Beholding the Glory of God in Christ, Part II by Pastor Charlie Handren

Last week, drawing on Ephesians 5:8, 2 Corinthians 3-4, 1 John 3, and the work of John Owen, we saw that the way Christians transform from darkness into light is by beholding the glory of God in the face of Christ, and this occurs as we seek Christ by his Word and prayer.

This leads to Owen’s second bit of counsel: “Secondly, we need to think much about him if we wish to enjoy him fully (1 Peter 1:8). If we are satisfied with vague ideas about him we shall find no transforming power communicated to us. But when we cling whole-heartedly to him and our minds are filled with thoughts of him and we constantly delight ourselves in him, the spiritual power will flow from him to purify our hearts, increase our holiness, strengthen our graces, and sometimes fill us ‘with joy inexpressible and full of glory’” (The Glory of Christ, 115).

Here’s one way to summarize what Owen is saying: if you want to behold the glory of Christ, then you must strive to behold the glory of Christ. The sight of Christ does not come by laziness or apathy or the kind of “faith” that sits on a couch and waits for life to happen. It comes as faith seeks sight. It comes as longing strives for fulfillment. It comes as light aggressively seeks to overcome the darkness. It comes as love for Christ overwhelms 1,000 other desires. As Owen writes, “When we fall in love with someone we often think about them. So, when we fall in love with Christ we will be constantly thinking about him” (117).

Beloved, let us then strive after Christ by the same grace that saved us. Let us behold Christ by striving to behold Christ, dying along the way to 1,000 lesser pleasures. And let us hang on to the promise that sometimes, by the mysterious grace of God, this pursuit of Christ will fill us “with joy inexpressible and full of glory.”

“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Pet. 1:8-9).

Comments

The Secret of all Failure is our Failure in Secret Prayer

“We may be assured of this—the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer” (12). So writes the anonymous author of the classic little book on prayer entitled, The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He means that the reason we so often fall into sin or live in discouragement or fail to bear fruit is because we do not cling to God in Christ above all things. We do not diligently seek him or lean on him or plead with him or draw on his strength. We give ourselves to busyness over communion with God and in this way we seek to accomplish in our flesh what can only be accomplished in the power of the Spirit. Giving first place to what our dear author calls “secret prayer” is indeed a key to the Spirit-filled life but let’s be clear: prayer is not magic, rather, it’s a relationship. It’s not as if we simply have to file requests with God, being careful to use just the right words so that we can get him to respond as we wish. God is not a vending m

Deacons - How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Part 1)

One of the next important priorities for GCF is to establish deacons in the life of the church. On March 14, 2021 we were able to establish an elder team. Currently, we have a team of four elders overseeing the congregation of GCF. However, there is more work to be done. I have come to see that establishing an elder team was the bare minimum that needed to happen for GCF to survive. I believe GCF now needs to turn our attention to raising up a team of qualified and willing deacons to serve the congregation so that it will not only survive but thrive. I would like to begin a series of blogs on deacons to help us understand who they are and what they do in the life of the church. In this blog let me provide three reasons why I think deacons should be near our top priority. Number 1: It is Biblical. Paul instructs Timothy to install elders who will help him pastor the church. For whatever reason, it seems the churches in our circles treat the installment of elders as non-negotiable

Does the Doctrine Divide? by Patience Griswold

“Oh, I try not to talk about doctrine. It’s so divisive.” This is a sentiment that I’ve heard expressed, as well as implied, on many occasions, and one that raises the question, does doctrine divide? In answering this question, we must keep in mind a very important truth and that is that everyone holds to some sort of doctrine . “Doctrine” is defined as “a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.” Regardless of whether or not someone publicly holds to a statement of beliefs from a particular church, every Christian, by definition, holds to a particular set of beliefs. As Carl Trueman observes in his book The Creedal Imperative , [W]hile Christianity cannot be reduced to doctrine, to mere teaching, it cannot be meaningfully separated from it, either. Even the most basic claims, such as “Jesus is Lord,” carry clear doctrinal content that needs to be explicated in a world where, as we have noted before, every heretic has his text and n

Glory of Christ Fellowship

Search This Blog