Christ Raised And Glorified

by Jim Seddon, Liverpool, England | Category: More Meditations In The Psalms | Nov 1992

"But now hath Christ been raised from the dead" (1 Cor 15:20).

These were the emphatic words of Paul to the Corinthians - words born out of reality. At the time they were written, the resurrected Lord Jesus had occupied the throne of heaven for almost thirty years. A statement such as Paul's testifies to the immutability of God's Word concerning His Son's resurrection and glory. The Old Testament is a mine full of promises pertaining to Christ, and one of the richest veins in which the promises are found is the Psalms. For example: "Thou wilt not leave My soul to Sheol; neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption" (16:10). Paul quotes these words of David in Acts 13:35, thus forming signposts in the New Testament as well as the Old, that ever point upward as did the two heavenly messengers who appeared to the women at the garden tomb and said: "He is not here, but is risen" (Luke 24:6).

This note of victory, that first sounded in the ears of the Lord's disciples on earth, reached its crescendo in heaven where the innumerable host of angelic beings honoured and worshipped the ascended Lord:

Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors:

and the King of glory shall come in. Who is the King of glory? The

LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle ... The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory (Ps. 24:7,8,10).

The Lord of hosts passed through the heavens, entering triumphantly as the King of glory. The longing of His heart had now been realized: "Glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was" (John 17:5). Isaiah's Man of sorrows had become the Psalmist's Man of praise: "Thy salvation, 0 God, set Me up on high. I will praise the Name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving" (Ps. 69:29,30).

Such praise and adoration is reciprocal within the Godhead as the Father takes up the refrain to His Son:

Thy throne, 0 God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of equity is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness: therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows

(Ps. 45:6,7).

We too, with John, can rejoice as we hear afresh:

His voice as the voice of many waters ... saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the Living One; 'and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore (Rev. 1:15,17,18).

"God highly exalted Him" (Phil. 2:9).

There were certain Greeks that came to Philip saying, "Sir, we would see Jesus" (John 12:21), and when the Lord was told He said, "The hour is come, that the Son of Man should be glorified" (v.23). Those Greeks together with the Jews were representative of the whole of the human race amongst whom Christ must be glorified. The word in the Greek New Testament translated glorified means "to magnify, extol, praise, especially of glorifying God, i.e., ascribing honour to Him" (Vine). His very Being demands no less than this.

Each Person of the Godhead commands equal honour (John 5:22,23). In despising and rejecting the Son, men failed to glorify God. Nevertheless, God must be glorified through His Son: "Father, glorify Thy Name. There came therefore a voice out of heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again" (John 12:28). In the events leading up to the crucifixion the voice of rebellion sounded loud and clear. In response to Pilate's exclamation, "Behold your King!" they replied, "Away with Him, crucify Him ... we have no king but Caesar" (John 19:14,15). But in His resurrection power and glory the Son is addressed by the Father: "Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool" (Ps. 110:1).

If men do not give Christ His rightful place, then God will. When Pilate asked the multitude, "What then shall I do unto Jesus which is called Christ? They all say, Let Him be crucified" (Mat. 27:22). A very different picture is presented in the words of King Ahasuerus to the wicked Haman concerning Mordecai, which illustrate the purpose of God in relation to the Lord Jesus: "What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour?" (Esther 6:6). Haman mistakenly assumed he was about to be honoured and replied, in effect "Glorify him, treat him like royalty". The result was that the despised Mordecai was exalted and treated like a prince.

The love and esteem of the Father for the Son is an expression of the perfect reciprocal relationship within the Godhead. But unregenerate men and women display a hostile attitude to the Father and the Son: "the mind of the flesh is enmity against God" (Rom. 8:7). Nevertheless, the Son demands and will receive the honour that is due to Him. The Father has highly exalted the Son and given Him "the Name which is above every name; that in the Name of Jesus every knee should bow and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:9-11).

Speaking through His servant Isaiah, God said, "I am the LORD (Jehovah, the Self-existent One); that is My Name: and My glory will I not give to another" (42:8). Yet, in a future day under the influence of the false prophet, many will seek to take away glory from God by blasphemously rendering divine honours to antichrist, the man of sin. In the second Psalm God leaves us in no doubt as to whom glory belongs and with whom it will ever remain. The Father says of the exaltation of His Son:

I have set My King upon My holy hill of Zion. I will tell of the decree:

the LORD said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the nations for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel (2:6-9).

During the glorious millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, the words of Solomon will be on the lips of many:

"Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things: and blessed be His glorious Name for ever; and let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen" (Ps. 72:18,19).

It was in His raised and glorified body that the Lord ascended to heaven. The Victor of Calvary, the King of glory, is appointed by the Father "a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek" (Ps. 110:4). It is still true of our Lord Jesus Christ as it was of old that His "delight" is "with the sons of men" (Prov. 8:31). Upon the Cross as Substitute, He suffered the judgement of God for our sins. As Son and Great High Priest over the house of God, He represents God's people in the heavenly sanctuary. Apart from the day of atonement, Aaron, the high priest of Israel, wore garments that were for "glory and for beauty" foreshadowing the glories and beauties of Christ. Upon the onyx stones that rested on the shoulders of Aaron and also upon the precious stones in his breastplate were engraved the names of the twelve tribes of Israel as he represented the nation before God (Ex. 28:6-30).

The typical significance of this in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ is well expressed by the hymn writer:

On His heart our names are graven,

On His shoulders we are borne.

For His sake the Father loves us;

Praise becomes us in return.

The writer to the Hebrews says, "Both He that sanctifieth (the Son) and they that are sanctified are all of One (the Father): for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren" (2:11). In expressing the relationship into which He has brought God's new covenant people the Lord says, "I will declare Thy Name unto My brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee" (Ps. 22:22). Through the Psalmist God said (and it applies under both covenants): "Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice " (50:5). When God's people are together as a Holy Priesthood, the ascended Lord presents their praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We may sum up by saying of the faithful Man of Psalm 22, that He is also the blessed Man of Psalm 1; He was the suffering Man of Psalm 22; who became the exalted Man of Psalm 24; and He will be the reigning Man of Psalm 2. But what shall we say of the present? Although the Victor of Calvary is, for the most part, "despised and rejected of men"; although many still "esteem Him not", it is our privilege to rejoice with David and say "I will bless the LORD at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth ... 0 magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His Name together" (Ps. 34:1,3). May it be so until He comes, for His Name's sake.

Jim Seddon, Liverpool, England | Nov 1992
More Meditations In The Psalms