According to the
Gospel of John, in Jesus the world sees the glory of the Creator God (1:14). From
Paul, it is learned that Jesus came to be looked upon as the second Adam,
perfectly fulfilling the role that the Creator God had intended to be performed
by the first Adam. As he says, by the first Adam, death entered the world
(Romans 5:12). Life came, as he also indicates, by the gift of grace because
of the covenant faithfulness of the Creator God (Romans 5:18), through the
second Adam. Why? So that those that call Jesus “Lord,” which is
said to occur by the Spirit and by faith, might be the embodiment of the
Creator God’s righteousness---the embodiment of His faithfulness in and for the
world, which, according to Scripture, was His original purpose for the ones
with which He crowned His creation.
Moving beyond Paul, the
Hebrews author, in speaking of Jesus, tells us that He was the radiance of the
glory of the Creator God while also being the representation of His essence
(1:3). Yes, the position of the early church was that Jesus’ bearing of
the divine image was carried out in a consummate perfection. Because of
that, as they reasoned and as has been believed since then, life reigned
through Him (unlike the death engendered by the first Adam), as had been the
Creator God’s intention for His creation.
Returning to Daniel
then, Nebuchadnezzar is heard to go on to say, “At that time my sanity returned
to me. I was restored to the honor of my kingdom, and my splendor
returned to me” (Daniel 4:36a). In union with the Lord Jesus, believers are
able to say this as well. Mankind was made to have dominion over this
world, and as kings and priests to the Most High God via an allegiance to Jesus
as Lord, in recognition of His representation of the Creator God and all that
such recognition demands, humanity is restored to the honor of that kingdom,
with the return of the splendor of the Creator God’s glory upon them, as they
reign with Jesus (though in submission to Him as His servants in and for the
world) in the kingdom of God that was established at His Resurrection.
In Christ, as believers
are mysteriously empowered by and as the Spirit of the Creator God to a
faithful and worshipful trust in that God that created all things, they are
made to finally grasp on to that glory for which they were intended. By a
trust in the Gospel of Jesus, which is demonstrated in preaching the Gospel of
Jesus (the crucified and Resurrected Messiah is Lord of all) in both word and
deed, the power of the Creator God is made manifest (heaven comes to earth as
the believer becomes a temporal Temple) and the believer become the embodiment
of the righteousness (covenant faithfulness) of the Creator God, as was
Jesus. In union with Him, believers become the second Adam along with
Him, and thus no longer fall short of the glory of their Creator---they rightly
bear the divine image. In Christ, humanity’s dominion over and
responsibilities toward their God’s creation are returned, and they are made to
be servants of the Most High, being lights into the world, reflecting His
glory.
In humble submission
to the claims of the Lord, confessing themselves as slaves to Him so that He
might fulfill the great hope of the believer and make them to rule with Him, the
one that throws in his lot with Jesus casts away all pride in self and says
along with Nebuchadnezzar: “I was reinstated over my kingdom…I became even
greater than before” (4:36b). With a continued reflection on the grand
narrative of the Scriptures, from creation to fall, and from Resurrection to
restoration, as all are enabled to learn about a faithful and powerful God, the
believer then lifts up his heart to “praise and exalt and glorify the King of
heaven, for all His deeds are right and His ways are just. He is able to
bring down those who live in pride” (4:37b).
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