Awesome in Splendor
Do you ever get words, phrases, or bits of a song stuck in your head as you’re reading or listening to something? It happens to me- a lot. As we were singing Christ Our Treasure during the service this past Sunday, the line “awesome in splendor” jumped out at me. As I write this a few days later, it is still in my mind. If one is going to have thoughts stuck in his or her head, this certainly is a great one to have.
It is always good and worthwhile to consider the supreme majesty of our Savior. The more we see and understand how glorious and mighty He is, the more it moves us to praise the One who is worthy of all praise and honor.
In 1 Timothy, Paul spends most of the letter giving instruction to his “true child of the faith” (1:2). At the close of the letter, he charges Timothy to fight the good fight of faith. In this charge, Paul describes Jesus as “he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen” I Timothy 6:15b-16.
Truly awesome in splendor. Not only is Jesus the only Sovereign King of all, but so exceedingly resplendent is the glory of Christ that He dwells in unapproachable light. He is so brilliant that no one has seen the Lord in His full glory. We could not bear the sheer intensity of it. Even Moses, who spoke with God, had to be shielded lest he die (Exodus 33:18-23). Christ is perfect purity and holiness.
In the same way that Paul directed Timothy to the excellencies of Christ, so too should we be reminded again and again of His majesty. When we read a text like Revelation 1, where Jesus’s “eyes were like a flame of fire” (v14) and “his face was like the sun shining in full strength” (v16), the awe of those words should lead us to worship and exalt His great name. We are not only led to praise, but we should also, like the prophet Isaiah, see ourselves rightly in relation to Him.
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!’
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for’” (Isaiah 6:1-7).
That is an amazing passage. In Isaiah’s vision, he could not stand before the brilliant glory and holiness of God without seeing how infinitely far he was from the purity of the Lord. Isaiah was made acutely aware of his own impurity, his own sin. He cried out in desperation to the Lord of hosts who was seated on the throne and his sin and guilt was removed.
That same Lord came to this Earth as a man, died as the perfect sacrifice, and rose to glory, so that our sins might be forgiven. When we worship Him, we do so foremost because He is worthy of all praise and adoration, awesome in splendor. But we are also reminded of the grace and forgiveness given to us in covering our sin. And in His rich mercy he continues to sanctify us. It is a glorious thing to be conformed more and more to Christ.
Brian Gates
It is always good and worthwhile to consider the supreme majesty of our Savior. The more we see and understand how glorious and mighty He is, the more it moves us to praise the One who is worthy of all praise and honor.
In 1 Timothy, Paul spends most of the letter giving instruction to his “true child of the faith” (1:2). At the close of the letter, he charges Timothy to fight the good fight of faith. In this charge, Paul describes Jesus as “he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen” I Timothy 6:15b-16.
Truly awesome in splendor. Not only is Jesus the only Sovereign King of all, but so exceedingly resplendent is the glory of Christ that He dwells in unapproachable light. He is so brilliant that no one has seen the Lord in His full glory. We could not bear the sheer intensity of it. Even Moses, who spoke with God, had to be shielded lest he die (Exodus 33:18-23). Christ is perfect purity and holiness.
In the same way that Paul directed Timothy to the excellencies of Christ, so too should we be reminded again and again of His majesty. When we read a text like Revelation 1, where Jesus’s “eyes were like a flame of fire” (v14) and “his face was like the sun shining in full strength” (v16), the awe of those words should lead us to worship and exalt His great name. We are not only led to praise, but we should also, like the prophet Isaiah, see ourselves rightly in relation to Him.
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!’
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for’” (Isaiah 6:1-7).
That is an amazing passage. In Isaiah’s vision, he could not stand before the brilliant glory and holiness of God without seeing how infinitely far he was from the purity of the Lord. Isaiah was made acutely aware of his own impurity, his own sin. He cried out in desperation to the Lord of hosts who was seated on the throne and his sin and guilt was removed.
That same Lord came to this Earth as a man, died as the perfect sacrifice, and rose to glory, so that our sins might be forgiven. When we worship Him, we do so foremost because He is worthy of all praise and adoration, awesome in splendor. But we are also reminded of the grace and forgiveness given to us in covering our sin. And in His rich mercy he continues to sanctify us. It is a glorious thing to be conformed more and more to Christ.
Brian Gates
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