THE GLORY OF GOD HAS BEEN REVEALED IN CHRIST - PART 2
Sharing in the fullness of God's glory is the "one" unique hope of our high calling in Christ. We are partakers of the glory of the Supernatural and this is because of our union with the Almighty Father and the Son. This glory is a proof of our divine origin. We don't have a glimpse of it; we have access to the fullness because the fullness of Christ resides within us.
Reference: Colossians 1:27 New Living Translation (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."
Notice that the rendering says, "the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too." The word "too" implies that the glory of Christ mentioned above are both for Jews and Gentiles. Christ in you is a mystery! That means, we have become so closely attached to Him that we have an inextricable oneness with Him. So He lives in us and it's a glorious mystery. All born again Christians are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. But that's not the only benefit we have gained. Here's the full benefit: The glory of God is now revealed in you.
In this passage, John 17:21-23, Jesus prayed to the Father - for every Christian believer saying, "I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me" (NLT). This prayer Jesus made was shortly before His arrest and crucifixion. "And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me", means that He was talking about us. Remember "Christ in you" is the Jesus' prayer of being one with us and living in us after His death and resurrection.
The gospel of Christ is the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to the saints. The glory of this mystery is "Christ in you." Since the fall of man, there was no hope of glory until Christ came to earth to die for us and to restore the glory. Now every new creature in Christ is beautified with the glory Jesus had with God before the world began (see John 17:5NIV). In another sentence, the message about Christ Jesus did not just reveal God's plan for the Gentiles, which was kept secret from the beginning of time, it also revealed the glory of God in us.
Beloved, Christ in you is the hope of glory. "Hope of glory" here is not an expectation, rather its the confidence of sharing in His glory now. The (NLT) simplified it better: And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory." Christ being resident in us is the confident assurance that we have access to God's glory. We are no longer in lack or in short of it. The glory has been made known to us by the revelation of Christ in us. Everyone who has received eternal life are thought of or considered as sharers in this glory (see John 17:2). It is also the thought of being "heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." Beloved that's sharing His glory. So we are called to manifest God's eternal glory in Christ. Shalom!
Scripture Reading - Psalm 145:11-12; 1 Chronicles 29:11; Acts 7:55; 1 Thessalonians 2:12.
Exuberant Declaration: Christ in me reveals the glory of God's majesty. I have an inextricable union with the fullness of the Godhead, which springs from the life of God in me; hence I enjoy the bond of glory. It is the evidence of my divine nature, the radiance of my Christian faith, the beauty of my communion with divinity, and my superiority and dominion over the enemy. As Jesus is in the Father, so am I in Christ and Christ in me, always glowing and abiding in the light of ever-increasing glory of God. Hallelujah!
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