Creflo Dollar - The Glory of Grace
Tonight, we're gonna talk about the glory of grace and what that is, and then, we're going to move into something that, I just gotta be honest with you, I just probably, a few, about an hour ago closed my Bible, because I was like, I ran into something, I'm like, "Is this true"? And I'm thinking, "No". And I looked at it again and I'm like, "No"! And I'm thinking, "Lord, are they gonna believe me when I show them this"? It's gonna be a pretty good journey tonight. We're gonna talk about the glory of grace.
I wanna start off in John, chapter 1, and verse 14. We're doing this study on the book of John. John was pretty fascinating because, you know, out of all the apostles, God, God chose John to write this and to get this strong revelation on grace. And one of the things that I'm commissioned to do, and that I plan on doing in this series is teaching every jot and tittle of it. And the whole book is comparing the law of Moses with the grace of Jesus Christ. And about time you finish this, you would consider it an insult for you to even think about trying to add anything to what Jesus has already done.
So in the book of Saint John chapter 1:14, let's go and start with this. I saw myself the night just sitting and, and just like teaching as if five people are around and just sharing and sharing the word to you. I'm so hungry to get this to you. So I don't, I don't even know if I'll finish it. But I, I there's a place I'd love to get to tonight probably won't get to it. But it's a place I'd love to get to tonight that's really gonna stir you up. So John 1 verse 14, he says, and the word was made flesh. The word was made flesh. Uh, and we're talking about in the beginning was the word, the word was made flesh in verse 14. And that word that, that was made flesh. We refer to him as Jesus. Okay.
The word that was wrapped in flesh was made flesh. We call him Jesus. And here's what he says and, and he dwelt among us, he dwelt amongst men and we beheld his glory. Now what did they behold? It was called glory. We beheld his glory. And then it said the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. So we beheld the glory of God, the glory of the Father and the glory of the Father is Jesus Christ. We beheld the glory of the Father. I so that you can follow me. I spent years trying to figure out how to, how to talk about glory in a practical manner so that people could get it or they wouldn't super spiritualize it. And just kind of you lose what we were talking about. But when I think of glory, I think about manifestation. Okay?
And it fits everywhere. The manifestation of God, Jesus Christ, the word that was made flesh is the manifestation from God. The only begotten of the Father from God. And, and so glory is manifestation. When you see the glory of his written word, that's the manifested word. That's something you experienced in your life, whether you stood on the word of healing and then healing came, that's glory. Okay? It's manifested word. And so he says, uh and the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, he says, the only begotten, the glory of God. Jesus Christ was full of grace and truth. The glory of God. Jesus Christ is full of grace and full of truth. And so John says, we beheld his glory. The glory is the only begotten of the Father.
Now compare it with the law of Moses, the law giver Moses also had glory, but it was passing glory. Okay? So we're gonna, we're gonna look at those comparing, we're talking about the glory of the Father Jesus Christ. But we're also talking about that passing glory. That was uh that was on uh Moses. If you go to Second Corinthians chapter three verse seven and eight, and this is just the foundation of where we're getting ready to go. Second Corinthians chapter three verse seven and eight. And he says, but if the administration of death written and engraven in stones, all right now now think for a moment the administration of death written and engraven in stones. He says, if it was glorious now, as far as III, I wanna be clear about this, you know, the law is perfect. The law is Godly, the law is right.
The problem is not with, with the what was written on stone. The problem is with what was written on stone was so perfect and men were not. So you got imperfect people trying to keep something that's perfect and that's where the problem came in. That's why we needed a new agreement so that we could be successful because there's nobody could be successful under this. No man alive could be successful under this except Jesus, okay? And so he says, but if the ministration of death, now notice what he called that which was written and engraven in stones. He called it the ministration of death.
Whoa, alright. But if the administration of death written and engraven in stones, he said it was glorious so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, okay? Now watch this, which glory was to be done away. So the glory that was on the face of Moses, he had to wear a veil. We have a wrong conception of this. The the veil was not to cover up the glory to uh from being seen. It was to co cover up the fact that the glory was disappearing. I'm gonna read that to you. It was, the glory, was fading away.
And as a leader, you know, if, if the glory was responsible for them following, then the concern was if they saw the glory fading away, they might start acting up so cover it and I'll show you what, what the veil is all about too. He says which glory was to be done away. Verse 8, how shall not the ministration of the spirit? So now you have the ministration of death, which was written and engraven in stones which glory was fading away versus the ministration of the spirit, which is rather more glorious. Okay? So I think in order for you to get a hold of really what's going on here, I think I wanna use, I wanna read the entire passage out of the New Living Translation.
2 Corinthians chapter 3. And let's start at verse 6 and read through verse 18 because you see the contrast between the glory of the law and that of, of grace. You're talking about, you know, glory that's going to be eternal versus fading glory. Okay? The glory of the law versus the glory of grace. And I think it's worth the time for us to, to look at this and to read it. So let's do that again. He has enabled us to be ministers of the New Testament. So all of us are ministers of the New Testament, not of the old. This is a covenant. This is a covenant, not of written laws. The New Testament is not a covenant of written laws but of the Spirit.
So please understand in these last days, we got to learn about the presence of God. We've got to engage with the Spirit of God because this is gonna be very important. All right, this is a covenant of not of written laws, but of the spirit. The old written covenant ends in death. But under the new covenant, the life or the spirit is one that gives life. You. We talked about this last time I was here, you, the law is not going to in part life. Okay? But in this new covenant life is imparted. All right, verse uh seven, the old way with laws etched in stone led to death though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses's faith. Faith. That's what it begin with for his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away.
All right. Next verse, should we expect far greater glory under the new way now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? See the comparison in verse 10. He says, if the old way which brings condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way which makes us right with God. Next verse. In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. You know what he's saying? Don't even think about trying to compare this glory, which with that, which has already passed away.
All right. So if the old way which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever? So you have glory that remains forever under the new covenant and you have fading glory, which is already faded away under the old covenant. Wow. Alright, since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. We are not like Moses who put a veil over his face. So the people of Israel would not see the glory even though it was destined to fade away. But the people's minds were hardened and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth.
Now go to verse 15, behold there. I wanna define this veil for you. So you, you're gonna keep bumping into it. So we need to, we need to see what it is. Let me give you a definition of the of, of this the veil. What is the veil today right now? The veil today is the condemnation that comes from the law that says they don't measure up to the standard, the condemnation that comes from the law that says that they are deserving of punishment the condemnation that comes from the law that say that, that they are, they have a cursed life. That's the veil, that's the veil. And he says that veil, even when they read the Old Testament today, when you read that old test, that old law, that old, the law, he says, condemnation comes and, that's what it was sent to do. It was sent to condemn and to shame condemnation comes and, and you're condemned.
You don't think you measure up. You don't think that you're deserving. You think you deserve punishment. You think you deserve to live a cursed life. So who puts the veil over people's eyes? 2 Corinthians 3 through 4, Satan is the one that blinds the minds of those lest they, the light of the glorious gospel should come in. So when we turn to Jesus, the veil of condemnation is removed, the only way you get the veil of condemnation off is to turn to Jesus and to make him your Lord and personal savior. We're here, he's comparing this. He says, yes. Even today when they read Moses' writings, their hearts are covered with that veil condemnation. The feeling that I'm condemned that I don't, I have, that's God's punishing me, that I'm cursed. That's the condemnation. Even when you read it today.
Okay. He says, "Their hearts are covered with the veil and they do not understand". They don't understand what they're doing when they choose to live by a old covenant where the glory has already faded away, all right, verse 16. "But whenever someone turns to the Lord," he says what? "The veil is taken away". So to deal with that condemnation, to deal with that shame, to deal with all that stuff, he says, you're gonna have to turn to the Lord Jesus is your way out of that condemnation. Amen. Glory to God. Alright, now watch this. He says, "For the Lord is the spirit and wherever the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom".
Now, in context, you know what that means where the spirit of the Lord is, there's liberty. We thought it was liberty to shout, liberty to do a cartwheel. Liberty to shout Hallelujah. No, in context, he says: where the spirit of the Lord is? There is freedom and liberty from what? From the condemnation of the law deliverance, from the law deliverance, from the veil. You, you see how when you take scriptures out of context, you're left with the Khan and you know most of us all are alive. We just thought, well, where the spirit of God is, there's liberty.
So I got the liberty to shout. Hallelujah, I got the liberty to dance. That ain't what they're talking about. He said, and and isn't it interesting? We take the cheaper over the deeper every time it is the freedom from that old administration of death. Freedom from what the law brings to your life. That's what he says there. And he says in, in verse 18, I love it. "So all of us who have had the veil removed," how many of you have had the veil removed? It doesn't make a difference when you know what the veil is because I mean, all my life, I just thought veil some over. I know we're talking about but we have had the veil removed and we can see and we can reflect the glory of the Lord and the Lord who is the spirit makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
And I still don't see nothing there that says you bring something to the table so you can be made more and more like him. I'm trying not to get excited like I did the last time here. I'm trying to say at least some level of calmness here because III I got blown away. I got blown away, by 5:30 I told Taffi let me close this. I said I am too blown away. And then II I said it to her and she's kind of looked at me like, mmm, you're gonna have to show me that. And I'm like Taffi, that's what I've been doing all day. I was saying to the Lord, you got to show me that not this but what, where we're going and, and if I'll shut up, go on, we'll get there, amen. Alright. Alright, so the the glory they they uh there is in the light of grace.
Let's start there in the light of the grace of God, the law has now no glory in the light of the grace of God. You can see that very clearly doesn't have any glory. So this glory of grace and I want you to remember that what is the glory of grace? This glory of grace is not seen by those who are under the law. We couldn't see it. You remember when you were under the law, you couldn't see it, you couldn't see it. You, we were, we were trained in religion and law that you, that you gotta do good to get good. And if you do bad, you get bad people who are under the law, can't see this. And yet there was something that Isaiah prophesized. He prophesized the very thing that was going to see the glory of God, which is Jesus glorified in the earth.
Go with me to Isaiah chapter 53. You're familiar with this verse 2 and 3. This is the very thing that we see and glorify. Isaiah is speaking prophetically of Israel and Israel rejected him. I don't know if you know that Israel rejected him. He was rejected. Now don't write me no letters. The Bible say that I'm gonna show you where it was rejected him. Isaiah 53:2 "For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of the dry ground, he had no form nor comeliness. And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not".
And yet it was in this very suffering that was described here by Isaiah, by which he fulfilled the demands of the law and then did away with it that his glory shone forth on the earth. For it was on the cross that Jesus was glorified. Let's look at John chapter 12 verse 27 and 28. It was on the cross that he was glorified, the manifestation of the grace of God on that cross. When the devil thought he was doing one thing, he didn't even realize he was being glorified right there on that cross.
Look at this, verse 27. "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father save me from this hour. But for this cause came I unto this hour". Mm, "Father glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven saying I have glorified, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again". Now I asked this question, Lord, what is the difference between the glory of God and the glory of grace. Okay. So we saw very clearly at the beginning that the glory of God is Jesus amen. And the glory of grace is Jesus. I heard uh somewhere I don't know if I was reading or something, but somebody used this illustration. They said the glory of God is Mount Everest. The very top peak is the glory of grace and glory to God.
So from God, the glory from the only begotten was Jesus. Jesus is the glory of grace because he was he was he was he was full of grace and truth. And on the cross when he died and the death of a testator released this grace unto mankind and made it available to everybody where now it's no longer what you do to make it so, but what he has already done that made it so all, all you follow me there now. Alright. Alright. So we're almost beginning where where we wanna be. So when that is seen, there is no glory left in the law and for anybody to claim any degree of glory for the law in the present age of grace. It's almost for you to confess a corresponding failure to behold in the glory of the only begotten of the father.
There is no comparison between the glory and of Jesus and what he did. And and what happened under the law now but you seek something. Go to John chapter 1 verse 6 through 8. Now I I wanna I wanna show you something here and I wanna go really, really slow and cautious at this now. While grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, right? Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Uh, the witness to grace has been committed to a man and we're talking about the man John the Baptist.
Alright, let's look at verse 6 through 8. He says there was a man sent from God whose name was John, not the writer John, but John the Baptist. The same came for a witness. John came for what to be a witness to bear witness to, watch this, the light, all right. So please let's let's go ahead and define it right now. What's the light, right? So he was sent to bear the witness of Jesus who is also come on the light. So John was sent to bear witness of Jesus, who's the light that all men through him might believe. So all men through the light through Jesus Christ might believe.