Our Hope of Glory7..23.04

CHRIST WITHIN IS OUR HOPE OF GLORY

 By Arthur J. Licursi

 

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 17:22a And the glory which thou (Father) gavest me I have given them; …

Col. 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Ephes. 1:18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

Ephes. 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

We who have seen this most important truth often quote Colossians 1:27 “…Christ in you, the hope of glory”, emphasizing “Christ in you.” But what is the meaning of, “the hope of glory”?

Hope Defined

“Hope” is elpis, in Greek 1680, Strong’s, el-pece'; from a primary elpo (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstract or concrete) or confidence :- faith, hope.

“Hope” in the Bible is more than a wish. It is an eager anticipation of wonderful things we know is to come. Heb. 6:19 says: “Which hope we have as an anchor to the soul, both sure and stedfast.” The simplest believer in Christ may now rejoice in the anticipation of actually sharing God’s glory, expressing God’s very life. The Creator’s life and glory is now within the regenerated creature.

Glory Defined

The word “glory,” as a noun, is used in various contexts, having differing slants on its meaning, but they may be rooted in this that follows, with regard to God’s glory.

“Glory” taken From Louw & Nida’s Greek Lexicon 79.18 äüîá^{a, çò f: is the quality of splendid, remarkable appearance - ‘glory, splendor.’ ‘even Solomon in all his splendor was not arrayed like one of these’ Matthew 6:29;…}

Another definition for the word “glory” from the Hebrew word, Strong’s 3519, is kaboud, is “to have and give a radiant expression to that which is splendid, copious, and remarkable in appearance, having great weight or substance.” The substance and radiance mentioned here may can only be sourced in God Himself. Genuine glory is with God alone. God Himself is the only glorious One.

Glory’s Source Is Organic – Glory of His Life

Organic simply means “having to do with a life.” We are partakers of Christ’s life (Col 3:4). Now let’s define the word “glory” in very practical words and pictures. I see the word “glory” practically defined by the words “the radiant expression of a life,” thus, it is organic. I would like to provide a practical example describing the meaning of the word “glory” as we consider a flower’s life and ultimate expression of that life. Note in Strong’s definition, above, “glory” sometimes is transliterated as “splendor.” Concerning lilies, Scripture extols the splendor of the lilies’ flower. Flower blossoms radiantly express that splendor of the lilies’ life; it is of the life of their heritage – the parent flower - passed on in the seed of there birth.

· The flower germinates from the seed of its parent plant, which reproduces only “after their own kind” (Gen 1:11-21, 21, 24-25)

Just as the soil receives the seed, we who have received Christ are recipients of His Seeded life into the womb of our human spirit. We who are formed of the dust of the ground, uniquely possess a human spirit (Zech 12:1), which has been made alive (Col 3:4, 1Cor 15:45b, 1Jn 5:11-12) by the dispensing and implantation of the “seed, which is Christ” (Gal 3:16, 1 Pet 1:23), into our human spirit (2Tim 4:22, 1Cor 6:17).

· The flower’s expression comes from the inherent genetics of the life and nature in the seed of its origin. That expression, including the full blossoming of the flower, is in its DNA.

We have received Christ in totality into the womb of our human spirit from the moment of our new birth, at the time of our regeneration. Of Christ John said “God giveth not the spirit by measure unto Him.” We now have the fullness of Christ’s life and nature in our spirit.

1 John 4:17b … as he is, so are we in this world.

· As it grows, the flower cannot help but to achieve the expression of its parent plant. The natural course is that the elements, rains, and sun cause the seed’s shell to break, releasing the life within. Only if it is cut-off from light, water, and food (Christ) is the growth hindered.

· Beyond the flower blossom, the glory or expression of the life of the flower has its fullest expression in the seed of more flowers. Life begets life.

Thus, the flower’s life is also passed on as the one seeded life is dispersed. And so it is with the Christians. We have come to know, experientially, something of “total Christ in us, as us” when we cooperate with Him, permitting His flowing out of us as our … normal life.

Our growth now is according to how Christ’s life within our spirit prevails over our soul and our free will. As Christ prevails within us unto to full blossoming, the seed of His life is manifested, expressed through our lives, Christ as the Seed ultimately becomes dispersed and sown again into those who also may receive Him (John 1:12).

One Glorious Life

There’s only one genuine life, One Christ, one expresser of the Father’s life, therefore One Glorious Seeded life to be passed on – Christ’s life. There are on the stage of life only three, God, man, and Satan. In Adam man shares the fallen, death-life of Satan, passed on in the flesh of man, and in Christ we share the one, glorious, resurrection life of Christ.

As Christians, we on the one hand we have the termination of our old life at the cross (Rom 6:6), but on the other we have the germination of new life, glorious life (Col 1:27, Rom 6:4 “raised up … in newness of life”). Such glory is to have and give expression to all that is of God’s very life, which we have indwelling us by the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:2a).

God’s glory also applies to the believer because … the God of glory indwells them in the person of His Son as the Spirit of life in the believer’s human spirit. Where is God’s dwelling place today, where is His temple? God in the person of the Son of God as the Spirit of life dwells within the human spirit (2Tim 4:22, 1John 4:13) of every God-birthed child of God, who innately and inherently possess the radiant “light of the world.” He then may be expressed as they are submitted to yield to His life and light. If we “have not the Spirit” of life in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:2) “we are none of His” (Rom 8:9).

The Church, which is His corporate body (Eph 1:22-23), may properly be called the glory of God as it becomes the expression of the life of God in Christ by the indwelling Spirit of life. Recall that the glory of God filled the Old Testament Temple. We now, individually, and as the Church, are the temple of God. It is then that the Church is the “glorious Church” (Eph 5:27,) which consists of all we who are its individual members, “the Church, which is His body” (Eph 1:22-23, 1Cor 12:12, 20), may give expression to His life.

Subjective Union with Christ

Let’s now consider how it is that Christ will present the church to Himself as a glorious church. First, objectively, we all should know that the we as members of the Church which is His body are now and forever clean by the blood of Christ and counted made righteous by the imputed righteousness of Christ applied to our account. Now let’s see how this can be subjectively, personally, individually.

When I was a young Christian, I said “Jesus came into my heart,” but, as most Christians who have yet to see the literal indwelling of Christ within their spirit as their Christian life, I more often thought of Christ or God being outside of me, in the heavens, while I was on earth. According to this concept, held by many, many Christians today, Christ was far away in the heavens, and we were on earth trying to make ourselves ready to be presented to Him. (Many Christians say they received Christ yet they pray to a God who is far away outside them.) I realized later, however, that this is wrong, a natural concept that makes Christ too objective. In His plan, God has made Christ, as the spirit (2Cor 3:17), to be dispensed into the believer, to be as close as our breath; thereby, subjective and personal. God has birthed Christ, as the Spirit of life, into our human spirit (1Cor 6:17, 2Tim 4:22, 1John 4:13), and now He is working Christ into our individual souls, by His daily work (2Cor 4:16, Philip 2:13).

Yes, one day Christ will present the glorious Church to Himself. This will not be achieved by His coming merely in an objective way, but rather by expanding or spreading His self within us, renewing our souls, then by coming out or flowing out of us, “as He is” (1John 4:17, Gal 2:20).

The Process of Glorification:

We become the glory or expression of Christ as we are consumed; little by little we are “swallowed up of life” (2Cor 5:4) that only He shines through.

2 Cor. 5:4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

This scripture speaks of the exchange of our mortal body for an incorruptible spirit body, which will occur in the twinkling of an eye one day, but we can equate this also to the renewing of our soul, which is accomplished day by day (2Cor 4:16). We each, as a soul, need to be devoured or swallowed up by Christ’s life. Christ is the glory of God within us. Within us we have Christ not only as our life and our person, but also as the very glorious expression of the life of Christ.

From the earlier analogy comparing the blossoming of the flower to the appearance of the glory of God, we can also see that glory grows gradually. Contrary to the religious concept, our glorification will not be a sudden event. Rather, it will take place gradually as Christ expands within us, saturating our soul with His life – once dead souls made alive, bit by bit.

2 Cor. 4:16 … but though our outward man (body) perish, yet the inward (soul) man is renewed day by day.

Consider when we plant a seed, at the first and we see nothing and for some time, that is until the right elements, situations, and circumstances come to bear upon the seed; rain, heat, night and day, rupturing the seed’s shell (likened to our soul). Then we may see first evidence of life in the seed, a small green shoot coming out of the earth. This then is a first level of the expression of the glory of the flower. Then, we may see several small green branches from the stem, then the flower bud, then the flower, and then, as it matures, the seed in the flower. Each of these is a level of the glorious expression of a life within. Each level of expression is perfect … at its level. We have Scripture for this process as seen in 2Cor 3:18.

2 Cor. 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (NIV)

Glorious Transformation:
The word “transformed” in 2Cor 3:18 (above) is transliterated from the Greek word “metamorphosis.” This is very meaningful. We may use the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly as an illustration of glorification. A caterpillar is not instantaneously transformed into a butterfly by a beauty that suddenly descends upon it and envelops it. No, the beauty of the butterfly is contained within the life of the caterpillar. As the law of this life functions within the caterpillar, the caterpillar is gradually transformed into a butterfly. As this process takes place; the beauty of the butterfly swallows up the ugliness of the caterpillar. We should note that this metamorphosis takes place in the dark and lonely place of the cocoon.

In the midst of the cocoon of our life’s situations, Christ is there within us! Every situation is actually happening to Him. Thus we also are called to this that Paul claims. Col. 1:24 … and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.

Christ’s presence is the very glory of God, “the glory of God is in the face of Christ,” who “shines out of the darkness” of our situation (2Cor 4:6). When we turn our soul’s heart (2Cor 3:15) to our spirit we then are in the presence of Christ and before His countenance, we are in His glory. Our need today is to turn to Him within, to behold and reflect the glory of the Lord. As we behold His glory, we are transformed ... by the Lord Spirit from one level of glory to another level of glory. It is out of such darkness that we may see and partake of the shining glory of God, as mirrors. We are as the moon, which reflects the light of the sun. We have no glory of our own; we simply bear and reflect that which we have received of Him who indwells our spirit.

2 Cor. 4:6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

The Blessing of Enduring Suffering

We should not consider our dark, lonely, and seemingly, never-ending and insurmountable situations of life (our cocoon) as some awful things that have come upon us, which are not of God or are out of His will. No, He is our loving Father and master of all things that come into our lives – for our eternal good. These circumstances and situations are the cocoons of life in which we are to be transformed. We can look to Job to see the workings and the glorious result of such sufferings. This orchestrating of the cocoon clearly is His work to bring forth the Glory of Christ’s life in His precious body.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Glory is only of “God Who Worketh In You” (Philip 2:13)

Christ's working Himself into us is not a matter of behavior or self-improvement. No, the beautiful butterfly is the natural outgrowth and expression of a same life that was already within the caterpillar even before it was transformed via the process of metamorphosis. It is a matter of our being inwardly, in soul, saturated with the Shekinah glory of God.

Suppose a steel rod, hard, cold, and black, is thrust into fire and held there. Eventually, the fire will saturate the steel and cause it to glow. In this way the steel loses its natural color and becomes white hot. Now the steel is shining, glowing. However, it would be useless, even ridiculous, for someone to teach steel to shine. If this steel is to keep on glowing, however, it must remain in the fire. If it is kept out of the fire for any length of time, its natural color and darkness will return. In a similar way, what we need today is not doctrine, precepts, encouragement to do good works, or the preaching of the law of do’s and don’ts; no, our soul needs to be saturated with Christ as the indwelling glory of God. Note that the source of the glorious expression is of the Spirit of the Lord, comes not by man’s effort, but by the hand of God in our lives.

Our expression of “glory,” which we have by expressing His life, comes by the full and free reign of “Christ in us” as we learn to yield to Him through the daily life circumstances we must endure. With such a glorious expression being so totally dependent upon the work of God in our lives, we actually have little to do with it …except to receive whatever He permits to come into our lives, trusting Him, to be glorified. If the caterpillar were to escape his cocoon too soon, then the life and glory is lost. Though we can never lose His life in our spirit, we must be brought to receive His work in our lives, by whatever means He chooses to bring His life’s expression forth, … that He may gain the glorious members of His glorious Church that He seeks (Philip 2:13, Rom 8:28, 29). <END>