This teaching is part 3 of teaching number 96, What Does Jesus Desire?
When we asked what Jesus desires, we answered that He desires us to see Him in His full glory. That means we see Jesus as God; we see Him as the Creator of all things. He is “I AM”. And so it becomes clear that there is more to Jesus than the man image could have ever revealed. This is Jesus being revealed in His true glory, but there’s more to His glory than just these things.
For Jesus to become all and in all, and all things to all people, He must be realized in a way that doesn’t limit Him to the structure of flesh. When the Son has fulfilled His purpose, it’s then that God becomes all and in all (1 Corinthians 15:27-28), and Jesus takes His place as God, who is the Father of all.
This is accomplished one way; Jesus is the Word and, therefore, is not limited to any singular image but has the power to be God, visible or invisible. That’s how Jesus can be in all of us simultaneously and fulfill His will in everyone, albeit all grow in their separate order.
The apostle John helps clarify that Jesus is the Word in the first three verses of His gospel.
John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.
In the beginning, it was God and the Word, yet the Word was God. This teaches us that God was not only One but that He was also divided to teach us who He is in both Word and image. The point is that God and the Word are One, yet when He needed to divide Father and Son, He did so to reveal Himself and fulfill His purpose and bring all of His children home.
He again clarifies Jesus as the Word in that chapter by saying that the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This is where the true glory of Jesus shines. He is the Word! John connected Jesus to the Word in the beginning and manifested in the flesh. When John said we beheld His glory, He was talking about the Word; He saw the Word manifested and not just a man.
Ancient of Days and the Son of Man.
John also helps us understand the glory of Jesus in the first chapter of Revelation. We see Jesus in His glory concerning what He accomplished on the earth. (Revelation 1:4-7)
And from Jesus Christ
Who is the faithful witness.
The first begotten of the dead.
The prince of the kings of the earth.
The one who loved us.
He who washed us from our sins in His own blood.
And has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father.
He ends his description of Jesus by saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” in verse 8. This verse alone teaches us that Jesus was much more than a man who died on earth to forgive our sins.
And in the same chapter, John goes on to show us another glory of Jesus as Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the End. He also describes Him as One like unto the Son of Man. (Revelation 1:9-20)
He was clothed with a long robe.
He had a golden sash around His chest.
The hairs on his head were white, like white wool, like snow.
His eyes were like a flame of fire.
His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace.
His voice was like the roar of many waters.
In his right hand, he held seven stars.
From his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword.
His face (countenance) was like the sun shining in full strength.
Here, John connects this Son of Man to the same Jesus who was on earth and died for our sins, yet His description is in a glory that was not revealed while on earth. John finishes this description by saying,
When I saw him, I fell at His feet as though dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore and have the keys of Death and Hades.
The Son of Man died for our sins, and look at Him now in all His glory. This is Jesus revealing His true revelation and glory to His servants. This is Jesus saying look at me in heaven and see who I Am, and when you see me, you will be changed into my same likeness. (1 John 3:2)
To reveal His glory even more, we have the prophet Daniel, who also shines a light on who this One like the Son of Man, is. In Daniel 7:9-14 we see two figures that help us connect Jesus to this great glory—the Ancient of Days and One like the Son of Man. In Daniel’s description, the Ancient of Days is revealed in this glory.
His clothing was white as snow.
The hair on his head was like pure wool.
His throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire.
A stream of fire issued and came out from before Him.
A thousand thousands served Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.
This description of the Ancient of Days is almost identical to John’s description of One like the Son of Man. In this context of writing, it becomes clear that these figures are the Words of God revealing Himself through different glories. These revelations teach us a side of Jesus that is not revealed on earth among men; you must be in the Spirit to see Him in these glories. Now, His glory has been fully realized.
Jesus as the Word is the Ancient of Days, the One like the Son of Man, and the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world.
This illustrates my comment that Jesus, as the Word from the beginning, can be and take on any form of the Word and accomplish what God desires. There’s no other glory like the Word of God. The Word is even exalted above His name. (Psalms 138:2)
In the second part of Daniel’s description, the One like the Son of Man was sent to help us realize our full potential as children of God. He teaches us that we will rule and reign with Him in His kingdom.
Daniel 7:13-14 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
It’s clear in this description that the One like the Son of Man is Jesus, and yet He’s the Ancient of Days. Only the Word could do such things without limitation in the Spirit.
Conclusion
Because this has been a long writing, I will finish by saying that it’s the Word, God, who is glorified, and Jesus is His name. And the greatest part of this revelation is that this same Word is within you and I. This is the glory that Jesus wants us to see.
In the final teaching, part 4, I will teach about the bridge that Jesus created to help us see and get to this glory that He desires us to see.