THE GLORY OF GOD HAS BEEN REVEALED IN CHRIST - PART 1

When I mention the topic, "the glory of God has been revealed in Christ", I mean that instead of wrath because of sin, the gift of God's grace has been made available to everyone through Christ, and this enables anyone in Christ to have access to the glory of God. This is the good news of the glorious Gospel of Christ: Through faith in Christ, anyone can be justified and made righteous in God's sight. That way, they can have access to the ever-increasing glory revealed in Christ, which follows their justification as they live for Christ. And this glory is the radiant holiness of God (Hebrews 1:3 NIV).

Reference: Romans 3:22-24 King James Version (KJV) "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus"

Many a time we hear people and also born again Christians quote this Scripture, "for all have sinned and, and come short of the glory of God". So in their mind, no one qualifies fully as the righteous even though they are saved. Many believe that everyone has fallen short of God's glory. This is a very wrong understanding of the above referenced Scriptures because as born again Christians, we have been made right with God by placing our faith in Christ Jesus. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who they are.

So what then did Paul mean when he said, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God"? To understand what he meant, we have to first study the verse before it and the verse after it or maybe the whole chapter. Paul said that the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ is available unto all and upon all them that believe, which means that what Christ did for us on the cross was for all and sundry, regardless of race, tribe or background. Simply put, it was for all people, Jews and Gentiles alike. Having said that, he gave the reason why Christ died for all, which is "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." None of us are sinless, all of us fell short of God's glory but Christ came to restore the glory, by justifying us freely via God's grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

The religious mind interprets it in a sense that the born again Christians are also included among those that have fallen short of the glory of God, but this idea is far from what Paul was teaching here. To explain further, everyone deserved the wrath of God for sin because all the world became guilty of sin before God, as a result of Adam's fall. For this reason, all men inherited the sinful nature from Adam, and thus, came short of the glory of God. But now Christ came to manifest the righteousness of God without the law. Therefore, everyone and anyone being justified freely by God's grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus is restored to glory, no matter the race, tribe or background they come from. Both the Jews and the Gentiles who have received Christ by faith have been made right with God and restored to glory.

Beloved, if you are in Christ Jesus, you are no longer fallen short of God's glory. You are fully restored to glory because you've been made righteous before God, not by your own effort or by following the mosaic law but by His grace. And there is no distinction. Anyone who comes to Christ is restored and reconciled to God. There is no favouritism or difference between any race of human beings. In short, we are now partakers of His glory and can accelerate from one level of it to another. This is why 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV) says, "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

We now reflect the glory of God like bright mirrors, and as we do, we are being transformed into the same likeness, from one degree of glory to another, even as derived from the Lord, who is the Spirit. In Christ, we can bear and reflect God's glory. Through the nature of Christ in us, the Spirit of God transforms us into the image of Christ and we absorb or mirror God's glory as we become like Christ. In other words, as we submit to God and yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit, He removes every veil that keeps us from seeing and beholding His glory, which has been revealed in Christ. This glory causes us to become more and more like Jesus as we are changed by the Spirit over time. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - John 1:14; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Colossians 1:27; Hebrews 1:3.

Exuberant Declaration: I'm alive to God, having been delivered from the realm of sin and transported into the life of righteousness in Christ Jesus through grace. By the quickening power of God's Spirit, I'm daily found in Christ, partaking of His glory and conforming to His image. I have been planted into the realm of His likeness where I manifest His ever-increasing glory. My transition from one degree of divine glory to another is stimulated by the Lord, who is the Spirit. Glory to God!