this Savior is himself the fullest and most face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

beautiful manifestation of the glory of God. Either we see the glory of God “in the face
He purchases our undeserved and everlast- of Jesus Christ,” or we don’t see it at all.
ing pleasure, and he becomes for us our all- And “the face of Jesus Christ” is the beauty
deserving, everlasting Treasure. of Christ reaching its climax in the cross.
The bloody face of Christ crucified (and
The Gospel is the Good News
triumphant!) is the countenance of the glory
of the Glory of Christ

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of God. What was once foolishness to us
This is how the Gospel is defined. When we
becomes our wisdom and our power and our
are converted through faith in Christ, what
boast (1 Corinthians 1:18, 24).
we see with the eyes of our hearts is “the light
Life is wasted if we do not grasp the glory
of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is
of the cross, cherish it for the treasure that
the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The
it is, and cleave to it as the highest price of
Gospel is the good news of all-conquering
every pleasure and the deepest comfort in
beauty. Or to say it the way Paul does, it
every pain.
is the good news of “the glory of Christ.”
When we embrace Christ, we embrace God.
We see and savor God’s glory. There is no
savoring of God’s glory if we do not see it
in Christ. This is the only window through
which a sinner may see the face of God and
not be incinerated. Good News Publishers
The Bible says that when God illuminates 1300 Crescent Street
Wheaton, IL 60187
our hearts at conversion, he gives “the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the For helpful Christian literature, please write to the address above or visit our
website at www.goodnewspublishers.org. Bible references: ESV.
Since September 11, 2001, I have seen more All Things Were Made for Him
This Jesus was and is a real historical man
who rejects me rejects him who sent me”
(Luke 10:16). People and religions who
clearly than ever how essential it is to exult reject Christ reject God. Do other religions
in whom “the whole fullness of deity dwells
explicitly in the excellence of Christ crucified know the true God? Here is the test: Do they
bodily” (Colossians 2:9). Since he is “God of
for sinners and risen from the dead. Christ reject Jesus as the only Savior for sinners
God, Light of Light, very God of very God,”
must be explicit in all our God-talk. It will who was crucified and raised by God from
as the old Nicene Creed says, and since his
not do, in this day of pluralism, to talk about the dead? If they do, they do not know God
death and resurrection are the central act of
the glory of God in vague ways. God without in a saving way.
God in history, it is not surprising to hear the
Christ is no God. And a no-God cannot save or That is what Jesus meant when he said, “I
Bible say, “All things were created through
satisfy the soul. Following a no-God—what- am the way, and the truth, and the life. No
him and for him” (Colossians 1:16). For him!
ever his name or whatever his religion—will one comes to the Father except through me”
That means for his glory.
be a wasted life. God-in-Christ is the only true (John 14:6). Or when he said, “Whoever
Ever since the incarnate, redeeming work
God and the only path to joy. does not honor the Son does not honor the
of Jesus, God is gladly glorified by sinners
To bring us to this highest and most dura- Father who sent him” (John 5:23). Or when
only through the glorification of the risen
ble of all pleasures, God made his Son, Jesus he said to the Pharisees, “If God were your
God-Man, Jesus Christ. His bloody death is
Christ, a bloody spectacle of blameless suffer- Father, you would love me” (John 8:42).
the blazing center of the glory of God. There is
ing and death. This is what it cost to rescue If we would see and savor the glory of
no way to the glory of the Father but through
us from a wasted life. The eternal Son of God God, we must see and savor Christ. For
the Son. All the promises of joy in God’s pres-
“did not count equality with God a thing to Christ is “the image of the invisible God”
ence, and pleasures at his right hand, come to
be grasped, but made himself nothing.” He (Colossians 1:15). To put it another way, if
us only through faith in Jesus Christ.
took “the form of a servant” and was born “in we would embrace the glory of God, we must
the likeness of men . . . . He humbled himself If We Reject Him, We Reject God embrace the Gospel of Christ. The reason for
by becoming obedient to the point of death, Jesus is the litmus test of reality for all persons this is not only because we are sinners and
even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8). and all religions. He said it clearly: “The one need a Savior to die for us, but also because
face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).
Either we see the glory of God “in the face
of Jesus Christ,” or we don’t see it at all.
And “the face of Jesus Christ” is the beauty
of Christ reaching its climax in the cross.
The bloody face of Christ crucified (and
triumphant!) is the countenance of the glory
of God. What was once foolishness to us
becomes our wisdom and our power and our
boast (1 Corinthians 1:18, 24).
Life is wasted if we do not grasp the glory
of the cross, cherish it for the treasure that
it is, and cleave to it as the highest price of
every pleasure and the deepest comfort in
every pain.

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