The Incarnate Image

Heb.1-6 - God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
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:
4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

Col.1:12-16 - Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Do you ever separate yourself from the ecclesiastical norm and meditate on the spiritual mysteries about which the Scriptures provide but a glimpse for us? Imagine this: God is an invisible spirit. But if the spirit could be seen it would be Jesus. Now unless you believe God was always in human form, like some cults do, then you must believe that these verses have a deeper and more profound meaning.

As humans we depend upon and seem to trust more fully in our eyesight. We give much more credence to things we can see than things that we cannot. Smell, taste, feel, and hear are usually support systems for the eyes. And in a perfect convergence, the Spirit borrowed Mary’s womb and the Incarnate Redeemer, in the likeness of sinful flesh, came forth. Here he was, God in the flesh, the God that we can see. The very image of the Everlasting God. But of course God can never fully be captured in one time and one place.

But what a glorious mystery! We know that in order for us to understand anything God had to use human illustrations and metaphors. And God also desired to emphasize relationship. God could have called Himself God 1 and called Jesus God 2 and the Spirit God 3. But using the human terms Father and Son, we gained an understanding of love and relationship even though the Godhead itself is equal and maintains a deep mystery. The Scriptures refer to God’s hands, His wings, His shadow, His arms, His feet, and so on. Again, these are gracious revelations designed to help us understand the unsearchable mysteries.

I Jn.3:1-2 - Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Today, as the Apostle Paul taught us, we see through a glass darkly. Glimpses and shadows, a peek here and a peek there, are what is appropriated to us believers. But oh the majesty and mouth watering glory of those glimpses! To even touch the hem of His garment is to touch eternity itself. And the Scriptures clearly let us know that we cannot fully grasp what eternity shall be like, for it is far too glorious and far too celestial and transcendent for us to completely imagine. I mean do you really believe the heavenly gates will be made of oyster spittle? But at least we can grasp that metaphor, even though the Gates of Splendor will be far beyond what the human mind has ever contemplated.

But John tells us that in the midst of that which we cannot now know, we can know that we will be like Him. Oh my, we are undone. To be like Jesus? I am so unlike Him now, and I wish that I was so much more like Him here. But in another act that elevates God’s power and grace, God will make us like the Risen Christ. I am not sure what that means and how expansive that will be. I know many will define it as having a spiritual body, but that in and of itself will be the culmination of God’s redemption that goes far beyond what we could ever have dreamed.

Now we are so prone to sin, and as Wesley observed, so prone to wander. This sin thing continues to hound us in thought, word, and deed. We have become accomplished sinners that can even redefine our sin as moral outrage or righteous indignation or even taking a scriptural stand. But in the end, when we die, it will only be the blood of Jesus which covers our sins because our sins are still many and varied. And once again, no man will glory in His sight. We as believers in Jesus, still sinning, we will be made sinless. What we could never do on our own, in fact what our hearts can never fully commit to, will be the crowing jewel upon the head of the King of Kings. His subjects will finally be able to worship Him with sinless hands and hearts and with the shackles of time removed from our beings.

The Invisible God will be fully visible to the eyes of the spirit. How beautiful will the Lord Jesus be! How staggering His glory! How colossal His power! How enthralling His love! How unsearchable His grace! To see Him as he is - It immobilizes the mind and renders all other things as dung! This will not be some written doctrine printed on heaven’s wall. This will be the revelation of the Eternal Creator God, the King of Kings and lord of Lords, arrayed in all His glory without filter or compromise. This will be the incomprehensible reward for all who trusted in Him. And like the Levites of old, we will not be given our reward in land and riches. Our inheritance will be Him.

And with that as our reward we will be humbly and joyfully satisfied…forever.