Your former glory

Looking at our passage for the week, Colossians 3:1-17,  we are taking things a little bit out of order, don't worry we will get back on track tomorrow.  For today we are starting with Colossians 3:4

And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

A young woman, travelling to visit her father was looking forward to a relaxing vacation. Hard working and ambitious, it had been quite a while since her last trip home, and with excitement and anticipation she prepared to board her twelve hour flight. She gathered up her belongings, and switched off her phone just after sending a  tweet. Julie, with fewer than 200 followers, never gave the tweet another thought, she believed she was being witty and comical, until her flight landed.  Immediately, her phone began to get notifications, one from a close friend asking her to call home, one from her boss instructing her to call in immediately. Julie's tweet had been trending for hours and heated debate about what was perceived by some as an insensitive remark had reached her family and friends, her employer, even major news outlets.  In a matter of moments Julie, elated traveler visiting family and friends became Julie, jobless, friendless, misunderstood target of the internet. Julie lost her promising career, many friends and relationships, her boyfriend, even members of her family would no longer speak to her because of her momentary lapse of judgement.  Who knew that 140 characters or less could so fantastically ruin a life? Julie should have known, but she didn't. She felt like she had been punched in the gut. Deceived. Julie had lost her former glory, all the things about her life that she loved were stripped away in just a few moments in an airport halfway around the world.

Have you ever been in Julie's shoes? 

Some of us have lost a friend, broken up with a boyfriend, been fired from a great job.  Most of us won't really identify with Julie, we will judge her, because we can't see ourselves doing something so foolish, or we will pity her, or we will use her for an object lesson, but ALL of us have been Julie, some of us still are Julie. How so? 

Genesis 3

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the mana and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees. Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

“Who told you that you were naked?” the LORD God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”

The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

Then the LORD God asked the woman, “What have you done?”

In one moment, one foolish choice, one lapse of judgement, affected humanity for the rest of eternity. Can you imagine? Adam and Eve reside in paradise.  They feel no shame, no guilt, they converse face to face with God. They talk strolls with God their creator.  

Then one evening God asks "What have you done?" Eve is ashamed, afraid, and she shortly knows that she will never return to her former glory.  Her former glory, which was really all about God's Glory, is lost forever. 

Genesis 1:26-27

Then God said, “Let us make human beings[b] in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

So God created human beings in his own image.
    In the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

In His own image God created male and female. 

Equally created in God's image, but male and female, different, from the beginning.  Bible scholars have long debated about this image, what is this image? Why would God create male and female? Equal but different? 

​Isaiah 43:7

 "Bring all who claim me as their God

,for I have made them for my glory.

It was I who created them.’”

Simply stated, we were created for God's glory. God created man for His glory - man with his manliness, and God created woman for His glory, woman in her womanliness.  Not man alone, not woman alone, but it took both to bring glory, both in God's image, both equal, both different, it took both to represent God's glory. 

But then something happened....

“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate the fruit.”

Man and woman, equal but different, sinned. They disobeyed God.  

Skip forward a few millennium and we see a sinful and fallen world where people take advantage of each other.  The strong prey upon the weak.  The financially strong, the physically strong, the socially strong, technologically strong -  they crush the weak.  How did this happen? Sin entered the world in the garden.  Man blames woman, woman blames the snake, everybody loses. 

Romans 8:5-8

"Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God."

Those who stay with sin still operate under the control of the snake.  It's the same con thousands of years later. It isn't God's desire that we be oppressed or abused. God desires that men and women come to know Him, so that they are no longer under the curse of sin, so that they lead lives of peace!  

Have you ever been set free from the curse of sin? Have you ever been free of oppression? Some churches teach that ceremonies will free us, some teach that having special gifts or abilities, going to church, reading the Bible, or giving money to a church will set us free, but none of these are true. 

Freedom can only come through Christ, and it all started back in the Garden with Adam and Eve. 

John 1:1-17

In the beginning the Word already existed.

The Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He existed in the beginning with God.

God created everything through him,

and nothing was created except through him.

The Word gave life to everything that was created,

and his life brought light to everyone.

The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness can never extinguish it.

God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”

From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. (emphasis mine)

​The us in Genesis was Jesus (the Word) and God the Father. Jesus created you, He saw your fall from glory, but that didn't stop him. 

Heaven was perfect.  Jesus, in heaven, sees the fall, sees the garden, sees the betrayal, the lies. Then he sees the hurt of mankind, brother killing brother, murder, lies, envy, deceit, and every kind of wickedness, every kind of evil. And seeing all that Jesus, son of God, co-creator, resident of heaven, decides to step out of heaven and into this dangerous, horrible, sin-filled world.  This is compassion, but more so, this is grace.  He looked at those who had betrayed and rejected and lived lives of evil and darkness and decided to brave the darkness to come and find us, to redeem us, to show us the most unsafe grace.  Jesus left safe, he left heaven to be unsafe and live in this unsafe world, and die for this unsafe world, and face hell for me.  His nobility, his bravery, his humiliation, his sacrifice is completely undeserved.  This radical unsafe grace and love for me asks only that I surrender to it. How can I do any less?

Romans 8:9-16

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. 

The restored image of God in man and woman is brought about only by God’s work of re-creation and salvation!  

2 Corinthians 3:16-18

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

Not only does this surrender make you right with God -  Jesus, God's son, the co-creator, wants to give you HIS Glory. He desires to redeem His original creation, to free us from the curse of sin. 

Galations 3:26-29

"For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you."

Such unimaginable love, that Jesus, co-creator of the universe, would humble himself to be born and live a life on earth, and then suffer and die, all so that he could win me back - the one who had betrayed him - is such a scandalous truth, an overwhelming love, the greatest love story, and the greatest glory that I could ever wear.

Heavenly Father God, 

Thank you for loving me in-spite of my sin.  Thank you for your great mercy and love towards me. Thank you for your regenerating work in me that I need not be controlled by your sinful nature. Thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit. I know you have assured me that I am controlled by the Spirit if I have the Spirit of God living in me. Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice for me, thank you for your humility, thank you for living within me, so that even though my body will die because of sin, the Spirit will give me life because I have been made right with God, through your sacrifice 
Thank you God, for your Spirit, who raised Jesus from the dead, and lives in me. Thank you God for your promises that just as you raised Christ Jesus from the dead, You will give life to my mortal body by this same Spirit that now lives within me.

Keep reminding me that I have no obligation to do what my sinful nature urges me to do. For if I live by its dictates, I will die. But if through the power of Your Spirit,  I will put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, and I will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

I have not received a spirit that makes me a fearful slave. Instead, I received Your Spirit, God, when You adopted me as Your own child. Now I can call you, “Abba, Father.” for Your Spirit joins with my spirit to affirm that I am Your child. And since I am Your child, I am Your heir together with Christ, even an heir to Your glory!

 Hallelujah! 

Amen.