Beholding God's GLORY

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What does it mean to live in light of the risen Lord? It means beholding the fullness of the GLORY of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

700 B.C.

Isaiah foresaw the fulfillment of the glory of God coming upon mankind when he prophesied, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you...And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” (60:1-3)

Isaiah saw the glory of God arising on people from all nations. God would put His glory upon His people to reflect His beauty and majesty.

1446 B.C.

            With a mighty hand, God delivered Israel from the yoke of Egyptian slavery. In the wilderness He gave Israel instructions to build the Tabernacle so He might dwell in their midst. Inside the tabernacle were two rooms, the holy place and the most holy place. A very thick curtain divided the two rooms. Inside the most holy place God’s Shekinah glory dwelt. There was only one item in this most holy room, the Ark of the Covenant, which held the Ten Commandments, a jar of manna and Aaron’s rod that budded. It had a golden lid called the Mercy Seat. Two golden angles were on either side facing each other and in between these angels God’s presence dwelt on the mercy seat.

            Once a year on the Day of Atonement the high priest would come in and sprinkle the blood of a lamb on the mercy seat to atone for the sins of the people. The priest had to be holy before the LORD and if they were not holy they would drop dead when they encountered God’s holy glory. The high priest had bells sown into his garment (Ex 28:35). If the Levites did not hear the bells ring they knew the priest had died. Year after year sacrifices had to be made to atone for the people's sin.

 A.D. 25

            Nearly thirteen hundred years later, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry during the Passover feast Jesus told the Pharisees to destroy the temple and he would raise it up in three days (John 2:19). The Pharisees were enraged saying, "It has taken forty-six years to build, and will you raise it up in three days?" No one understood that Jesus was talking about His body resurrecting as the new temple. 

            Three years later, on Passover, Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross. Symbolically, He became high priest and entered the Most Holy Place just like the priest did on the Day of Atonement. He was the perfect Lamb who was slain and his blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat to atone for our sins once and for all. Jesus died at the 9^th hour, the very time the Passover lamb was sacrificed and the same time the curtain in the temple tore from top to bottom exposing the Most Holy Place. No longer would God’s presence dwell in the temple, for three days later, Jesus rose as the new temple fulfilling his word spoken to the Pharisees at the beginning of his ministry. Now those who follow Christ are the temple of the Lord. Now Jesus' most Holy Spirit, presence and glory dwell in His followers!

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “…Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
 

2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1 says, “…For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty. Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”

We are the temple of Christ. The glory of God has risen upon us. As we bring holiness to completion in the fear of God, we are transformed into His image from one degree of glory to another. (2 Corinthians 3:18)