In the coming weeks, I will be changing the feel of the blogs. Someone challenged me today to make the blog more about equipping people for the way of Jesus than for the personal uses I sometimes bend it to. So, I need to do some thinking and praying.
I was listening to my daughter’s Christian music CD and the kids were singing the song “We Want to See Jesus Lived High.” While I would agree that I indeed do want to see Jesus lifted high (or glorified, same thing), I am not sure that I agree with the authors as to what Jesus glorified means.
There is a certain ambiguity to the way that Christians of all traditions use the name Jesus. It disturbs me because there is so much people talk about and do “for the glory of Jesus” and I wonder whether we truly understand what we are talking about.
This phrase – the glory of Jesus – appears all over the place in the Christian landscape, from worship songs to hymns, sermons to books; but it is rarely, if ever, explained.
A Charismatic faith healer evokes the name of Jesus, as does a Roman Catholic priest. Both would say they entered their vocation because of Jesus. When one says it, he means he believes Jesus is glorified through the miracles he will perform; when the other says it, he means the liturgy will be performed properly and grace will be granted. Those are two quite distinct views. And what of my own tradition, the Baptists? They often believe Jesus is glorified through ideological and cultural conversion of large numbers of people. (Please forgive the stereotypes in all cases)
Is Jesus’ glory simply the praises of his people? Is it miraculous signs and wonders? Is it conversion?
First of all, we must be plain that Jesus’ glory is not his own. It is given to him by the Father [John 8:54]. Paul reiterates this, nothing that God is “the Father of glory” which is given to Jesus [Ephesians 1:17].
Jesus is always quite clear that his glory draws from his death and resurrection [Luke 24:26, Acts 3:13] and the author of the Gospel of John reiterates it several times [John 7:39, 11:4, 12:16-23, 13:31]. This idea that suffering is a component of Jesus’ glory is echoed in Peter’s words, even tying into the source of Christ’s glory [1 Peter 4:13-14; 5:10].
Peter also points out that Jesus had “subsequent glories” that resulted from his sufferings [1 Peter 1:7]. We must equate this to a two-fold glory – the glory of the resurrection but also his crowning of glory [Hebrew 2:9]. This glory will be visible when we are Christ’s presence [Titus 2:13].
According to the apostle Paul, the church is called to bring glory to Christ [Ephesians 3:21]. This glory is perpetually directed from church to Jesus [Hebrew 13:21]. In fact, we are called into eternal glory [1 Peter 5:10].
But how do we bring glory to Jesus? Again, Paul states it plainly:
Through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. [1 Thessalonians 2:14]
So, in our lives the glory of Jesus is holiness and truth. In other words, living in Jesus’ way and believing Jesus’ word. Elsewhere, Paul strengthens this statement in contrasting the glory of Jesus (which is inherently tied to light) with the darkness of the god of this world:
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the gory of Christ, who is the image of God…God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. [2 Corinthians 4:4,6]
From this, we see that Christ’s glory is the glory of God. As Jesus explained in John 8:54, his glory is a reflection of the Father’s glory. It is the manifestation of God’s glory for the believer.
The primary way Christ is glorified then is through our belief. This is the opening of the door of his glory. Without belief, there is no visible glory. It is hidden to those who do not follow Christ. They might see the glory of the Father as creator in creation, but they cannot see Christ’s glory.
The secondary way he is glorified is through our sanctification or pursuit of holiness. This glory is the visible transformation of the believer that occurs in his words and actions as he follows Christ.
Interestingly, the Christian is not called to glorify Jesus but rather to glorify God the Father through Jesus [Romans 15:16, 1 Peter 4:11]. We are to be glorified with Christ [Romans 8:17], which seems to indicate that when we glorify the Father as Jesus did, we are also glorified.
The indication seems to be that when we emulate Christ, we give the glory to the Father and in doing so, we reflect his glory (i.e. are glorified). This does not mean that we have any glory of our own but rather that we become reflections of His glory. In fact, unbelievers may glorify the Father when believers confess the gospel [2 Corinthians 9:13, 2 Thessalonians 1:12] which reinforces that the glory is of the Father.
All of our Christian pop culture not withstanding, the glory of Jesus is not something we produce by our actions. It something the Father gave to Jesus as a result of the crucifixion and resurrection. Thus, we are a part of his glory only when we live the way of Jesus, trusting his word and acting on it.
Glory is not a warm fuzzy produced by cool music, nor is it the result of us praying a lot and believing it will fall. (By the way, there is not a single place in Scripture where glory “falls”).
Resurrection Sunday (April 12) will feature a special message on the power of the resurrection. As always, come ready to encounter Jesus.