Radiance

My study this morning was from Heb. 1:3 & I wanted to share with you what I learned.

"And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,"

I looked up the word radiance and dictionary.com says that it means brightness or light and the synonyms are resplendence, splendor, brilliance.  Of course, I thought of a song which I will link at the end :).

In Logos though, I looked at the meaning of "the radiance of His glory".  The word radiance [strong's #541] = ἀπαύγασμα apaugasma, ap-ŏw´-gas-mah; from a comp. of 575 and 826; an off-flash, i.e. effulgence:—brightness

Well, then I looked up effulgence and found that it means "a brilliant radiance; a shining forth"

Jesus is "the radiance of God's glory".  He is the glorious light of God shining into the hearts of men and women similar to the sun's rays that give

• light
• warmth
• life
• growth

When I plant my herbs, I normally put them in pots on my porch and I try to be faithful at watering them.  Besides water, they need the sun / light.  If they were perpetually in the dark or very low light they'd either be stunted or dead.  In the same way, people need light to grow.  Jesus is that light.  He is the "exact representation" or the reproduction of God [the writer of Hebrews uses terminology associated with an impression reproduced on a seal by a die or stamp] - He [Jesus] is the PERFECT, PERSONAL IMPRINT OF GOD in time & space.  Just as the sun was never without and can never be separated from its brightness, so God was never without and cannot be separated from the glory of Christ. Never was God without Him or He without God, and never in any way can He be separated from God. Yet the brightness of the sun is not the sun, and neither is Jesus exactly the same as God in that sense. He is fully and absolutely God, yet as a distinct Person within the triune Godhead.  Jesus said, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12). As the radiance of God's glory, Christ can transmit that light into your life and mine so that we can radiate the glory of God to a dark world.
Think about this:  Jesus is the full expression of God, an exact reproduction of God's nature.  He can come into our lives and give us light so we can see and know God!  He is the source of our spiritual life.  His light gives:

• Purpose
• Meaning
• Happiness
• Peace
• Joy
• Fellowship
• EVERYTHING

For how long? For eternity!  As we celebrate this season of Christmas, reflect on the fact that God came to earth to become a man so we could know what He is like.  However, II Cor 4:3-6 says there are people who don't see spiritually.  In I Cor. 2:14 Paul says the natural person [someone who is unconverted, blinded by the god of this world, satan] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God for they are folly [foolish, lack of understanding or sense] to him  He is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.  How can a natural [or, unconverted] person spiritually discern?  By allowing the illumination of God's Word to penetrate His heart & mind.

My prayer today is that you will allow the "radiance of God's glory" to give your life, light, warmth, life and growth.
Here is the song I promised.  The lyrics are included....read them as you listen, noting especially verse 2!  You can also hear it here but only 1st verse is included.  It is an a cappella rendition.