THE CROSS EARNED GOD HIS DUE GLORY

 

 

Meditating on the glory of God is edifying, while contemplating our very obvious lack of glory is depressing, if we look at ourselves accurately (Romans 7:18-19). Even contemplating the mysteries of His glory uplifts our hearts, and there are many mysteries:

Hebrews 1:1–4 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

 Here are some of the perplexities. Jesus is already God who doesn’t change (Hebrews 13:8). “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” who even “upholds the universe.” How can He become “superior to angels” if already He is far superior to all of them?

 Oddly, it seems that Jesus had earned a glory that hadn’t been His prior to the Cross:

John 12:23–25 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Surprisingly, the moment of His greatest glory wasn’t when He created the world or even when He returns to set up His everlasting Kingdom.

Hebrews 2:9 …we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

How would His horribly painful and shameful death be glorious? This is something that was necessary for Jesus to accomplish, and the world needed to see It to bring about worship and confession that Jesus Christ is Lord (Psalm 2:6–8):

Philippians 2:9–11 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Isaiah 45:22-25)

Jesus’ sacrifice would even glorify the Father of love who had required this sacrifice and exalted His Son:

 John 17:2–3 “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.  And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

How could Jesus’ Crucifixion bring glory to the Father? For one thing, through the Cross, the Father had sacrificed what was most holy and precious, His beloved Son, to free us from the power of the Devil:

2 Corinthians 4:4,6 …the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God…For 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.

What was this “light of the knowledge of the glory of God?” The death of Jesus for the sins of the world! The Father had also shared in the glory of the Cross by sacrificing His Beloved. However, Jesus didn’t want to go to the Cross. He had been so tormented by His impending fate that he prayed: saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39).

There was no other way! The Apostle John had been given a vision to demonstrate why  Jesus had to die his horrible death. No one could be found worthy to open the scroll. Consequently, the Father’s plan could not proceed as intended. Therefore, John wept:

Revelation 5:5,12 “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals…“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”

Why would this entitle Jesus to receive honor and glory? This was an earned glory, which had to be demonstrated before the world. Why? Jesus is not only God—omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. However, these attributes  aren‘t enough to win our devotion. These fail to prove that God was any more than an all-powerful tyrant. He also had to demonstrate a quality that had only been dimly perceived in the Hebrew Scriptures—that He also so loved the world,” (John 3:16), the fulfillment of all our hopes and heavenly dreams:

Romans 5:8–10 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

We  have such a glorious inheritance, but I had been suffering to such an extent that I was unable to shake the thought that my God might be a sadistic deceiver, and perhaps the Bible was no more than His tool of deception. And I was unable to prove otherwise, and so the doubt remained, and my torment could find no relief, until I realized that a sadistic deceiver would never have gone to the Cross for me. This understanding freed me to begin, once again, to trust my beloved Savior.

At the end of this age, He will reveal his glory once again:

Isaiah 66:19–20…”I will send survivors to the nations…that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. And they shall bring all your brothers [the Jews] from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.”

They will see His glory and be humbled into joyous submission by His love:

Isaiah 52:13–53:4 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind— so shall he sprinkle [cleanse] many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand. Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. (Isaiah 49:22–23, Micah 7:15–16)