The Glory of Christ, Part 2

All right, time for a continuation of my thoughts from the first chapter of John Owen's book The Glory of Christ. Here we go:

Owen asks, What does beholding Christ actually accomplish in us? (This is really an amazing question, if you think about it.) He lists several things.

First: It makes us fit for heaven.

“All men, indeed, think themselves fit enough for glory...if they could attain it; but it is because they know not what it is” (51). Music brings no joy to a man who can’t hear. Beautiful colors mean nothing to someone who can’t see. The rays of the sun would bring no pleasure to a senseless fish pulled up from the cold bottom of the ocean. And so the glory of heaven—the glory of Christ seen face to face—would mean nothing to those without the ability to take pleasure in it. But God has given us a way whereby we can be made “receptive subjects of the glory to be communicated to [us]” (52). And that way is through beholding the glory of Christ through faith now. “All our present glory consists in our preparation for future glory” (52).

Second: It produces sanctification as we view Christ. This is the primary, if not the only means, of sanctification for the believer. Isn't that an incredible thought? The apostle Paul said that we’re transformed “from glory to glory” as we behold Christ: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18).

Third: It brings us rest and contentment. By lifting our eyes from the cares, problems, and lusts of this world, to gaze on the glorious perfections of Christ, we lose our regard for these worthless things. I’m reminded of an old hymn:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

Paul said something similar in Philippians: “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ” (3:8).

Fourth: It brings us everlasting blessedness. “We shall ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17). And “we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2). No one can see God, who alone dwells in inapproachable light. The Father is invisible and incomprehensible. And yet we see Him perfectly revealed in the person of Christ. He is the manifestation of the glory of God—“the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15), “the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature” (Heb. 1:3).

Honestly, these things are too high for us to grasp. It's exciting to think about. “We know not well what we say when we speak of them; yet there is in true believers a foresight and foretaste of this glorious condition” (53)—in the face of Christ!

This is seriously good stuff. I can't wait to keep reading this book!