and even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. in their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. [2 corinthians 4:3-4]
glory
glory is a dynamic word in the scripture.
literally it means weighty, overwhelmingly weighty.
in context to the ancient world, the word glory was used to describe a king’s entourage or palace. for example – the glory of the king’s palace was stunning! a king’s palace was purposely lavish, opulent, and stunningly beautiful. the point was to overwhelm guests, make them feel small, and make the king seem great, above you – glorious.
in the scripture – the glory of God refers to the overwhelming greatness of who he is. his glory is his beauty, his power, his majesty – his very being – that is overwhelmingly great when seen without a “veil” to cover it.
Jesus is God, the son of God.
when he walked the earth, he was fully God and fully man. it was the fully man piece that veiled the fully God at times. people would eat with him, talk with him, walk with him – and not realize they were with God. crazy.
but then…
there were those moments…
when Jesus pulled back the veil of his humanity…
and revealed…
the glory of God.
he revealed his glory at every miracle he performed.
a mere man could not – turn water to wine, heal the lame, restore sight to the blind, or raise the dead.
a mere man could not – stop a storming sea or feed thousands with a few loaves and fish.
and even more overwhelmingly great…
a mere man could not – bear the sins of the world, pay the cost for those sins, and rise from the dead conquering the power of sin and death.
when Jesus rose from the dead conquering sin and death…
he revealed, “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
he revealed that he was God.
he revealed that he is by far, above all things, all people, all gods –
the most overwhelmingly great God!
he revealed his glory – in full!
today – there is so much to pray for in this truth.
may i suggest we begin with these two and then let God lead you to where his glory might lead.
first, offer prayers of thanksgiving and rejoicing that the eyes of your soul have seen the “gospel of the glory of Christ” and have believed and received him as Savior and Lord! thank him for opening your eyes, for saving you, and by his grace and love – bringing you into his family as his son, his daughter!
second, pray for those whose eyes are “veiled.” right now their eyes cannot see the glory of Jesus. they see him as just a man, a good teacher, or don’t see him at all. pray by name right now for someone who needs the veil removed so they can see and believe and receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. pray they see his glory – so they can believe.
let’s pray…
~ john ryan