THE GLORY OF GOD.
".....for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3v23
We come, now to the highest point of the gospel; the standard by which we measure our spiritual state, is not by any comparison with men. Compared to men some of us might fare quite well, but the yardstick is not men but God, and at that, the glory of God!: against this high and lofty standard, we all fall short. The imagery is taken from archery, where the object is to hit the bullseye, but we always fail, we always fall short. This aspect of our fallen nature focuses not only on our transgressions, overstepping the mark, breaking the Divine law, but on our shortcomings, our failure to do what we should have done, sins of omission as well as those of commission. The standard is the glory of God the moral and spiritual perfection, the sum total of all His attributes, against that standard we all fail. You might say "nobody is perfect", but God is, and that is what He demands, nothing less. Paul, thus deals a fatal blow to the human merit system. The standard is the glory of God, and we will always fall short. The situation requires Divine intervention, and indeed it has come, in the language of the GAITHER'S song "He came down to my level, when I couldn't get up to His, and with a strong hand He lifted me up to show me what living is!" There is no way humanly possible any of us can rise to the level.
Romans 3v23 all have fallen short, we are classed as ungodly Romans 4v4 even Abraham is ungodly, Romans 5v6 "when we were yet without strength Christ died for the ungodly". Jude 1v15 4 times in one verse, describing times as far back as Enoch "ungodly"-ungodly people living ungodly lives, doing ungodly actions. speaking ungodly words, and thousands of years later, still the same!
What's it all about? Why are we here? Why was the world created?
Its all about the glory of God. God will be glorified, despite the entrance of human sin, despite the ravages of human sin, despite the rebellion in human hearts against His will, He will have His way, He will be glorified, and it would be a tragedy for any of us to miss out on that future glory. Please take time to read the following verses so that you understand where the world is heading. Matthew 6v13; Matthew 24v30; Luke 2v14; 2nd Corinthians 4v6; Galatians 1v5; Ephesians 3v21;Phillipians 2v11;1st Timothy 1v17; 1st Peter 5v11;Revelation 4v11; Revelation 5v13;Revelation 7v12. Unlike what many of us think today the world is not going round in circles, but in the words of one of my great mentors Eric J Alexander "the course of this world is LINEAR, heading inexorably to its glorious end, namely the glory of God." Though we all come short, God will be glorified, and He wants to take you along with Him if you will.
What's it all about? THE CREATION ALL AROUND US Psalm 19 "The heavens declare the glory of God." Use your eyes and your ears and your brain, and take in the breathtaking wonder of His glory visible to every one of us.
In the GIVING OF THE LAW to Moses we see the astonishing moral perfection of God's glory, which if any of us were ever able to follow it, would achieve salvation, in summary love God with all your energy, love your fellow man as yourself. None of us have ever done it but it is glorious and reflects the glory of God.
The glory of God was perfectly illustrated in the life of Jesus Christ "I have glorified Thee on the earth, I have finished the work Thou gavest me to do and now O Father glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. John 17v 4&5
The glory of God is seen in the Church Romans 8 v 29 "whom He did foreknow He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son." The glory demonstrated by Jesus Christ on earth will be resonated in the future in all believers. This is the destiny of the church. In 1st Corinthians 10v31 Paul enjoins all Christians to live their lives to the standard of the glory of God "whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." The Christian church may be a million miles from this glorious objective, but this is the destiny to which we are headed, and this is the standard by which we measure our Christian lives, so we have plenty of adjusting to do. All Christians must realise the honour they have been brought into and live accordingly.
This objective will be reached by God's strength and power when the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 3v21 "Unto Him be glory in the church in Christ Jesus unto all the generations of the age of the ages.
AMEN."
AMEN ............so let it be, so it will be; there is an express train leaving for heaven shortly, make sure you don't miss it. Join up with the many who were once described as "falling short of the glory of God" but are now amongst the many who are "rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God." Romans 5 v 2
Tomorrow d.v. "justified freely by His grace."
".....for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3v23
We come, now to the highest point of the gospel; the standard by which we measure our spiritual state, is not by any comparison with men. Compared to men some of us might fare quite well, but the yardstick is not men but God, and at that, the glory of God!: against this high and lofty standard, we all fall short. The imagery is taken from archery, where the object is to hit the bullseye, but we always fail, we always fall short. This aspect of our fallen nature focuses not only on our transgressions, overstepping the mark, breaking the Divine law, but on our shortcomings, our failure to do what we should have done, sins of omission as well as those of commission. The standard is the glory of God the moral and spiritual perfection, the sum total of all His attributes, against that standard we all fail. You might say "nobody is perfect", but God is, and that is what He demands, nothing less. Paul, thus deals a fatal blow to the human merit system. The standard is the glory of God, and we will always fall short. The situation requires Divine intervention, and indeed it has come, in the language of the GAITHER'S song "He came down to my level, when I couldn't get up to His, and with a strong hand He lifted me up to show me what living is!" There is no way humanly possible any of us can rise to the level.
Romans 3v23 all have fallen short, we are classed as ungodly Romans 4v4 even Abraham is ungodly, Romans 5v6 "when we were yet without strength Christ died for the ungodly". Jude 1v15 4 times in one verse, describing times as far back as Enoch "ungodly"-ungodly people living ungodly lives, doing ungodly actions. speaking ungodly words, and thousands of years later, still the same!
What's it all about? Why are we here? Why was the world created?
Its all about the glory of God. God will be glorified, despite the entrance of human sin, despite the ravages of human sin, despite the rebellion in human hearts against His will, He will have His way, He will be glorified, and it would be a tragedy for any of us to miss out on that future glory. Please take time to read the following verses so that you understand where the world is heading. Matthew 6v13; Matthew 24v30; Luke 2v14; 2nd Corinthians 4v6; Galatians 1v5; Ephesians 3v21;Phillipians 2v11;1st Timothy 1v17; 1st Peter 5v11;Revelation 4v11; Revelation 5v13;Revelation 7v12. Unlike what many of us think today the world is not going round in circles, but in the words of one of my great mentors Eric J Alexander "the course of this world is LINEAR, heading inexorably to its glorious end, namely the glory of God." Though we all come short, God will be glorified, and He wants to take you along with Him if you will.
What's it all about? THE CREATION ALL AROUND US Psalm 19 "The heavens declare the glory of God." Use your eyes and your ears and your brain, and take in the breathtaking wonder of His glory visible to every one of us.
In the GIVING OF THE LAW to Moses we see the astonishing moral perfection of God's glory, which if any of us were ever able to follow it, would achieve salvation, in summary love God with all your energy, love your fellow man as yourself. None of us have ever done it but it is glorious and reflects the glory of God.
The glory of God was perfectly illustrated in the life of Jesus Christ "I have glorified Thee on the earth, I have finished the work Thou gavest me to do and now O Father glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. John 17v 4&5
The glory of God is seen in the Church Romans 8 v 29 "whom He did foreknow He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son." The glory demonstrated by Jesus Christ on earth will be resonated in the future in all believers. This is the destiny of the church. In 1st Corinthians 10v31 Paul enjoins all Christians to live their lives to the standard of the glory of God "whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." The Christian church may be a million miles from this glorious objective, but this is the destiny to which we are headed, and this is the standard by which we measure our Christian lives, so we have plenty of adjusting to do. All Christians must realise the honour they have been brought into and live accordingly.
This objective will be reached by God's strength and power when the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 3v21 "Unto Him be glory in the church in Christ Jesus unto all the generations of the age of the ages.
AMEN."
AMEN ............so let it be, so it will be; there is an express train leaving for heaven shortly, make sure you don't miss it. Join up with the many who were once described as "falling short of the glory of God" but are now amongst the many who are "rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God." Romans 5 v 2
Tomorrow d.v. "justified freely by His grace."
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