In the beginning was the Word, the logos: he who is the personal expression of everything the father is; not born in time through an act of will, but begotten of the father as an eternal reality inherent in the very nature of the Godhead, subsisting in perpetual and intimate union with the Father and the Spirit through the singular divine essence which all three hold in common. As very God of very God, he possesses all the attributes and characteristics of Jehovah as his own, enjoys unbroken communion with God from before time began, and exists in perpetual bliss and delight within the fellowship of the Trinity. As Jehovah, he has life within himself as his own, native possession, and he radiates his life throughout all creation as the sun radiates its light, enlivening all who come within the reach of that light. He is the brightness of the glory of God, shining with his uncreated light with such unconquerable brilliance that all the darkness of the universe cannot prevail against it.
And the word became flesh, and dwelt among us. He “tabernacled” with us, forever planting the infinity of divinity within the sphere of authentic humanity. The Word, the Son, Very God of Very God, and full possessor of the divine nature; while remaining what he always was, became what he was not by adopting a complete human nature and perpetually uniting it to his single, eternal person without diminishing, compromising, or blending his human or divine natures. He became, and will always remain, the living personification of the Shekinah glory of God, pitched in the midst of his people. Behold the unique glory of the only begotten of the Father, not to be found in any other in heaven or earth. And so it is Christ alone who can shine the pure light of God into humanity, perfectly and paradoxically possessing all the virtues of God and man. He remains all powerful, while having assumed weakness (Revelations 1:8; 2 Corinthians 13:4); he remains all knowing, while having assumed limited knowledge (John 16:30; Matthew 24:36); he remains self-sufficient, while having assumed dependence (John 5:26; Matthew 4:2-11); he remains sovereign, while having assumed submission (Luke 22:42; Matthew 28:19); he remains transcendent; while having assumed humility (Philippians 2:8-11); he remains glorious, while having assumed meekness (Matthew 11:29; John 17:5); he remains holy, while having assumed temptation (Hebrews 4:14-16); he remains immutable, while having assumed progression (Hebrews 2:10;13:8; Luke 2:52); he remains incorporeal, while having assumed flesh (John 1:14, Colossians 2:9).
So we, his people, behold the Shekhinah glory of God and receive his fullness with exponential grace as we are being changed into the image of that glorious sight with exponential glory. By this, our hearts become taberacles: vessels of the uncreated light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But unlike our great high priest, we do not hold the divine light within our humanity in sinless perfection; we mar the light that shines from within us through our sin and human limitations. Yet, through our sin and sorrows, fears and failures, the light shines through, refracting into a myriad of colors. Just as the first rainbow was born in calamity, and remains through the effects of the curse, so the greater rainbow formed from the light of Immanuel within us forms an abiding testimony to the faithfulness and power of our Kinsman-redeemer. Therefore, we embrace our ministry as authentic vessels of his light, rejecting self-sufficiency, externalism, pragmatism, and pretense, and enduring the deadly trials we share with our Captain. For our eternal weight of glory is this: when the Lamb tabernacles with his people, shining as the light of the heavenly city, the light he has formed in us will be the rainbow that surrounds his throne.
