Glory of Christ by John Owen (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read Chapter 2 (The glory of the person of Christ...).
Initially Owen speaks about the blindness that man has to the glory of Christ. This has been since men fell and continues to be the case.
Yet the Lord Christ is glorious and it is in him that we have a clear, distinct view of the glory of God and his excellencies. Particularly his infinite wisdom and love.
Then Owen gives exhortations to excite us unto the practice of the great duty of beholding the glory of Christ. He answers some objections and then tells us:
(i) reckon in your minds that beholding the glory of Christ is the greatest privilege in this life;
(ii) reckon in your minds that it is the great mystery and requires much spiritual wisdom;
(iii) learn from the actings of contrary vicious habits;
(iv) behold the glory of God as he manifesteth it in nature in Christ Jesus.
A strong warning was given to those who would spurn the glory of Christ presented in the gospel: 'Our forefathers in this nation were given up unto as brutish a service of the devil as any nation under the sun. It is therefore an effect of infinite mercy, that the day has dawned on us, poor Gentiles, and that the “day-spring from on high hath visited us.” See the glory of this grace expressed, Eph. iii. 5–10. God might have left us to perish in the blindness and ignorance of our forefathers; but of his own accord, and by his own powerful grace alone, he has “translated us out of darkness into his marvellous light.” But, alas! the horrible ingratitude of men for the glorious light of the Gospel, and the abuse of it, will issue in a sore revenge.'
It'll be better on judgement day for Sodom and Gomorrah than for those who hear about the glory of Christ and choose to reject him.
Next week's reading
Read Chapter 3 (The glory of Christ in the mysterious constitution of his person).
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.
1 comment:
Praise be to God indeed that the truth of Christ came to the shores of England and saved us poor, lost Gentiles of that island!
I enjoyed this passage:
"This is the only Evidence given us that God is Love. Hereby alone is the Divine Nature as such made known unto us; namely in the Mission, Person and Office of the Son of God;" and that the glorious, beloved Son of God had to die to save us certainly shows us not only the height of God's love, but the depth of our depravity.
And found this early reference to what appears to be the same doctrine as modern liberalisms "Jesus as Example only" interesting: "They look on him as a Teacher that came forth from God to reveal his Will, and to teach us his Worship; and so indeed he was: But this they say was the sole use of his person in Religion...."
There is nothing new under the sun.
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