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The Coming Increase of Christ in His House
God has the right to make strategic choices among us in order to fulfill His purpose in history; He is the possessor of Heaven and Earth. For example, He had the right to say to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion” (Romans 9:15).
God’s conversation with Moses took place in a tent outside the camp of Israel where He would meet with His servant. Others who also wanted to seek the Lord would go to this “tent of meeting” as well (Exodus 33:7). But God would speak there to Moses as a man speaks to a friend. In fact, when Moses would enter the tent, a pillar of cloud would visibly descend and stand at the tent’s door so the people would see the cloud and worship the Lord.
As awesome as it was for Moses to experience God’s presence in a cloud, he wanted more; he wanted to see the glory of God (Exodus 33:18). Is there a difference between God’s presence and His glory? It would seem so because the Lord began to describe how He would answer Moses’ prayer.
God decided to put Moses in a cleaved rock, and cover him with His hand, but allowed Moses to see His back as He passed by declaring His name and His goodness. When He had moved past Moses, the Lord proclaimed His mercy, compassion, longsuffering and justice. Perhaps we could say that the unveiling of God’s glory occurs when His holy nature comes into view as we stand in His presence.
What a precious privilege to gain accurate insight into the nature of God. How we long to behold Him as He really is─not just as we think He is, or as our theology informs us He is. Clearly, God is greater than our perception of Him. Imagine─seeing God in the flawless expression of absolute purity without mixture of any kind. Such an experience would consume us! Yet God was revealed in such flawless perfection two thousand years ago in Christ. He became a man so that we might behold Him without perishing.
But when Moses asked to see His glory, the Lord’s response was simply that He would have mercy and compassion on whomever He wanted. In other words, He was not referring to who would or would not go to Heaven when they died. He was talking about those to whom He would reveal His glory as they stood in His presence in this life.
Whenever the Lord reveals Himself in some way to any of His children, He is expressing mercy. It is not as though any of us deserves such an experience. But God’s intent is greater than our experience of Him; He wants those around us to be affected by what we have seen. In other words, His mercy on us results in mercy flowing out to others. The reality is that in Moses’ day, all of Israel reaped blessing because of God’s mercy on him. His strategy remains the same today.
Have you seen something of God’s heart for the nations, for your neighborhood, for the poor, for God’s people to bear a greater prophetic intercessory heart for the lost, etc.? Have you seen something of His purpose revealed in Scripture? Then you have seen something of His glory; He has had mercy on you. It is not as though you are necessarily more holy, more spiritual, or more mature than others. It is that He has mercy on whomever He decides (Romans 9:16).
Was it because Moses was such a holy man that the Lord decided to speak to him from a burning bush? Or was it rather the initiative and work of God that over many years of trial fashioned Moses into a holy man? How silly we are when we think that there must be something commendable in us motivating God to reveal His glory in some measure to us. Perhaps it was that we fasted a certain amount? Or prayed with a certain intensity? No. He arose in mercy out of His own sovereign purpose, chose each of us and then called us to himself that we might see some dimension of His awesome nature.
God even raised up Pharaoh to rule Egypt because He had a plan for His own people that would ultimately release mercy to the nations. If you had asked the Jews of Moses’ day why God had raised up this Egyptian leader, many would have probably replied that God wanted him to rule an impressive empire, have a massive army, and make a great name for himself. But they would have misinterpreted God’s plan.
For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.
Because of what the Lord did to Egypt in delivering His people from bondage, His name became well known throughout that whole part of the world. Nations feared the approaching Israelis and their God. Even today, the story of God’s manifest power to rain plagues upon Egypt and to divide the Red Sea is well known throughout the whole Earth.
Many people think that the Bible is primarily about Heaven and hell. I would agree with this assessment for those who do not know the Lord personally. Indeed, those who have never been born anew by the power of the Holy Spirit must face the issue of where they will go when they die. The Bible certainly has the answer for them. But for those who love the Lord and enjoy reading and studying His Word, one truth quickly becomes clear. God’s holy book is not only about Heaven. It is also about the Earth and what is emerging from Heaven among us.
For example, He promised that as surely as He lives the whole Earth would not only be filled with His glory, but men would recognize it (Habakkuk 2:14). He then instructed us to pray that His will be done here on Earth as it is in Heaven.
These are not secondary issues. God sent His Son to die and rise again to break the power of sin not only so that we could have heavenly bliss, but so that His Kingdom might break forth and then be extended on the Earth. Most of the Scripture does not have to do not with life after death, but with the revelation of God among people in this life.
The Christian life is not about simply going to Heaven, but about living out Heaven’s value system in full view of the nations. In fact, God has determined to bring to fullness among the nations a mighty work of the Holy Spirit to reveal the glory of His Son.
The nations must see the glory of Christ. Israel also must see the beauty of their Messiah revealed both individually and corporately in the lives of the redeemed.
Buckle your seat belt. God’s glory will be coming more clearly into view in the years ahead.
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