The believers in Christ have been called by God to enter into His kingdom and glory (1 Thes. 2:12). God actualized His choice and predestination by calling His believers in time through His appearing to them as the God of glory.
We all can testify that we were living our life in the vanity of our mind and according to this world around us until one day God came in to call us from His throne into His kingdom and glory, and we were captured by His glory.
Now all the believers in Christ are part of His kingdom, and here God is expressed in full; in the church God is expressed through the believers as they walk according to the spirit. God needs a kingdom on earth so that He may have a realm to exercise His power and express His glory, and in the church, God’s kingdom is on the earth today.
The believers in Christ are the sons of the Father, the ones who shine like their Father and express God in their living for the Father’s glorification (Matt. 5:16). Whenever God is expressed through us, whenever we live according to the spirit and express God in our living, God’s kingdom is there.
We need to let our light shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in the heavens.
To many of those around us God is hidden, but we have found Him and seen Him in Christ, the One we are enjoying and partaking of, and the One who lives in us. When we let Christ as our light shine in us and through us in our living, when we live Christ by not being anxious, enjoying Christ, taking Christ as our secret of contentment and sufficiency, and having the fruits of the Spirit, others will be shined on and shined into, and this light will convict them and lead them to Christ.
We should not allow any anxiety of life or deceit of riches to cover our shining, neither should we be hidden when it comes to living Christ. Rather, we should live one with the Lord to express Him in our daily living, and our heavenly Father will be glorified in us. In this way we will have an entrance into God’s kingdom and glory and God will be glorified.
Walking in a Manner Worthy of God to Enter into His Kingdom and Glory
1 Thes. 2:12 So that you might walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
In 1 Thes. 2:12 Paul encourages the believers in the young church in Thessalonica to walk in a manner worthy of God, who called them into His own kingdom and glory. He himself was such a one, and he encouraged the believers to do the same. God called us into His own kingdom, the realm where He can exercise His power so that He may express His glory (see Rev. 5:10, 13).
When we walk worthily of God we will have an entrance into His kingdom and we are ushered into His glory.
What does it mean to walk worthy of God? This has nothing to do with character improvement, better behaviour, ethics, morality, or a refined culture. To walk worthily of God is to actually live God, since only a life that lives God and expresses God is worthy of God.
When we were regenerated we have entered the kingdom of God by receiving the life of God, but as we live according to His life within us, we enter further into the kingdom of God by our walk worthy of Him. When we walk according to our spirit and live God, being one with God in our living, we will express God – God will get the glory.
Glory is God expressed; whenever we live God, God is expressed and He gets the glory.
We were in the kingdom of Satan and worshiped idols (see Matt. 12:26; 1 Thes. 1:9), but through believing into Christ we have entered into the kingdom of God, the sphere where we can worship God and enjoy Him under His divine ruling, with the view of entering into God’s glory.
The Lord Jesus prayed, Father, glorify the Son so that the Son may glorify You (see John 17:1)! The Lord Jesus didn’t selfishly ask the Father to glorify Him but He asked that in His glorification the Father would be glorified. Our prayer today should also be, in all purity of heart and honesty before the Lord, Father, glorify Your sons so that Your sons may glorify You!
Whenever we live God, we enter into His glory by expressing Him, and God is glorified. This is a foretaste of our living and being in the New Jerusalem, where we will express God in His splendor for eternity.
Lord Jesus, we want to walk in a manner worthy of You so that we may enter into Your kingdom and be ushered into Your glory. We give You our daily living, our day-to-day walk among men. May we have a living that is worthy of You. We want to live God and have God being lived out in us so that God would be expressed and manifested. Lord, be glorified in our daily living! Father, glorify Your sons so that Your sons may glorify You!
Letting our Light Shine Before Men so that They May Glorify the Father
Matt. 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in the heavens.
In Matt. 5:15-16 the Lord Jesus told us that we as kingdom people need to let our light shine before men and not hide it; when our light shines before them, when we shine both as a lamp in the house and as a city on a mountain, they will glorify God.
We are children of God, human beings who have been regenerated by God with His divine life (see John 1:12; Gal. 4:6); this means that in our living today there should be some good works that shine out the light we have within us.
Our behavior needs to shine out the divine life we have within, so that others may see God, be brought to Him, and glorify Him. When others see us shining out with the Christ within us being expressed in our behavior and good works, they will be convicted of their sins, they will realize God is real, and they will glorify God.
On the one hand, we ourselves need to let God shine on us and within us, exposing any darkness and removing any obstacle so that His life may grow in us and He may live in us. On the other hand, we should not hinder the shining out of Christ from within us: we are like a city situated upon a mountain, which cannot and should not be hidden!
Also, we are like a lamp in the house, which should not be covered but to shine to illuminate all those in the house. As the city, we shine upon people, and as the lamp, we shine into people.
Our living is before the Lord and with the Lord, and as He shines out through us in our good works, the others will both be impressed outwardly of our behavior (they will be shined on) and they will be convicted inwardly of their sin (they will be shined into).
We should not let any anxiety for the things of this life (a “bushel”) hinder our shining, neither should we hide from others. Rather, as the light of the world, we have God in Christ shining in us and through us, and we should be shining ones, those who have many good works as the shining of Christ from within us.
When others see that we are pure in heart, poor in spirit, meek, hungry and thirsty after righteousness, peacemakers, merciful, not anxious about our living, and suffering persecution because of righteousness yet rejoicing, they will be convicted inwardly by God’s light and they will glorify our Father who is in the heavens (see Matt. 5:1-16).
In such a normal way shining out God through our living as kingdom-of-God-people, God will gain the glory and we will have a foretaste of the glorious city, New Jerusalem.
Lord Jesus, we want to let our light shine before men so that they may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in the heavens. You are the light of the world – shine in us and shine through us. Lord, we don’t want to hinder Your shining out through us. Be expressed in us in our daily living. May our living be full of good works expressing You as the shining One in us. Lord, may each believer shine out as a lamp and may the church shine out as a city to all those around so that You may gain the glory!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Ron Kangas’ sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, The Conclusion of the New Testament (pp. 2661, 1162-1163), as quoted in, the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Aspects of the Christian Life and Church Life Seen in the New Jerusalem, week 8 / msg 8, Having the Glory of God.
- Further reading: recommending Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, msg. 12.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Shine Thou upon us, Lord, / True Light of men, today, / And through the written Word / Thy very self display; / That so from hearts which burn / With gazing on Thy face, / Thy little ones may learn / The wonders of Thy grace. (Hymns #902)
# Hallelujah! In the body we / Bear the death of Christ continually: / Thus His life comes forth for all to see as / The outer man is broken down, / The inner man is shining so that— / In these earthen vessels men can see / There’s the treasure of reality! / Thus the gospel’s glorious light will be / Shining out from us. (Hymns #1178)
# Jesus bids us shine with a clear, pure light, / Like a little candle burning in the night; / In this world of darkness, we must shine, / You in your small corner and I in mine. (Song on Shining)
i am catholic and im proud that i am a daughter of god. nice page:-)
Hello there Charlyn, by believing into Christ we are children of God – born of Him with His life and nature. And if we walk according to the divine life, we will be His children in reality, shining Him out to others.