Shall we please in the book of Exodus chapter thirty three? Exodus chapter thirty three. I think we can understand a little of the feeling of Moses after that terrible, terrible experience he had at the giving of the law. God had taken him up to the mountain. and he had given them the Ten Commandments. And after seeing God upon the mountain top, coming down from it, he found the people worshipping a golden calf. It was a very, very difficult experience in Moses' life. He must have been very much discouraged, and he comes to the Lord, and he says, O Lord, show me thy glory. And the Lord very graciously took him again up to the mountain, And there he revealed himself to him. The rude here that he was placed in a place by the Lord, a place by me. And then he stood upon a rock. And then the glory passed by. And the Lord lifted his hand. And Moses saw the glory of God. The word here, he saw his back part. There's one of the translations that puts it, he saw the afterglow. I've been thinking about this passage this morning and Moses is our Lord show me thy glory and I think at these conference meetings if there's one thing we would like to see and one thing that we'd like to realize is the glory of God in the face of our Lord Jesus Christ I thought this morning just for a few minutes by way of introduction to the conference and the ministry at it I would like to speak of a five-fold glory of the Lord Jesus Christ that we find in the Gospel according to John. I don't want to go into a lot of detail about it, but I have very much enjoyed these passages recently concerning the glory of Christ in the Gospel according to John. I think in John's Gospel, one of the great themes is the glory of the Lord himself. About ten times in the Gospel by John in the revised version we get the term glorify. And then about fifteen times we get the word glory. And I think that the main theme in the Gospel according to John is the glory of Christ. I have very much enjoyed these passages recently and I thought just by way of introduction for a few minutes at the commencement of the conference I would like to direct your attention to the Lord Jesus Christ himself. I think this nothing gives any servant of God more joy than to speak about the person of the Lord. I first of all want to speak about his pre-incarnate glory. We find that, of course, in the great high priestly prayer of our Lord in John chapter seventeen. Shall we read that passage? John chapter seventeen. And verse five. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. The glory that he speaks of here is his pre-incarnate glory. And then in the first chapter of the Gospel by John, in verse fourteen, we get another phase of his glory. the glory of his incarnation. Shall we read that passage? John chapter one verse fourteen. And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. First of all, his pre-incarnate glory before the world was. And then secondly, the manifested glory when he was here below. That is his life as a man here upon the earth. Now the second one, in John chapter two, I want to look at another glory. John chapter two and verse eleven. Here we get the first miracle, the first sign miracle in the Gospel according to John. And in verse eleven we read these words. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested forth his glory, and his disciples believed on him. First of all, the pre-incarnate glory, and then his manifested glory in his incarnation, and here the glory of his power. That is the sign miracles opened up for us here in the passage in John chapter two. And then the glory of the cross. John chapter twelve. And for the context, verse twenty. There were certain Greeks among them came up to worship at the feast. The same came therefore to Philip, which was of the sight of Galilee, and desired him saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew, and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come, that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat, fall into the ground and die. It abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it. He that hitheth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me. And where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, him will my father honor. Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came the voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and I will glorify it again. The people therefore that stood by and heard it said that it thundered. Others said, An angel spoke to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the crisis of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from or out of the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die. The glory of the cross. Now the final one again is in John, John, verse twenty-four. Father, I will, that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. O righteous father, the world hath not known thee, but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. May God add his blessing to the reading of these very, very precious portions of his word. For a few minutes this morning, just by way of introduction, I would like to speak about this five-fold glory of Christ that we find in the Gospel according to John. Someone might say, just what is the definition of glory? It has been defined in a number of ways. It has been called the totality of the divine attributes. And I think if we think of all those attributes of the Godhead... The concentration of them, I think, would give a good definition of glory. Another definition that has been given is displayed excellence. This is something that we can see displayed excellence. And then we give it again in the first chapter of the Epistle of the Hebrews. We read there that one thing that characterized our Lord in his deity and the manifestation of that deity here below. that it was the effulgence, the brightness of the glory of God. So it's this glory associated with the person of Christ that we want to look at just for a few minutes this morning. First of all, let's think for a moment of his pre-incarnate glory. He speaks about that in this great high priestly prayer, and he asks that it may be restored, that glory that he had before the world was. This is right away back before the world of time and sense and that glory that our blessed Lord had before he came into this world. There are three times in the New Testament where we read the expression before the foundation of the world. And when we look at these three expressions, we get a little idea of some of that glory that our blessed Lord had before his incarnation here in this world. First of all, we read of that love that characterized him and his father before the foundation of the world. He speaks about that in the seventeenth chapter of John, the love between the father and the son. The gospel according to John is the gospel of the father and the son. The term father occurs there about a hundred and eighteen times. This is a great revelation that we only find in the New Testament. The relationship of the Father and the Son and that is expounded for us in the Gospel according to John. You remember one of the first things that our Lord taught his disciples in the Gospel according to Matthew. Now he said, When you pray, say, Our Father, which art in heaven. You will never find that in the Old Testament. The Old Testament patriarchs, when they address God, they used great high majestic terms. They used the term Elohim, that is God as a Creator. They used the term Jehovah, and they also spoke of El Shadiah and Adonai on terms of that kind. Great majestic terms that described God. but never in the Old Testament will you find any patriarch addressing God as Father. But this is something that is a revelation in the New Testament. And the delightful thing is that when we come into the presence of God and we lift our heads in His presence, we say, Our Father, which art in heaven. But in John's Gospel, the unique relationship we get concerning God as Father is that relationship between the Father and the Son. One hundred and eighteen times in John's Gospel it is brought before us. And the thing that characterized the relationship between God the Father and the Son was love. Thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. This is the great foundation truth of Holy Scripture. That love that existed between the Father and the Son before the world was, before the foundation of the world. It has been said that love is a trinity. Always there must be a lover, and there must be a beloved one, and then there is the spirit of worship. On the great example, the great prototype of love in Holy Scripture is that love that existed between God the Father and God the Son in eternity past. This is the first great foundation truth concerning the pre-existent glory of our Blessed Lord. We get the term again in Ephesians chapter one, where we read that we are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. And that would bring before us those eternal decrees that took place between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in eternity past. And we are brought into it in Ephesians chapter one, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. My poor little mind is not able to take that aim. But I do thank God that before I was born, long before I had an existence, I was in the mind of Almighty God in those days before the world was, before the foundation of the world. I don't know what you feel about the great truth, predestination, election, God's sovereignty, and also man's responsibility. This is something that's very much in people's minds today, and some would push one truth to the one side, and others would push the opposite truth to the other side. But I believe that the truth of Holy Scripture is holding both in perfect balance. God's sovereignty on the one side and man's responsibility on the other. But we get this before the foundation of the world. It was something in the eternal decrees. that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. Now the third thing, the third time that we get the expression is in First Peter chapter one and verse twenty. Our Lord was the Lamb foreordained before the foundation of the world. Before the world was God and those eternal decrees Christ as the Lamb. The sacrificial Lamb was foreordained before the foundation of the world. Calvary was not an afterthought, but God in his councils could look forward to a time when his beloved Son would die upon Calvary's cross. These are the three times when we get the expression before the foundation of the world, and it takes us back to that pre-existent glory of the Lord Jesus. I would just like to say in passing that the relationship of Father and Son was a pre-incarnation experience. The Son that would deny today the eternal sonship of Christ. But I think that anyone that would examine carefully the great terms that are used in the Gospel according to John would have no doubt at all that our blessed Lord was the eternal Son before the worlds were made. So here we get his pre-existent glory. Do you remember how it summarized for us In Second Corinthians chapter eight and verse nine, For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. Oh, it's all summed up in that little word. He was rich, and it's only God himself, the eternal God, that can understand the riches that characterized our blessed Lord. in his pre-existent glory. So this is the first glory of Christ in the Gospel according to John. His pre-existent glory and it is involved in this threefold mention of the term before the foundation of the world. Now the second glory that's mentioned here is this lovely verse in John chapter one, verse fourteen. The word was made flesh on tabernacles among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. These words are so full and so pregnant and so important, one cannot take time to go into them in their detail this morning. But oh, I do want to point out that John here in just a few words describes the lowly birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The word became flesh. That is the incarnation. The word became flesh. The word speaks of communication. On flesh speaks of humiliation. On the one hand, his deity. On the other hand, his holy, sinless humanity. In the Gospel according to Luke, Luke uses two thousand five hundred words to describe in the most beautiful language the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. But John just uses four. The word became flesh. How beautiful this is. On the one hand, God of very God. On the other hand, holy, sinless, perfect humanity. The word became flesh. And then the next sentence is, and he pitched his tent. He tabernacles among us. This describes his life here below. I love that word. He pitched his tent. I think that what we get here in the tabernacle of our Lord, when He was here upon earth for thirty-three years, I think we get it so beautifully portrayed for us in the tabernacle in the wilderness. You remember that dwelling place that God gave to His people in the Book of Exodus? It was the dwelling place of God. Outside there were the sealed skins. Nothing very beautiful about that. But going inside, every wit proclaimed His glory. Outside, dark, austere. But inside, the pure gold. On the seven articles of furniture in the tabernacle, each one of them described a different phase of the glory of our Blessed Lord. You know, when we look, first of all, at the prison altar in the court, And then the brazen lever, and going inside the door, and there looking at the menorah, the seven-branch golden candlestick, and then the table of showbread, and then the golden incense altar, and then the veil, and going inside into the holiest of all, the ark of the covenant, overshadowed by the shakana glory, each one of these articles of furniture, bring before us a different phase of the glory, that internal glory of our Blessed Lord. And all as we look at it, we bow our heads in worship. He pitched his tent among us. He tabernacled among us. Don't go away with the idea that the Taj Mahal in India or St. Peter's in Rome or St. Paul's in London. or the Empire State of New York, that these were the greatest, these are the greatest buildings that we find here in the world. The greatest building that we find here in this desert scene was that tabernacle in the wilderness. It all described the glory of our Blessed Lord. He pitched His tent. He tabernacle among us. And then we read, And we beheld His glory. Now that we... is John as an eyewitness and the other apostles. We beheld, and the word there beheld, it means a very careful scrutiny, not just a casual glance. We beheld his glory, he said, and that glory was of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. Sometimes we sing a little hymn that our Lord, when he was here below, that he laid his glory by. I would not want to make any man an offender for a word. But that is not what the word of God describes, or what John says here. That glory of our Lord was a covered glory. It was a veiled glory, but it was all there. He brought with him all the attributes of the Godhead, even in his humanity here below. And John says, We beheld that glory. It was a manifested glory that he saw again and again He was an eyewitness of it. You remember at the Jordan when our Lord was baptized we read that the heavens were open and the Holy Spirit in bodily form as a dove it came under the boat upon him. And the heavens were open and the voice of the Father said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. It was manifested there at his baptism. It was manifested upon the Mount of Transfiguration. Again the heavens were open. Were he that his face did shine as the sun, his garments were white as the light. That was not a reflected glory on the mount of transfiguration. But it was that internal glory when his flesh became transparent, and that internal glory it shone out. John says, we beheld his glory. We scrutinized it. We contemplated it. We understood it. We beheld his glory. And then, different other times, here below, that glory was manifest. I personally believe that in those nights of prayer, when our Lord was in communion with his Father, I believe that that glory shone out again and again. So to say that he led his glory by, I think, is beside the point. John says here it was manifested. And he was an eyewitness. We beheld his glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father. Oh, what a tremendous term this is. The only begotten. The monogenes. The unique sonship of our Blessed Lord. It's a tremendous term here. The only begotten. This term is only used by John. He uses it five times. And it would be interesting here this morning to turn over to the various places where it is mentioned. I wouldn't suffice to do that. But it's one of the great unique titles of our blessed Lord, indicating his unique sonship. Again, let me say that would some say that the Lord in his sonship here below, that he assumed his sonship that is just exactly the same as yours and mine. I have heard this expression used. And people who use terms like that, I don't think, They realize the tremendous majesty of this very great title that we find here, the only begotten Son, the only begotten of the Father. Our sonship is something entirely different from his. His was completely unique. The only begotten, the monogenes. So here again we get that glory man. The only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And here are two moral attributes in perfect balance in his life here below. Again, one would love to trace these two words, grace and truth, perfectly balanced. Oh, how delightful it is, the grace that came from his life, those words of grace that came from his lips. On the one hand, but truth on the other. The expression of the meal offering. The fine flour. The oil, the salt, and the frankincense, we find it in this lovely, lovely passage where we get the glory of its incarnation. Now, just a word about the third glory that we find in John, and we find that in chapter two. I don't think I need to tell anyone here this morning that looking through the four Gospels, we find thirty-five miracles that our Lord performed. Those miracles were performed in four different spheres. First of all, in the healing of the body, in disease. And then secondly, in nature, superior to the forces of nature. And then thirdly, he was superior to satanic power. There are seven cases in the Gospels where we find our Lord casting out demons. And it would be interesting to notice the difference between demon possession and other diseases. possibly disease of the mind, epilepsy or something of that kind. But the Word of God makes it perfectly plain that there is a distinction between diseases of the mind and satanic power. And our Lord, He cast our demons on seven different occasions. We find that... Three different cases that are described... in the Gospels concerning the power of our Lord over death. Let's think of these four different spheres in which the miracles were performed. First of all, in the healing of the human body. Oh, again, I don't need to tell anyone this morning that there are many, many today that are making fantastic claims about the healing of the body. Terminal disease. They say they can lay their hand on a person and a person is instantly cured. Every time these claims have been investigated, I think they're found to be bogus. But there are three things about the cures of our Lord in the sphere of healing of the human body that I think we need to take into account. First of all, it was organic disease. And secondly, the cure was instantaneous. And thirdly, it was permanent. And if you think of these three things connected with healing of the human body... I think they come very far sharp. Thank God our Lord. He had power to lay his hand upon the leper and to cleanse the leper, to give sight to the blind and so on, the healing of the human body. And then second day, over the forces of nature, he walked upon the water, He took five loaves and two small fishes and he was able to feed five thousand. And again and again we read of his power superior to all the forces of nature. And then again, let me repeat, superior to satanic power. I believe that as the time comes near of the coming again of the Lord Jesus, that these things will become more and more acute. We have seen a good deal of it at close quarters in Africa. But unfortunately, in the so-called civilized lands today, these things are becoming more and more frequent. A little while ago at Halloween, down in the state where we live, in the state of New Jersey, a number of young people in the Methodist Church that were having what they called a black mass, it was the worship of Satan. And the minister of the place, he laughed at it and he said, well, the young people have to have their fun. not realizing the tremendous seriousness of these things. On demon possession, on satanic power, we believe will become more and more acute as the time draws near for the coming again of our blessed Lord. But thank God he was superior to it. And then superior to death itself. But here in the Gospel according to John there are seven sign miracles. They are deliberately chosen. And I just want to point out that in the first one we read here that our Lord he manifested his glory when he turned the water into wine this first miracle did Jesus in Cana of Galilee he turned the water into wine and he manifested his glory so here we get the glory of Christ in these sign miracles the first one was performed at a wedding the last one was performed at a funeral And there are seven of these sign miracles deliberately chosen to show the glory of Christ. Now, just a word about the power of Christ, his omnipotent power in these miracles. Again, some would say today that our Lord never acted out of his deity down here. And that all of these miracles were performed by his Father through him. Now, these are statements that have been made. And I do want to say, beloved brethren, here this morning, that our Lord, when he was here below, did not lay aside any attribute. He had the attribute of omnipotence. And while it is said in the Gospel by John chapter fourteen, the Father which dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Don't flip that passage out of its context. When we look at the other passages in the Gospel according to John... We find that these miracles, these sign miracles that were performed were read, this sign did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, and He manifested His glory on His disciples believed on Him. We get it in the first miracle, we get it in the last one. And three times in connection with the raising of Lazarus, again we get that glory manifested. Never, never did He act independently. The Father in him, do the works. But at the same time, it was through the omnipotent, unique power of the Lord Jesus. And again in Matthew chapter eleven, we'll read about the Holy Spirit. Our Lord always, in happy fellowship and in harmony with the Father and the Holy Spirit, on possessing all the attributes of deity, He performed these miracles, these sign miracles, and He manifested His glory. First of all, his pre-existent glory, an eternity past. Then the glory of his incarnation so beautifully described in chapter one. And then the glory of his power in the miracles that he performed here below in fellowship with his father and with the Holy Spirit on manifesting that he really had the great omnipotent attribute of deity in performing these miracles. And then fourthly, the glory of the cross. Oh, here I would like to draw the shoes off my feet as we come underneath the cross and see what happened there. His glory was manifest. You know, when we look at John chapter twelve, this term, the glory is mentioned a number of times and you would notice that the cross, the sanctificial work of Christ upon the cross is mentioned in four different contexts in the passage. Remember the Greeks came to the disciples and they said, Sirs, we would see Jesus. It is the conclusion of his public ministry. Sirs, we would see Jesus. And the disciples came and they told him. And then the Lord used that expression, The hour has come, that the Son of Man should be glorified. The hour is come. Ten times in John's Gospel we get the hour mentioned. In the first five occasions we read, The R had not come. The R had not come. The R had not come. But here is the turning point. And he said, Father, the R has come. That the Son of Man should be glorified. And from this point on, again we get the term mentioned five times. The R has come. The R has come. The R has come. It's the turning point between two eternities. Everything in eternity passed, Luke forward to this hour. Everything in eternity future, we'll look back to this hour. And he said, The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die. It abideth alone. But if a diet bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it. He that giveth his life for my sake, the same shall find it. First of all, the time element, the R. And then this great principle of the corn of wheat going into the ground and dying. And then we read it in connection with satanic power. Further down he said, Nor is the crisis of this world, nor shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up out of this world, I will draw all men unto me. On three different times in the passage, we'll read about the glory. Oh, the glory of the cross. It would be interesting this morning to compare the Synoptic Gospels on the account of the crucifixion that we get there, on John's account of Christ upon the cross. In the Synoptic Gospels, the cross there is a gibbet. There we read about his suffering at the hand of man. There we read about the mockery and the shame. But in John's Gospel, John seems to emphasize the glory. You remember even before he went to the cross in the Garden of Gethsemane. When they came to arrest them, and the arresting party came to him, and he said, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth, and our Lord stood up. In the Gospel according to Luke, he's on the ground, his face upon the ground. Oh, my Father, it would be possible that this cup might pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. But in the Gospel according to John, he is upon his feet. Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. He said, I am. And he used that term three times, I am. The great divine title. And you notice the reaction. We read that they went backwards. and stumbling over themselves, they went backward on the field of the ground. Oh, I wonder if there was an outshining of the glory there. That great divine title that he uses, it must have had a tremendous effect. They went backward on the field of the ground. He used the same term at the Sanhedrin later. You remember when he was before Caiaphas, and Caiaphas said, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? He put him on oath. He said, I adjure thee by the living God to tell us whether thou be the Christ or not. And he stood up again. He said, I am. Again, the divine title. There is the glory of Christ shining even in the Garden of Gethsemane and also at his trial before the Sanhedrin. But it's upon the cross that we see the glory of Christ in the Gospel according to John, the fulfillment of Holy Scripture, There is a verse in the Psalms. I think it's Psalm ninety six, not verse eleven. And in the old Latin version, the way it's put is this, that he reigns from the tree. He reigns from the tree. And over his head were the words, Jesus of Nazareth, the king, the king of the Jews. And in John's gospel, the glory shines out nine times. He's the king, the king, the king. even when it was before Pilate. Pilate was the man who was the defendant and Christ was the judge. Pilate said, I have power to release thee and I have power to crucify thee. And the Lord in reply, he said, you have no power at all against me except that that is given thee from heaven. And there Pilate, the judge, he is the one who is in the doubt. He is the one who is the defendant and our Lord. And looking at him, I believe that he was the judge even in front of Pilate. but oh the glory of Christ upon the cross. And just before he bowed his head in death, he gave that glorious shout, it is finished, and he bowed his head, and he released his spirit, the glory of the cross. Oh, as we think of these things, we bow our heads in worship. We do thank God for that glory that shone in the face of Jesus Christ when he laid down his life sanctificially for you and for me. First of all, his pre-existent glory. Secondly, the glory of his incarnation that manifested glory in his life. Thirdly, the glory of his power in the same miracle that he performed down here. The glory of the cross. And then finally, the post-resurrection glory and the glory of that he will have in the day to come. As a result of his great work for you and for me upon Calvary's cross. To me, one of the most remarkable terms in Holy Scripture said in verse twenty-four of John chapter seventeen in his great high priestly prayer, this is what he said, Father, I will. You know, we never, never, never could use a term like that. Father, I will. You remember in the garden a little later he said, Not my will, but thine be done. But in this great high priestly prayer he said, Father, I will. This is deity speaking to deity. And he's speaking about you and me. Father, I will, that those which thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. that is one of the greatest verses in the whole of Holy Scripture. Father, I will that those whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, for thy lovest me before the foundation of the world. My poor little mind boggles when I think of this, that one day in a coming day, that one who is upon the throne, seated at God's right hand in majesty and glory, that one day we will have the privilege in his presence of seeing him face to face and seeing that glory that he has attained by virtue of the fact that he has laid down his life vicariously for you and for me upon Calvary's cross. I would like to have turned over to a number of scriptures speaking about that coming glory, but I don't want to impose or abuse my privilege, but I just want to leave it there. What a day it will be when the people of God, those that have been redeemed by precious blood, surrounded in the throne, and we read there about a lamb as it had been slain, surrounded by the four and twenty elders, the living creatures, and by a multitude of the angelic hosts, and when we read these words, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive honor and glory and power and blessing, the one that was slain upon the cross, will have that glory in a coming day, the glory of redemption. And thank God we will be there.