Think About the Glory of Your Spirit..
Think about the glory of your spirit, and the glory of every Christian’s spirit. Most people spend far too much time thinking about the glory of their appearance, but spend very little time thinking about the glory of their spirit. But everyone is born with a glorious spirit.
God said in Genesis 1, verse 26; “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness..” And the next verse says; “And God created man in His own image. In the image of God, created He him (that’s man). Male and female He created them.” That’s a pretty glorious thought right there.. to be created in the image and likeness of God.
But we’re not created in the likeness of God in any physical way, because as we all know, God is 100% spirit. No, we’re made in the likeness and image of God, because we’ve been given a “glorious spirit”, by God. It’s our spirit, that bears the very image and likeness of God Himself.
We are created IN the glorious image of God, and we are created FOR the glory of God.
God says in Isaiah 43, verse 7; “..Everyone that is called by My name, and whom I created, for My glory; Whom I have formed, yea, whom I made.”
And if we were made for the glory of God, then there must be something about us, which is pretty glorious! But it’s not a pretty face, and it’s not an attractive physique, that makes us glorious. It’s the inward beauty, of a spirit created in the likeness of God!
Glory to the Depth of our Soul
They say that outward beauty is only skin deep. But what about inward beauty, and what about inward glory, how deep does that go? It goes to the very core of who we are. It permeates our very being. And what could be any more glorious, than an innocent, and sinless soul, created by God? The glory of sinlessness, is the “stamp” that God puts upon every soul that enters into the world.
Think about what it is, that makes you smile so, when you look at a newborn baby? Is it just the cuteness of their little face? Or is it more than that? Isn’t it also their purity, and their beautiful innocence, that makes you smile? Isn’t it that beautiful and glorious creation of God? Maybe it’s a combination of those things. But isn’t it a fact, that a newborn baby simply exudes purity and innocence, and the glory of God?
Psalm 19, verse 1 says; “..The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.” But what about the creation of that newborn baby? Doesn’t he or she absolutely “declare” the glory of God? If the created world around us declares God’s glory, then ten times more, does the sight of that pure and innocent newborn, declare the glory of it’s maker.
A sinless spirit, housed in that tiny little body. It’s a glorious sight. How could anyone not think so? God says in Ezekiel 28, verse 15; “You were perfect, in your ways, from the day you were created..” (and the day that child was created, was the day of their conception) “You were perfect in your ways, from the day you were conceived, Till iniquity was found in you.” “In your ways” means.. “in your condition”. In your pure, and innocent, and sinless condition.
That statement was made specifically about the king of Tyre. God was speaking to Ezekiel the prophet, and He said to Ezekiel, in verse 12; “Son of man, take up this lamentation against the king of Tyre..” It’s almost exactly like the “proverb” that was taken up against the king of Babylon, in Isaiah chapter 14, where so many people get confused, and think that God was talking about satan. They think the same thing about this verse in Ezekiel.
But God is clear in both verses, who He’s talking about. In Isaiah 14, verse 4, God says to Isaiah; “..Take up this ‘proverb’ against the king of Babylon.” And here in Ezekiel 28, verse 12, God says to Ezekiel; “..take up this ‘lamentation’ against the king of Tyre..”
And then once again, in verse 15; “You were perfect in all your ways, from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.” And you can be guaranteed of this one thing.. If the king of Tyre was perfect, then every human being is also perfect, from the day they were created. The scriptures repeatedly use the idea of perfection, to indicate sinlessness.
Completeness, Perfection, Sinlessness
As a matter of fact, the very word here in Ezekiel that’s translated “perfect”, means.. wholesome, unimpaired, and innocent. We are created, in the glorious wholesomeness, and purity, of God Himself. In the new testament, we often find the words “perfect” and “perfection”, being applied to the Christian. And there it always refers to completeness, and fullness.
The “perfect” example of that would be Ephesians 4, verse 13. Here’s what it says; “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a ‘perfect man’, (many versions say, a complete man) unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”
Now of course a “complete person” or a “perfect person” who measures up to “the stature of the fulness of Christ”, must of necessity, also be a sinless person. One who has been forgiven of their sins, and thus stands in the condition, of purity and innocence. The very same condition, in which we were created.
Consider this very familiar scripture concerning Christ; Hebrews 5, verses 8 & 9; “Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered. And being made perfect, (or complete) He became the author of eternal salvation, unto all them that obey Him.”
Jesus became “complete” or “perfect” by remaining obedient to the Father. But what would have happened if He hadn’t have remained obedient? He would have sinned, wouldn’t He? But He didn’t, because He remained obedient, even through all of His sufferings. And so His completeness, by necessity, required His sinlessness.
And so we could say that the “glory” of Jesus, became complete, and was perfected. And through our own faithfulness, and obedience to God, we have that same glory, that Jesus had.
Glory is Darkened by Sin
But it’s sin that takes our glory away; It takes our wholesomeness, and our purity and our innocence away. Oh, we’ll always be made in the image and likeness of God; We’ll always possess a spirit that will never cease to exist; But the glory simply isn’t there anymore, after sin takes hold. The glory that God gave to us, we turn around, and throw it away. Romans 3, verse 23, says; “For all have sinned and fall short, of the glory of God.”
Haven’t you ever wished that you could go back and do something over again, because you messed it up so badly the first time? I think we all have. And we can! We can go back and do it over again. We can be “born again”, and our soul can be given back the same glory that we were given the first time. The same glory, and purity, and innocence, in the likeness of God.
It says in Romans 6, verse 5; “For if we have become united with Him, in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.” And how do you become “united with Him in death”? Verse 4 tells us how; “..We have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
We can arise out of baptism, and we can walk in newness of life, and we can have the chance to do it over again, with a glorious spirit once again, just like the way it was when we were first born. But we need to maintain the glory of our spirit, through our obedience to God, and His word. Even in the face of tribulation, or suffering, and even persecution, we need to remain true to God.
1 Peter 4, verse 14 tells us that “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, and of God, rests on you.”
If we’re reviled for the name of Christ, it’s only because we’re upholding the glory of God, by showing that glory in our own spirit. If we’re reviled for the name of Christ, it’s because we’re being led, by the Spirit of Christ!
Being created by the Spirit of God, and in the likeness of God, makes our spirit glorious. And being led by the Spirit of God, keeps our spirit glorious.
Adorning Your Spirit
God gives some advice specifically to women, in 1 Peter 3, verses 3 & 4. But with just a little common sense, we can see how the principle equally applies to a man. Here’s what that advice is; “Whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, (the word “man” there, means person. The hidden person of the heart) in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament, of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God, of great price.
We can’t see a person’s spirit, and that’s why the scripture call it the “hidden person of the heart”. But even though others can’t actually see your spirit, your spirit is still very evident to them, by how you adorn yourself. That verse refers to “a meek and quit spirit”, as an “ornament”.. It’s an ornament for our soul.
Most all of us are concerned with our appearance. We want to look nice and neat and clean. But I think the fact is is, that no matter how beautiful or handsome, a woman or a man might be, if they’ve got an ‘ugly’ spirit, that’s all anyone is going to see anyhow.
Isn’t that strange? Our spirit, is going to show, even more vividly, than the most beautiful outward covering that we could ever put on. People might initially notice some things about our appearance, but once they come to know us, they stop looking at our outward appearance, and what they really begin seeing, is the “hidden person of the heart”. That’s what we actually become known for.. “hidden person of the heart”.
But we need to work at maintaining that beautiful and glorious spirit that’s within us. Think about yourself for a minute.. Do you spend more time each day adorning your face and body, or do you spend more time adorning your spirit? To “adorn” yourself, means.. is to put things in order. You know what your personal routine is; You know what you do each day to put your physical self together. But do you think each day, to put your spirit in order too? We need to put our spirit in order, by adorning it with the traits that God intends us to possess.
I believe that we could consider the “fruits of the spirit” which are given in Galatians 5:22-23, to also be the “glory of the spirit”. Namely.. “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control.” Those are the fruits, and the glory, of our spirit.
And if we faithfully adorn ourselves with those traits, then our spirit will always continue, to be just as glorious, as the day we were created.
