GLORY BETWEEN GLORY
I have just returned from a prayer assignment in Israel (which is why this MinistrEmail is so late in the month) and what a time it was! It has left me with a fresh resolve to take my place, and encourage you to take your place, in the call of God.
Strategically the enemy of your soul, the devil, has worked concepts, philosophes, and mindsets into the Church. This is to attempt to sidetrack us from knowing who we are, and whose we are in Christ.
These ‘strongholds’ of thought at times cripple the believer. So today, join with me in a study where we tear down a concept that many steer away from for fear of sounding irreverent.
To begin, we will look at the original intent of God in the making of man.
Genesis 1:26-31 (NKJV) Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Now, we see clearly that right from the beginning, it was God the Father’s plan to have His man, in His image and His likeness. So let me say this….He has never changed from that plan!
Man was designed for dominion as the royal children of God. These words in Genesis were the crowning of man with the glory, which is from God alone. Look with me at the Psalms to see this described in detail.
Psalms 8:4-6 (NLT) what are mere mortals that You should think about them, human beings that You should care for them? 5 Yet You made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. 6 You gave them charge of everything You made, putting all things under their authority—
There it is, God the Father originally crowned His children with Glory and honor. Now, to move forward into our calling and destiny we are going to have to deal with a “Christian” myth!
This myth sounds very humble and religious, but it’s actually a strategic stroke of genius that the devil has deceived the church with for many years. Here is what we hear….”touch not the glory of God.” Or ….”God will not share His Glory with another”
Have you heard these statements? I have, many times, and I understand the basis of it, and we need to very carefully examine this and be Biblically correct and Biblically reverent, so first of all, let’s be clear what we are not saying. We are not glorifying ourselves or taking glory for ourselves. That said, it is God’s plan for us to be a glorious church!
Let’s examine where we see these kinds of statements as mentioned two paragraphs ago;
Numbers 4:15 (NKJV) And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. “These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.
This is the closest I could find to “touch not the glory” and it doesn’t even say that. It says, “touch not any holy thing” and this is in the context of the holy utensils in the sanctuary. If this were still true today we would have to ignore our entry into the Holy of Holies by the Blood of Jesus.
The Book of Hebrews clearly shows over and over how Jesus cleansed us of our sin and even our conscience from dead works, and through that same blood He by His own blood entered the Heavenly Holy of Holies and cleansed it also!
Hebrews 4:16 exhorts us;
Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV) Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
So what other Biblical statements can we look at?
Isaiah 42:8 (NKJV) I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.
Now first we need to look at this in context and see who the Lord is speaking about.
Isaiah 42:1-8 (NKJV) “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. 2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. 4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.” 5 Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, 7 To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. 8 I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.
So it is clear to see that this is a prophetic Psalm concerning Jesus the Messiah.
As we have already seen, man was originally “crowned with glory and honor” and the devil was able to steal that and man lost the glory. Devils and demons have continually tried to get men worshiping and giving glory to them since the concept of man was realized on the earth.
The plan? For God to get His glory back to man through The One Man, Jesus! No one else, but the sinless Son of God.
Hebrews 2:9a (NLT) What we do see is Jesus, who was given a position “a little lower than the angels”; and because He suffered death for us, He is now “crowned with glory and honor.” Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone. 10 God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory.
Now if God went through all that to bring His children into His glory, why would we be so adamant to not be comfortable in the Glory of God? In fact we have confused new believers by telling them “now don’t touch the glory of God!”
Just for good measure lets just take another scripture to confirm for us God’s plan for man in the glory.
Colossians 1:27 (NKJV) To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:27 (NLT) For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing His glory.
So what is it that people mean when they say “touch not the glory of God”? They mean don’t ‘take’ the glory for yourself, don’t take the praise, as if your own strength did anything. Don’t act as if your own holiness achieved anything glorious. And that is absolutely correct. There must be a reverence of His glory and we must, must, always give God the glory for the glory He has given us to operate in!
Now remember that the devil wanted that glory. But man was crowned with it “you have crowned him with glory and honor.” Nowhere in scripture are angels crowned. They can be anointed, as was Lucifer, but never crowned as royalty. That is reserved for God and His children.
Lets read Hebrews 2 from the New Living Translation
Hebrews 2:1-18 (NLT) So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. 2 For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. 3 So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus Himself and then delivered to us by those who heard Him speak? 4 And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever He chose. 5 And furthermore, it is not angels who will control the future world we are talking about. 6 For in one place the Scriptures say, “What are mere mortals that You should think about them, or a son of man that You should care for him? 7 Yet You made them only a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. [You gave them charge of everything You made.] 8 You gave them authority over all things.” Now when it says “all things,” it means nothing is left out. But we have not yet seen all things put under their authority. 9 What we do see is Jesus, who was given a position “a little lower than the angels”; and because He suffered death for us, He is now “crowned with glory and honor.” Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone. 10 God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that He should make Jesus, through His suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation. 11 So now Jesus and the ones He makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them His brothers and sisters.
God “chose to bring many children to glory”. Here’s the truth, you cant legally TAKE the glory, but He can give it to you, so that you operate as His Sons and daughters. As you function that way, you will give Him all the glory and praise!
Why will us functioning in the glory of God, give glory to God? Because the person who religiously say’s “I wont touch the glory” will have to do everything apart from the goodness and power of God. Whenever they achieve anything it will only draw attention to their efforts. The person who ministers under the glory of God will have results that everyone knows had to be God!
So let’s examine the ‘why’ of this. Why does God share His glory with us? It’s a simple answer, we are His children and it is a vital part of our divine DNA.
Romans 8:16-21 (NKJV) The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Now if that were not enough, if you are still struggling and recoiling at the thought of living in the glory of God, listen to Jesus explain it.
John 17:20-23 (NKJV) “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
God gave Jesus the glory, and Jesus gave us, those who believe, the glory, for a purpose…“that the world may believe… that they may be one just as We are one… that the world may know…”
The Church will display the glory of God and function in unity because of that glory. It will be the uniting dynamic of the Body of Christ, because as we function in the supernatural power and Love of God it directs attention to Him.
Let’s read on in Hebrews 2:12-18 (NLT)
12 For He said to God, “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers and sisters. I will praise You among Your assembled people.” 13 He also said, “I will put My trust in Him,” that is, “I and the children God has given Me.” 14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could He set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. 16 We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; He came to help the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore, it was necessary for Him to be made in every respect like us, His brothers and sisters, so that He could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then He could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 18 Since He Himself has gone through suffering and testing, He is able to help us when we are being tested.
Now notice in verse 12 that Jesus said “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers and sisters. I will praise You among Your assembled people.” Now apart from the truth that Jesus loves to get in the midst of our praise, is the identifier of His “people”. The Greek for “assembled people” is ekklesia, being ‘ek’ (out of) and ‘kaleo’ (call). We have been called out and separated, authorized, and transformed into His image.
Jesus became our Brother, ‘made in every respect like us’ so that after His resurrection, He would be the first-born of a whole new creation (of those who believe that resurrection and call Him and make Him Lord). Those He could raise us up to be His brothers and sisters in every respect like Him!
Romans 8:29 (NLT) For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
Romans 8:29 (NKJV) For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Now, in that ‘new’ spiritual state, we take on the same calling as Jesus. We are seated in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus and yet our physical bodies live on earth. Does that mean we just live out our days like everyone else? NO, NO, NO!
The church is not simply a place for people to retreat to, but a place for the Body of Christ to advance from.
It is time for the ‘glorious’ church to arise and receive all that God, though Jesus has invested in us as His Children.
Let’s step up and into that dimension that the Father gave to Jesus and Jesus gave to us!
Believe it and receive it.
P.S. As you sow your offering into this ministry this month, to help us preach the Word far and wide, can I once again encourage you to say this faith confession over your life for this year and beyond.
I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS THE GREAT YEAR FOR WHAT EVER I NEED IT TO BE. I BELIEVE GOD AND HIS WORD, AND I BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A GREAT BREAKING LOOSE OF EVERYTHING I NEED TO FULFILL MY DESTINY IN GOD. I BELIEVE THAT GOD WILL CAUSE THINGS I HAVE BELIEVED FOR TO SUDDENLY MANIFEST AS I FAITHFULLY STAND IN FAITH. IM GOING BACK TO THE COVENANTS OF GOD. IM GOING BACK TO THE WORSHIP AND PRAISE OF GOD AND THE POWER TO HEAL.
- I DECLARE THIS YEAR ‘THE GREAT YEAR’ CONCERNING……….
Blessings and Love
Are you a partner with Christ Ministries International? If not, then please prayerfully consider joining with us in prayer and financial partnership to help us reach as many people as possible in the days ahead with the message that God has placed within our hearts to teach.
Simply contact us: cmifaith@cmifaithconnection. |
| Copyright © 2016 Christ Ministries International
A ministry of Living House Family Church Ltd.
|
You must be logged in to post a comment.