Jesus in the Writings of Paul (4)
Pray Psalm 17.15.
As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.Sing Psalm 17.15.
(Park Street: All Ye That Fear Jehovah’s Name)
But as for me, LORD, save and bless! Let me behold Your righteousness.
Your face in glory I would see, and thus forever blessèd be,
and thus forever blessèd be.
Read Col. 3.1-3; 2 Cor. 4.6; 2 Cor. 3.12-18; meditate on 2 Cor. 4.6.
Preparation
1. Where has the light of God shone?
2. Where can we increase in the knowledge of God’s glory?
Meditation
Jesus is both the goal and constant companion of our journey through this life. We are like those disciples on the Road to Emmaus, only we know our Companion, and we delight to hear His words and bask in His glory. By the inward work of His Spirit, we are transformed into the likeness of Him with Whom we journey (Phil. 2.13; 2 Cor. 3.12-18).
To set our mind on seeking the face of Jesus requires immersion in His Word and Spirit at the beginning and throughout each day. Paul certainly believed that this must be the believer’s daily orientation and practice (Col. 3.1-3). As we glimpse the beauty, majesty, splendor, goodness, light, and power of Christ in His glory, and to look upon His face and enter into His Presence, joy, and pleasure (2 Cor. 3.12-18; Ps. 16.11), our desire “when we awake” (Ps. 17.15) will be that of David and Paul, and we will know safety, confidence, peace, joy, and victory, regardless of the circumstances of our lives.
In the face of our Lord Jesus Christ we come to the knowledge of God and His glory. We cannot expect men to acknowledge God or tremble before and rejoice in His glory apart from Jesus. We are docents of God’s glory, called to declare it, as well as to live it by every means and in every situation. But our calling will not be complete unless we also show Jesus to the world, how the glory of God comes to most complete expression in Him and His grace.
Jesus is the goal of our journey, and we hope to be approaching that goal increasingly, day by day. But since He is also our companion, we should expect that the glory in His face will both light our path and be refracted through us in all we do (1 Cor. 10.31)
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“Oh, bless our God, you peoples!
And make the voice of His praise to be heard,
Who keeps our soul among the living,
And does not allow our feet to be moved.
For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
You have caused men to ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to rich fulfillment” (Ps. 66.8-10).
“Jesus is the goal of our journey, and we hope to be approaching that goal increasingly, day by day.”
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I AM the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior…” (Is. 43.1-3).
“If then you were raised with Christ,
seek those things which are above, where Christ is,
sitting at the right hand of God.
Set your mind on things above,
not on things on the earth.
For you died,
and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ Who is your life appears,
then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3.1-4).
“Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;
He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous” (Ps. 112.4).
“For it is God Who commanded light to shine out of darkness,
Who has shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4.6).
“I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13.5).
Since—and because—Jesus is the point of all we do, think, and believe, “we should expect that the glory in His face will both light our path and be refracted through us in all we do.”
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…” (Phil. 2.5).
“But we have the mind of Christ…” (1 Cor. 2.16).
“With my whole heart I have sought You;
oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!” (Ps. 119.10).
“Jesus is both the goal and constant companion of our journey through this life.”
Reflection
1. How do you experience Jesus as your “constant companion” throughout your journey in life?
2. What do you do to keep Jesus as the goal of all your endeavors and works?
3. Whom will you encourage today with the reminder that Jesus is their constant companion?
[W]hatever men desire to know respecting God, apart from Christ, is evanescent, for they wander out of the way. True, indeed, God in Christ appears in the first instance to be mean, but he appears at length to be glorious in the view of those, who hold on, so as to come from the cross to the resurrection. John Calvin (1509-1564) Commentary on 2 Corinthians 4.6
Pray Psalm 17.1-7.
Listen in silence as the Lord tests your soul—heart, mind, and conscience. Resolve to follow and obey Him today. Pray that He will keep you on His righteous path in all you do.
Sing Psalm 17.1-7.
(Park Street: All Ye That Fear Jehovah’s Name)
Hear a just cause, O God the LORD! Gladly receive my plaintive word.
I cry with lips of purity: Look on my case with equity!
Look on my case with equity!
Let judgment from Your throne proceed; You have discerned my every need.
Let naught of sin in me be found, and from my tongue let truth resound!
And from my tongue let truth resound!
As for the deeds of sinful men, I will not walk those paths again.
My feet hold firm from first to last: Help me to walk Your righteous path,
help me to walk Your righteous path!
When I have called, You answered me, LORD; hear now my fervent, seeking word!
Let kindness flow by Your command. Keep and preserve me by Your Right Hand,
keep and preserve me by Your Right Hand.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: Our current ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” is dealing with the time of our livesand how we make more of this for the progress of Christ’s Kingdom. In our Read Moore column, we continue working our way through the book, Understanding the Times. And I encourage you follow our Corsfigell series on Brendan of Clonfert, nicknamed “The Navigator.” Join us and find out why. Click the Articles tab on the home page to see all the selections available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
