<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John\n16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you\ninto all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall\nhear, that<\/em> shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n John\n16:14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew\nit<\/em> unto you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n John\n16:15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that\nhe shall take of mine, and shall shew it<\/em> unto you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to know<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n what heaven is<\/strong>, you can<\/p>\n\n\n\n spell it in five letters, and when you<\/p>\n\n\n\n put the five letters together they look<\/p>\n\n\n\n like this: J E S U S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is heaven. It is all the heaven<\/p>\n\n\n\n the angels round the throne desire to<\/p>\n\n\n\n know. They want nothing better than<\/p>\n\n\n\n this- to see his face, to behold his glory,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and to dwell in it world without end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (from Spurgeon’s sermon, “Christ the<\/p>\n\n\n\n Glory of His People” #826. Luke 2:32.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd we beheld His Glory!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (John 1:14)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who are these favoured people who have beheld the glory of him\nwho is the only begotten of the Father?<\/p>\n\n\n\n They are a chosen people, God\u2019s elect. The Lord Jesus said, \u201cI\nknow whom I have chosen.\u201d He said, \u201cYe have not chosen me, but I have chosen\nyou.\u201d He came unto his own, and his own received him not; but they who did\nreceive him are described as people who were \u201cborn not of blood, nor of the\nwill of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.\u201d The elect in Christ\u2019s\nday, though they were but a small remnant, nevertheless did exist. There were\nbut few who followed him; but there were a few who followed the Lamb\nwhithersoever he went. The \u201cwe,\u201d then, who beheld Christ\u2019s glory, were a chosen\ncompany. So it was then, and so it is now. Thank God for his electing love.\nThose who behold his glory are those who were chosen from eternity to behold\nhis glory (Acts 13:48).And those who behold his glory here shall behold his\nglory forever in the world to come (John 17:24). Thank God for his electing\nlove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those who behold Christ\u2019s glory are a graciously called people.\nWe behold his glory because we have been specifically called by him to behold\nhis glory. \u2014 \u201cHe calleth unto him whom he would\u201d (Mark 3:13). \u2014 \u201cHe calleth his\nown sheep by name\u201d (John 10:3). It is written of those he delivers from going\ndown to the pit, \u201cHis life shall see the light\u201d (Job 33:28). \u201cMany shall see\nit, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord\u201d (Psalm 40:3). \u2014 \u201cThey shall see the\nglory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God\u201d (Isaiah 35:2). \u2014 \u201cThe humble\nshall see this and be glad\u201d (Psalms 69:32; Isaiah 25:9). The Son of God calls\nhis own sheep by name and leads them out. If you and I behold Christ\u2019s glory,\nit is because he has called us to himself; and that call is the result of his\nelection of us unto salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These who behold his glory are also a divinely illuminated\npeople. If others do not see what we see, and we are as blind as they by\nnature, our seeing his glory must be because of something he has done for us\nand in us, and not because of anything in us or done by us (2 Corinthians 4:6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n C. H. Spurgeon wrote, \u201cNone of the princes of this world knew\nhim. The priests who had studied the law could not discover him; the members of\nthe Sanhedrim, who were under some expectation of his advent, could not\nperceive him. In vain the star in the east; in vain the miraculous appearance\nof angels to the shepherds; the blind generation would not perceive him. In\nvain the opening of blind eyes and the preaching of the gospel to the poor; in\nvain the raising of the dead; in vain all those innumerable signs and wonders;\nthey could not perceive his glory; but of those who did perceive it it may be\nsaid, as of Simon Barjonas, \u2018Blessed art thou, for flesh and blood hath not\nrevealed this unto thee.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBlessed are your eyes, for they see!\u201d \u2014 None believe in Christ\nbut those who are his sheep. No man comes unto him except the Father who sent\nhim draws them, and none ever perceive him but those whose eyes are opened by\nhis own healing fingers. Let the question be passed round among us. \u2014 Do I\nbehold his glory? If so, beloved, it is because he chose me, he called me and\nhe illuminates me by his grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The only begotten of the Father, full of grace and\ntruth!” John 1:14<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Charles Spurgeon)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Believer, you can bear your testimony that Christ is the only\nbegotten of the Father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can say, “He is truly divine. He has done that for me,\nwhich none but a God could do!<\/p>\n\n\n\n He has . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n subdued my stubborn will,<\/p>\n\n\n\n melted a heart of adamant,<\/p>\n\n\n\n opened gates of brass,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and snapped bars of iron!<\/p>\n\n\n\n He has turned my mourning into laughter, and my desolation into\njoy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n He has made my heart rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of\nglory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let others think as they will of Him\u2014to me He must be the only\nbegotten of the Father!<\/p>\n\n\n\n And He is full of grace. Ah! had He not been, then I would never\nhave been saved! He drew me when I struggled to escape from His grace; and when\nat last I came all trembling like a condemned culprit to His mercy-seat He\nsaid, “Your sins which are many, are all forgiven!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n And He is full of truth. True have His promises been, not one\nhas failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I bear witness that . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n never any servant had such a master as I have;<\/p>\n\n\n\n never any brother had such a kinsman as He has been to\nme;<\/p>\n\n\n\n never any spouse had such a husband as Christ has been to\nmy soul;<\/p>\n\n\n\n never any sinner had a better Savior;<\/p>\n\n\n\n never any mourner had a better comforter than Christ has\nbeen to my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I desire none beside Him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n In life, He is my true life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In death, He shall be the death of death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In poverty, Christ is my true riches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In darkness, He is my sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He is my manna in this poor wilderness world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He shall be heavenly manna when I come to the heavenly Canaan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus is to me . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n all grace, and no wrath;<\/p>\n\n\n\n all truth, and no falsehood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And of grace and truth He is full, infinitely full!<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The only begotten of the Father, full of grace and\ntruth!” John 1:14<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dear Miss Medhurst<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Letters of John Newton)<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our\nfaith!” Hebrews 12:2<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dear Miss Medhurst,<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best advice I can send, or the best wish for you, is, that\nyou may have an abiding and experimental sense of those words of the apostle\nwhich are just now upon my mind, “Looking unto Jesus!” The duty, the\nprivilege, the safety, the unspeakable happiness, of a believer \u2014 are all\ncomprised in that one sentence! Let us first pray that the eyes of our faith\nand understanding may be opened and strengthened; and then let us fix our whole\ngaze upon Him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n But HOW are we to behold Him? I answer, in the looking-glass of\nHis written Word! There He is represented to us in a variety of views. The\nwicked world can see no form nor loveliness in the portraiture He has given of\nHimself. Yet blessed be God, there are those who can “behold His glory as\nthe glory of the only begotten Son of God, full of grace and truth!” And\nwhile they behold it \u2014 they find themselves “changed into His image, from\nglory to glory,” by the transforming influence of the Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the\nglory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as\nby the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n When our desires and affections ascend to where the Lord Jesus\nChrist now is, when raised out of all the smoke and fog, din and strife, noise\nand bustle, cares and anxieties, pursuits and pleasures, sins and sorrows of\nthis earthly scene, we can in faith and hope, in love and affection, live above\nand beyond all things here below, and beholding with unveiled face the glory of\nthe Lord, “are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by\nthe Spirit of the Lord”–this is being made to sit together in heavenly\nplaces in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the Lord Jesus went up on high he entered into his glory.\nAs then we behold him in his glory in faith and love, there is the reflection\nof his glory, and saints thus favored enter into heaven when still upon earth,\nand have the foretaste of the glory which is to be revealed at the Lord’s\ncoming before they are forever clothed with it. There are indeed comparatively\nfew who are so highly favored, and even they only at rare intervals, and for\nshort moments; but that does not affect the truth and certainty of the fact. It\nis a most blessed truth that if we are members of the mystical body of Christ,\nthe deficiency of our experience, though it deprives us of much of the\nenjoyment, does not deprive us of our interest in, or union with, our great\ncovenant Head, and of the fruits which spring out of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In vain do we use our reasonings and arguments, and resolutions\n\u2014 to beat down our sins and corruptions, and to silence our fears; but a\nbelieving view of Jesus does the business!<\/p>\n\n\n\n When heavy trials in life are appointed to us, and we are called\nto give up, or perhaps to pluck out, a right eye \u2014 it is an easy matter for a\nbystander to say “Be comforted;” and it is as useless as easy; but a\nview of Jesus by faith comes home to the point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we can fix our thoughts upon Him, as laying aside all His\nhonors, and submitting for our sakes to drink off the bitter cup of the wrath\nof God to the very dregs; and when we further consider: that He who thus\nsuffered for our sins, knows and sympathizes with all our weaknesses; that He\nis now the Supreme Disposer of all that concerns us; that He numbers the very\nhairs of our heads, appoints every trial we meet with in number, weight, and\nmeasure; and will allow nothing to befall us but what shall contribute to our\ngood \u2014 this view, I say, is a medicine suited to the disease, and powerfully reconciles\nus to every cross!<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Jesus is upon our thoughts, either in His humbled \u2014 or His\nexalted state; either as bleeding on the cross \u2014 or as worshiped by all the\nhost of heaven \u2014 then we can ask the apostle’s question with a befitting\ndisdain, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God\nforbid!” What! shall I sin against my Lord, my Love, my Friend \u2014 who once\ndied for my sins, and now lives and reigns on my behalf! What! shall I sin\nagainst my Redeemer who supports, and leads, and guides, and feeds me every\nday? God forbid! No! I would rather wish for a thousand hands and eyes, and\nfeet, and tongues \u2014 for ten thousand lives \u2014 that I might devote them all to\nHis blessed service!<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our\nfaith!” Hebrews 12:2<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have You Beheld His Glory?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we\nbeheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of\ngrace and\ntruth.\u201d \n(John 1:14)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe beheld.\u201d \u2014 John does not say, we heard about his\nglory, or we read about his glory, but \u201cwe beheld his glory.\u201d What a privilege\nthat is!<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is much more than a physical, carnal vision of the Lord\nJesus. Many saw him with the eyes of their heads, who never saw him with the\neye of faith, who never beheld his glory. And many today behold him with the\neye of carnal reason, who never behold his glory; because they do not know him\nand do not behold him by faith, having him revealed in them by the Spirit of\nGod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When John says, \u201cWe beheld his glory,\u201d he is saying the very\nsame thing Peter said when he wrote, \u201cWe have not followed cunningly devised\nfables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus\nChrist, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty\u201d (2 Peter 1:16). He is talking\nabout that which he, with Peter and James, beheld on the Mount of\nTransfiguration. Christ was transfigured before them. They saw him as he now\nappears in heaven, glorified with the glory he had with the Father before the\nworld was. They saw the Lord Jesus Christ as the sinner\u2019s Substitute, who\naccomplished redemption by his death upon the cursed tree (Luke 9:28-31).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The word \u201cdecease\u201d in Luke 9:31 is literally the word \u201cexodus.\u201d\nThese disciples beheld his glory upon the mount, the very same glory that is\nrevealed to us by the saving operations of his Spirit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By the death he accomplished, our Lord Jesus fulfilled the law\nand the prophets, <\/p>\n\n\n\n pleased the Father (Matthew 17:5), <\/p>\n\n\n\n obtained eternal redemption for us (Hebrews 9:12), <\/p>\n\n\n\n earned the right to be Lord as our Mediator and <\/p>\n\n\n\n revealed the glory of God as \u201ca just God and a Saviour\u201d (Isaiah\n45:20-22). <\/p>\n\n\n\n In Christ crucified God sent forth \u201chis mercy and his truth\u201d\nfrom heaven and saved us (Psalm 57:3; 85:10; Proverbs 16:6; Micah 7:20).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you beheld the glory of Christ by the Spirit\u2019s gift of\nfaith? <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you would behold his glory, he says, \u201cLook unto me!\u201d Look and\nyou will see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He does not say \u201cWork for me,\u201d but \u201clook unto me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n He does not say, \u201cFigure me out,\u201d but \u201clook unto me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n He does not say, \u201cServe me,\u201d but \u201clook unto me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n He does not say, \u201cFeel after me,\u201d but \u201clook unto me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n He does not even say, \u201cPray to me,\u201d but \u201clook unto me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Look away to Christ and, looking, you will behold his glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trusting Christ, we see his glory, just as Isaiah did, \u201cthe\nglory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth\u201d (Isaiah\n6:1-7). It is by faith, only by faith that we behold his glory (John 11:40).\nTrusting the Lord Jesus Christ, we behold his glory in redemption, in the\nsaving operations of his grace and in his blessed providence!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. John 16:14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6039"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6040,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6039\/revisions\/6040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}