Related Articles
Table of Contents
Topic:ALIVE UNTO GOD – June 01
Matthew 17:2 “And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.”
MATTHEW 17:1-8, MARK 9:1-8, LUKE 9:28-36
It is interesting to compare Jesus’ transfiguration with that of Moses’. Jesus’ face shone as the sun and His garment was as white as the light. This certainly exceeded what Moses experienced, and yet Jesus’ face did not continue to shine when He came down off of the mountain as Moses’ face did. Moses’ face reflected the glory of God, but Jesus was the glory of God (Jn. 1:14; Heb. 1:3). Moses put a veil over his face to conceal the glory of God (Ex. 34:29-35) so that the people would not be afraid to come near him.
Jesus’ body was His veil that concealed His true glory within. During His transfiguration, He pulled back the veil of His flesh, and we simply caught a glimpse of His glory that he had with the Father before the world was (Jn. 17:5). At Jesus’ death, the veil of His body was “rent in two” giving us direct access to the glory of God (Heb. 10:19-20).
We need to be conformed to the death of Christ. That is, reckoning ourselves dead to sin and all its effects upon us in the same way that Christ is dead to sin and all its effects upon Him. Many people focus on the death to sin and omit, or at least put secondarily, being alive unto God. It is assumed that if we will just die to sin, then life with Christ comes automatically.
That’s no more so than physical death automatically producing physical resurrection. God doesn’t need dead people. He needs people who have risen from the dead spiritually. People who know who they are “In Christ.” The victorious New Testament believer is not just living for the Lord, but the risen Christ is actually living through him. There are over a hundred scriptural references to the indwelling presence of the Lord in the life of a believer. Look into the Word, and see what God has to say about you.
