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Date Posted: 20:15:39 06/28/00 Wed
Author: SD
Subject: BREAD OF CHRIST THE GLORY


GIVE GOD THE GLORY
JOHN 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.

Man’s glory simply does not last, but God’s glory is eternal; and He has
designed to share that glory with us!

The glory of God means the sum total of all that God is and does. "Glory"
is not a separate attribute or characteristic of God, such as His
holiness, wisdom, or mercy. Everything that God is and does is
characterized by glory.

He is glorious in wisdom and power, so that everything He thinks and does
is marked by glory. He reveals His glory in creation (Ps. 19), in His
dealings with the people of Israel, and especially in His plan of
salvation for lost sinners.

When we were born the first time, we were not born for glory. "For all
flesh is like grass, and all the glory of man like the flower of grass"
(1 Peter 1:24, quoted from Isa. 40:6). Whatever feeble glory man has will
eventually fade and disappear; but the glory of the Lord is eternal.

WE ARE KEPT FOR GLORY
(1 PETER 1:5)
Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be
revealed in the last time.

Not only is the glory being "reserved" for us, but we are being kept for the
glory! Have you sometimes gone to a hotel or motel, only
to discover that the reservations have been confused or cancelled. This
will not happen to us when we arrive with the LORD, for our future home and
inheritance are guaranteed and reserved.


WE ARE BEING PREPARED FOR GLORY
(1 PETER 1:6-7)
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in
heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being
much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire,
might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus
Christ:
We must keep in mind that all God plans and performs here is preparation
for what He has in store for us in heaven.

He is preparing us for the life and service yet to come. Nobody yet knows all
that is in store for us in heaven; but this we do know: life today is
a school in which God trains us for our future ministry in eternity. This
explains the presence of trials in our lives: they are some of God’s
tools and textbooks in the school of Christian experience.


The important thing is that we learn the
lesson He wants to teach us and that we bring glory to Him alone.

Peter illustrated this truth by referring to the goldsmith. No goldsmith
would deliberately waste the precious ore. He would put it into the smelting
furnace long enough to remove the cheap impurities; then he would pour it out
and make from it a beautiful article of, value.

Just as the assayer tests the gold to see if it is pure gold or counterfeit,
so the trials of life test our faith to prove its sincerity.


A faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted! Too many professing
Christians have a "false faith" and this will be revealed in the trials
of life. The seed that fell on shallow soil produced rootless plants, and the
plants died when the sun came up (see Matt. 13:1-9, 18-23). The sun
in the parable represents "tribulation or persecution." The person who
abandons "his faith" when the going gets tough is only proving that he
really had no faith at all.

Job went through many painful trials, all of them with
God’s approval; and yet he understood somewhat of this truth about the
refiner’s fire. "But He knoweth the way that I take; when He hath tried me, I
shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10).

WE CAN ENJOY THE GLORY NOW

(1 PETER 1:8-12)
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet
believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who
prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them
did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the
glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto
themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported
unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost
sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.The
Christian philosophy of life is not "pie in the sky by and by." It carries
with it a present dynamic that can turn suffering into glory today. Peter
gave four directions for enjoying the glory now, even in the midst of trials.

Our love for Christ is not based on physical sight,
because we have not seen Him. It is based on our spiritual relationship with
Him and what the Word has taught us about Him.

The Holy Spirit has poured out God’s love into our hearts (Rom. 5:5), and we
return that love to Him. When you find yourself in some trial, and you
hurt, immediately lift your heart to Christ in true love and worship.
Why? Because this will take the poison out of the experience and replace
it with healing medicine.

Satan wants to use life’s trials to bring out the worst in us, but God wants
to bring out the best in us. If we love ourselves more than we love Christ,
then we will not experience any of the glory now. The fire will
burn us, not purify us.

Trust Christ. We must live by faith and not by sight. Faith means
surrendering all to God and obeying His Word in spite of circumstances and
consequences. Love and faith go together: when you love someone, you trust
him. And faith and love together help to strengthen hope; for where you find
faith and love, you will find confidence for the future.

How can we grow in faith during times of testing and suffering? The same way
we grow in faith when things seem to be going well: by feeding on the
Word of God (Rom. 10:17).

Our fellowship with Christ through His Word not only strengthens our faith,
but it also deepens our love. It is a basic principle of Christian living
that we spend much time in the Word when God is testing us and
Satan is tempting us.

Rejoice in Christ. You may not be able to rejoice over the circumstances, but
you can rejoice in them by centering your heart and mind on Jesus Christ.
Each experience of trial helps us learn something
new and wonderful about our Saviour.

Abraham discovered new truths about the Lord on the mount where he offered
his son (Gen. 22). The three Hebrew children discovered His nearness when
they went through the fiery furnace (Dan. 3). Paul learned the sufficiency of
His grace when he suffered with a thorn in the flesh
(2 Cor. 12).

The joy He produces is "unspeakable and full of glory." This joy is so deep
and so wonderful that we cannot even express it. Words fail us! Peter had
seen some of the glory on the Mount of Transfiguration
where Jesus discussed with Moses and Elijah His own impending suffering and
death (Luke 9:28-36).

Receive from Christ (vv. 9-12). "Believing . . . receiving" is God’s way of
meeting our needs. If we love Him, trust Him, and rejoice in Him, then
we can receive from Him all that we need to turn trials into triumphs.

The same Holy Spirit who taught the prophets and, through them, wrote the
Word of God, can teach us the truths in it (John 16:12-15).
We can learn these truths from the Old Testament as well as from the New
Testament. You can find Christ in every part of the Old Testament Scriptures
(Luke 24:25-27).

What a delight it is to meet Christ in the Old Testament Law, the types, the
Psalms, and the writings of the prophets. In times of trial, you can
turn to the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, and find all that you
need for encouragement and enlightenment.

Yes, for Christians, it is glory all the way! When we trusted Christ, we were
born for glory. We are being kept for glory. As we obey Him and
experience trials, we are being prepared for glory. When we love Him, trust
Him, and rejoice in Him, we experience the glory here and now.

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