The Glory of Christ

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:3-6). I had a couple visitors over the weekend. Two ladies were making their way door-to-door, inviting all to come to a Bible study in the area. Lucky me, I just happened to be at home.

The conversation began innocently enough. They were talking about “the fellowship,” and how I could come be a part of their new Bible study. I finally asked what this so called “fellowship” was. One lady answered, “The Way International.” She then proceeded to talk about knowing God. So I asked her, “How do you know God?” Five minutes later, when she finished answering my question, I still had no idea how to know God. If I had 60 seconds to live and this lady had to tell me how to get ready to meet God, I would have entered into eternity totally unprepared. So I asked another question, “What happens when you die?” Her response almost brought me to tears: “You go into the ground and your soul sleeps until God comes again.” I asked both of them about Paul’s words, “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord,” and “I have a desire to depart and be with Christ for that is far better,” to which they responded, “I’m not real sure what he meant there.” I asked them who Jesus was, and they responded, “God’s son.” But they would not say He was God the Son, that is, He was God who had come in human flesh to save sinners. And herein lay the crux of the matter: Who is Jesus?

The Bible tells us that Jesus is God. “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father,” Jesus said. He also said, “I and the Father are One.” It was for this reason the Pharisees wanted to kill Him: He was claiming to be God and in their minds, that was tantamount to blasphemy. And this truth is that which separates true believers from false believers and others who are lost. Their minds have been blinded by the devil so that they cannot see the “light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” When our eyes are opened and we see this truth for the very first time, everything changes. His Light shines in our hearts, which in turn, opens our eyes to the “Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” These two ladies had obviously not seen this Light. In their hearts, they remained “blinded”, so that they “might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

I left them with this “thought to ponder.” I asked them if we all agreed that God created everything in the heavens and on earth. They agreed He did. I told them that chapter one of both Colossians and Hebrews clearly says Jesus did it. Therefore, if Jesus created all there is, He has to be God. There is no other possible conclusion. Both agreed they would read those chapters. It is my prayer that God will open their eyes to the truth of who Jesus Christ is before it is too late. And that is my prayer for you as well, that you would see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God! To God be the glory!