"THE
LIGHT OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST"
MF Blume
August 28, 2011
Acts 9:1-9 MKJV And Saul, still breathing out threatenings
and
slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high
priest
(2) and asked letters from him to Damascus to the synagogues;
so that
if he found any of the Way, whether they were men or women, he might
bring them bound to Jerusalem. (3) But in going, it
happened as he
drew near to Damascus, even suddenly a light from the heaven shone
around him. (4) And he fell to the earth and heard
a voice saying to
him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? (5) And
he said, Who are
you, lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you persecute. It is hard
for you to kick against the goads. (6) And
trembling and astonished,
he said, Lord, what will You have me to do? And the Lord said to him,
Arise and go into the city, and you shall be told what you must
do.
(7) And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless,
indeed
hearing a voice but seeing no one. (8) And Saul was
lifted up from
the earth, his eyes were opened, but he saw no one. But they led him by
the hand and brought him into Damascus. (9) And he
was three days not
seeing, and did not eat or drink.
Acts 9:17-18 MKJV And Ananias went and entered into the
house. And
putting his hands on him, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord, Jesus, who
appeared to you in the way in which you came, has sent me to you that
you might see and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
(18) And instantly
scales as it were fell from his eyes, and he instantly saw again. And
rising up, he was baptized.
2 Corinthians 4:5-6 MKJV (5) For we do not preach
ourselves, but
Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus'
sake.
(6) For it is God who said, "Out of darkness Light shall
shine;" who
shone in our hearts to give the brightness of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Saul of Tarsus became Paul the Apostle.
- It began when a light shone
upon Saul and struck him to the ground.
- It blinded him for three
days.
- That light was the presence
of Jesus Christ, whom Paul knew was God, but not that GOD WAS JESUS.
- The LIGHT showed Paul the
GLORY OF GOD WAS IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST.
- In other words, GOD WAS
UNDERSTOOD in the face of Jesus Christ.
- His face was so bright, just
as it was in Matt 17 the day His face shone like the sun on the
mountain of Transfiguration.
Paul later described his conversion as light shining in a dark place,
just as when God said LET THERE BE LIGHT in Genesis 1!
- This light showed him the
KNOWLEDGE OF GOD IN THE FACE OF JESUS.
- He was actually describing
the revelation he had in Acts 9 THAT JESUS WAS GOD.
- God “shone in our
hearts to give the brightness of the knowledge of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ.”
Paul learned about JESUS when the LIGHT SHONE ON HIM.
We also need to learn about something special concerning JESUS that has
to do with YOU AND I.
Paul understood that the glory of God is IN JESUS.
The ark of the covenant was also called the GLORY OF GOD.
1 Samuel 4:21-22 MKJV And she named the child Ichabod,
saying, The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God had
been taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
(22) And she said, The glory has departed from Israel, for
the ark of God is taken.
David called it THE GLORY as well in recounting this story in 1 Sam 4
through 5.
Psalms 78:56-61 MKJV Yet they tempted and provoked the Most
High God, and kept not His testimonies; (57) but
they turned back, and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; they were
turned aside like a deceiving bow. (58) For they
provoked Him to anger with their high places, and moved Him to jealousy
with their carved images. (59) When God heard, He
was angry, and turned away from Israel; (60) so
that He left the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which He placed among
men, (61) and delivered His strength into
captivity, and His glory into the enemy's hands.
Shiloh was where the Ark was when it was taken to battle by
Eli’s sons and stolen by the Philistines.
Psalms 78:65-66 MKJV Then the Lord awakened like one out of
sleep, like a mighty man rejoicing with wine. (66)
And He drove His enemies backward; He put them to a never-ending shame.
Like the LIGHT exploding out of darkness, the Lord awakened as if out
of a sleep, and destroyed the enemies while in the temple of Dagon.
Psalms 78:66 KJV And he smote his enemies in the hinder
parts: he put them to a perpetual reproach.
Recall the EMERODS in the hinder parts where he smote the Philistines
with a plague.
- Shiloh was in the
EPHRAIM’S land.
- After we read his Ark left
Shiloh and into the hands of enemies where He awoke and smote the
enemies, we read the Ark did not go to Josephs’ tribe, who
was father of Ephraim.
Psalms 78:67 KJV Moreover he refused the tabernacle of
Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim:
Psalms 78:68 KJV But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion
which he loved.
The ark went to ZION!
- In JUDAH’S LAND in
the Tabernacle of David where also the throne of David was erected.
Psalms 78:69 KJV And he built his sanctuary like high
palaces, like the earth which he hath established for ever.
Psalms 78:70 KJV He chose David also his servant, and took
him from the sheepfolds:
(The temple was later built on Mt. Moriah, never to be removed any more
anywhere else as in the wilderness.)
Notice how GOD AWOKE once taken by the enemies.
- And it’s as if GOD
FORGOT ALL ABOUT HIS PEOPLE’S SINS that caused him to depart
from them.
- He explodes in the temple of
Dagon and destroys them in their hinder parts.
What a perfect picture of Christ who was delivered due to the sins of
Israel, and exploded in the GRAVE in resurrection power, destroying the
power of the devil, willing to FORGIVE SINS due to that death and
resurrection!
Read the text again:
2 Cor 4:(6) For it is God who said, "Out of darkness Light
shall shine;" who shone in our hearts to give the brightness of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Notice how the GLORY OF GOD is mentioned by Paul when he said God
shines light of knowledge into our dark hearts.
- Knowledge of the GLORY OF
GOD.
- The picture of LIGHT SHINING
OUT OF DARKNESS looks so much like the ARK OF THE COVENANT exploding in
power in the temple of the false god and idol Dagon.
- And Paul called it LIGHT OF
THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD, just as the ARK was called the GLORY
OF GOD.
- So we have two parts of 2
Cor 4:6 that are very similar to the Ark’s story of
it being taken into a false god’s temple and destroying that
false god.
1) Reference to LIGHT SHINING OUT OF
DARKNESS, as the Ark exploded after it was put into Dagon’s
temple.
2) Reference to the GLORY OF GOD, which
both Jesus and the Ark of the covenant were called.
Since God’s Word called the ARK OF THE COVENANT by the name
THE GLORY OF GOD, we can see how it represents JESUS CHRIST.
- So for that reason I am
going to use the story of the destruction of the idol Dagon by the Ark
of the covenant to help us understand how Jesus brought destruction to
the power of the devil that was over our lives.
- Other stories of the ARK
will speak of Jesus Christ as well.
The history of the ARK OF THE COVENANT shows Christ’s
glorious victory over the enemy.
When Paul described the LIGHT SHINING OUT OF DARKNESS, giving KNOWLEDGE
OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF JESUS, the emphasis is that
God’s Glory is in JESUS.
- And the most notable and
significant thing about Jesus is the CROSS.
- The death, burial and
resurrection.
- Just like light shining out
of darkness in Paul’s heart and in Genesis 1, the ARK
exploded in power in Dagon’s temple.
- It broke off the human head
and hands of the idol.
We saw how this corresponded to the deaths of Phinehas and Hophni
(mouth of the serpent and fist fighter), and the breaking of
Eli’s neck.
- The message is that when we
deal with the works of the flesh (Eli’s sons) and the life of
the old man who should be crucified (Rom 6:6—represented by
ELI), the glory of God goes to work and destroys the power of the devil
over us.
- His only power over us is
when we give him our members as instruments of unrighteousness.
Romans 6:13 KJV Neither yield ye your members as instruments
of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those
that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God.
Paul spoke of this in Romans 6, in teaching the KNOWLEDGE of Jesus
Christ’s death, burial and resurrection.
- Romans 6 is all about
KNOWING that we were included in Christ’s death.
- As the head and hands of us
all were yielded as instruments of unrighteousness they must be instead
yielded to God.
Romans 6:3 DO YOU NOT KNOW…
6:6 KNOWING THIS…
61:16 DO YOU NOT KNOW…
1 Samuel 4:10-13 MKJV And the Philistines fought, and Israel
was beaten, and each one of them fled into his tent. And there was a
very great slaughter, for there fell thirty thousand footmen of
Israel. (11) And the ark of God was taken. And
Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were slain.
(12) And a man of Benjamin ran out of the army. And he came
to Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn and with earth upon his
head. (13) And he came in, and behold, Eli sat on a
seat by the wayside watching. For his heart trembled for the ark of
God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city
cried out.
1 Samuel 4:17-18 MKJV And the messenger answered and said,
Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great
slaughter among the people also. And also your two sons, Hophni and
Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.
(18) And it happened when he spoke of the ark of God, he fell
backward off the seat, by the side of the gate. And his neck broke, and
he died, for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel
forty years.
The messenger of Benjamin was the one whose NEWS caused Eli to die.
- What he caused ELI TO KNOW
brought the death of ELI.
- He told of the taking of the
ark and Phinehas’ and Hophni’s deaths.
- This is just like
INFORMATION OF the death of Christ for the purpose of destroying the
works of the flesh in our lives.
- AND GOD FORGETS THE EVIL AND
SINFUL THINGS WE DID, like He seemingly overlooked Israel’s
sin, and exploded in power against DAGON, the god of the enemy!
Look at how Paul taught the Galatians that the crucifixion of Jesus was
meant to AFFECT OUR LIVES.
Galatians 5:24 MKJV But those belonging to Christ have
crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
FORGET THEM!
Notice that we have an association with the crucifixion and our lusts
and passions being destroyed.
- This is the reason why we
see a picture of Eli’s children being killed in association
of the Ark being taken.
- Eli’s children are
like the OFFSPRING or CHILDREN of fleshly sinful lives.
- Eli’s boys are
named FIST FIGHTER and MOUTH OF THE SERPENT.
- Perfect descriptions of the
sinful things people DO if they are living sinful lives.
- A good description of how
people’s heads and hands are utilized by the devil,
representing our bodily members put into use by the devil.
THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE NEWS and INFORMATION caused the neck of Eli to
break, and this OLD MAN to die.
- Paul taught we must KNOW the
relationship between the death of Jesus and our OLD MAN.
- The NEWS AFFECTED Eli as
well as Phinehas’ wife who gave birth to THE ANNOUNCEMENT
THAT THE GLORY IS DEPARTED.
- Instead of OFFSPRING of more
works of the flesh, there is the OFFSPRING of INFORMATION!
- She named her baby after the
NEWS of what happened to the ARK.
- SHE DIED IN GIVING BIRTH to
what she named after the INFORMATION she heard.
- ICAHBOD means NO GLORY.
Literally in Hebrew it means WHERE IS THE GLORY?
WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?
The next chapter, 1 Sam 5, provided the ANSWER TO THE QUESTION IN THE
BOY’S NAME.
We hear the news of JESUS’ CAPTURE and the CROSS.
- The question is asked WHERE
IS THE GLORY?
- It was taken and hidden as
it were.
- And just as Jesus was taken
and hidden in the realm of death, Paul explained the BEHIND THE SCENES
workings.
- THE SPIRITUAL ANSWERS.
- And this corresponds to the
INFORMATION we read in 1 Sam 5 as to what happened to the Ark after it
was taken, and what it did to the power of the enemy.
- Paul explains to us what
happened to Jesus and HOW HIS TAKING AFFECTED THE POWER OF THE ENEMY.
When we HEAR and UNDERSTAND the EXPLANATION of what happened to Jesus
being taken and crucified, this INFORMATION is the SPIRITUAL
INFORMATION about what happened.
- We go beyond just learning
Jesus died, was buried and resurrected.
- We LEARN ABOUT US DYING WITH
HIM.
- We learn that His death was
meant to deal with OUR OLD LIVES OF SIN and CRUCIFY THEM so we can STOP
SERVING SIN.
- Romans 6:6 KJV
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of
sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Learning this causes a death to our OLD MAN.
- You have to know this.
- It is not automatic just
because Jesus died.
- When you LEARN THIS
EXPLANATION of why he died, and YOU BELIEVE IT, something happens.
- It’s like LIGHT
exploding in your heart!
- Truth ignites a blast in you.
Remember PAUL CALLED THIS EXPERIENCE the LIGHT of the KNOWLEDGE OF THE
GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST shining in our hearts.
- Let’s break this
phrase down.
First, he said the God who did this also commanded light to SHINE OUT
OF DARKNESS in Genesis 1.
- So, we are meant to realize
that a SIMILAR thing happens IN OUR HEARTS.
- And the light that shines in
our hearts is a special version of LIGHT.
It is the LIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE.
- That means it is LEARNING
SOMETHING.
- And that knowledge, or the
information we learn, is referring to the GLORY OF GOD.
- We come to KNOW something
about the GLORY OF GOD, and that is called LIGHT.
At this point remember that the ARK was called the GLORY OF GOD.
- So when we read of the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God, in order to get the picture right
think of it as the knowledge of the ARK OF THE COVENANT that Eli and
Phinehas’ wife heard.
- As soon as they heard about
THAT KNOWLEDGE, what happened?
- Eli fell back and broke his
neck.
- Phinehas’ wife
broke into contractions and travail to birth Phinehas’ son.
- She called his name ICHABOD,
meaning NO GLORY.
- AND SHE DIED, TOO.
And the glory of God IS IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST.
- In other words, the most
perfect way the glory of God was ever revealed to mankind was IN JESUS
CHRIST, THE WORD MADE FLESH.
- It is also identifying the
GLORY OF GOD as JESUS CHRIST.
- And if the Ark represents
the glory of God, then the Ark represents Jesus Christ.
The man who brought this message was A MAN OF BENJAMIN.
- What is so significant is
that PAUL who taught SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE of what happened when Jesus
was taken and crucified was of the tribe of BENJAMIN (Philippians 3:5).
- And his teaching is about
the OLD MAN DYING so we should not SERVE SIN any more.
- And he spoke of us serving
sin by YIELDING OUR MEMBERS AS INSTRUMENTS OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.
So the KNOWLEDGE of the glory of God in Jesus’ face is
actually KNOWING about what happened when JESUS, like the glory of God
as the Ark, went into darkness of death and exploded in light,
destroying the devil.
Hebrews 2:14-15 KJV Forasmuch then as the children are
partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the
same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of
death, that is, the devil; (15) And deliver them
who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Notice Heb teaches DEATH was the VIA POINT Jesus took in order to free
us from a bondage of the fear of death.
We have to start thinking of the work and accomplishments of the cross
as far more than saving souls from sin and hell.
- IT IS ALSO TO RESCUE US FROM
SINFUL ACTIVITIES IN THE EVERYDAY WORLD.
- If you want to go deeper in
Jesus you have to understand the work of the cross was intended to free
you from bondage to such an extent that you do not even commit sinful
acts!
The same chapter that says this:
Galatians 5:24 MKJV But those belonging to Christ have
crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
Said this as well:
Galatians 5:16 MKJV I say, then, Walk in the Spirit and you
shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
And the reason verse 16 said that is because we read…
Galatians 5:24-25 MKJV But those belonging to Christ have
crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
(25) If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Verse 16 provides us with the understanding of what Paul meant in
saying we should WALK IN THE SPIRIT.
- He meant we should NOT
FULFILL THE LUSTS OF THE FLESH.
- Why?
- Because the lusts and
passions of the flesh are supposed to be CRUCIFIED.
- So walking in the Spirit is
LIVING A CRUCIFIED LIFE.
That is why SATAN IS CALLED A GOD in 2 Cor 4:4, just as DAGON was a
FALSE GOD.
2 Corinthians 4:4 MKJV in whom the god of this world has
blinded the minds of the unbelieving ones, so that the light of the
glorious gospel of Christ (who is the image of God) should not dawn on
them.
The MIND has to be dealt with FIRST, since the devil blinded MINDS.
- So KNOWLEDGE must be
imparted.
- Since the BLINDNESS is not
in the physical eyes, but the mind, then the LIGHT is not physical
light but KNOWLEDGE.
- WE HAVE TO KNOW how the LORD
DIED IN ORDER FOR US TO DIE WITH HIM, and in that way cause us to no
longer serve sin.
Romans 6:6-7 KJV Knowing this, that our old man is crucified
with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we
should not serve sin. (7) For he that is dead is
freed from sin.