For you shall forget your misery; you shall remember it as waters that pass away.
11:17 And [your] life shall be clearer than the noonday and rise above it; though there be darkness, it shall be as the morning.
11:18 And you shall be secure and feel confident because there is hope; yes, you shall search about you, and you shall take your rest in safety.
Psalms 37:6
37:6 And He will make your uprightness and right standing with God go forth as the light, and your justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday.
Zech 2:5
2:5 For I, says the Lord, will be to her a wall of fire round about, and I will be the glory in the midst of her.
Eph 1:15-23
1:15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints (the people of God),
1:16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.
1:17 [For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him,
1:18 By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),
1:19 And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength,
1:20 Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places],
1:21 Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.
1:22 And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church [a headship exercised throughout the church],
1:23 Which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself].
Eph 3:16-19 (Amplified)
3:16 May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].
3:17 May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love,
3:18 That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God's devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it];
3:19 [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!
Eph 3:20-21 (KJV)
3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
3:21 Unto him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Eph 4:11-15
4:11 And His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers.
4:12 His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of ministering toward building up Christ's body (the church),
4:13 [That it might develop] until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the [full and accurate] knowledge of the Son of God, that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's own perfection), the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him.
4:14 So then, we may no longer be children, tossed [like ships] to and fro between chance gusts of teaching and wavering with every changing wind of doctrine, [the prey of] the cunning and cleverness of unscrupulous men, [gamblers engaged] in every shifting form of trickery in inventing errors to mislead.
4:15 Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth [in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly]. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him Who is the Head, [even] Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
Amen!
Bless you!
