Romans
8:16-18 “The Spirit Himself bears witness
with our spirit that we are children of God, and if
children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we
suffer with Him, that
we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be
compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
As discussed previously, there are
three aspects of our salvation. Knowing and understanding these three details
establishes a true joy and peace in God’s loving and gracious plan of
redemption, regeneration, reconciliation, spiritual growth and eternal life
bringing now and carrying through to heaven forever, in Christ . The first step in God’s plan of salvation is the single act of justification, where we
repent of our sins and accept by faith the gift of Jesus Christ’s atoning
substitution death on the cross in our place to pay for those sins. The second
step is the awesome process of God gradually changing us into the wonderful
image if Jesus; spiritually growing in mind, will and emotion, being set apart
from sin and made holy as we grow in grace. Since we are made in the image of God (Genesis
1:26-28), redeemed human beings are uniquely able to reflect the refulgent
beauty of the Lord in our characters, which is our highest calling. It
means stewarding our resources wisely and not exploiting God’s creation at the
expense of others. It requires us to do everything to the glory of God, serving
Him according to His gifts and with a wholehearted desire to please Him.
Romans 8:27-31 “ Now
He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He
makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
And we
know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who
are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to
be conformed to the image of His Son, that He
might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also
called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these
He also glorified. What
then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can
be against us?”
The third and last step in our
salvation, glorification, will not come until we are finally in Heaven. Webster’s
dictionary defines glorification as our exaltation to honor and dignity;
elevation to glory in the kingdom of heaven. When we are
free from all sin and imperfection, we will finally be our true self, for there
is no good in hell and there is no bad in Heaven. We will be glorified –
exactly the way God meant us to be – holy, perfect and acceptable to Him. Theologian’s
explain that our
conversions do not mark the consummation of our redemption; rather, the Lord
will be glorified most fully in us only when He has brought us into our own
glorification. Although we grow in our ability to reflect God’s glory over the
course of our lives, the remaining presence of sin keeps us from shining forth
His light in its full beauty. One day, however, the Lord will glorify us, removing
even the presence of sin from our bodies. At that point, God will bring us into
a full state of glorification in order that we might give glory back
to Him. How glorious is our future!
Glory, in Christ, Brian
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