Glorification Conclusion

[0:00] Well, we finished our lesson last week with a question.

[0:14] And the question was, why don't all believers get glorified at the same time?! And I said last time that was my teaser to bring you back this week for the answer.

[0:26] And not everybody bit because a lot of guys are out. The old reformers, reformers from other eras, held to a belief that all believers would be glorified at the same time.

[0:43] That really has changed in our day by theologians. And there's a very important reason as to why not all believers are glorified at the same time, which we'll cover in this lesson.

[0:54] It is important to remember, though, the definition of glorification. Glorification is the final step in the process of sanctification.

[1:08] It involves the completion of sanctification and the removal of all spiritual defects. Great definition.

[1:21] So why are not all believers glorified at the same time? The dead in Christ and those that are alive at the time of His appearing for the church, and we call that the rapture, will be glorified in the twinkling of an eye.

[1:43] And we said last time that takes about one billionth of a second. It's pretty fast. After the rapture of the church, there will be a period of time known as the tribulation.

[1:54] And I'm a pre-trib guy. And if you're not, that's okay. You'll come around. That is the seven-year period discussed in some detail in the book of Revelation.

[2:09] The tribulation is actually divided into two parts. The first half is called the tribulation. The second half is referred to as the great tribulation.

[2:21] See, both the first half is bad, the second half will be hell on earth. Literally. And what divides those two?

[2:33] Well, the abomination of desolation. The Antichrist is going to sit in the temple in Jerusalem, which has not yet been built, but there's a lot of plans for it.

[2:45] And he's going to sit on the throne that's reserved for God and declare himself to be God. And that's when the Jewish people are going to separate with him. And it's going to be hell on earth.

[2:58] And God's going to raise up 144,000 Jewish witnesses. Peter's and Paul's walking around leading Jews and Gentiles to the Lord Jesus. In the midst of the tribulation, both halves, there will be a massive revival.

[3:16] And God's elect that are on the earth during that period will be saved. They will exercise genuine repentance and embrace Christ.

[3:28] Many will pay with their lives for coming to the Lord. The church that departed in the rapture, we will be busy feasting with the Lord at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

[3:42] And I'm convinced that the Lord's going to have Johnny helping out on that day. That'll be good. If you're not a believer, don't think that, well, if I go into the tribulation period, I can get saved then.

[3:58] There's a lot of theologians who don't believe anyone alive today is going to be saved in the tribulation. So, you know, that remains to be seen. But here's the important point concerning the glorification of these tribulation saints.

[4:14] The tribulation saints will await their glorified bodies until the millennial reign of Christ. Revelation 20 verse 4, Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed.

[4:33] Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshipped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands.

[4:50] They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Let me tell you guys, we don't want to wait until then to get saved. Now is the day of salvation.

[5:03] When the millennial reign begins, there will be people that have been glorified, that return with the Lord. That's the church that departed.

[5:14] They will be met by believing people still living on earth that made it through the tribulation. Those still here will continue to procreate during that period of time.

[5:27] People are going to be born. Lots of people. Many will be saved during the thousand year reign, but some will be lost.

[5:39] Some will die during the millennial reign, but not many, because death is going to be taken care of, disease and all that by Jesus. It is possible that if a believer is saved and later dies during the reign of Christ, he or she may be instantly transformed at death into their eternal bodies and spirits, but we cannot be dogmatic about that, and I speak only as a possibility.

[6:03] But glorification, that's our focus. That is the radical transformation of both body and soul of believers.

[6:14] At that moment, they are perfected in holiness, which fits them, maybe I should say us, for eternal life in the new heaven and the new earth with the triune God.

[6:30] We're getting fitted for the eternity of eternities, forever. However, we will be in perfect communion with the three persons of the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

[6:48] Previously, we have quoted Dr. Murray in several lessons. Here's another quote. Glorification is the complete and final redemption of the whole person, when in the integrity of body and spirit, the people of God will be conformed to the image of the risen, exalted, and glorified Redeemer, when the very body of their humiliation will be conformed to the body of Christ's glory.

[7:18] Consider this verse in Philippians chapter 3, verse 20 to 21. Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.

[7:45] The central part of the glorification of believers is the resurrection of their bodies. You have to have a resurrection to have a glorified body.

[8:01] And now, there will be some alive at the rapture. They won't technically go through the resurrection. They'll be resurrected, but only in the sense they're alive on earth, and then they go to glory. The resurrection of the body, though, is the consummation of our salvation.

[8:17] Remember, it's all been part and parcel. We've been studying salvation for three years and the different pieces of it. That's the consummation of salvation. It is the concluding part of a three-step process that has been going on for generations.

[8:34] God the Father planned our redemption. Christ the Son purchased our redemption with His precious blood.

[8:48] God the Holy Spirit applied to completion the work the Father and Son have accomplished. He made it real in our lives. In this eighth chapter of the book of Romans, which we've been hanging out in and been studying, those passages that feature our glorification as the crowning climax of redemption.

[9:13] Listen again to verse 30. We looked at it before. And those whom He predestined, He also called. And those whom He called, He also justified. And those whom He justified, He also glorified.

[9:26] And there's something I want to inject at this point before I forget. Note, the theologians call this the golden chain of salvation.

[9:38] The Holy Spirit, the ultimate and perfect author of the book, mentions glorification, the final step of our redemption, in the past tense.

[9:51] He speaks of those whom God has glorified. In God's mind, our glorification is so certain that it is written of in the past tense as if it had already occurred.

[10:08] God knows it's going to happen. He's preordained it to happen. And it will happen. So He speaks here of it using the past tense. In our justification, we are freed from the power of sin.

[10:28] In glorification, we are freed from the very presence of sin in both body and soul. The Lord Jesus spoke of the triune God as they worked together to accomplish the resurrection of the body.

[10:44] John 6, verse 39 and 40. And this is the will of Him. This is Jesus. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

[10:58] For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him, Greek word pastuo, trusts, commits their life to, believes in Him, should have eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day.

[11:21] What a promise of Christ to be raised up. The Lord sees and speaks through Paul our glorification as a fulfillment.

[11:36] He does this in Ephesians 5, verse 27. So that He might present the church to Himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing that she might be holy and without blemish.

[11:55] That's the church. That's the church we're a part of. The invisible body of Christ. We're on a journey. At the end of that journey, we will spend eternity in splendor.

[12:10] There will be no spot. There will be no wrinkle. We will be made holy and exist without blemish. That reminds me of the words the Lord spoke in the high priestly prayer in John 17, verse 24.

[12:26] Father, I desire that they also whom You have given Me may be with Me where I am to see My glory that You have given Me because You love Me before the foundation of the world.

[12:47] What are we going to be doing in our glorified bodies? Well, I'm going to get holes in one, I can tell you. What are we going to be doing in our glorified bodies? We're going to be glorifying Christ Jesus by acknowledging Him as the preeminent one among the brethren.

[13:07] The Bible calls it the firstborn, but in Greek it's the preeminent one. Because we will then be perfectly conformed to the image of Christ through completed sanctification, we will magnify Christ in the beauty of His holiness.

[13:29] That holiness will be reflected in His perfected children. So just how important is this doctrine of glorification? Remember, I already told you that the resurrection of Christ and our subsequent resurrection are the key elements to glorification.

[13:50] The Apostle Paul explains that to us in really what is somewhat of a frightening passage in 1 Corinthians 15, 12-19.

[14:00] Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

[14:15] But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

[14:32] We are even found to be misrepresenting God because we testified about God that He raised Christ whom He did not raise. If it is true that the dead are not raised, for if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

[14:51] And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ, we've all got family that's done that, right?

[15:08] Have perished. They've perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

[15:20] Frightening passage. It was the hope and certainty of receiving a glorified body that allowed the Apostle Paul to surrender his natural body to extreme mistreatment and intense persecution as he carried on a gospel ministry.

[15:44] Consider some of these passages. 2 Corinthians 5.1 For we know, we know, that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, that's our bodies, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

[16:05] Romans 8.17 We suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

[16:24] And then again in Romans 8.22 and 23. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

[16:35] We see some of that, don't we? Tornado season. Florida gets it in hurricane season. Earthquakes in California. And not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the first fruits of the Spirit grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

[16:59] Well, all this begs a question. What will our bodies and resurrection bodies look like and more specifically be like?

[17:09] And again, the Apostle Paul comes to our rescue with an answer. 1 Corinthians 15. 42-44. So is it with the resurrection of the dead.

[17:25] What is sown is perishable. What is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor.

[17:36] It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power.

[17:48] It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

[18:01] Well, there are four revelations in this passage that reveal to us what our resurrected and glorified bodies will be like. Four revelations.

[18:13] First, our resurrected bodies will be imperishable. That's good news. That's good news. In this life, our bodies are subject to both infirmity and deterioration.

[18:33] Eventually, these bodies will succumb to the inevitability of death. The writer of the book of Hebrews told us it is appointed for man to die once.

[18:45] We've all got a face that day. I did a funeral Friday. That day came for my friend. Our resurrected bodies will not grow old and wear out.

[18:56] Neither will we contract sickness or disease. It is correct to conclude that our resurrected bodies will not age in the eternal state.

[19:08] Dr. Gruden in his systematic theology said this, we will have the characteristics of youthful but mature manhood and womanhood.

[19:19] Very interesting. Second, our resurrected bodies will be marked by glory. Our natural bodies before the resurrection are characterized by dishonor.

[19:33] not so with our resurrected bodies. They will again be marked by glory. Our bodies were not inherently dishonorable.

[19:48] That was a product of our fall into sin in the Garden of Eden. Remember when that happened? For the first time Adam and Eve knew they were naked? They were apparently surrounded by a glory cloud or Shekinah if you will.

[20:04] Well, when they sinned, that went away and hey, we haven't got any clothes on. And they were embarrassed. They hid. They hid. So, this dishonorable part is a product of the fall into sin.

[20:19] As a result, our bodies now are vessels by which we dishonor God and gratify sinful desires. In truth, our bodies should be vessels that are set apart and consecrated as the temple of the Holy Spirit.

[20:39] Paul again writes about that in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19. Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you whom you have from God?

[20:55] You are not your own. You were bought with a price. and we know what that price was, don't we? That we were purchased with. You were bought with a price.

[21:07] So glorify God in your body. Presently, our bodies are in this state of dishonor and imperfection and incompleteness.

[21:18] even the most faithful believer will experience death because it is the wage that our sins have earned. Listen to what we have to look forward to.

[21:32] One day, our bodies will be raised in glory. Throughout eternity, our immortal bodies will be pure, holy, and honorable.

[21:45] We will be perfectly suited to please, praise, and fully enjoy the Creator who made us and the Redeemer who restored us. Third, our natural body is sown in weakness, but our glorified body is raised in power.

[22:03] According to the laws of thermodynamics, everything in the universe is wearing down. It's all wearing out. By the way, I know one thing that's not.

[22:14] This is not part of the lesson. I'll throw this in for free. I read this, one of the old divines from old, he said, everything is wearing down except the church. It will exist for eternity.

[22:29] It's not wearing out. Everything in the universe though is wearing down. A tree falls in the forest and over time breaks down. It leaches into the soil. Mountains are being washed away.

[22:41] They have a journey toward the sea. This wearing down is especially true of our bodies. We get old. I've gotten there.

[22:52] I came to this church. I was in my early thirties. I'm 73 now. This wearing down is especially true of our bodies. We get old.

[23:03] Even for you young guys here, it is only a matter of time before the reality of physical limitation sets in. I know you don't believe me, Cameron, but it's going to happen.

[23:17] Even the strongest among the human family will experience a waning of that strength. Scripture even associates the flesh with moral weakness.

[23:30] The Lord said this in Matthew 26 41, Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

[23:42] We got weak flesh guys. And I'm the weakest among you. This will not be a case with our new bodies. They will be raised in power.

[23:55] Now that does not mean there could be no limitations on our bodies. I don't think we're going to be able to lift buildings or fly faster than what a fighter jet could have done in our day here.

[24:06] why would we want to? In other words, we're not going to have superhuman strength, but our glorified bodies will have full and complete human power and strength.

[24:20] That was really how our original parents were designed, and it would have been so had sin not entered into the human race through disobedience.

[24:31] strength. The strength we shall have in our resurrected bodies and glorified bodies will be that which is sufficient to do all that we desire that is in conformity to the will of God.

[24:47] We'll be able to do that. That's all we need, right? What more do you need? And fourth, there will be a contrast between our natural bodies and our spiritual bodies.

[25:00] When Paul talks about our spiritual bodies, he does not mean an immaterial body. We're not going to be vapors floating on a cloud and strumming a harp.

[25:16] Now guys, that's good news. I can only take so much harp music and I've had all I need in one lifetime. I went to a concert once for about five minutes and they had harp music. The resurrection bodies of believers will be patterned after the resurrection body of Christ.

[25:33] Now we're not going to be Jesus, I promise you, but it's a pattern. As we read earlier in Philippians chapter 3, Christ Jesus will transform our earthly bodies to conform to His glory.

[25:48] And there's no question that He arose bodily from the grave. And we're going to do that as well. I've always said, if I'm alive at the rapture, I hope I'm in a cemetery.

[25:59] Because they're going to rise first and I want to watch that. And then I'm going to close my eyes real tight because I'm scared of heights. Something very interesting happened in Luke, in chapter 24 specifically of Luke.

[26:15] Dr. Luke wrote this. As they were talking about these things, that's the two guys that were on the road to Emmaus. And they invited Jesus to have supper with them.

[26:26] They got a motel, a couple rooms, and they had supper. And then He goes and He appears before His disciples, all of them. He's already appeared to the two.

[26:38] And He appears before them and says, they're in there talking about everything that transpired. And then Jesus Himself stood among them and said to them, peace to you.

[26:51] But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. We could put in there ghost. And He said to them, why are you troubled?

[27:06] And why do doubts arise in your hearts? That's got to be tough. I mean, Jesus knows every heart. Well, I didn't think that, Lord. Yeah, you did. It's sort of like Abraham's wife.

[27:17] I didn't laugh. Yeah, you did. Of course you did. That was Jesus talking to her, pre-incarnate Christ. They were startled and frightened.

[27:29] And He says, why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see.

[27:39] For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. And when He said this, He showed them His hands and feet.

[27:49] He hands and feet. So the disciples are still hiding in fear of the Romans, the authorities, and the Jewish authorities.

[28:01] So they were equal opportunity. They were scared of both. It appears from this passage that Jesus just appeared to them suddenly. They were in a room, they had the windows drawn, they had the doors locked, probably maybe burning one candle, if that. And Jesus shows up. Didn't knock. Didn't crawl through a window. He shows up. And he says to him, to the men that are assembled there, peace to you. I would imagine at that moment, they needed some peace in their hearts. I mean, they just saw like a Star Trek thing, you know, a transporter room. And he's there. And they needed peace because they're probably scared to death. They are scared to death. In fact, the passage says they were both startled and frightened. And they were convinced, we're looking at a ghost. Jesus is dead. This has got to be his ghost. Next, Jesus asked them why they're so troubled and had so many doubts. Again, he knows their hearts and their minds. He had been telling them he was going to rise from the grave to bring some closure for the reality of his resurrection. He shows them the wounds in his hands and feet. He even invited them to touch him. He told them, look, I'm not a ghost because spirits do not have flesh and bones as he did. And by the way, I probably can't prove this from Scripture, but I'm convinced in heaven, if there's going to be any flaw, and I don't want to call it that, the Lord will still have those scars. And we'll see them. I'm convinced of that. I'm convinced that will happen. We'll be talking to him and we'll be looking down and we'll remember what those were about. But Luke's not through. Something else happens in verses 41 to 43. And it's real interesting. And while they still disbelieved, so they're not believing, but for joy and were marveling. So they got disbelieved, but they're joyful and they're marveling. And is this really important? And he says to him, have you anything here to eat? I wish the Lord had shown up tonight bodily. We could have fed him. Have you anything here to eat? And the Scripture says they gave him a piece of broiled fish and he took it and ate before them. Boy, that is really chock full of information here. That's really, really important. There was still a disbelief. Can this really be happening? I mean, remember Thomas, unless I even touch those wounds, I won't believe. He became a believer. I got named after him. And then Jesus does this quite interesting. He says, do you have anything to eat? Was Jesus hungry? Maybe. Maybe. Maybe not. But this was turning into a great object lesson for the believers in that room and for the believers in this room thousands of years later. Disembodied spirits that are floating around strumming harps do not have stomachs or digestive tracts. The Lord had a bodily resurrection. And we will have a bodily resurrection. You know, I look forward to the glory of heaven. I look forward to the glory of the millennial reign of Christ on earth. The older you get, the more you look

[32:04] forward to the glory of heaven. I look forward to that. I look with great anticipation at what is called the eternity of eternities where we shall dwell basking in the righteousness of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. That will be radiated to us. Now I think in heaven, I think the architecture of heaven is going to be fantastic to behold for about the first 20 minutes.

[32:34] or so. And I think I will. I'm going to look at it. Yeah, it'll be interesting. But the allure of heaven is not, for me, the architecture. It's not the golden streets, apparently transparent.

[32:51] It's not the pearly gates, giant pearls, and all those stones in Revelation. We don't know what some of those are. It's a place of no sin. Can you imagine that? I mean, I'm so sinful now. I'm envious of Cameron because of his height, Mike because of his athletic ability, Eric because he looks Indian, and I only claim to be that I look European. My cousins look Indian, but not me. I didn't get it. I got the European look. There's not going to be any lusting after anything. We live, we will live in perfect harmony with the triune God. Perfect harmony.

[33:40] In the perfection of our sanctification, there will be no lust of any kind. There will only be godly ambitions. Now hang with me on that. That sounds bad. It's not. There will only be godly ambitions which we will be able to carry out instantly and perfectly as we worship God forever. What does God want? Let's supply it. We'll be eager to do that. Well, we've talked about Dr. John Murray in here, the late Dr. Murray, professor, theologian, great guy. I think we do him service to finish our study on glorification with a quote from him.

[34:28] In like manner, the Christian's hope is not indifferent to the material universe around us, the cosmos of God's creation. It was subjected to vanity, not willingly. It was cursed for man's sin. It was marred by human apostasy. But it is going to be delivered from the bondage of corruption and its deliverance will be coincident with the consummation of God's people's redemption.

[35:01] The two are not only coincident as events, they are correlative in hope. Glorification has cosmic proportions. Can you back that up with Scripture? 2 Peter 3.13, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wow. No sin nature.

[35:30] No sin nature. Amazing. 1 Corinthians 15, 24 and 28. Then the end. When he, this is Jesus, when Jesus delivers over the kingdom of God to God and the Father, and God will be all in all.

[36:00] That's our study of glorification, the last part of the golden chapter. Oh. ¶¶