In the Presence of Christ
"God is spirit, and those who
worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John
4:24).
God is absolutely free from all
limitations of space and time.
God’s essential nature is spirit.
It is with that truth in mind
we would see Jesus with the apostle John in
Revelation 1:17 ff. “God is
spirit.” He cannot be imagined,
and we cannot use anything to help our conception of
Him. Nothing that can be made,
seen, or touched can help us worship a spiritual and
invisible God.
The LORD God dwells in
unapproachable light, the very God of very God, even
Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
To see the face of our Lord Jesus and enjoy His holy
love is to stand in the sun.
John saw Jesus, “the Sun of
Righteousness” (Mal. 4:2).
And His face was like the sun shining in its
strength" (Revelation 1:16b). "When I saw Him, I
fell at His feet like a dead man” (Revelation
1:17b).
It reminds us of the
transfiguration of Jesus when “His face did shine as
the sun, and His raiment was white as the light”
(Matt. 17:2).
John saw in His vision the
risen, glorified, and exalted Son of God as our
Priest – King reigning in glory.
Jesus Christ is our Lord of glory.
It is very significant in this
context that the titles applied to The Risen Jesus
are Old Testament descriptions of God.
At the beginning of His
revelation to the apostle John, Jesus revealed
Himself in majestic glory. He is
seen “high and lifted up, exalted as the King of
Kings and Lord of Lords.”
No sinful man can stand before
the Lord and live (cf. Acts 26:13-14). The apostle
John says, "When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like
a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me,
saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the
last" (Revelation 1:17). Jesus in
His grace reached down, laid His right hand on John
and said, "I am the living One; and I was dead, and
behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys
of death and of Hades" (Revelation 1:18).
It is a revelation of the absolute Godhead.
In the scriptures everyone who
truly saw God were filled with fear (Isa, 6:5; Dan.
10:8-9, 8:17; Ezek. 1:28; 3:23; 9:8; 43:3; 9:8,
43:3; 44:4; Jud. 13:22; Job 42:5-6). Those who are
brought face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ are
terrified because they realize their sinful
unworthiness to be in His holy presence.
Oh, that you and I be so
changed by dwelling so near to Christ that His holy
presence would so shame and humble us that we would
fall upon our faces and cry, “Unclean!
Unclean!” "He touched my
mouth with it and said, ‘Behold, this has touched
your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your
sin is forgiven’” (Isaiah 6:7).
There is no greater glory than
to behold the face of Jesus Christ.
His own countenance is the center of glory.
Just to think that He loved us
so as to die for us is a surpassing glory of love
and grace. His countenance is set
toward you and me today. When you
see such glory and splendor of the love of God in
Jesus Christ, you can never be the same ever again.
The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ
will be brighter than a thousand suns.
Let Jesus Christ shine in your
heart, and you will love as no man or woman loves.
When the Lord our Righteousness comes, He
brings healing in His wings. No
sin can ever be in His presence.
In His healing we are made strong and pure. “Let the
Lord show His presence and we have reached the
Height of our desires,” Spurgeon said.
What if the risen, glorified
Lord Jesus were to manifest Himself as He really is
in all of His unveiled majesty today?
One glorious morning He will.
Oh, that it were today!
It was C. H. Spurgeon who said,
“He holds Himself in reserve until we are prepared
to receive the amazing bliss of His glorious
manifestations…Oh, cry to Him to show Himself to
you… Oh, for such a vision as should shape my life,
my thought, my whole being till I become like my
Lord! Oh, to see Him so as to be
changed into His image from glory to glory!”
"But we all, with unveiled
face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the
Lord, are being transformed into the same image from
glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit"
(2 Corinthians 3:18).
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
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Unless otherwise noted "Scripture quotations taken from the NASB."
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE" © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://www.bible.org/. All rights reserved.
Wil is a graduate of William Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100 countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek opportunities to be personally involved in world missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
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