THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST, Chapter 6 - The deGLORIFIED NEWBORN The reGLORIFIED LAMB OF GOD

 THE CONCEALED IDENTITY

There are cases of “mistaken” identity but there are cases of concealed identity. Novelists, including Mark Twain who has given us such examples of powerful people who disguised themselves to fit in with “common” people unnoticed in his The Prince and the Pauper. In more recent times, Peter Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim gave the world the story of a world-famous and now very wealthy novelist, Robin Masters, who had never been seen in public. He had apparently hired a butler, named Higgins, to look after his luxury Hawaiian holiday house and estate, “Robin’s Nest”. Masters struck a deal with a former Navy Seal, turned Private Detective, Thomas Magnum, to be his unpaid security consultant. Magnum was given accommodation and use of Masters’ Ferrari in exchange for anecdotes from his time as a ’Seal for the author to draw on his upcoming novels. (This was why Magnum had to continue working as a Private Detective). Higgins was personally acquainted with the mysterious novelist, but Magnum had never met or even seen him. Higgins and Magnum struck up a friendship as they went about solving crimes. After years of friendship it was revealed that Robin Masters was none other than Higgins himself.

 One of my favourite stories of concealed identity hiding in plain sight is from Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel, Les Miserables, where the escaped convict, Jean Valjean, is pursued for years by now retired Inspector Javert. As it turns out Jean Valjean, who had changed his name to M. Madeleine has now become a successful business man and the Mayor of Toulon. Javert arrives in Toulon and is immediately recognised by Valjean. But Javert does not recognise the now clean-shaven, genteel aristocratic Mayor of Toulon as his nemesis. But when he observes the compassion of M. Madeleine he recalls the time in prison when Jean Valjean had also displayed a similar extraordinary compassion for unfortunate fellow prisoners. The more he observed such acts of kindness and generosity from M. Madeleine the more Javert became convinced of the true identity of Madeleine. There is something about this idea of concealed identity that comes from the story of Christ. The prophet Isaiah foretold that when the Servant of the LORD would appear He would be largely unrecognised – there would be no form, no beauty, that we would desire Him (Isa. 53:2). But how on earth was this possible? How in God’s Name  could those who were created by Him in His image not recognise Him for who He was? The answer to this great puzzle lies in one word: the kenosis.

 

CHRIST’S CONCEALED HIS IDENTITY BECAUSE HE EMPTIED HIMSELF – BUT EMPTIED HIMSELF OF WHAT?

Theologians refer to this profound mystery about Christ as the kenosis. This is from the original Greek word, translated from Philippians 2:7, which describes Christ emptying Himself. But ‘emptied Himself’ of what? Did He empty Himself of His deity? Did He empty Himself of His divine attributes (omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence)? Did He empty Himself of His divine prerogatives (to receive worship, to forgive sins, to exercise judgment)? Whatever it was, the apostle Paul tells us the result of this mysterious emptying: it resulted in Christ humbling Himself as a result; and, although it would appear to be the case that He was humiliated, Paul is careful to state that this was not the case. The apostle wants his readers to consider that the eternal Son of GOD humbled Himself in order to accomplish our salvation. Then he is equally emphatic that this was only a temporary emptying. As a result of Christ’s kenosis (emptying) GOD the Father then “exalted Him”:

Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11

 

GOD IS THE HUMBLEST BEING IN THE UNIVERSE!

In a moment I am going to make a bold claim about what it was that Christ emptied Himself of. If you, like me, are on a quest to know Jesus, then you must understand this about our Lord. The inevitable result of this new knowledge that I am about share with you is that it will lead to a change in our attitude. In fact, the very reason that Paul raised this insight in the first place was because there was an attitude that needed to be addressed. There had been a growing friction within the Philippian church which was caused by someone’s hurt pride. Paul introduces this profound revelation about Christ with:

Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love,
being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,
but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 2:2-5

A part of Paul’s argument about Christ emptying Himself is that even though Jesus was God in the flesh, with all of the rights, privileges, and powers of the Almighty GOD, He humbled Himself and became as a servant of others. Jesus embraced an attitude of overlooking offence, forgiving those who wronged Him, and even though He had the right to condemn whomever He chose – He chose not to. As we read on in Paul’s epistle to the Philippians we discover who it was that Paul was specifically appealing to (Phil. 4:2) but the principle that he shared still applies to us today.

In making his case infinitely stronger Paul spent time shedding light on who this Christ was and how He so dramatically humbled Himself. In doing this, Paul also revealed what it was that Christ had emptied Himself of. By becoming a human being, Christ laid aside – not His deity – but His visible glory. 

 

JESUS, THE ORIGINAL LORD OF GLORY!

Even though John 1:1 commences with the words, In the beginning, it actually begins before there was time, or to put it another way: John 1:1 begins before Genesis 1:1. And before there was even “time” (which began with the words uttered in Genesis 1:3) there was the triune GOD in all His glory including the Second Person of the Trinity (See Jude 25; Christ’s inference from John17:5; and Peter’s statement about God’s “eternal glory” in 1Pet. 5:10). That is, before Christ created the universe into which He would one day enter as a divine human being, He was the Lord of Glory. In writing to the Corinthians some time before He wrote to the Philippians, the apostle Paul described the incarnate (“in the flesh”) Jesus as “the Lord of glory” :  

None of the rulers of this age understood this,
for if they had,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
First Corinthians 2:8

But how was it possible for those who saw the Christ that they did not recognise the most glorious Person in the universe? It is as though the One they had been longing millennia for was actually ‘hiding in plain sight’ but not just plain sight – very, very, public sight! Yet no-one, except for demons and devils, could recognise Him (Luke 4:34)! Again, it seems that what Jesus emptied Himself of was the visibility of His glory!

To be clear, I am not suggesting that the apostle Paul was suggesting that the incarnate Christ ceased to be glorious. As C.S. Lewis wrote in his fictitious Letter To Malcolm it’s not that God possesses glory, it’s that He is glory! Thus, when the Heavenly Father declared that all people have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) He had actually stated that all people had not lived up to the standard set by His Son. When Christ became a human, He veiled His glory so that it was not usually visible to human eyes. In this sense, the Son of God was deglorified by becoming a human being. This was captured by one of my favourite musical theologians, Charles Wesley, who wrote these profound lyrics: 

Charles Wesley, who often felt like a failure because he couldn’t preach like his more successful brother, John. “All I can do is write hymns.”

1. Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new-born King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild;
God and sinners reconciled.”
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With angelic hosts proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem.”

2. Christ, by highest heav’n adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord:
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail th’ incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus our Immanuel.

 

WHEN THE LORD OF GLORY WAS deGLORIFIED

We have now seen that when the eternal Son of God became a human, His flesh veiled His glorious identity. This veiling was made easier because of the all-pervasive stain of sin on every human soul which naturally prevented people from truly seeing who Jesus really was. Today, of course, even though Christ is now unveiled because of His victory over death which restored the capacity of the redeemed to behold His glory – somethings which He prayed for to His Father (John 17:5) – unredeemed people today are still “blinded” from seeing Christ in His glory because the false god of this world attempts to keep them veiled! When the former slave-trade ship’s captain, John Newton cried out to God for forgiveness and salvation, he later wrote a song in which he testified, “Once I was blind but now I see!”

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers,
to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
who is the image of God.
Second Corinthians 4:3-4

But the good news for those who have not yet seen the glory of Christ is that Jesus both invites and offers people to have their veil removed (2Cor. 3:14). And the challenge for us who have seen the glory of Christ is for us to pray that Christ will remove this obscuring veil from those whom we deeply care about – such as those who live in our city, our neighbourhood, our street, and in our homes!

 

WHEN THE LORD OF GLORY WAS reGLORIFIED

Just before Christ was taken away by the Temple guards to appear before the High Priests where He was tried for blasphemy (because He declared that He was GOD), He went up the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. What He prayed was profound:

A couple of weeks prior to this Jesus had taken His disciples to the northern most town in Israel, Caesarea Philippi (Mark 8:27). Six days later He took Peter, James, and John, up Mount Hermon where the Jewish “legends” said that the most powerful of the fallen Watcher angels had been imprisoned (Mark 9:1). When they reached the beginning of the snow-line where nothing grows, and the boulders and rocks make the rest of the ascent most uninviting, they stopped. The locals called those large boulders “the gates of hell”. As the uncertain disciples stood there somewhat bewildered, the rocky ground on which they stood began tremble as before their very eyes the black of the night sky was transformed into daylight brighter than full-sun daylight. Then they realised the light was not shining on Christ but out of Him (Mark 9:3)! Then Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ in the midst of the Shekinah (glory) light (Mark 9:4). They then realised that it was not the mountain trembling causing the ground under their feet to become unsteady—it was Christ speaking that was causing the mountain to tremble—and as He spoke with Moses it was as if Moses expected it to (see Exo. 19:18)! Then the Voice of the Father was heard and the mountain trembled yet again (as mountains always do whenever GOD appears on them)! In this moment of the veil being momentarily removed from the apostles’ eyes to see what was always there – the glory of the eternal Son of God – would be etched into Peter’s mind so that even three decades later he recalled it as if it happened yesterday!

¶ For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain.
Second Peter 1:16-18

When Christ conquered sin, death, and devil, He did so as the Lamb of GOD. His victory led to Him being reGlorified and declared as the Lord of all!

A REVELATION OF THE LORD OF GLORY LEADS TO WORSHIP

My pastoral prayer for you is that you will begin to have a growing revelation of glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, the Scripture teaches us that as we worshipfully behold the glory of the Lord, it will “transform” us into the image of the One in whose image we were created. This is why I have gone to such great pains to discuss the Lordship of Christ in this series, and I hope – I pray – that indeed the eyes of your understanding about Who Christ is will be opened (Eph. 1:16-18) so that you will experience a new passion to worship our Lord and Glorious Saviour.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.
For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Second Corinthians 3:18

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Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk

THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S CROSS

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel,
and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
¶ For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
First Corinthians 1:17-18

The cross of Christ is the greatest ever public display of God’s wisdom and power. The Greco-Roman world knew that the penalty of death on a cross was the ultimate humiliation. Rome made sure that any who defied it would be made an example of through crucifixion. For example, when the Romans put down the Spartan revolt of 71BC they wanted to send a chilling warning to anyone else who thought they could defy Rome. Six-thousand conquered Spartan soldiers were crucified on Roman crosses and displayed along the Appian Way (the main road leading into Rome).

It was the practice of the Romans that those condemned to die by crucifixion were stripped naked and forced to carry their patibulum (the heavy cross beam of the cross) which was put across their shoulders and tied to their wrists as they were publicly paraded and forcibly marched to where they would be nailed to the patibulum and fixed to the vertical post of the cross. Unlike the deaths of the two criminals and Christ on that original Good Friday, the death of those being crucified would result – not from the crucifixion itself – but from their long exposure to the elements and the attacks of wild birds of prey which pecked repeatedly at their flesh. GOD indeed chose this most humiliating means of punishment and execution to bring about the greatest and most glorious triumph in the history of the universe! The humiliating death of Christ became the means by which GOD in Christ would humiliate His enemies!

He [Christ] disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame,
by triumphing over them  in him [by the cross].
Colossians 2:15

But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God,
which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
First Corinthians 2:7-8

No wonder the apostle Paul told the Corinthians that the cross was folly to those who were perishing, but the power of God to those who were being saved.

 

THE JOURNEY TO THE CROSS

When the New Testament refers to “the cross of Christ” (1Cor. 1:17) it is also referring to His journey to the cross (known as His ‘passion’). This journey (Christ’s passion) began on earth with His incarnation in the womb of the virgin Mary. While the incarnation of the Word was the greatest miracle, His work on the cross was the greatest public miracle. It is also true that the death of Christ on the cross has now provided the means by which any repentant sinner can be forgiven of their sins and made right with God. But it is also true that the death of Christ on the cross means not just this, and, much more than this. This also involves understanding that not only does the New Testament use the expression the cross or the cross of Christ to include the events leading up to the cross, it also encompasses the events proceeding after the cross – including Christ’s resurrection, ascension and glorification.   

This journey to the Cross led to Jesus revealing the Father

Athanasius wrote, On The Incarnation of the Word, and asked the question about the point of Christ’s ministry and teaching at all – especially in light of God’s mission for Christ to die for the sins of the world. After all, why could Christ just be incarnated, and then die privately as the atoning sacrifice for mankind’s sins? Athanasius answers his question by discussing the need for Christ to reveal the Father publicly (Jn. 14:9), fulfil His role as Israel’s promised Messiah (Jn. 1:41), fulfil the role of being the Second/Last Adam (1Cor. 15:45) by sinlessly exhibiting the perfect image of God (2Cor. 4:4), doing battle with the forces of darkness in the midst of their territory by sinless conquest without yielding to their temptations (Matt. 4:1-11), and establishing the Church (Matt. 16:18).  

The journey to the Cross leading to Him taking the sins of all mankind into the realm of the dead where He also “preached to those who were dead.”

When Christ died, His body would have gone into rigor mortis very quickly (refer to the recent expert comments about this phenomena by Dr. Joseph Bergeron, M.D.). During the 3-day period of His physical death Christ went to the place of the dead and announced the gospel to the righteous dead who were awaiting their release from this Old Covenant holding place for the dead which would take place when the Old Covenant was finally done away with when the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 (note Heb. 8:13 written about AD 63 which states that the Old Covenant “was about to be done away with“). 

For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead,
that though judged in the flesh the way people are,
they might live in the spirit the way God does.
First Peter 4:6

Thus, in the Revelation 6:9-10 we can hear the martyrs from the Neronic persecution of AD 64-68 cry out (if I might paraphrase it) When will You avenge our martyrdom and how much longer will we have to remain here? Thus, even during the three days that Christ’s body was in the tomb, Christ was still working on our behalf. When He went into the realm of eternity He carried our sin, guilt, and shame there, which ensure that even the sins of mankind not yet committed would be atoned for! We can be sure that Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross was sufficient to atone for all the sins of mankind and that there is no need for any human efforts to supplement what Christ has achieved for us! Rest now and forever in His saving grace!

The journey to the Cross resulted in His resurrection from the dead as the “firstfruits” which now enables the resurrection of all the redeemed.

When Christ had completed the atoning sacrifice of His life as the True Lamb of God, He rose from the dead by the same Power that enabled Him to originally be incarnated (Rom 1:4).

If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your
mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:11

His resurrection from the dead is referred to as “the firstfruits” which means there are more resurrections to come!

¶ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ.
First Corinthians 15:20, 23

Thus, the grave is not the end for anyone. All people will be resurrected – some to eternal life, and (for those who reject God’s Son) some to eternal condemnation.

¶ “Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and will come out—the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation.
John 5:28-29 NET

Christ’s resurrection announced that He had conquered the forces of evil (who schemed to put Him to death) and had overcome sin and death (Rom. 6:9; 1Cor. 15:26, 54-55; Heb. 6:14).

The journey to the Cross resulted in the vanquishing of certain Principalities and Powers leading them captive into permanent captivity at Christ’s ascension.

The Jews had a belief that there had been three ‘falls’: Genesis 3, the first Man and the Woman who ate of the forbidden fruit; Genesis 6, certain Watcher angels who left their stations and sired the Nephilim (Gen. 6:4);  and, Genesis 11, when certain “sons of God” (powerful Heavenly beings also referred to as “Princes”, refer to Deut. 32:8) led some of mankind into a rebellion against God (and probably included further acts of immorality resulting in siring the more Nephilim and Rephaim) at the Tower of Babel. When the Lord intervened after the third “fall“ (Gen. 11:7-9) some of these more powerful rebellious heavenly creatures, according to Jewish tradition (note particularly the Book of First Enoch referred to in Jude 9), had some of their powers curtailed and were confined to the territory of Mount Herman (which is where Christ was transfigured in Matt. 17). The prophetic psalmist foretold of the day when the Lord would one day vanquish the evil spiritual princes who still used their manipulation powers to indirectly commit their evil schemes:

¶ O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for His abode,
yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?
The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them;
Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
Psalm 68:15-17

The apostle Paul would have known about this Jewish traditional understanding of the captivity of these principalities and powers to Mount Herman, and saw that the ascension of Christ resulted in their temporary captivity at Hermon being made a permanent captivity in Tartarus (2Peter 2:4; Jude 6). Thus Paul wrote that it was Christ at His ascension who fulfilled the prophecy of Psalm 68 – 

Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high He led a host of captives,
and He gave gifts to men.”
Ephesians 4:8

At Christ’s ascension Jesus returned to His Father where His “blood” was accepted by the Father as the sufficient atoning sacrifice for the sins of mankind (Heb. 9:12, 14). Because of this, every believer can now enter boldly into God the Father’s presence and present our requests to Him (Heb. 10:19).

The journey to the Cross led to the Holy Spirit being sent after Christ had returned to enter His glory enabling for the regeneration of all the redeemed.

When Christ ascended He returned to His Father and re-entered into His glory. On the Isle of Patmos John the Apostle encountered not just the risen Jesus, but the risen glorified Jesus (Rev. 1:9-18). Jesus had told His disciples that during His earthly ministry the Holy Spirit had been with them but after He had returned to His Father the Spirit would be in them (Jn. 14:17). The day that the promised Holy Spirit was poured out revealed that each of Christ’s acts of redemption actually corresponded to the Jewish feasts described in Leviticus 23. It was on the Day of Pentecost (Lev. 23:9-14) that the Holy Spirit was poured out on believers “baptising” them with power to be Christ’s witnesses (Acts 2:1-4).

The journey to the Cross established Christ as the rightful Judge of all mankind – some to life and those who reject Him to condemnation.

As a result of Christ’s triumph on the cross, His Lordship was declared in heaven affirming that He will one day judge all mankind (Jn. 8:16). Christ’s, resurrection, ascension, and re-glorification has provided for all the redeemed our eternal salvation, our  regeneration by the Holy Spirit, our adoption by God the Father, our baptism with the Holy Spirit, our future resurrection with an imperishable body, our ultimate glorification with Christ, and, our participation in the divine nature and inviting us to rule and reign with Him as joint heirs of Christ (Rom. 8:17; 2Tim. 2:12). What glories await the believer! Our eternal destiny in the New Heaven/Earth will mean that we will forever be in union with God and partners with Him in building and administrating His eternal kingdom where there will be no possibility of sin or evil!

¶ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
Second Peter 1:3-4

These are all the result of the cross of Christ, that benefits us, the redeemed!

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.