The Glory of Christ and the Necessity of being
Discipled in the Gospel (summary)
Jay Wegter
The believer is an ‘unveiled one’—he has been shown the glory of the God in the face of Christ (2 Cor 3:17-18; 4:6). He is to continue beholding the glory of the Lord that he might be changed in the likeness of Christ (2 Cor 3:18).
We are indebted to the Puritans for their voluminous writings not only on the pastoral ministry, but also on the essentials of life in Christ lived out daily. And lest we are tempted to accuse them of being stern, stoic, austere, or even legalistic, let us remember that these brethren of ours were some of the greatest champions of grace in all of church history.
This subject of the glory of Christ filled their sermons. They spoke of the necessity of having the regular revelation of the glory of Christ in order to have a healthy local church. The glory of Christ is His equipment to save. The glory of Christ is the dignity of His Person. The glory of Christ is His infinite love and humility that made Him willing to go to the cross for sinners. The glory of Christ is the concentration of the Godhead with all of the divine perfections resident in a human being.
Scripture tells us that beholding the glory of Christ transforms us into His likeness—and it does so incrementally. For in beholding the glory of Christ we see the heart of God, see His character, see that He is for us (not withholding His only Son). When we behold the glory of Christ we see our destiny, our King who is our High Priest. We see God’s glory and our endless good joined together in one Person, our Lord Jesus Christ.
We were created to be enthusiastic spectators of excellence. We each have a ‘turning radar’ so to speak constantly turning—looking for excellence to praise and adore. Oh how the world is ready to provide a plethora of counterfeits which require no faith to behold. For those created things are perceived by our senses and not by the spiritual sight that comes by faith in God’s Word.
Christ is the ‘food’ of our souls—our ‘daily bread’ so to speak; we feed on Him in order to have communion and fellowship with Him (Jn 6:53-58). Sin has slain us and cut us off from God who is the source of all life, light, blessedness, belonging, security, love and meaning. We are perishing without the gift of Christ. Sin and with it, the legal guilt which demands our judgment—enslaves and harasses us. Because we are fallen sinners, we are skeptical about the existence of unconditional love and because we are sinners, we are receptive of condemnation—receptive in this sense, we have a troubled, defiled conscience which is a place of endless disputes. Oh how we need peace of conscience which can only come from peace with God. Thus to behold the glory of Christ is to receive into the depths of one’s being, the truth that God has based our relationship with Him upon what He has done with our sin through Jesus Christ.