Exploring the burden-breaking, joy-giving, purpose-producing realities of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the lens of the all-satisfying glory of God.

Good News. That’s what the word, “Gospel”, actually means. But what is this good news? At it’s core, the good news is that God has made a way for His creatures to find our deepest and fullest joy for all of eternity – and to find that joy in God himself, the source and focus of everything. The Gospel offers us an experience of joy and glory that goes far beyond the sweetest victories and most satisfying experiences of this life. And this joy isn’t the fleeting sort of joy we so often experience. It’s not the sort of joy that ebbs and flows with our circumstances. No, the joy the Gospel offers is a joy that endures through the deepest valleys and darkest sorrows of this life – a sustaining joy that carries us through it all – a sort of joy that carries us safely home into the eternal embrace of the Lord and unimaginable pleasures forevermore!

The Fountain of Glory

God has always existed in marvelous glory. This glory overflowed in the act of creation. As the crown of His creation, we were designed to reflect and enjoy the glory of God for all eternity.

“1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 

Psalm 19:1-2, ESV

Long before you and I were born, before earth took shape around the sun, or the first star coalesced into a giant burning sphere; before even time itself, there was God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – existing in unimaginable joy and inconceivable glory.  God needed nothing more, nor was anything lacking.   

Yet from the overflow of this perfect joy and glory, bursting forth like a mighty geyser, God created the universe – from atom to galaxy, and everything in between. God crowned His creation with man and woman – creating us in His own image, that we might reflect and revel in the all surpassing value and matchless worth of God.  And for a time, that’s exactly what our first parents did – enjoying the unfettered pleasures and boundless joys of a paradise without sin, pain or death – partaking in all the fullness of relationship with their Maker, face to face. It was exceedingly glorious and joyful beyond bounds.   

The Theft of Glory

Yet we wanted God’s glory for ourselves, and we tried to take it. By this act of rebellion, toil, sin and death were brought into the world. Because of this, we are sinners by nature, but also by choice, and our own rebellion of preferring and worshipping other things over God is worthy of eternal punishment.

“21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” 

Romans 1:21-23, NASB1995

But tragically, this glorious slice of heaven was not enough for us.  We were not content to merely bask in the glory of God. We wanted that glory for ourselves – to be able to decide for ourselves what was right and wrong. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, rebelled against God, preferring independence to intimacy, and turning their backs on the goodness and kindness of the Lord.  Seeking to be free, they became slaves to death and sin.    

With their rebellion came brokenness, toil, pain and death. Sin entered creation, and with it all manner of wickedness would soon spring.  Murder, adultery, avarice, deceit, abuse, selfishness, self-righteousness, exploitation and a panoply of other sins have marked humanity ever since.  At the heart of these sins is the very same self-centered, prideful presumption that first brought sin into the world.  By nature, we want to be made much of.  We want what we want when we want it, and by default we disregard or fail to consider how our desires might impact others.  We place ourselves in the center of the universe where only God rightfully belongs. 

“1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” 

Ephesians 2:1-3, ESV

We are every bit the rebels that Adam and Eve once were, and with that comes a profound separation from the only One who can truly satisfy our souls.  And so, we spend our lives seeking significance and value in the gifts instead of the Giver, hoping that money, influence, fame, intimacy, power or a hundred other things will satisfy our souls.  But sooner or later, whether we’re broke or a billionaire, we all find that no matter the pursuit, it will always leave us wanting for more. 

But the cost of our rebellion goes far deeper than the hardships and broken relationships of this life. By seeking our own glorification apart from God and continuing to do the things that God, in His love, commanded us not to do, we are denying the supreme wisdom and worth of God and seeking to usurp His rightful reign.  Like the incredulity of a pot presuming that it has the right to tell its maker what it ought to be, our rebellion against the perfectly holy and blameless Creator of the Universe is an act of arrogance and betrayal – deserving of eternal punishment under the righteous wrath of God. Such is the dreadful weight of our sin. 

The Glory of Grace

But God, in His great grace, sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live a sinless life, die a substitutionary death, and gloriously rise again, triumphant over sin and the grave.

“4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” 

Isaiah 53:4-6, NASB1995

Written some 750 years before Jesus walked the earth, Isaiah 53, like so many places in the Old Testament, foretells of a coming Messiah who will save His people once and for all. From eternity past, long before our first sin and rebellion, God purposed to rescue His people through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, who would willingly and gloriously lay His life down for his beloved sheep, even while they were still his enemies.   

So who exactly is Jesus and what did He do?  In short Jesus is God – the second member of the Trinity – who came down to earth, taking on our human form, not as a reigning king, but as a lowly baby boy.  Over the next 33 years, He experienced all manner of human temptation, but unlike our first father, Adam, Jesus never gave in to sin’s siren call – even to the point of death.  During his earthly ministry, Jesus preached the good news of the glory of God’s grace in the Gospel.  Yet He was hated by his own countrymen, who sought to have Jesus executed.  

But even this was part of the plan. None of this came as a surprise to Jesus.  He knew His mission and, despite the excruciating pain and depths of relational sorrow that He was about to endure,He pressed on toward the cross. In the hours leading up to His death on the cross, Jesus was abandoned, denied and betrayed by his closest friends, He was mocked and insulted by the religious leaders who should have been bowing at His feet in worship.  He was whipped within inches of His life. And then came the climactic horror of the Roman cross, upon which His excruciating physical pain was eclipsed by the agony of bearing the Father’s just wrath which we deserve.  Think of it – after an eternity of perfect love, joy and glory with the Father, Jesus was instead experiencing the unimaginable weight of the Father’s hatred of our sins.  Having accomplished this, Jesus breathed His last and gave up His spirit. 

“5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” 

Philippians 2:5-11, NASB1995

And with that, it was finished. On the morning of the third day, some of his heartbroken disciples went to visit Jesus tomb, only to find that He had done exactly what he had promised He would – He rose from the dead, conquering death and sin for all who would believe! This is the glory of God’s grace – that He would take upon Himself the sins of His rebellious creatures – all to the praise of His glorious grace!

The Fullness of Glory

God calls all to repentance and belief, producing the very faith He requires, by giving us a new heart and the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit. God promises to grow our faith and obedience in this life, and to make us partakers of His all-satisfying glory for all of eternity to come.

“4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Ephesians 2:4-10, ESV

But God… Perhaps the greatest turn of phrase in all of history – this one truth is at the very center of why God created the world and ordained that sin and evil would enter His perfect creation.  As the passage above so beautifully proclaims, God is an amazingly lavish giver!  Words fail to describe just how outrageous it is that God made a way for us, His rebellious enemies, to be brought near to Him through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We owe it all to Him – every ounce of our faith, every bit of our good works, every step of our obedience is a gift of God’s glorious grace alone, delivering us from any cause for boasting in our faith.  From top to bottom, it’s a gift.  

“And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God.”

Ezekiel 11:19-20, NASB1995

But the good news doesn’t stop with Jesus dying for our sins.  Yes, by God’s grace, He calls us to himself and removes our stubborn and rebellious will, replacing it with a supple and shapeable heart that desires to do His will.  And God keeps and seals His children by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell within every believer, so that we are able to walk in a life of joyful obedience.  This doesn’t mean we don’t still struggle with sin in this life.  But it does mean that the Spirit will ensure that no matter how many times we fall into sin, He will always lift us back up to repentance and obedience. 

But praise be to God, there is a time coming, just on the other side of death, where every visage of sin will forever be vanquished from our souls.  For all who have put their faith alone in Christ, we are promised an eternity of fullest joy and unspeakable glory, free from all the pain, toil and sorrow that sin brought into this world.  Here, on the other side of the cross, we will see God most fully as he truly is – His grace, love, justice, mercy, glory and so much more – and we will be forever and fully satisfied to bask in the glory of His grace in the endless ages to come!    

What Next? Glory & Grace Embraced

God calls us to recognize our sin, turn aside from seeking our satisfaction in the things of this world, and to turn to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. He calls us to find meaningful Christian community, and together to spend the rest of our lives running the race of faith in pursuit of Him!

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Hebrews 12:1-3, NASB1995

Despite all of the glorious truths of God’s redemptive plan, merely knowing the facts will not suffice.  The sheer nature of these realities calls us to embrace them with all our heart and all our might!  And that invitation is extended to you today.  God’s Word calls you to repent and believe, but what does that mean?

When the Lord regenerates our heart, He grants us repentance and faith.  When the Bible speaks of repentance, it is a call to recognize the wickedness of your sin and your spiritual bankruptcy before a holy God – to hate it and turn from it. We must accept that no matter how much good we do, it’s never enough to earn God’s favor – and in fact, we recognize that the very idea of earning God’s favor is a profound affront to the cross of Jesus Christ. And while this doesn’t mean we will never struggle with sin again, it does mean that our dominant response to our own sin is to hate it. 

“8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”

1 Peter 1:8,9, NASB1995

And then there’s the call to believe.  This isn’t merely an intellectual embrace of certain facts, though it certainly includes that.  Morseo, it’s a response of the heart that rightly embraces those truths – a heart that hates our sin and treasures the good news of Jesus Christ.  We trust that what the Bible says is true, and that our only hope for salvation is found in the completed work of Jesus alone.  And in that, we love Him and find great Joy in the God of our salvation!.

If you feel that the Lord has done this work in your soul, the proper response is to pray.  There’s no magic formula or secret sequence you need to pray, but it’s nevertheless fitting to thank the Lord for shining the light of the Gospel of Christ into your heart, and to ask that He would keep you and prove this new-found faith to be genuine.  To pray that the Lord would help you to find good Christian community and do the work of making you more and more like Jesus until that day in which He brings you safely home.  

“18 Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Matthew 13:18-23, NASB1995

But even in this, we see a caution from Jesus. We don’t put our trust in our own faith, but in God, who produces and sustains it. In the Parable of the Soils, Jesus warns us that not everyone who seems to initially believe in the Gospel has true faith.  This is a sobering warning that serves both to remind us of our utter dependance on the grace and mercy of God, and warn us against spiritual snares that can undermine what faith we thought we had.  Jesus points to lack of understanding, hardship and prosperity as dangerous temptations for our souls. These things, each in their unique way, lure us away from God and back toward self.   

Jesus also calls us to count the costs of following Him, lest we find the price of our faith to be higher than we are willing to pay. The Bible promises us that those who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12).  Your faith may affect or profoundly change your family life, your friend groups, your career, and for some, it will mean severe suffering and even death.  Following Jesus is no small thing, and while it will cost you dearly, your reward is great – both in this life, and in the life to come. Indeed, what Jim Elliot, martyred missionary to the Waorani people of Ecuador, said is so true: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”  

What Next? Glory & Grace Lived Out

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 1:6, NASB1995

God is in the business of lavishing on His children streams of overflowing grace. The work that Jesus begins in our hearts He is committed to completing.  And He accomplishes this through a wide array of graces in our lives. Here’s a few that are really important for us to embrace – and especially so when we are new to the faith – as we seek to grow closer to the Lord and become more and more like Jesus dad by day:

Invest Deeply in a Healthy Church – From the beginning, we were not designed to do this on our own.  There are no Lone Rangers in the Christian faith.  One of the main ways God shows us sustaining grace is through the partnership, encouragement and accountability of fellow followers of Jesus Christ.  They are there to walk beside us when we’re struggling, to sit beside us when we are grieving, and to jump for joy with us when we rejoice.  The Bible goes as far as to describe us as members of one another.  We need each other to thrive in our faith.  So, I’d encourage you, at the onset, find a good church and go all in.  What’s a good church? It’s one where the Bible is central to all they do – where the service is centered on God – where there is genuine, caring community – where prayer, worship, and teaching are robust and frequent – and where parishioners are actively seeking to point others to the all-satisfying promise of the Gospel, both near and far.   

Read the Bible Voraciously – The Bible is God’s primary and ultimate communication with us, and as such, it should be a central part of our daily Christian life.  Many find that reading the Bible as the first thing they do in the morning and the last thing they do in the evening is a helpful way to bookend our days with life-giving truth.  If you’re new to the Bible, consider reading one of the Gospels (I suggest John) to see how your Savior lived while here on earth.      

Pray, Pray, Pray – We owe everything to God, and more than that, God’s Word promises us that, for the believer, everything, including pain and suffering, is purposed by God for our greatest good.  Everything we receive is a gift from the Father’s hand.  And so, it is only natural to go to Him frequently and fervently in prayer. Prayer is a crucial part of any vibrant Christian life.  God calls us to pray at all times and in every season, giving thanks to Him for all He is and everything He’s done. 

“Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

1 Corinthians 10:31, NASB1995

I leave you with this one amazing verse. While only 17 words, it encompasses our entire mission in this life. Whatever we do – down to even what we eat and drink – it should be a purposeful, worshipful reflection on the glory of God. At its very essence, this is our life’s goal – to make much of the One who died to make an end to all our sin!

May the beautiful chorus of the old hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, be increasingly true of us all, that in the face of of the glory and worth of Christ, “The things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace!”