September
5, 2003
WE
BEHELD HIS GLORY
"And
the Word became 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" (John 1:14, NKJV).
God came
to dwell with us in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus took
upon Himself our nature and passed through our experiences.
Since Jesus came to live with us, we can know that God is
acquainted with our trials and troubles and He has demonstrated
His love, compassion, patience, understanding and sympathy
for our grief's and sorrows. He encountered greater trials
and troubles than we will ever be called upon to bear.
As He
went about doing good, and healing all who were afflicted
by sin, suffering, disease and cruelty, He made plain to men
the character of God and the nature of His service. It is
God's purpose to benefit and bless us and to elevate us from
living strictly on the human level to living on the Spiritual
level. By His humanity, Jesus touched humanity; by His divinity,
He lays hold upon the throne of God. As the Son of man, He
taught us and gave us an example of how to live obedient to
the laws of nature and of God, and as the Son of God, He gives
us power to overcome that which weakens and destroys our humanity.
Jesus
said, "This is the will of the
Father who sent Me.. that everyone who sees the Son and believes
in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up
at the last day" (John 6:39, 40). Jesus did not
call attention to the miracles that marked His life. His words
and works revealed His purpose and character.
Jesus,
the child of Bethlehem, is "God -manifested in the flesh"
"The Good Shepherd"
"the living Bread"
"the way, the truth, and the life"
"All authority has been given to
Me in heaven and on earth" (1 Timothy 3:16; John
10:11; 6:51; 14:6; Matthew 28:18). Jesus, "God with us",
(Matthew 1:23), is the surety of our deliverance from sin
and the assurance of our salvation.
It was
not until after Christ's resurrection and ascension to His
Father, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the believers,
that the disciples fully appreciated Christ's character and
mission. As the sayings of Christ were remembered, their minds
were opened to comprehend the prophecies, and to understand
the miracles. The wonders of His life passed before them.
After they had received the baptism of the Spirit, they began
to realize that they had been in the very presence of the
Lord of Glory. They realized that "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."
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