God Manifestation
July 20, 2003
Dear Friends,
In 1858 in the pages of the Herald Of The Kingdom, Dr. John Thomas wrote the now famous words: “Men were not ushered into being for the purpose of being saved or lost! God manifestation not human salvation was the great purpose of the Eternal Spirit. The salvation of a multitude is incidental to the manifestation, but was not the end proposed.”
In these words, the proper emphasis on why this world was created is rightly placed on God. We, as human beings, tend to put ourselves in the center of our little universe not realizing that this special place is already occupied by Someone far more worthy than ourselves. Yet, while the emphasis on God’s glory is not ABOUT us, it is THROUGH us that God has created a plan that will result in His honor and glory abounding throughout this earth.
So what, in laymen’s terms, is God manifestation? First and foremost, it says that God will reveal Himself in particular people styled the “saints” or “believers” in the pages of Scripture. This revealing of Himself comes in two forms. First, God reveals Himself in people in this life. There are people on this planet who have made it their life’s goal to serve God. They truly seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first in their lives. This goal manifests itself in their lifestyle. They believe what God would have them believe and diligently seek to know Him better through Bible study and prayer. They conform to God’s commands. They don’t pick and chose which commandments suit their lifestyles, but submit their will to that of the Creator completely. They are not perfect, but the strive to be. They manifest God’s character in the following Godly attributes of ” love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” We practice God manifestation when we think like, act like and obey God in this life.
For those who manifest God in this mortal life, there is a greater manifestation of God yet to come. “…we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Cor. 15:51-53) God will grant His immortal nature to those who have put on Christ through faith and baptism while exhibiting God manifestation in their life in Christ. The Apostle Paul expresses this hope beautifully in Romans 8. “I don’t think the sufferings we are going through now are even worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed (i.e. manifested!) to us in the future. The creation waits eagerly for the sons of God to be revealed (i.e. manifested!); for the creation was made subject to frustration—not willingly, but because of the one who subjected it. But it was given a reliable hope that it too would be set free from its bondage to decay and would enjoy the freedom accompanying the glory that God’s children will have. We know that until now, the whole creation has been groaning as with the pains of childbirth; and not only it, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we continue waiting eagerly to be made sons—that is, to have our whole bodies redeemed and set free. It was in this hope that we were saved.” (Rom. 8:18-24 JNT)
Brother Thomas probably overstates his case a little by saying that salvation is “incidental” to God manifestation. Salvation is the means to the end and is therefore subordinate to the greater goal, but it is a vital part to the process. It is like saying that the plane is incidental to your trans-Atlantic trip. The purpose of the trip is the major importance, but the vehicle by which you travel is not insignificant to the greater goal.
We can all do well to remember that although God loves us and wants us to be a part of His Kingdom, we should focus on the ultimate goal of the matter – God’s glory. We must manifest God now, if we want to manifest Him in the future!
Have a great week!
