betrayed
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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

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suffering
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Plight of The Christians in Rome

A History of The Christians in Rome

I’ve been studying the history of Rome thanks to the History of Rome podcast. With a keen eye on the Christians in Rome. Many thousands of Christians were murdered for treason in the first, second and third centuries within the Roman empire. Mostly because they would not sacrifice to the Roman gods, often even children suffered and were killed.

Even gentle and well-liked Emperors like Septemius Severus, who ruled from 193 to 211 AD. Were sometimes brutal toward Christians who were considered treasonous. The roman gods like Jupiter were seen as the reason for the past success for the Roman empire. At times leaders would try to revive the faith of the empire by forcing religious sacrifice. For the Romans, religion was first and foremost a social activity that promoted unity and loyalty to the state- a religious attitude the Romans called pietas, or piety.

Promoting loyalty to the state, that is key to understanding most religions of the world.

Principalities And Powers In High Places

The state all over the world even today represents the rulers and powers and principalities in high places otherwise known as the kingdom of Satan. Remember when Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he would just bow down and worship him in the dessert?

When Christians in Rome would not sacrifice to Rome’s pantheon of gods this was viewed as an act of treason.

So powerful were many of these Christians in death and suffering that Rome herself eventually left their other gods.

Despite all the killings the Christian numbers grew to the point that Rome decided to make Christianity her religion. They twisted it in many ways and added things Jesus never added but …

The Roman government officially converted and it was (at least partially) not because of their great preaching and offers of heaven. But because of their willingness to suffer in order to gain Christ. Christ was seen as the wonderful center of Christian lives, alive and well and causing love to flourish. To gain him was the extreme and supreme thing in their lives. Death and suffering was the norm for them and was a part of seeking him. It was part of worshipping him and turning their backs on Satan’s world-system.

Even death can’t stop Jesus living in humanity (when he is really there.) the only thing that has ever hindered him is religious tradition. …. But even that will be overturned by Jesus himself.

Another article involving studies in history.

 

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Making Sense of the Christian Life In One Sentence

I used to believe and teach the following about the Christian life:

  • God wants to bless us materially and emotionally.
  • God has only good things for us.
  • We will walk in strength and prosperity.
  • No weapon formed against us will prosper.
  • God has a great future and a specific plan prepared for our lives.

And the most important one:

  • Faith brings about all of these blessings into our reality.

www.allwallpapersfree.org

Many Christians had a problem with these beliefs as I would share them outside of my like-minded church circle, especially the last one. Believing the above required that I also believe the following:

  • A lack of faith was the reason people didn’t have all these things in their lives.
  • Those not blessed materially and emotionally somehow brought that upon themselves.
  • The bad things in people’s lives were only the weapon of the enemy and were a result of their lack of faith, or their sinful ways.

These beliefs can feed and strengthen the self-righteous mindset.

I have since realized that these beliefs are true but they are incomplete, they don’t fully reflect reality, and therefore they often don’t make sense.

I realized that there is not an ‘either-or’ battle about suffering, pain, lack and Gods blessings that many love to take a side on:

  • Suffering is often a tool used by God to bring people to himself.
  • Suffering is a reality in this world and as we suffer we often are sharing in the sufferings of Jesus Christ.
  • Death to self is a powerful key to Christian maturity.
  • Faith is only one aspect of the Christian life that we develop as we understand the reality of who Jesus Christ is and as we mature.
  • Faith is not and should not be taught as a thing or an attitude in and of itself, faith comes from a revelation of Jesus Christ.
  • Faith is not an independent thing or mindset to strive for and achieve (and then judge people about), that is just self-righteousness.

Making sense of the Christian life in one sentence:

The blessings from heaven, the promise of ‘no weapon formed against you shall prosper’ (Isaiah 54:17), the purpose of God for our lives, our bright future found in God, our life’s calling are all true and available to us but… they are found on the other side of ‘death to self’.

This concept of death to self is explained in 2 Corinthians chapter four.

2 Corinthians 4:10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.  11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death works in us, but life in you.

also

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Blessings and lack, abundance and suffering are both our reality. Both are a part of the gospel, it is not either-or.  Power, blessings, authority, impact, love, family, AND… not getting his way, suffering, losing, weakness, abandonment were true for Jesus Christ and both are often true for us.

They reside on the other side of death to self, they reside on the other side of us not getting our way, on the other side of us not defending ourselves,  on the other side of us accepting our weakness.  On the other side of us not relying on our strengths, and our talents, and our skills.  They reside on the other side of us doing to others as we’d have them do to us.

This truth has huge repercussions for daily life, in our experiences and how we react to the world.

Getting to the other side of death to self is not easy for the strong, or for the talented, or for the young and powerful.  It is not easy for the great-ones among us.

But Jesus Christ will get all of his bride over there…one way or the other.

Please comment below.

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