Seeing His Glory

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.
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Seeing His Glory
In the Old Testament Temple system, God dwelt in the Temple. That is, He “tabernacled” with His people. In the Holy of Holies God sat on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. He was with His chosen people but still separate and somewhat distant in a physical way. Only once a year could the high priest venture beyond the Temple curtain to offer sacrifices for the sins of the nation.
With the advent of the Christ, this changed. No longer was God distant and removed in a physical way. No longer were the Old Testament rules and regulations applicable. For Jesus Himself tells us that He came not to abolish the Law or the prophets, but to fulfill them. This happened when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, when Jesus “tabernacled” with us.
No longer separated from God but intimately joined with Him in the flesh, we can see God in His glory and not just live but have life eternal. In the incarnation, the Word, that is Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity, became man. Being like us in every way except without sin, so that His propitiating death on the cross would be acceptable to the Father. And in our Baptism, we were joined into His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.