By Bill Oldham

The Hope Of Glory

“…It is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, Who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6

          In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”, and there was light. Genesis 1:1-3

          I had a reader of my column object to the Bible being true because of the account of God speaking light into darkness. The reader went on to say that the Bible couldn’t be true because there couldn’t have been light until God made the sun. If God’s power is reduced down to that of a man, that would be true, but thank God it isn’t; God is from everlasting to everlasting; He is the Lord God Almighty, Who has all power, sees all, and knows all before it comes to pass.

          The Lord God Almighty is sovereign over all things in heaven and on earth and does whatever pleases Him. It pleased God to create the heavens and the earth, and everything in them. After God had made all things, God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our Likeness…” Genesis 1:26 The first thing God created was light, which He spoke into existence; the last thing the Lord God made was man.

          The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 In making man from dust, we understand that was just the beginning of God’s plan for man. When God breathed the breath of life into Adam, He breathed into the man an eternal soul, which would live forever. When Adam sinned, he died spiritually, but still possessed his eternal soul. His body would die but he would live on.

          The full plan and purpose for the man God made remained a mystery for 4000 years, and only came to light when the work of His Son Jesus was finished. After Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, He was seated at the right hand of God as Lord of all. Ten days after Jesus was seated in heaven with all power, He sent His Holy Spirit to His waiting church on earth. There were around 120 disciples and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of the Lord.

          What that meant was that they were all filled with the glory of God; Jesus Christ is the fullness of the glory of God, as John declared: “…The Word [Christ Jesus]  became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

          The apostle Paul makes clear what the mystery of God always was concerning the man He made: “The mystery which has been hidden from ages and generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:26-27

          The hope of glory in the Holy Spirit is this: “…Having believed [in Jesus], you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, Who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession [believers in Christ], to the praise of His glory.

          Who may receive the Holy Spirit? Peter said: “The promise is to…all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2:39 Paul declares that all believers have the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9

          Jesus Christ is the Light of the glory of God and He lives in us!

Brother Bill is a Bible teacher and can be contacted at bboldham@sbcglobal.net