BiblicalInsights.net

The ultimate quest of the human heart is to know God.  This quest involves wonder.  Wonder is “inquisitive awe in the pursuit of an understanding of all of the perfections of the excellent majesty of God.”  To know God is eternal life (I John 5:20).  This knowledge is truly unsurpassed.
The nature of beauty has been an enduring mystery to artists and philosophers.  What is beauty?  Some define it as “order, arrangement, and harmony of some kind understood as either objective qualities inherent in something beautiful or as subjective sentiment (beauty is in the eye of the beholder) of a person experiencing something that is esteemed beautiful or as both objective –an object possesses a certain arrangement of qualities or characteristics and subjective–these characteristics are satisfying to the mind and evoke pleasure.  The Scriptures teach us that beauty is the very composition of things:  the design or form of whatever exists.  The origin of beauty is the LORD.  This is expressed in two Psalms:  27:1-4 and 90:17.  “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?  When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.  Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple (Ps. 27:1-4).  “And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it” (Ps. 90:17). The first of these Psalms is written by David.  The second is written by Moses.  But, both contain the same affirmation of the beauty of the LORD.  What is the beauty of the LORD?  We must mediate upon the LORD and note His perfections.  His perfections are the sum total of all of His qualities inherent in His excellent majesty or glory (II Pet. 1:16-17).  Consider: the beauty of His perfection; His holiness, His Mind; and His oneness.  A thoughtful study of each of these will begin the quest to know the beauty of the LORD.
The Beauty of Perfection
An accomplished woodworker noted that nothing he made from wood was perfect.  But, the tree from which he secured the wood was perfect.  The human element introduces flaws.  But, God made the tree perfect in its design and purpose.  God is perfect in all of His inner qualities.  Some of these are listed in Ps. 27.  God is light.  Light is essential to life and without it, there would be no life.  God is the source of all light which is the source of all life.  God is salvation.  He is a deliverer from that which harms and destroys.  God is strength.  He is power and might.  As a matter of fact, He is all-powerful.  He has the ability to accomplish and to bring His Word to full fruition.  God is truth.  God cannot lie.  God is just and true.  His justice rests upon His truth because without truth there is no justice.  God is good.  God’s acts are always good.  His creative acts are very good. His redemptive acts are good (right in themselves and beneficial for us).  Some of the qualities are mentioned in Ps. 90.  God is a refuge.  Safety and peace are found with Him and in Him.  God is eternal.  He is self-existing and timeless.  Thus, He is uncreated.  God is merciful.  God is relational and His relationship with people is based upon His mercy and grace.  Without such qualities of God, we could not live in spiritual relationship with God.  The perfection of God is the harmony of all of the characteristic that are intrinsic to His nature.  These characteristic do not conflict with one another nor do they negate one another.
The Beauty of Holiness
Holiness as it applies to God is sinless perfection or moral perfection.  It is freedom from all forms and vestiges of evil.  This produces the following negatives:  (1) God cannot lie; (2) God cannot tempt human beings to sin; and (3) God cannot do evil. God is pure in heart.  He is free from any evil thoughts or intents that would lead to sin.  This means that God is righteous.  God is true to Himself and His nature and cannot contradict Himself in word and deed. Thus, His Word bears this characteristic of holiness (I Tim. 3:15).
The Beauty of Mind
The genius of the mind of God can be seen in the created universe and in the riches of His wisdom in His Word.  The design of the created universe displays the genius of God.  Ps. 19:1-6, “The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament sheweth his handywork.  Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.  Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.  In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.  His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.”  The creation of the universe and everything in it (Ex. 20:11) displays God’s vast knowledge of all the intracacies of the inter-relatedness of created things and of life itself.  This knowledge and the result of His creative power are too wonderful for us to comprehend in fullness.  The sun, moon and stars govern time as we know it.  They govern travel, planting, harvest, the seasons and so forth.  Animal life including their brains and bodies and human life including their bodies and souls manifest His glory.   Every human being is created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26,27).  Man’s intellect, emotions, power of volition, conscience and spiritual inclinations are revealed in this creative design.  There is a clear distinction between animals and human beings.  God loves the humans He created and desires to live in covenant relationship with them.  This is not true of the animal world.  By studying the created world, we can come to know the wisdom of God.  Wisdom is incite into the way things really are (reality itself) and how they work and the ends for which they were designed.  God has also revealed Himself through His holy Word.  God’s wisdom in inherent in His Word.  His Word has been revealed and written to inform the mind of humans of the excellent majesty and glory of God.  God’s Word is truth (John 17:17).  Truth accomplishes two things:  (1) It saves (James 1:21) and (2) It sanctifies (John 17:17).  Thus, God’s Word guides the human soul in its journey to heaven.
The Beauty of Oneness
The Godhead is comprised of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19).  There are three distinct persons in one divine essence or spiritual reality.  The three are one.  “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believers that Jesus is the Son of God?  This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood.  And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, The Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.  And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.  If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.”  (I John 5:5-9). The Triune God is three distinct persons in one undivided essence or essential spiritual being.  God is a spirit (John 4:24).  A spirit is not limited by time or space.  This is how oneness results.  Jesus proclaimed that He and the Father were one (John 10:30).  We accept this knowledge God has revealed and believe it is true.  All of the perfections of the Triune God are manifested in each person of the godhead.  Omnipotence, omniscience, omnibenevolence, indeed, all of the perfections of deity belong to each person in the godhead.  This the God that created all things.  This is the God that is sovereign over all of His creation.  This is the God that we love and worship.  This is the God that will judge us in the last day.
The earth is filled with the glory of the LORD.  This is the beauty of the LORD.  Let us celebrate that glory as we discover it and fill our minds and hearts with wonder!

The Word of God declares, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (II Cor. 3:18).
God made us in His image (Gen. 1:26-27) and this image is marred by our sin.  Christians are redeemed by the blood of Christ and undergo a new birth making them new creatures (Rom. 6:3-4).  This new life in Christ is characterized by imitation of His character and obedience to His teachings.  We behold His glory and bear His image as we become like Him.
Open Face
When Moses spoke with God on Mt. Sinai, He spoke with God without a vail and his countenance was affected by the glory of the LORD and his face did shine.  He spoke with God face to face and his countenance was transformed.  We approach Jesus with an “open face.”  Beholding the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the image of Christ.
The Glory of the Lord
Jesus’ glory is the glory of deity enveloped in humanity (Col. 2:9).  The glory of His nature, His character, His wisdom, His power, His sacrifice, and His redemptive work. It is the sum total of all that Jesus is and that He revealed to the world.  In particular, it is His deity, His humility, His obedience to the Father, His love, grace, and mercy, His perfect life and his authoritative teaching. Disciples of Jesus Christ follow His teaching and imitate His character.  This transformation begins at conversion and continues throughout life.
Our Glory
The word beholding indicates much more than a passing glance.  It is a stedfast stare.  A constant gaze.  Our glory is a reflection of His glory.  This is accomplished through His redemptive work and our imitation of Him and obedience to His teachings.  This produces our salvation and sanctification.  Our personal identity is derived not from exertion of self, but by self-denial that is intentional so that Christ can live in us (Gal. 2:20).  God works in us to accomplish His purposes for His pleasure (Phil. 2:13).
From Glory to Glory
The transformation begins from His glory to our glory.  It continues as we advance in progress toward becoming like Him.  It is step by step (incremental).  It is sometimes painful (difficult and challenging).  But, it is always progressive (spiritual growth toward perfection).  The process involves His Word in us and His life modeled by us through our love for Him and our faith in Him.  In this way, His Spirit works in us to produce fruit.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23).  Character development is connected to discipleship.
The Christian life is a beautiful life reflecting the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ in all of His communicable perfections.  It is a transformed life–transformed by the beauty of the Lord.  As we begin a new year, may each of resolve to be more like Jesus.  This begins by becoming a disciple of Jesus through obedience to the gospel (Mark 16:16 and Acts 2:38).  It continues as we deny self and permit the beauty of Jesus to be seen in us.

The contrast between our present culture and the church can be seen by noting the following:  (1) contemporary culture is secular while the church is the spiritual body of Christ; (2) the present culture is liberated and functions free from most constraints while the church pursues the will of the LORD and is bound by the covenant terms and conditions that He has given; (3) the present culture is godless having no fear of God or love for Him while the church loves God and fears Him. (4) the present culture seeks to please itself (men pleasers) while the church is focused on pleasing God.  The church declares the glory of God and shows the world the beauty of the Lord.
Beauty in character will transform the outward appearance.  Outward beauty is prized by the world and exploited for profit.  Inward beauty is prized by God.  “But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price” (I Pet. 3:4).  God gives us a dress code for the heart.  This code of character governs the outward appearance.
There are six spiritual concepts that every Christian must embrace in order to manifest the inward beauty that God approves of and delights in.  Consider I Timothy  2:9-10, “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array: but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.”
Adorn (kosmeo—English, cosmetic) to arrange, to put in order, thus, furnishing one’s person.  Outward appearance must be appropriate.  But, according to whose standards?  The answer is according to God’s standards.  The phrase, “as a woman that professes godliness” applies to this thought.  A Christian should dress in imitation of God’s holiness (I Pet. 1:14-15). 
Modesty (kosmios) orderly, well-arranged, decent, discreet.  That which is immodest:  (1) creates chaos not order–so pushes the limits of decency; (2) incites to lust and becomes an avenue of temptation through seduction; and (3) distracts through indecent display and calls attention to self rather than God.  To be discreet means to keep private parts private.  Self-control (another virtue of the heart) that manages one’s own sexuality.  Modesty involves shrinking back from the public display of private parts.
Shamefacedness (aidos) meaning the moral sensibility which shrinks from transgressing the limits of propriety.  Aidos is a sense of shame!  The way some people dress is shameful.  When we violate the sense of what is decent and discreet we blush.  Shame changes the countenance of a person.  The code of morality comes from God who is holy.  This moral code cannot be transgressed without sin.  Aidos keeps us from transgressing this God-given moral code.
Sobriety (sophrosune) is soundness of mind that produces spiritual discernment.  It denotes that habitual inner self-government with its constant rein on all the passions and desires which restrains from giving in to temptation and sinning against God.  Temperance (self-control) works in conjunction with a trained conscience to keep us from yielding to temptation.  Self-control married to spiritual discernment produces sophrosune.
Not Ostentatious or not with the vanity of personal display (not with broided hair, gold, pearls or costly array).  The vanity of personal display is prideful.  Pride is at the root of every sin against God.
Good Works reflect a beauty of life rather than beauty of dress!  Some of the inward qualities on display in good works are:  love, compassion, selflessness, sacrifice, goodness, faith, and a servant spirit.  God is more concerned with beauty of the heart and in what we do rather than in the outward appearance.
Your clothes reflect your character.  Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you!  Beauty of character will manifest itself in our outward appearance and especially in our works.  Let us glorify God in our body and in our spirits which are God’s (I Cor. 6:19-20).