Ezekiel chapter one records a vision of God’s glory. At first, we
are struck by the theatrics of the vision: a windstorm, fire, thunder, wheels
covered with eyes…. Yet, there is
something about this vision of glory we will miss if we go no deeper than the
special effects (1 Kings 19:11-13). In
the midst of the fire, Ezekiel sees four living creatures. Each has the face of a man, a lion, a calf,
and an eagle. All move as one: “Each
one went straight ahead. Wherever the
spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went” (Ezek. 1:12).
In glory, nothing originates in
self, no one moves independently. All
proceed by one Spirit. One creature
doesn’t fly off on its own while another roars and runs around. Sometimes they all fly, and sometimes they
all roar “Holy, holy, holy,” but whatever they do, they do by one Spirit (Ezek.
1:19; Rev. 4:8). This is a reflection
of God’s unity and of the selfless fellowship that defines the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. The unity of God
is not a unity of sameness. The members
of the Godhead are as individual as the creatures. Yet none of them lives to Himself. None moves based on His prerogative or power as God. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, the Son
can do nothing out from himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing”
(John 5:19). In saying this, Jesus was
not referring to His human dependence on God.
He was speaking about the divine nature. In the same vein, He said of the Spirit, “He will not speak on
his own; he will speak only what he hears” (John 16:13). This could not possibly refer to the
Spirit’s human dependence on God for the Spirit never became man as did the
Son. The glory of God, then, is marked
by a fundamental denial of self and preferring of others.
Dependence
on God is not primarily a function of human need. God has none of our needs yet each member of the Godhead operates
interdependently. It is important for
us to see that we have not just been called to eternal neediness. We have been called into glory, to live as
members of God Himself. Perhaps this is
why Ezekiel sees four living creatures.
By grace, we have been added to the Trinity and to the flow of life
between them!
