love one another, even as I have loved you... By this all men will know...
“Let Your eyes be open to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, to hearken to them in all for which they call to You. For You separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be Your heritage, as You declared through Moses Your servant when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.” (1 Kings 8:52-53)
The word use as heritage here is the Hebrew word nachalah, Strongs # 5159. Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary notes that “the basic translation of nachalah is 'inheritance: 'And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee”' (1 Kings 21:3). The word more appropriately refers to a 'possession' to which one has received the legal claim.” [1]
Vine's Dictionary goes on to note, “Metaphorically, Israel is said to be God’s 'possession': 'But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day' (Deut. 4:20). Within the special covenantal status Israel experienced the blessing that its children were a special gift from the Lord (Ps. 127:3).”[2]
What made the Israelites unique, as commentary notes is that God had made a covenant with them. In a covenant, they “would make solemn vows to one another: 'Everything I have is yours. When you have a battle, I will be there with you in that battle... Your debts are my debts. Your family is my family.'” [3]
The Israelites were called to live separate from the ways of the other nations. Deuteronomy 7:6 says, “For you are a holy and set apart people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a special people to Himself out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.”
In Exodus 19:4-6, the Lord told Moses to tell the Israelites, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation [ consecrated, set apart to the worship of God].”
As God's special people they were to live according to His commands and under the umbrella of His love. Song 2:4 says, “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.”
“For I have nothing without You” sings in the background.
Over and over, it was God's love that carried His people through. Deuteronomy 32:9-13 says, “For the Lord's portion is His people; Jacob (Israel) is the lot of His inheritance. He found him in a desert land, in the howling void of the wilderness; He kept circling around him, He scanned Him [penetratingly]. He kept him as the pupil of His eye.
As an eagle that stirs up her nest, that flutters over her young, He spread abroad His wings and He took them, He bore them on His pinions. So the Lord alone led him; there was no foreign god with Him. He made Israel ride on the high places of the earth, and he ate the increase of the field; and He made him suck honey out of the rock and oil out of the flinty rock.”
God continually kept His eye on Israel and led His people forth in His love for them. Isaiah 49:15-16 says, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands; [O Zion] your walls are continually before Me.”
And it was God's presence that distinguished the Israelites from all other peoples. In Exodus 33:15-16, Moses said to the Lord, “If Your Presence does not go with me, do not carry us up from here! For by what shall it be known that I and Your people have found favor in Your sight? Is it not in Your going with us so that we are distinguished, I and Your people, from all the other people upon the face of the earth.”
It was through the covenant that the people of Israel where also a people of God's presence. Haggai 2:5 says, “According to the promise that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit stands and abides in the midst of you; fear not.”
Zechariah 2:10 says, “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD.”
It was God's presence and power that made the Israelites known to the other nations around them. Numbers 14:14 says, “They [the inhabitants of the land] have already heard that you, LORD, are with these people and that you, LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.”
They were to be a light to draw others to God. Many times in the Bible, when the Israelites came into an area, the people had already heard of them.
When the spies from Israel came to the house of Rahab while spying out the land of Jericho, she told them, “I know that the Lord has given you the land and that your terror is fallen upon us and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the [east] side of the Jordan, Shihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted, neither did spirit or courage remain any more in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.”
People had a fear of the Lord because of the Israelites and then were drawn to know Him for themselves. Solomon saw this and prayed In 1 Kings 8:41-43 for the newly built temple, “Moreover, concerning a stranger who comes from a far country for the sake of Your name [and Your active presence]-- For they will hear of Your great name (Your revelation of Yourself), Your strong hand, and your outstretched arm -when he shall pray in [or toward] this house,
Hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger asks of You, so that all peoples of the earth may know Your name [and Your revelation of Your presence] and fear and revere You, as do Your people Israel, and may know and comprehend that this house which I have built is called by Your Name [and contains a token of Your presence].”
It was the glory of the Lord upon the Israelites as they were set apart for God that made Him evident to other nations. Isaiah 60:1-3 says, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”
“You shine like the Morning Star.... Jesus, what a wonder You are” sings in the background.
As the Old Testament is a shadow of the New Testament, the people of God being set apart as His inheritance, a holy nation and kingdom of priests bringing the good news of the gospel as His glory arises around them and His banner of love over them is a shadow. It is what Jesus brings to us through the covenant we enter into by His blood.
Revelation 1:5-6 says about His end time church, “To Him who ever loves us and has once [for all] loosed and freed us from our sins by His own blood, and formed us into a kingdom (a royal race), priests to His God and Father -to Him be the glory and the power and the majesty and the dominion throughout the ages and forever and ever. Amen (so be it).”
We have been chosen, set apart and adopted as the Father's own children through Jesus. Ephesians 1:4-6,11 says, “Even as [in His love] he chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love.
For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [because it pleased Him as was His kind intent]- [So that we might be] to the praise and the commendation of his glorious grace (favor and mercy) which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved....
In Him we also were made [God's] heritage (portion) and we obtained an inheritance; for we had been foreordained (chosen and appointed beforehand) in accordance with His purpose, Who works out everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His [own will, so that we who first hoped in Christ [who first put our confidence in Him have been destined and appointed to] live for the praise of His glory!”
Brennan Manning writes, “The awesome love of our invisible God has become both visible and audible in Jesus Christ, the glory of the only Son filled with enduring love.” [4]
He goes on to note that the love of Christ is beyond knowledge. Paul prays for us to comprehend this love beyond knowledge in Ephesians 3:17-19, “That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth . And to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” [5]
We are filled up to all the fullness of God as we comprehend His love for us. So often we try to become holy, set apart and transformed by our actions and getting it right (okay speaking of me here). However, it is only His love that can fill us and transform us.
And this love has been poured out freely into our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). The Holy Spirit “is the guarantee of our inheritance [the firstfruits, the pledge and foretaste, the down payment on our heritage], in anticipation of its full redemption and our acquiring [complete] possession of it -to the praise of His glory.”
Commentary notes that by Jesus “believers are sealed; that is, separated and set apart for God, and distinguished and marked as belonging to him. The Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance.” [6]
This commentary goes on to note,” The earnest is part of payment, and it secures the full sum: so is the gift of the Holy Ghost; all his influences and operations, both as a sanctifier and a comforter, are heaven begun, glory in the seed and bud. The Spirit’s illumination is an earnest of everlasting light; sanctification is an earnest of perfect holiness; and his comforts are earnests of everlasting joys.” [7]
The Spirit shines forth in our hearts filling us with His love and transforming us into His likeness. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this come] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.”
And it is God's presence through us and His love poured forth in our hearts that reveals Christ to the world. Isaiah 40:5 says, “And the glory (majesty and splendor) of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.”[a]
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 says, “For God Who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts so as [to beam forth] the Light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God [as it is manifest in the Person and is revealed] in the face of Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.”
As commentary notes, “God does not shine in our hearts simply to give us this knowledge, but rather that through us the knowledge might shine to others. 'We are not the terminals of our blessings or exercises, but the channels.' (Selected)
A Scriptural illustration of this is found in the life of Paul himself. On the road to Damascus, God shone in his heart. He realized that the One whom he had hated and who he thought was buried in a Judean tomb was the Lord of glory. From that day he went out to spread the light of the knowledge of the glory of God as it is found in the face of Jesus Christ.”[8]
“With unveiled eyes they see Your glory” sings in the background.
As Paul went out to spread the gospel, it was not just with persuasive words, but in demonstration of the Spirit's power (1 Cor. 2:4). Paul says in Romans 15:19, "[Even as my preaching has been accompanied] with the power of signs and wonders, [and all of it] by the pwoer of the Holy Spirit. [The reuslt is] that starting from Jersualem and as far round as Illyricum, I have fully preached the Gospel [faithfully executing, accomplishing, carrying out to the full the good news] of Christ (the Messiah) in its entirety."
Jesus was given as a covenant to the people, not just so people could 'hear' the good news preached, but that it could be demonstrated in power. Isaiah 41:6-7 says, "I will give You [Jesus] for a covenant to the poeple [Israel], for a light to the nations [Gentiles], to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness from the prison."
One article notes that God's glory is a manifestation of His power that reveals His love. [9] This article notes, “The Hebrew word for “glory” is Kabod; it basically means weight. In science it would be the mass of an object of matter. It is the substance of a person or thing. For God, it is who He is, His character and power. We know that God is love, (1stJohn 4:16); love is God’s character and power. God’s glory manifests and reveals His love.
Moses asked God to see His glory. This was God’s reply, 'I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion' (Exodus 33:19).” [10]
“That we would be burning and shining lamps... Open up the heavens Lord, let Your power go forth to open up every prison door” sings.
The article I noted above mentions, all the “signs, wonders, and miracles that Jesus did were manifestations of the glory of God, manifestations of His love and power. This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. (John 2:11)
The needs of people are an opportunity to reveal and manifest God’s glory, His compassion. When Jesus heard that, He said, 'This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.' (John 11:4) As Jesus moved with compassion the power and love of God was revealed. And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. (Matthew 14:14)” [11]
The article I noted above mentions, “As ministers of the New Covenant we are to reveal God’s glory, His compassionate and powerful love to a world in need. 'Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. (Isaiah 58:6-8)” [12]
One manifestation of God's power that reveals His love and compassion is healing. Jesus frequently brought healing to those He encountered. Brennan Manning writes, “Healing becomes the opportunity to pass off to another human being what I have received from the Lord Jesus; namely His unconditional acceptance of me as I am, not as I should be.” [13]
He goes on to note that inner healing of the heart often occurs in another through the touch of affirmation. He writes, “To affirm a person is to see the good in them that they cannot see in themselves and to repeat it in spite of appearances to the contrary.” [14]
He notes that affirming someone and calling the good out of them despite their weaknesses is not “some Pollyanna optimism” that is blind to reality. Rather, he writes, “When a person is evoked for who she is, not who she is not, the most often result will be the inner healing of her heart through the touch of affirmation. [15]
'Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. (Phil. 4:8 NASB)” [16]
Brennan goes on to note that when we read the Gospels carefully, we notice the extraordinary gift He had to not only bring physical healing, but inner healing to the soul. Brennan refers to Zacchaeus, who had climbed up a tree to see Jesus. Where everyone else isolated and shunned Him, Jesus invited Himself to his house for dinner. [17]
The woman caught in adultery, Mary Magdalene and the woman at the well were also examples of Jesus bringing inner healing to those around Him by treating them with dignity and respect. Jesus saw something more in the people around Him than what was on the surface. And He took the time and effort to call it out of them.
“You could not bear the distance any longer, so You came down and took on flesh” sings in the background.
Brennan asks, “Is there a Zacchaeus in your life? Somebody that everybody's given up on? Judged incapable of any further good?” [18]
As Brennan goes on to note, we are not identified as His disciples because we wear a cross, don't swear or go to church. He writes, “No, you'll be identified as His by one sign only: the deep and delicate respect for one another, the cordial love impregnated with reverence for the sacred dimension of the human personality because of the mysterious substitution of Christ for the Christian...
'A new commandment I give you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you... By this all men will know' (John 13:34-35 NASB).” [19]
Lord, when I think about the people who have most impacted my life, it has been those who loved me when I have been undeserving and those who have believed in me. They saw, affirmed and called something out of me. I wouldn't be where I am today without them in my life. I am so deeply grateful for each one of them. I long to be more like this myself.
Lord, would you give us eyes to see beyond the surface? Would you fill our hearts with Your love and empower us to see and call out life in others. Give us eyes to see and hearts to heal the Zacchaeus' and Mary's around us. Fill our hearts with your compassion that we may manifest your love and display your glory to the world around us.
"And love, love is the only way, the way the kingdom comes... and love, love it will conquer all, this is our weapon of goodness" sings.
a. Commentary notes, “The ultimate revelation of the glory of the Lord will be in His glorious kingdom (60:2; Zeph. 3:14–17), where the Savior King dwells in the presence of His people for all eternity (Rev. 22:1–5)” [20]
1. Vine, W. E. ; Unger, Merrill F. ; White, William: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville : T. Nelson, 1996, S. 1:121
2. Vine, W. E. ; Unger, Merrill F. ; White, William: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville : T. Nelson, 1996, S. 1:121
3. Mulinde, John with Daniel, Mark. The Wake-Up Call: To Radically Abandon Our Lives To God. World Trumpet Mission. Orlando, Fl. 2011
4-5,13-19. Manning, Brennan. the furious longing of God. David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO. 2009.
6-7. Henry, Matthew: Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible : Complete and Unabridged in One Volume. Peabody : Hendrickson, 1996, c1991, S. Eph 1:3
8. MacDonald, William ; Farstad, Arthur: Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. 2 Co 4:6
9-10, 12. Seek God Ministries. “The Glory of God: the manifestation and revelation of His love.” Located at: http://www.seekgod.org/message/gloryofgod.html. Last Accessed: 11/15/11.
20. Radmacher, Earl D. ; Allen, Ronald Barclay ; House, H. Wayne: Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary. Nashville : T. Nelson Publishers, 1999, S. Is 40:5-6
The word use as heritage here is the Hebrew word nachalah, Strongs # 5159. Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary notes that “the basic translation of nachalah is 'inheritance: 'And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee”' (1 Kings 21:3). The word more appropriately refers to a 'possession' to which one has received the legal claim.” [1]
Vine's Dictionary goes on to note, “Metaphorically, Israel is said to be God’s 'possession': 'But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day' (Deut. 4:20). Within the special covenantal status Israel experienced the blessing that its children were a special gift from the Lord (Ps. 127:3).”[2]
What made the Israelites unique, as commentary notes is that God had made a covenant with them. In a covenant, they “would make solemn vows to one another: 'Everything I have is yours. When you have a battle, I will be there with you in that battle... Your debts are my debts. Your family is my family.'” [3]
The Israelites were called to live separate from the ways of the other nations. Deuteronomy 7:6 says, “For you are a holy and set apart people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a special people to Himself out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.”
In Exodus 19:4-6, the Lord told Moses to tell the Israelites, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation [ consecrated, set apart to the worship of God].”
As God's special people they were to live according to His commands and under the umbrella of His love. Song 2:4 says, “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.”
“For I have nothing without You” sings in the background.
Over and over, it was God's love that carried His people through. Deuteronomy 32:9-13 says, “For the Lord's portion is His people; Jacob (Israel) is the lot of His inheritance. He found him in a desert land, in the howling void of the wilderness; He kept circling around him, He scanned Him [penetratingly]. He kept him as the pupil of His eye.
As an eagle that stirs up her nest, that flutters over her young, He spread abroad His wings and He took them, He bore them on His pinions. So the Lord alone led him; there was no foreign god with Him. He made Israel ride on the high places of the earth, and he ate the increase of the field; and He made him suck honey out of the rock and oil out of the flinty rock.”
God continually kept His eye on Israel and led His people forth in His love for them. Isaiah 49:15-16 says, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands; [O Zion] your walls are continually before Me.”
And it was God's presence that distinguished the Israelites from all other peoples. In Exodus 33:15-16, Moses said to the Lord, “If Your Presence does not go with me, do not carry us up from here! For by what shall it be known that I and Your people have found favor in Your sight? Is it not in Your going with us so that we are distinguished, I and Your people, from all the other people upon the face of the earth.”
It was through the covenant that the people of Israel where also a people of God's presence. Haggai 2:5 says, “According to the promise that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit stands and abides in the midst of you; fear not.”
Zechariah 2:10 says, “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD.”
It was God's presence and power that made the Israelites known to the other nations around them. Numbers 14:14 says, “They [the inhabitants of the land] have already heard that you, LORD, are with these people and that you, LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.”
They were to be a light to draw others to God. Many times in the Bible, when the Israelites came into an area, the people had already heard of them.
When the spies from Israel came to the house of Rahab while spying out the land of Jericho, she told them, “I know that the Lord has given you the land and that your terror is fallen upon us and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the [east] side of the Jordan, Shihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted, neither did spirit or courage remain any more in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.”
People had a fear of the Lord because of the Israelites and then were drawn to know Him for themselves. Solomon saw this and prayed In 1 Kings 8:41-43 for the newly built temple, “Moreover, concerning a stranger who comes from a far country for the sake of Your name [and Your active presence]-- For they will hear of Your great name (Your revelation of Yourself), Your strong hand, and your outstretched arm -when he shall pray in [or toward] this house,
Hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger asks of You, so that all peoples of the earth may know Your name [and Your revelation of Your presence] and fear and revere You, as do Your people Israel, and may know and comprehend that this house which I have built is called by Your Name [and contains a token of Your presence].”
It was the glory of the Lord upon the Israelites as they were set apart for God that made Him evident to other nations. Isaiah 60:1-3 says, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”
“You shine like the Morning Star.... Jesus, what a wonder You are” sings in the background.
As the Old Testament is a shadow of the New Testament, the people of God being set apart as His inheritance, a holy nation and kingdom of priests bringing the good news of the gospel as His glory arises around them and His banner of love over them is a shadow. It is what Jesus brings to us through the covenant we enter into by His blood.
Revelation 1:5-6 says about His end time church, “To Him who ever loves us and has once [for all] loosed and freed us from our sins by His own blood, and formed us into a kingdom (a royal race), priests to His God and Father -to Him be the glory and the power and the majesty and the dominion throughout the ages and forever and ever. Amen (so be it).”
We have been chosen, set apart and adopted as the Father's own children through Jesus. Ephesians 1:4-6,11 says, “Even as [in His love] he chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love.
For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [because it pleased Him as was His kind intent]- [So that we might be] to the praise and the commendation of his glorious grace (favor and mercy) which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved....
In Him we also were made [God's] heritage (portion) and we obtained an inheritance; for we had been foreordained (chosen and appointed beforehand) in accordance with His purpose, Who works out everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His [own will, so that we who first hoped in Christ [who first put our confidence in Him have been destined and appointed to] live for the praise of His glory!”
Brennan Manning writes, “The awesome love of our invisible God has become both visible and audible in Jesus Christ, the glory of the only Son filled with enduring love.” [4]
He goes on to note that the love of Christ is beyond knowledge. Paul prays for us to comprehend this love beyond knowledge in Ephesians 3:17-19, “That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth . And to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” [5]
We are filled up to all the fullness of God as we comprehend His love for us. So often we try to become holy, set apart and transformed by our actions and getting it right (okay speaking of me here). However, it is only His love that can fill us and transform us.
And this love has been poured out freely into our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). The Holy Spirit “is the guarantee of our inheritance [the firstfruits, the pledge and foretaste, the down payment on our heritage], in anticipation of its full redemption and our acquiring [complete] possession of it -to the praise of His glory.”
Commentary notes that by Jesus “believers are sealed; that is, separated and set apart for God, and distinguished and marked as belonging to him. The Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance.” [6]
This commentary goes on to note,” The earnest is part of payment, and it secures the full sum: so is the gift of the Holy Ghost; all his influences and operations, both as a sanctifier and a comforter, are heaven begun, glory in the seed and bud. The Spirit’s illumination is an earnest of everlasting light; sanctification is an earnest of perfect holiness; and his comforts are earnests of everlasting joys.” [7]
The Spirit shines forth in our hearts filling us with His love and transforming us into His likeness. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this come] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.”
And it is God's presence through us and His love poured forth in our hearts that reveals Christ to the world. Isaiah 40:5 says, “And the glory (majesty and splendor) of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.”[a]
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 says, “For God Who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts so as [to beam forth] the Light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God [as it is manifest in the Person and is revealed] in the face of Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.”
As commentary notes, “God does not shine in our hearts simply to give us this knowledge, but rather that through us the knowledge might shine to others. 'We are not the terminals of our blessings or exercises, but the channels.' (Selected)
A Scriptural illustration of this is found in the life of Paul himself. On the road to Damascus, God shone in his heart. He realized that the One whom he had hated and who he thought was buried in a Judean tomb was the Lord of glory. From that day he went out to spread the light of the knowledge of the glory of God as it is found in the face of Jesus Christ.”[8]
“With unveiled eyes they see Your glory” sings in the background.
As Paul went out to spread the gospel, it was not just with persuasive words, but in demonstration of the Spirit's power (1 Cor. 2:4). Paul says in Romans 15:19, "[Even as my preaching has been accompanied] with the power of signs and wonders, [and all of it] by the pwoer of the Holy Spirit. [The reuslt is] that starting from Jersualem and as far round as Illyricum, I have fully preached the Gospel [faithfully executing, accomplishing, carrying out to the full the good news] of Christ (the Messiah) in its entirety."
Jesus was given as a covenant to the people, not just so people could 'hear' the good news preached, but that it could be demonstrated in power. Isaiah 41:6-7 says, "I will give You [Jesus] for a covenant to the poeple [Israel], for a light to the nations [Gentiles], to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness from the prison."
One article notes that God's glory is a manifestation of His power that reveals His love. [9] This article notes, “The Hebrew word for “glory” is Kabod; it basically means weight. In science it would be the mass of an object of matter. It is the substance of a person or thing. For God, it is who He is, His character and power. We know that God is love, (1stJohn 4:16); love is God’s character and power. God’s glory manifests and reveals His love.
Moses asked God to see His glory. This was God’s reply, 'I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion' (Exodus 33:19).” [10]
“That we would be burning and shining lamps... Open up the heavens Lord, let Your power go forth to open up every prison door” sings.
The article I noted above mentions, all the “signs, wonders, and miracles that Jesus did were manifestations of the glory of God, manifestations of His love and power. This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. (John 2:11)
The needs of people are an opportunity to reveal and manifest God’s glory, His compassion. When Jesus heard that, He said, 'This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.' (John 11:4) As Jesus moved with compassion the power and love of God was revealed. And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. (Matthew 14:14)” [11]
The article I noted above mentions, “As ministers of the New Covenant we are to reveal God’s glory, His compassionate and powerful love to a world in need. 'Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. (Isaiah 58:6-8)” [12]
One manifestation of God's power that reveals His love and compassion is healing. Jesus frequently brought healing to those He encountered. Brennan Manning writes, “Healing becomes the opportunity to pass off to another human being what I have received from the Lord Jesus; namely His unconditional acceptance of me as I am, not as I should be.” [13]
He goes on to note that inner healing of the heart often occurs in another through the touch of affirmation. He writes, “To affirm a person is to see the good in them that they cannot see in themselves and to repeat it in spite of appearances to the contrary.” [14]
He notes that affirming someone and calling the good out of them despite their weaknesses is not “some Pollyanna optimism” that is blind to reality. Rather, he writes, “When a person is evoked for who she is, not who she is not, the most often result will be the inner healing of her heart through the touch of affirmation. [15]
'Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. (Phil. 4:8 NASB)” [16]
Brennan goes on to note that when we read the Gospels carefully, we notice the extraordinary gift He had to not only bring physical healing, but inner healing to the soul. Brennan refers to Zacchaeus, who had climbed up a tree to see Jesus. Where everyone else isolated and shunned Him, Jesus invited Himself to his house for dinner. [17]
The woman caught in adultery, Mary Magdalene and the woman at the well were also examples of Jesus bringing inner healing to those around Him by treating them with dignity and respect. Jesus saw something more in the people around Him than what was on the surface. And He took the time and effort to call it out of them.
“You could not bear the distance any longer, so You came down and took on flesh” sings in the background.
Brennan asks, “Is there a Zacchaeus in your life? Somebody that everybody's given up on? Judged incapable of any further good?” [18]
As Brennan goes on to note, we are not identified as His disciples because we wear a cross, don't swear or go to church. He writes, “No, you'll be identified as His by one sign only: the deep and delicate respect for one another, the cordial love impregnated with reverence for the sacred dimension of the human personality because of the mysterious substitution of Christ for the Christian...
'A new commandment I give you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you... By this all men will know' (John 13:34-35 NASB).” [19]
Lord, when I think about the people who have most impacted my life, it has been those who loved me when I have been undeserving and those who have believed in me. They saw, affirmed and called something out of me. I wouldn't be where I am today without them in my life. I am so deeply grateful for each one of them. I long to be more like this myself.
Lord, would you give us eyes to see beyond the surface? Would you fill our hearts with Your love and empower us to see and call out life in others. Give us eyes to see and hearts to heal the Zacchaeus' and Mary's around us. Fill our hearts with your compassion that we may manifest your love and display your glory to the world around us.
"And love, love is the only way, the way the kingdom comes... and love, love it will conquer all, this is our weapon of goodness" sings.
a. Commentary notes, “The ultimate revelation of the glory of the Lord will be in His glorious kingdom (60:2; Zeph. 3:14–17), where the Savior King dwells in the presence of His people for all eternity (Rev. 22:1–5)” [20]
1. Vine, W. E. ; Unger, Merrill F. ; White, William: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville : T. Nelson, 1996, S. 1:121
2. Vine, W. E. ; Unger, Merrill F. ; White, William: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville : T. Nelson, 1996, S. 1:121
3. Mulinde, John with Daniel, Mark. The Wake-Up Call: To Radically Abandon Our Lives To God. World Trumpet Mission. Orlando, Fl. 2011
4-5,13-19. Manning, Brennan. the furious longing of God. David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO. 2009.
6-7. Henry, Matthew: Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible : Complete and Unabridged in One Volume. Peabody : Hendrickson, 1996, c1991, S. Eph 1:3
8. MacDonald, William ; Farstad, Arthur: Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. 2 Co 4:6
9-10, 12. Seek God Ministries. “The Glory of God: the manifestation and revelation of His love.” Located at: http://www.seekgod.org/message/gloryofgod.html. Last Accessed: 11/15/11.
20. Radmacher, Earl D. ; Allen, Ronald Barclay ; House, H. Wayne: Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary. Nashville : T. Nelson Publishers, 1999, S. Is 40:5-6
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