A Radiant Bride
When you experience radiance you cannot fail to smile and feel a sense of awe, deep joy and gratitude.
Well that’s how I felt when I received my radiant bride almost 20 years ago.
God has also prepared a radiant bride to bring awe, deep joy and gratitude to the world He created.
“He is the image of the invisible God…”
Colossians 1:15 ESV
God is invisible. What would we give to see him! What would He be like, talk like, act like? Imagine you could sit with the invisible God and ask him questions and hear His stories. The Almighty God with all power, wisdom and glory actually coming to earth and speaking to mankind. Surely we would hang on to every word, make sure it’s recorded and give those words highest priority.
Well Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Let that sink in. Let’s not take this for granted or underestimate it’s significance.
Image means exact representation and revelation.
What a privilege to live after Jesus so we have an exact representation and revelation of the invisible God.
“The Son is the dazzling radiance of God’s splendor, the exact expression of God’s true nature—his mirror image!”
Hebrews 1:3 TPT
We have a mirror image of the creator of the heavens and earth in Jesus. Jesus is the radiance and brightness of Gods glory. There is incredible beauty in radiance. Think of a radiant smile and the effect it has on your countenance and emotions. The radiant heat of the sun produces heat and light giving life to the world.
Image by Ben Leus from Pixabay
Think of a radiant bride on her wedding day expressing great happiness, hope and beauty. A radiant heater sends out heat to warm the cold.
Jesus is the dazzling radiance of God’s splendour. His radiance changes our countenance and emotions, gives heat and light to the world and brings great happiness, hope and beauty like the radiant bride. And Jesus is the image of the invisible God. As you read of what Jesus did as He came to earth we get a mirror image of the radiance, beauty and kindness of the God we worship.
Whoever has seen Jesus has seen the Father.
Jesus reveals the invisible Father to us.
“Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”
John 14:9-10 ESV
Even those who walked with Jesus understandably struggled to grasp this even as you and I do today. But there is great power in fully grasping this revelation. Jesus came to reveal the invisible Father so the more we get to know and understand Jesus the more we get to know our Father.
“ This endless knowing and understanding— all this came through Jesus, the Messiah. No one has ever seen God, not so much as a glimpse. This one-of-a-kind God-Expression, who exists at the very heart of the Father, has made him plain as day.”
John 1:16-18 MSG
Jesus has revealed, made known, explained and unfolded to us the full explanation of who the Father is and what He’s like.
The ordinary people loved Jesus. They hung on to His every word and wanted to be at his party. He didn’t make them feel awkward or stupid but intrigued, inspired and amazed with His words and actions. Of course the religious were threatened by Him but the ordinary people flocked to be with him, going days without food just to hear His words.
Made in His Image
In the beginning God made man in His image. (Gen. 1:26-27). However all mankind “fell short” of that image, choosing to rather go their own way. But let’s camp for a minute that all mankind, you and I were made in His image. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Yet mankind was also created to be the image of God. Jesus is the exact representation of God but you and I were also chosen to be His representation.
Jesus is the dazzling radiance of God’s splendour. His radiance changes our countenance and emotions, gives heat and light to the world and brings great happiness, hope and beauty like the radiant bride. And Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
However, mankind was also created to mirror image the radiance, beauty and kindness of the God we worship.
Let that sink in. How incredible is that! What went wrong? We were created for glory but:
“all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:23 AMP
We were created for glory, to mirror image God’s glory and beauty but sin broke in and broke up the party. But that’s not the end.
“For he knew all about us before we were born and he destined us from the beginning to share the likeness of his Son. This means the Son is the oldest among a vast family of brothers and sisters who will become just like him.”
Romans 8:29 TPT
New Creation
Jesus died on the Cross and rose from the dead and his new creation revolution began. He poured out His Spirit and offered all the chance to become new creations once again. He extended the invitation to join the family home and become a family of brothers and sisters who together radiate the beauty and kindness and love and glory of God.
He chose you to join the family and become a new creation:
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
Romans 8:29 ESV
His purpose from the start was for mankind to be made back into the image of God that reveals the beauty and kindness and love of God. New creations have a radiance. It’s the radiance of God and leads to a radiant smile, a radiant heat, a radiant sun and a radiant bride.
“Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons!”
2 Corinthians 5:16-20 MSG
Jesus is the image of the invisible God. As we get to know Jesus more through His Word and by His Spirit we get a greater understanding and knowledge of our amazing Father. But in that image we also get a beautiful picture of the image we were created to be. Jesus reveals Father but He also reveals the true you. The image of beauty, love, grace, purity and kindness gives you a picture of the new creation He wants to change you into by His grace and by His Spirit.
How do we cooperate? We abide. The change comes by fruitfulness. As we abide, dwell and remain in Him, the waters of His Spirit flow to our souls to cause fruit to grow. And the fruit of the Spirit gives us a radiance that looks like Jesus and Father. A family, a radiant bride bringing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control to our world.
