3/1985 The Radiance of His Glory

"God . . . hath in these last days spoken to us by His Son, who being the radiance of His glory and the stamp of His Image . . ." (Hebrews 1:2,3).

Sunrise and sunset, so beautiful to behold, are the radiation of energy--God's energy. All the energies of the earth are derived from the sun. All energy of the sun is derived from the true Life and Light of the world, which is Christ. John said of Jesus--"In Him was life and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4). Jesus said of himself--"I am the light of the world" (John 8:12). In what sense is this true? Was Jesus simply talking about revelations and illumination? Hardly. John said, "All things were made by Him." Paul said, "By Him (Christ) were all things created in Heaven and on earth, things visible and invisible . . . And He himself is before all things, and by Him all things consist" (Colossians 1:16,17).

Putting these passages together, as well as many more, we conclude that Christ was the instrument of creation. He was part of the Elohim of Genesis 1:1--the multifaceted Godhead. The word, "Elohim," is a plural form of "El," but has a singular verb form (bara'). This indicates not just three but many aspects to the Deity. Revelation 4 speaks of the "seven Spirits of God." This expression occurs a number of times in the Scripture. It is a much more expansive concept than the simple "Trinity," which is a word of theological, rather than Biblical origin. There are, of course, the three major expressions of the Deity--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But, there is much more to the Godhead than the mind can classify.

The Genesis account of creation shows the Holy Spirit "brooding" over creation. It shows the Deity (identified as Christ in the above passages) speaking the universe into being. God said, "Let there be light." II Corinthians 4 says, "God who commanded--Îlight shine out of darkness' . . ." Thus, the energies of God, symbolized by speaking (itself an energy process), were thrust forth in the forming of the universe.

In John 1:1, Christ is seen as the Logos--the Word of God. Jesus was the Logos in bodily form. When Jesus said, "I am the light of the world" He was speaking literally as the embodiment of Christ. He was, in fact, the Creator of the universe, incarnate. The Spirit, who "brooded" over the creation--who brought it to birth--was also an expression of Christ. The Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ are the same (compare Romans 8:9).

So the sunrise and the sunset, in their spectacular displays of color, are, in effect, the expression of Divine energy--the same life-giving energy that energized Jesus when God raised Him from the dead, and the same energy that energizes us as new-born spirits. "The energy with which God raised Christ from the dead, energizes us" (Ephesians 1:19,20).

The next time you watch a sunrise or sunset, remember that the same energy is going through you. When one lies on the beach and experiences the energy of the sun in the changing color of the epidermis, one should remember that the energy of God is affecting also the inner being of those who are His. That is not to say, of course, that God will always make one's outer life beautiful as the sunrise, or that one may experience changes in the outer life at all, but that the energy of Christ has effected a drastic change within, so that our spirits are made one with the God whose energy has produced the sunrise and the sunset. Jesus prayed, "That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also might be one in us . . ." (John 17:21).

Thus, God has not only spoken to us, but he has come to us--shared Himself with us. He has lifted us to be part of Himself--to partake of His very Spirit.

But should we not then always be strong and healthy and vibrant if we are possessed by His Spirit?

Jesus said it--"The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). This statement was made on the eve of His crucifixion. Earlier He had said, "It is the Spirit that quickeneth (gives life), the flesh profits nothing" (John 6:63). At this point, Jesus' followers had been leaving Him--offended by His words. The twelve disciples were troubled, but did not know where else to go. It was a low moment. It was a lower moment still at Gethsemane, when the depths of Jesus' human self were being plumbed. His appeal was to the Spirit. Even as the incarnate Son of God, He was keenly aware of the weakness of the flesh, and the futility of putting any dependence on it.

Learn from Christ. Nothing else makes sense in this wretched world. God did not send Christ to earth to make a playpen for His people. He did not come to recover Eden. He came to rescue the spirit from the prisonhouse of the flesh. It seems to be so difficult for the flesh to grasp this concept. In so many religious circles, there is still the emphasis upon what Jesus does for us in the flesh. "What has He done for you lately?" This misses the whole meaning of God's destiny for His creation.

The issue that so commonly is raised in discussions about God is a problem of why He allows suffering and distress and hunger in the world. Many have used this as an argument against the existence of God. If God does exist, why all the pain in the world? There is, of course, the fundamental answer to the question--we do not believe in God because he does what we think He ought to, but because He is. If He is, one is a fool not to believe in Him. Whether or not one likes God, or what He does, does not affect whether or not He exists. On the other hand, to face the issue of why He allows pain on the earth, remember that it is His purpose to teach His creation the meaning of the Spirit, and the transiency of the flesh. If He went about resolving all the consequences of godlessness on the earth, no one would ever learn this lesson. Suppose, for the sake of the argument, that God did, in fact, resolve all of earth's difficulties--all hunger eliminated; all sickness healed; all pain relieved; all social, moral and political problems resolved; what then would be the response to God's great mercy? There is no doubt in the world, but that all of humanity would hail the great human capacity to resolve its earthly problems. Certainly the universal attitude would be--"See, we told you we don't need God."

Ultimately we must learn that there is never going to be equity in the flesh. There is only equity in the realm of the Spirit. The sooner we learn this truth, the sooner we will be at peace in our earthly existence. As long as we strive to get God to make a nice life for us on the earth, we will struggle against the problem of pain. Of course, there is no use to try to present this as an argument to the unbelievers. Paul said in I Corinthians 2:14, "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit: neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned."

There are many things that God may do for us, to help us on this earth. However, we will not mature as Christians until we learn not to put any weight on these material aids. It is alright to ask for healing, for financial help, for work, etc., but we must leave it to God to minister to our human needs, as He sees fit. We are never without energy in the Spirit, though often the flesh is weak. God responded to Paul in his weakness, by saying, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." And Paul responded by saying, "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For when I am weak then am I strong." Even David saw this, two thousand years before Christ came. "My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Psalm 73:26).

It is a mistake to attempt to tie together physical strengths and spiritual strengths. It may please God to give physical strength from time to time, but spiritual strength is our constant portion, and will be the substance of our lives forever. Paul told Timothy to "lay hold on eternal life" (I Timothy 6:12). It is a glorious thing to realize that we may now enter into the quality of being that is our eternal inheritance. Once we learn this secret, we need never again be in despair over earthly circumstances. We may be distressed by them. That is common to the human nature, but we need never be defeated by them.

Remember the sunset. As the sunset is the radiant evidence of the energies of the sun, so Christ is the radiance of the energies of God. And, as we possess the Spirit of Christ within us, we partake of the same energies. Not forever will we who have taken Christ into our spirits be without the glorious radiance of His energy. Lay hold of it. Bask in it. Let it be the reality in your life that supersedes all pains and privations and disappointments of earth's transient illusions.

God has not only spoken to us, be He has come to us in the radiant energies of His Son, Jesus Christ.

David Morsey

March 1985