The Glorious Christ!

(Be sure to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)

John 1:14, "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

There is no subject beneath Heaven so glorious, so inexhaustible, so soul-enrapturing, as the Person of Jesus! Eternity itself cannot exhaust His praises. Angels veil their faces before Him. Heaven is illuminated by His glory. The redeemed shall never cease to explore the infinite treasures of His person and work. Oh, what a Savior is Jesus!

He is GOD, eternally God, infinitely God, immutably God! Before Bethlehem, He was. Before Abraham, He was. Before the angels sang, before the worlds were formed, before time itself existed, He was with the Father in glory!

Yet this eternal Son became MAN!
The Creator entered His creation.
The Lord of glory took the form of a servant.
The Infinite, became an infant.
He who upholds the universe by the word of His power, was carried in the arms of a virgin.
He who made the oceans, thirsted.
He who created the human eye, wept human tears.
He who is eternal, submitted Himself to death.

Here is a mystery before which faith bows in adoration:
Jesus is truly God and truly man.
In Him dwells all the fullness of Deity, yet He possesses a real human nature.
He is the mighty God, yet the tender Man.
He is infinitely above us, yet He is not ashamed to call His people, brothers.
He is holy beyond our comprehension, yet He receives sinners.
He is the Judge of all, yet He became the Friend of sinners.
Oh, glorious Jesus!

But the glory of His Person shines with dreadful and magnificent brightness at Calvary. There we see what sin deserves, and what Jesus willingly endured in the place of His people. The spotless Lamb stands where the guilty should have stood. The Just One is treated as though He were guilty, that the guilty might be treated as righteous. The beloved Son is crushed beneath the stroke of divine justice, that condemned sinners might enter the holy Heaven.

"He was pierced for our transgressions,
 He was crushed for our iniquities;
 the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,
 and by His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)

Do not pass too quickly over Calvary!
There your sins are displayed in all their horror.
Every proud thought,
  every filthy desire,
    every secret rebellion,
      every unbelieving thought,
        every wasted hour,
          every neglected duty,
            every cold prayer,
              every sinful word,
all declare that you could never save yourself.

Sin is not a trifling defect.
Sin is rebellion against God's infinite holiness.
Sin deserves divine judgment.

And yet behold the wonder! Jesus took our sin upon Himself. He did not merely sympathize with His people's guilt, He bore it. He did not merely make salvation possible, He accomplished redemption. He did not shed His blood as a pathetic example of love; He offered Himself as the sin-atoning Substitute for all the sins of all His people.

What kind of love is this?
The Innocent One, suffers for the guilty!
The Holy One, bears the sins of the unholy!
The Shepherd, dies for His sheep!
The Son, gives Himself for those who hated Him!

There is no condemnation left for those whose sins He bore.
"It is finished!"

Oh, Christian, where is your confidence?
In your feelings? They change like the wind.
In your prayers? They are imperfect.
In your obedience? It is sin-stained.
In your religion? It is filthy rags.
Look away from yourself! Look to Jesus!

Your hope is not that you have loved Him enough, but that He has loved you with an everlasting love.
Your hope is not the perfection of your faith, but the perfection of His righteousness.
Your hope is not what you have done for Him, but what He has done for you.
Your salvation rests not upon the trembling hand that receives Him, but upon the mighty Savior whom that hand receives.

And now consider the astonishing intimacy of His relationship to His people.
He is not merely their Savior in some distant, abstract sense.
He is their Head, and they are His members.
He is their Shepherd, and they are His sheep.
He is their Bridegroom, and they are His beloved bride.
He is their Vine, and they are the branches.
He is their Foundation, and they are living stones built upon Him.

What He has purchased, He will preserve.
What He has begun, He will complete.

There is a union here which words cannot fully express. Jesus has bound Himself to His people in covenant love. Their life is hidden with Him.

Our righteousness is found in Him.
Our acceptance with God is found in Him.
Our security is found in Him.
Our future is found in Him.

Christian, stop here and search your heart.
What is Jesus to you?
Is He merely a doctrine you affirm?
Or is He your Jesus?
Is He your refuge, when guilt accuses?
Is He your righteousness, when conscience condemns?
Is He your Shepherd, when the way is dark?
Is He your strength, when you are weak?
Is He your comfort, when every earthly comfort fails?
Is He your treasure?
Is He your very life?

There is a vast difference between knowing about Jesus, and knowing Jesus by faith.
The natural man may admire Christian truth, while remaining dead in sin.
He may speak correctly about salvation, while never fleeing to the Savior.
He may sit beneath the sound of the Gospel for years, and yet remain a stranger to its saving power.

Do not be content with religious knowledge! Do not rest upon a profession, a prayer, a decision, an experience, or a memory of some past moment.

The great question is this: Has the Holy Spirit shown you your sin, stripped you of your self-righteousness, and caused you to flee to the crucified and risen Savior as your only hope?

For when Jesus becomes precious to the soul, then . . .
Sin becomes hateful.
Self becomes abhorrent.
The world loses its charm.
His righteousness becomes glorious.
His sin-atoning death becomes precious.
His presence becomes indispensable.
His Word becomes sweeter than honey.
His coming becomes the believer's blessed hope.

What astonishing grace!
The King of glory sets His love upon hopeless sinners!
The One whom Heaven adores stoops to save the undeserving, the ill-deserving, the Hell-deserving!

When Satan accuses you, look to Jesus.
When your heart condemns you, look to Jesus.
When your strength fails, look to Jesus.
When death approaches, look to Jesus.
When every earthly prop is taken away, look to Jesus.

And when at last your eyes close upon this world, the same Jesus who redeemed you, shall receive you.
Then faith will become sight.
Prayer will become praise.
Hope will become possession.
And you will behold the One whom your soul has loved, not for a moment, not for a thousand years, but forever!

Oh, glorious Jesus! You are . . .
my righteousness when I am guilty,
my holiness when I am vile,
my strength when I am weak,
my wisdom when I am foolish,
my peace when I am troubled,
my refuge when I am afraid,
my Shepherd when I wander,
my hope when I despair,
my life when I die,
and my everlasting portion when all else has passed away.

What more could I desire?
What more could I need?
Jesus is enough!
He is enough for time.
He is enough for eternity.
He is enough for life.
He is enough for death.
And He shall be enough for Heaven!