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291 – THE GROANING CREATION
Pastor Henry F. Kulp
March 21, 1965
Romans 8: 17 – 23 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
You remember the last few weeks we have been talking a great deal about being joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. As members of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, He will not parcel out our inheritance to us, He will not divide it, but we will share it equally with the Lord Jesus Christ. We’ll all have the same amount, even Jesus Christ will have the same amount as we do. This is a glorious truth. We have been showing you that He tells us because this is true we will be glorified. Certainly when we walk down the streets today, people do not say, there goes a child of God, look at the glory of that individual. If you get into a bus and sit down, people don’t turn around and stare, because you look just like any other individual. But there is a day coming when you will come into possession of this wonderful inheritance, and you will be glorified. Even your physical body will be glorified.
1/ You remember in Ephesians 5 Jesus Christ said that He loved the Church and gave Himself for the Church, and He is going to present the Church to Himself as a glorious church.
2/ II Corinthians 4: 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
Here we read, our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Here he gives us a great comparison, or it may be a contrast. A contrast between light and heavy. For the word, weight, means heavy. The afflictions are light, but the glory is heavy, and we’ll have to have new bodies to bear the weight of glory—the old body couldn’t bear it. So there is something heavy about glory. We think the things we bear now are heavy, but they are only light when contrasted with the glory that is going to be revealed in us. Now notice a far more exceeding and eternal—how he piles on the words—he can’t say it in one word. He has to pile up adverbs.
3/ It is going to be eternal glory—this is uncreated glory. This is the glory that God has by the very nature that He is God. The word, eternal is interesting. We have tried to explain it and other preachers have tried to explain it in the past. We have tried to illustrate it by saying if every leaf on every tree in the summer time represented a thousand years, how long a time would that be? The leaves on a single tree would take us far into the ages of eternity. The leaves of a thousand trees would take us a thousand times farther into the endless ages of eternity, but it will only be the beginning of eternity. If every grain of sand in all the seashores of the world represented a thousand years, how long would it be before that marvelous number was completed and how far into eternity would we be? But single out one grain, and say it is a thousand years, and separate another grain and that is another thousand years—how long would it take you to separate the grains of sand that you can hold in your hand? And when you are through with all the sand from the seashores of the Atlantic, go to the Pacific and other seas and then the sands of the deserts of the world, you would just be starting eternity, and this glory is eternal.
4/ Hebrews 1: 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Here we have a wonderful portion of Scripture. We are going to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. We are going to share in His glory, and what is His glory like?
Last week we went to Matthew 17: 1, 2 where His face did shine as the sun. And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart. 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and raiment was white as the light.
I want to go beyond that this week, and here in Hebrews 1: 3 we read, Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
The word, His, is in italics, and it should be left out. So, it should read, Who being the brightness of glory. Christ is the brightness of all glory. In the margin of our Scofield Bible, instead of the word, effulgence, and it means radiant splendor—brilliance or brightness. So, you have the effulgence of all glory, and it is Jesus Christ, so it means He is the brightness, or the brilliance, or the radiant splendor of all glory, and actually this word could be translated by a flood of light. The Lord Jesus Christ in His Person, is a flood of glory—all the light in the universe—so actually the glory is light, and this goes along with Matthew 17: 2 when His face did shine as the sun.
5/ Revelations 18: 1 There we read, And after these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
That angel lighted up the whole world. Where did that angel get his glory? From the Lord Jesus Christ. He was created by the Lord Jesus Christ, and we see in the Bible that angles were seen by the multitude. See if you can work out a problem in glory. If the light from an angel, the glory of one angel can light up this world, what must be the glory of the whole body of angels? There are millions and billions of them in the heavens. If you could see all the glory of the angels gathered in the heavens, when you would see the Lord Jesus Christ, His glory would be far above the angels combined. You would never see the angels for Christ, He would out-shine them.
6/ II Corinthians 4: 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Here we read, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Again, this goes with Matthew 17: 2 And His face did shine as the sun. Certainly no one could paint a face like that. Oil and canvas could not portray this glorified Christ.
7/ I Peter 5: 10 This is an important verse, But the God of grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
Only the God of grace could do that. God has to be the God of grace to call you to glory. The law couldn’t do that. The law robbed you of everything, and that includes glory. Remember, it is eternal glory, it is never going to end in uncreated glory. We don’t get a very good idea of glory down here. We don’t know of any other kind of glory, but to be famous, or to be rich, or to be wise. I don’t know of any other kind of glory. Maybe I’ve overlooked something, but I don’t think so, and this glory is not lasting, for men lose this glory, especially in death, they leave it behind. But this glory is eternal glory. It is glory that shall never end.
8/ This glory is reflected in your physical body, for in I Corinthians 15: 41 - 43 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star I glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raided in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raided in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
It says the resurrection body is a glorious body, and our whole being will be glorious. But this glory is mainly centralized, I believe, in the face. Let us look, first of all at the glory of the law—the Ten Commandments.
II Corinthians 3: 7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraver in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away:
There was a glory of the law, but it didn’t last, and where did the glory of the law show forth? In the face of Moses. When Moses came out from the presence of the Lord, his face was shining, but that glory did not last. It soon faded and was gone. That glory in the face of Moses was to be abolished.
9/ Let us examine the giving of the law and the shining of Moses’ face. Moses went up into the Mount, and the elders of Israel accompanied him, perhaps half way up the mountain. He told the elders to stay there until he came back. Then he took Joshua a little farther up into the mountain, and told Joshua to stay there until he returned. Moses was there 40 days and 40 nights. Moses was there seven days before the Lord spoke to him. Moses must have been a remarkable man, because we are told on the seventh day God spoke to him, and Moses had been patiently waiting for God to speak. Then God gave him the law, written by the finger of God.
He came down out of the Mount, Joshua was waiting for him. He came on down to where he left the elders, but the elders were not there, so they went back down to the nation and said What’s become of Moses? We do not know, so the people said, we have to worship something--let’s make a golden calf, so the golden calf was made, and when Moses came down out of the mount, he came upon the scene, and as you will remember, Moses cast the tables out his hands and break them beneath the mount, and it was a good thing that he did get rid of those commandments. If Moses had come down into the midst of that nation with those Ten Commandments in his hands, the whole nations would have been destroyed, it could not have been otherwise. It was a good thing that Moses got rid of them. Yet 3,000 died. Than we read that Moses went into the mount with God again.
Exodus 33: 21 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, there is a place by me, that thou shall stand upon a rock: 22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: 23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
God’s back was turned. When Moses went up into the mountain, God turned His back. What blessing could there be with God having turned His back on the people? 3,000 had already been destroyed. There is not much glory in that, is there? I am glad I am under grace and not under law, when he came down from the mountain the second time, his face was shining.
Exodus 34: 29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
When he came to the people his face was shining, and the people were afraid. Most people think Moses’ veil on his face was to hide the glory so he could talk with them. That isn’t true. Moses talked with them while his face was shining. He made them come to him.
Notice this 30th vs. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.
They were afraid to come to him, so Moses called them to him. He didn’t put a vail on at this time. He called them to him and he talked to them while his face was shining. Most people believe that in order to get the people to come to him he had to put a vail on his face, but he didn’t. He made them come, he called and they came. There is no vail as yet.
Then notice the 33rd vs. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.
The word “till”, you will find is in italics and shouldn’t be there because it alters the meaning of the verse, so it ought to read, and Moses having done speaking with them, put a veil on his face.
Then notice the 34th vs. But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded.
And when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he took the veil off. So, when he was through with the people he put a veil on his face until he went into the tabernacle, into God’s presence. He took the veil off to get a new shine, because the old shine was gone. Moses put a veil on his face so that the people wouldn’t know that the glory was going to fade away. He didn’t want them to know that. So, he took the veil off and went into the presence of God, and the Lord made his face to shine again. Then he came out to the people with his face shining. The people didn’t know but what it was the same shine. But he had a new one. He came out and talked to the people, then put the veil on again, and kept it on so they wouldn’t know that the glory was fading.
Notice, II Corinthians 3: 13 And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end, or the fading. That is why he put the veil on, so they couldn’t look to the fading of that which is abolished.
10/ But now let us go to Hebrews 1: 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
11/ Revelations 18: 1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
12/ I Corinthians 4: 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of the darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Notice the glory of God in Jesus Christ is mainly in His face. His whole being, of course is glorified.
II Corinthians 4: 6 with II Cor. 3: 13 And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
The face of Moses, the face of Jesus Christ. The glory that was in the face Moses didn’t last, but the glory that is in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ is eternal. This glory is going to be ours someday. Our faces will shine with the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as His face does shine greater than this noon-day sun, just so shall our faces shine and our beings shall be glorified.
13/ II Corinthians 3: 18 But we all (that sort of sounds Southern, doesn’t it?) But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
It is true that someday we are going to be recipients of this glory, but what about right now? We are to catch the glory of God and reflect it--of course, it will be a poor reflection, because we do not have our resurrection bodies. We are to look at the face of Jesus Christ in glory till we catch the glory. How much glory is there in this verse? There is glory upon glory. The word, beholding, can be translated, showing forth, or reflecting. The word, glass, is the word mirror. When you look into a mirror you see yourself. You don’t see anyone else. You can’t see the Lord by looking in a mirror, and it says, beholding as in a mirror. If you look in a mirror, you will see yourself, that isn’t what you want to see--you’ve seen enough of that fellow. So, it should be translated reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord.
You have seen a little boy take a small mirror in his hand, and throw the sun in your eyes, that is just the reflection of the sun, and I believe that is what this verse means. When the little glass is turned aside, it is just same as it always was. The glass doesn’t absorb the glory it merely reflects the glory. We are to keep our faces toward the Lord Jesus Christ to reflect His glory, and isn’t that exactly what we are told in Hebrew 12: 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Looking unto Jesus? The glory is reflected by us. We are told to be mirrors we are to be reflectors of the Lord Jesus Christ. But one of these days we will not be mirrors reflecting that glory, but we will actually have that glory.
AMEN
Ref: 03/21/1965 / 291 – THE GROANING CREATION / 2020
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