His Glory Is Full of Grace and Truth

His Glory Is Full of Grace and Truth

God sent Moses with the Law to His people, but they could not keep it, for they were powerless because of the flesh. Thus their deep corruption was revealed with sin becoming known for what it is as never before: they became sinners. This made room for a new covenant that was based on better promises than the old covenant, and a better hope was brought in by which sinners could draw near to God. Just as Moses was the mediator of the first covenant, so God sent His Son to be the Mediator of the second covenant. Moses came with commandments and requirements; Jesus came with grace and truth. People sinned against God’s law, and now there was only one way to salvation: Grace. This grace was in God, and the Only Begotten, who is in the bosom of the Father, came to explain what dwelt in God. God sent Him with the glory that the Only Begotten has from His Father, full of grace for sinners, who are weary and weighed down by cares, and filled with truth to guide them from the yoke of sin into the marvelous liberty of God.

John says that Jesus revealed the Father’s glory. Now the Spirit reveals the glory of the Only Begotten Son to us. Now we behold, with unveiled face, the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, and we are all transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Cor. 3:18. His glory, which we behold, is filled with grace and truth. Being transformed (not changed) into Jesus’ image from glory to glory, means that we partake of a constantly increasing fullness of grace and truth. Some people think that beholding the Lord’s glory means beholding some vague splendor that will make an impression on our feelings. On the contrary, this is not the case. The glory is grace and truth which we, with a clear, spiritual understanding, behold with our inner eye as the Spirit makes it clear. It is this clear understanding, or knowledge, concerning this glory in the face of Jesus Christ that shall shine from us. When you behold God’s glory and truth and are transformed into His image (not according to His image as it is written in the old translation), you will receive His being and His nature. Then it will become true in you what Jesus says in John 17:22: “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them . . . .” You will be filled with grace and truth to the same degree as you behold Him. This is the heavenly treasure, the heavenly life that we have in earthen vessels. The abundant power that is to be manifested in our words and actions is the understanding and knowledge that God gives us concerning this life: Jesus’ life shall be revealed in our body.

The Scriptures testify of the natural man’s corruption. Rom. 3:10 ff., 7:18. The law came with requirements, but man was powerless against its requirements because of the weakness of the flesh. Thus they were weighed down by guilt and fell under the curse of the law. Then Jesus came, not to make demands—for He knew what dwelt in man—but to give, giving His life as a ransom. He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, so that the blessing of Abraham could come over us and so that we by faith in these promises could receive the Spirit who gives us life, even an abundance of life, making it possible for rivers of living water to flow from our life.

If Jesus had come as a law, He could have required that sinners should be good to Him, that they shouldn’t smite Him, that they shouldn’t crucify Him. However, He did not come to make any demands on them. He didn’t even ask not to be killed. On the contrary, He gave His body into their hands according to His own words not to resist an evil person; thus they filled up the measure of their sin by crucifying the Lord of Glory. Moreover, under their fullness of sin, He proclaims fullness of grace: “Father, forgive them!” He requires nothing from all who now come to Him; on the contrary, He gives them grace by forgiving them their transgressions. He has received authority to forgive by suffering—the just for the unjust—in order to lead them to God.

Jesus came with truth. He shone the light of the truth on those who were not weighed down by guilt but who posed as being righteous and had no need for grace, so that they were exposed; He chastised them as being hypocrites, Pharisees, and white-washed graves. He convicted them of their state by the truth; therefore they hated Him. But He did not retreat. Those who needed and received grace loved Him. Didn’t He also come with the truth to those who received grace? Yes. With the truth He explains to them their inner state so they can acknowledge the truth, and the truth sets them free from the things that it judges in their lives. The difference between these two is that sinners receive both grace and truth, whereas the Pharisees, who were unwilling to acknowledge their guilt, did not receive grace but had to hear the truth. Those who acknowledged the truth received the forgiving grace and the truth that sets free, whereas the Pharisees despised grace and hated the truth. This is why the tax collectors and sinners entered the kingdom of God before them.

The person who is filled with grace receives everything that others do to him with forbearance, for he demands nothing for himself; he knows the other person is worse off than he, and he is apt to repay doubly with love for the injustice that was inflicted on him. If they take his cloak, he gives them his coat also; if they want him to go one mile with them, he gladly goes two miles. He does not become zealous against the sinners but rather for them. See Proverbs 23:17. They took Jesus’ life, but He forgave.

Give what is right to everyone. Jesus gave to sinners what they needed, and He gave to those who appeared as hypocrites their dues. He made no demands for Himself; all His fountains were in God. Let us seek treasures where they are to be found. If we seek anything from those who have nothing, we will be filled with emptiness. Jesus came to serve and to give. We also. It is written about Stephen that he was full of grace. Acts 6:8. He did not resist them as they stoned him but simply said, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” However, he also understood to speak the truth, which was why they stoned him. How glorious! Grace makes people tender-hearted, full of compassion and mercy; truth makes them stand firm, so that their faces are as hard as flint against all unrighteousness.