betrayed
-

A New Type of God’s Glory – Suffering

The Three Types Of God’s Glory

The English word glory means to honor, but glory also means the weighty brightness of Gods presence. And thanks to scritpure it can be seen that glory also means the unlimited laying down of life in surrender to Gods life.

All three of these definitions of the word glory are summed up and put on display in Jesus Christ.

If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

1 Peter 4:14

The glory of God is entirely different from the glory of man. When Jesus Christ said “the hour of my glory is here.” in the garden before his trial. It was not when he had the thousands of fans singing around him saying wonderful things. It happened right before a different time, it was before a time of suffering and difficulty, cruelty, betrayal and death.

Instead it went on display when he was setting out to be betrayed, abandoned and mercilessly killed. A new type of God’s glory could be seen (to those with spiritual eyes) when he was being hated by men. It was seen when he was dying in their place, being disfigured, bloodied, spit on, mocked, beaten, betrated, instulted, abandoned, stabbed, provoked and many other horrible things we probably will never fully understand.

The Glory of Man

The glory of man is to rule over others, and to have an empire of others to command. It is also to make our ways known and dominant (leadership vision). And it often involves having others enrich us financially.

But there is a new type of God’s glory in the earth that has been on display since Jesus Christ. He took this aspect of life into himself, for himself and about himself. Have you seen it? It was first seen many years ago but it is still on display now. And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the son of Man to be glorified.” – John 12:23

The word glorified is the greek word doxazo, strongs G1391, to make glorious, to make renowned. Jesus then went on to describe this new glorification that he would encounter in verses 24-26. He defined it with terms like “death”, “whoseover loses his life in this world”, “not my will be done.” Jesus redefined and expanded the word glory here as far as we are concerned. He expanded glory into death, surrender, into unlimited laying down of human life in surrender to God’s life.

Another Type of God’s Glory – Suffering

A new type of God’s glory and greatness was is seen in the person of Jesus Christ, in the laying down of His life. We did not recognize it when we first saw it, in fact this new glory on display went unrecognized by almost everyone. It perplexed the natural man, to this day it is still looked down upon even still by many of his followers, for many it is foolishness.

But NOW we also know the glory of Jesus Christ in suffering? Can you see the glory of God in the laying down of life? Those ones we don’t like and have no patience for? The ones that cause us to quickly leave the room when they enter. Can we see him within the poor and needy?

God’s glory can be seen again…here and now. It is put on display when we lay down our lives for the purpose of Jesus Christ and those he identifies with on earth.

Can we begin to see God’s glory in suffering? In obscurity? Or in the laying down of human life?

more on the Glory of Jesus Christ

Comments 0
-

Healthy Hierarchies or Something Else?

Healthy Hierarchies

I like to study organizations of people, how to make healthy groups. Finding competent leadership, how to affect culture, devising and communicating vision for a group. Increasing levels of trust and genuine good will. No one, in my opinion has better content on this topic than Patrick Lencioni at the Table Group.

Working near the bottom of a large corporation has made this fascinating to me. Lencioni’s book The Advantage is brilliant. If you are a leader of a business or governmental organization you must get this book.

Hierarchies Everywhere

But all the business books and consultants assume one thing …Hierarchies.

Great men on top, lines of hierarchy directing the clueless nobodies on bottom.

The congregation of Jesus Christ, otherwise known as the ecclesia, sometimes translated the church simply is not a hierarchy.

At least if Jesus has any say in the matter it isn’t.

It never was a hierarchy and it never will be, so these hierarchy business principles ought not apply to the goings on of churches.

We can pretend that they do and apply them anyhow and build a religious empire just like the former generations. BUT, does Jesus want that? And if you knew he didn’t how would you respond? Is he Lord among his people gathered for him?

That’s why the largest and famous church leaders. I’m talking about the mega churches with great numbers must move away from Gods plan for his church if they want to be large, wealthy and influential. They are required to if they really want to be big. They must lead in a way that Jesus specifically prohibited among his disciples.

And their successful empire almost always prevents them from turning around.

I mean why would they listen to “some wannabe” nobody who no one is following?

Certainly they must just be jealous as they criticize the leader or his organization.

Often I think Jesus himself is that “wannabe” who no one follows.

Read more on hierarchies here.

Comments 0
-

Be Aggressive About This One Thing

Aggression is not viewed as a positive things these days. Aggressive people are typically not well-liked. I tend to feel the same way about most aggressiveness. However, I think there is one area of life that we ought to be very aggressive, very assertive and very stubborn about. That is to be constantly seeking to know Jesus Christ and his kingdom.

I find an extremely wonderful way to live is to stubbornly and constantly seek to:

  • Know Jesus Christ personally.
  • Know everything about him.
  • Understand how to hear from him right now, so we do not wander off doing our own thing.
  • Tell others all we learn and know about him who have the same heart for him.
  • Listen for him in the ministry and sharing of others.

Never delegate your life’s-focus to anyone else. Take personal responsibility to make sure you are always increasing in the knowledge of him.

Don’t put up with distractions from this internal or external. Distractions that are obviously evil and/ or ones that appear religious and seem good. My definition of a distraction is absolutely anything that shifts ones focus and life-aim off of the person of Jesus Christ.

Any person, any thing, even religious idea, even “ministry visions” (that sound so good) that distracts from that. Consider them to be Satan standing in your way. He smiles and points you over to some attractive distraction.

Be spiritually aggressive toward Jesus and Satan, don’t get passive or lukewarm about knowing him.

Snap out of it, if you love Jesus at all know that he needs people like that. Jesus can build great things with a group of spiritually aggressive people like this.

Lukewarm, spiritually-retired and permanently distracted Christians are some of the most confused people on earth.

“But seek first His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Jesus Christ

There is a reason he said seek first.

Comments 0

Stay Up To Date With Email

​-

I use & recommend Bluehost, buy your domain and hosting here!

Get Adam’s From His Side Book Here! Its about Church Transformaton from Institutional Church to Living Ecclesia

Visitors

  • 53,495 hits

Connect on Twitter

en_USEnglish
en_USEnglish