Seeing God's Glory

Since the Word became flesh, the Divine Glory has been manifested in Jesus of Nazareth and all who follow him behold it – John 1:14.

Jesus is the Logos in the Gospel of John, the “Word become flesh” in whom the “Glory of God” resides. He is the True Tabernacle foreshadowed by the Tent carried by Israel in the wilderness where the Glory of Yahweh was manifested in impressive but limited ways. The Crucified Messiah is the true and full manifestation of the Glory of the Living God.

It is through this same Messiah that God is redeeming men and women and the creation itself, a process that will culminate with the “arrival” or ‘Parousia’ of Jesus when he raises the dead and overthrows Death once and for all. Then he will usher in the “New Heavens and the New Earth” – (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).

[Photo by Tadej Skofic on Unsplash]

During Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness, the Levites carried the “Tent of Meeting” wherever the Israelite nation went. The Tabernacle was where Yahweh met His people through their priestly representatives, the temporary dwelling place of His presence on Earth, although access to it was limited.

Only Moses, and on only one occasion, was granted the favor of beholding the Glory of God, but he only saw His “backside.” Full exposure to the Divine Glory would have ended the Great Lawgiver’s life then and there - (Exodus 33:17-23, 34:1-6).

The Tabernacle was a temporary structure. Its functions and furnishings foreshadowed the Real Tabernacle. As the Gospel of John confirms, the permanent “Tabernacle” was none other than Jesus of Nazareth, the “Word become flesh.” Moreover, John applies the verbal form of the Greek word for “tent” to the life of Jesus. In His Son, God began to “tabernacle” among His People – (John 1:14).

In Jesus, believers behold the Glory of the one true God and experience His presence. Access to Him is no longer confined to the Temple in Jerusalem, the Tabernacle in the wilderness, or the Levitical priests, nor is it limited to the geographic boundaries of the Land of Canaan or the City of Jerusalem– (John 1:14).

The Ancient Tabernacle and the Jerusalem Temple were “types and shadows” of the reality found in Jesus. The Father is revealed and found in Jesus. Apart from him, there is no accurate knowledge of God.

The Son now “sits” in the very presence of God interceding continually for his “brethren” as their faithful High Priest, having “achieved the purification of their sins” through his “one for all” sacrifice – (Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:14-18, 8:1-6, 10:12).

Thus, every man and woman who believes the words of Jesus “will see the glory of God.” The Son of God is the “way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through him” – (John 11:40, 14:6).

The Father can only be known in His Son. Anyone who knows Jesus has seen the Father and His Glory. The man who beholds the Nazarene “beholds Him who sent me.” No one can experience the presence and knowledge of God without the “word made flesh.” Only in him is the Divine “Glory” manifested openly – (John 12:45, 17:24).

When Philip asked Christ to reveal the Father, Jesus responded: “He who has seen me has seen the Father!” As he declared earlier, he “that believes on me believes not on me, but on Him who sent me”– (John 2:44, 14:7-9).

In Jesus of Nazareth, God's glory is revealed now and forever. He is the living expression of the Life-Giving God. Though the Gospel of John maintains the distinction between Father and Son, they speak and act as one. Jesus declares the words he hears from his Father; the Glory manifested in him is the Father’s Glory.

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SEE ALSO:

• His Superior Word - (God spoke His definitive word in His Son, Jesus of Nazareth. All previous words spoken in the prophets were preparatory, promissory, and partial)

• His Supremacy - (Through a series of comparisons, the letter to the Hebrews demonstrates the supremacy of the Son over his predecessors)

• The Key to Scripture - (Jesus is the interpretive key that unlocks the Hebrew Scriptures, Bible prophecy, and the nature of God)