The Splendor of Man

“Then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering.” Is. 4:5.

You will be cast down to the earth if you seek the world’s approval of your splendor. If we lose the covering of reproach, we will be unable to retain the glory that is the result of the Spirit of judgment and burn­ing. Where there is little reproach, there is usually little glory.

All God-fearing people must bear reproach, and the church has borne a lot of reproach. Many people admire the results, but the way of humiliation is despised, and for the natural man it is foolishness. “Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you, the most terrible of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and defile your splendor.” Ezek. 28:7. If you want the world’s approval, you will easily be cast down to the earth. You must remain in unfailing faithfulness to Christ—also when God be­gins to bless your life. Our forefathers continued in great faithfulness to God, through a long life, and completed their ministry in lowliness and simple faithfulness to their Lord and Master.

Jesus was crucified outside the camp. You will never find the cross inside the camp—in religious life. Simple faithful­ness to Christ must be united with wisdom from God. That combination produces a tremendous spiritual power and au­thority that those with a worldly mind cannot comprehend. You become a riddle for the wise of this world. Simple faith­fulness is our most powerful spiritual weapon. When you humble yourself, Satan loses his power over you. He can only appeal to a carnal mind, to people who allow themselves to be deceived by the things that are highly esteemed in the eyes of man.

“For our exhortation did not come from error or unclean­ness, nor was it in deceit. But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.” 1 Thess. 2:3-4. If you allow people to idolize you, or if you want applause and approval for your ministry, it is because of the deceitfulness of sin. God tests our hearts to see if we want to be regarded as someone who has wisdom or some other sort of human glory.

Many people have a veneer of what I would call Christian “cultural refinement.” It looks so wonderful and pious. It has a form of godliness, but if you scratch the surface of this so­called Christianity even a little bit, Satan appears very quickly. True life with God is holy and exalted. We must not have a human splendor. It is extremely serious to dwell on thoughts like: How did they receive my message? How much confi­dence do they have in me? Thoughts like this will corrupt you. These thoughts are deeply defiled by sin in the flesh. You do not hate your own life if this is how you react. When you are extremely self-conscious about all you say and do, you are not simple and uncomplicated. Hate those thoughts with all of your heart right from your youth. Never agree with such thoughts. Never nourish them. Regard it as great unfaithful­ness and falling away from God to dwell on such things. If you give in to such selfish thoughts, you will become an example of unbelief and unfaithfulness. We should regard such un­faithfulness as a tremendous shame.

“Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, ‘Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.’” Luke 9:46-48.

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:76-79.

The Master Himself was simple in His godliness and in His ministry, and He was kept in love until death. He broke the bands of darkness, and He rose again. We must go the same way to the resurrection.