WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.400 Now, we're continuing our study in Romans today. 00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:09.880 We've been working through this great book over the past few months. 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:16.519 And we're going to look together at the section that Louise read for us in chapter 8. 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:19.800 We're going to go through it together and we'll be looking at various slides as we go, 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:21.359 just a wee note on the slides. 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:26.320 And one or two people had requested access to the slides that we look at, so they're 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:28.719 going to go out on the Wednesday email. 00:00:28.719 --> 00:00:32.280 So if you do want to see the slides, you don't need to worry about taking a picture of them 00:00:32.280 --> 00:00:35.560 because you'll get access to them in the Wednesday email. 00:00:35.560 --> 00:00:41.399 And so that's a good means of getting a copy of them if you wish. 00:00:41.399 --> 00:00:47.480 Although there's not that many today, so it's not the best day to make that announcement. 00:00:47.480 --> 00:00:50.000 Romans 8, as you know, is an amazing chapter. 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:54.560 It's describing for us the astonishing blessings that are ours through union with Christ. 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:58.280 Romans is this great book where Paul works through this wonderful argument. 00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:02.280 He starts at the beginning explaining the problem of sin, and then he describes beautifully 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:05.879 and persuasively how God has addressed that problem. 00:01:05.879 --> 00:01:10.920 We are justified through faith in Jesus Christ, and from that justification, there are many, 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:14.280 many blessings that flow out into our experience. 00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:19.120 And chapter 8 of Romans is the great summary of these blessings. 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:23.520 It speaks about our freedom in Christ, so at the beginning it told us that there's no condemnation 00:01:23.520 --> 00:01:25.840 for those who are in Christ Jesus. 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:29.840 Paul then goes on to speak about our adoption in Christ. 00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:35.000 We are adopted as sons, and by the spirit dwelling in us, we cry out, 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:37.439 Abba, Father. 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:41.760 Then we come to the section that we're going to look at together today from verse 18 to 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:47.760 verse 30, which talks about our future in Christ. 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:55.600 And when we think about our future as Christians, and there's one key word, one key theological 00:01:55.599 --> 00:02:02.119 word that sums it all up and that lies at the heart of what our future holds. 00:02:02.119 --> 00:02:05.119 Do you know what that word is? 00:02:05.119 --> 00:02:09.519 Well, it was the very last word that Louise read. 00:02:09.519 --> 00:02:13.879 It's the word glory, or glorification. 00:02:13.879 --> 00:02:19.120 Those who be predestined, he also called, and those who be called, he also justified. 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:23.359 Those who be justified, he also glorified. 00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:29.320 And I want us to really take that one word, glorified, which is pointing us to the doctrine 00:02:29.320 --> 00:02:35.320 of glorification, and think about that together, because that's really in many ways the word 00:02:35.320 --> 00:02:37.960 that sums up what this section is all about. 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:42.400 I have to acknowledge that this is one of the richest sections in the whole of the New 00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:46.640 Testament, and so we're only going to be scratching the surface in many ways. 00:02:46.640 --> 00:02:49.360 All we ever do with God's word is scratch the surface. 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:53.840 But we'll look at it and we'll see what we can discover about this great doctrine of glorification. 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:55.640 And to do it, we're going to have five headings. 00:02:55.640 --> 00:02:56.640 They're very, very simple. 00:02:56.640 --> 00:03:01.200 Our five headings are four and a half questions, if you like. 00:03:01.200 --> 00:03:02.200 What is it? 00:03:02.200 --> 00:03:04.080 Who does it? 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:05.080 Why is it needed? 00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:06.400 How does it happen? 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:08.320 And now, what are the implications? 00:03:08.320 --> 00:03:11.360 So the last one's not really a question, so that's why we say four and a half questions. 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:14.480 What, who, why, how, and now. 00:03:14.480 --> 00:03:17.360 So number one, glorification, what is it? 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:23.360 Well, it's very simply, it is the final goal of God's great plan of redemption. 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:28.560 If you look at that verse there, it's setting out before us four steps. 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:34.560 It's got predestined, called, justified, glorified. 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:39.480 These steps are part of what we call the order of salvation, which is a great list of things 00:03:39.480 --> 00:03:46.200 that fit together in terms of God's saving work through Jesus Christ on the cross. 00:03:46.199 --> 00:03:48.599 These things all fit together in a beautiful order. 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:51.719 At the end is glorification. 00:03:51.719 --> 00:03:54.280 It is the final step. 00:03:54.280 --> 00:03:56.959 Now you're probably thinking, well, Thomas, how come it's the final, if it's the final 00:03:56.959 --> 00:04:01.280 step, how come it's in the past tense before you're there on the screen? 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:07.159 Well, the fact that it's in the past tense in verse 30 there in English does not mean 00:04:07.159 --> 00:04:12.519 that it has already happened, because in the Greek language that the New Testament was 00:04:12.520 --> 00:04:17.480 originally written in, the tense that's been used there is not really talking so much about 00:04:17.480 --> 00:04:18.480 time. 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:25.240 I remember once listening to a lecture and he said that when you're thinking about a 00:04:25.240 --> 00:04:29.480 tense in Greek, he says, time is tiny. 00:04:29.480 --> 00:04:31.639 It's a tiny thing. 00:04:31.639 --> 00:04:36.040 It's not really what they're thinking about in terms of using tenses like we do in English. 00:04:36.040 --> 00:04:41.840 What it's talking about is the fact that this should be viewed as a whole, complete action. 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:45.799 So that's the priority in terms of the grammar, if you like. 00:04:45.799 --> 00:04:49.079 And so although we translated it in the past, what we should be really thinking is just 00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:52.159 the fact that this has to be viewed as a whole. 00:04:52.159 --> 00:04:59.399 In other words, that it's absolutely certain that this is going to take place. 00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:07.719 Glorification is wholly, fully, and perfectly guaranteed through our union with Jesus Christ. 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:12.520 And so when God initiated the plan of redemption, as you have there with predestination and with 00:05:12.520 --> 00:05:19.240 all that he began in initiating this process, he did it with a goal in mind. 00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:22.120 And that goal is glorification. 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:24.120 And so it's a future event. 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:27.360 And if you look at that verse there, you can see that it's unique in that sense. 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:29.120 When we were predestined, that's in the past. 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:32.040 When we're called as Christians, that's in the past, justifying. 00:05:32.040 --> 00:05:36.320 Being justified, that's a key event in our past if we're a Christian. 00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:40.959 But to be glorified is a future event. 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:43.399 It lies ahead of us. 00:05:43.399 --> 00:05:46.279 And so that immediately raises the question, well, if it's a future event, when does it 00:05:46.279 --> 00:05:47.599 happen? 00:05:47.599 --> 00:05:49.560 When does glorification take place? 00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:54.000 Well, it's probably quite easy to think to yourself, well, that happens when we die. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:06:01.439 And we often say when somebody dies, we speak about them going to glory. 00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:09.399 But that's not completely correct, because glorification will not take place when we 00:06:09.399 --> 00:06:11.399 die. 00:06:11.399 --> 00:06:15.000 It will take place when Christ returns. 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:19.720 And that distinction is brought out very well for us in the shorter catechism. 00:06:19.720 --> 00:06:25.360 The shorter catechism is just a list of questions and answers to big questions from the Bible. 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:29.759 It was written many, many, many years ago, but it's still very, very useful. 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:32.199 If you don't have it, it's very easy to get on your phone. 00:06:32.199 --> 00:06:37.199 You can get an app, just type it in, type in shorter catechism and you'll find an app 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:38.199 with it on it. 00:06:38.199 --> 00:06:42.519 Although it's written in old fashioned language, it's still really, really useful and really 00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:49.519 helpful because it just basically gives straightforward answers to big theological questions. 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:55.240 And there's two questions here, questions 37 and 38, which bring to us a very important 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:56.240 distinction. 00:06:56.240 --> 00:06:58.839 So I'll just read them out and you can follow them on the screen. 00:06:58.839 --> 00:07:03.839 Question 37, what benefits do believers receive from Christ at death? 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:08.000 The souls of believers are at their death, are made perfect in holiness and do immediately 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:13.519 pass into glory and their bodies being still united in Christ to rest in their graves till 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:15.120 the resurrection. 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:19.399 Question 38, what benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection? 00:07:19.399 --> 00:07:25.439 Answer, at the resurrection, believers being raised up in glory shall be openly acknowledged 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:30.480 and acquitted in the day of judgment and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:32.000 to all eternity. 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:33.600 So the difference is really important. 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:37.399 Question 37 refers to what happens when we die. 00:07:37.399 --> 00:07:43.680 And that is an amazing prospect, as Paul says, it's far better to depart and be with Christ, 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:50.839 but that's still an intermediate state because though our souls pass into glory, our bodies 00:07:50.839 --> 00:07:58.159 remain in the grave waiting for something more to come. 00:07:58.159 --> 00:08:00.199 And the reason it's waiting is because more is to come. 00:08:00.199 --> 00:08:01.839 In fact, the best is yet to come. 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:08.000 And that's what question 38 refers to, the fact that we will be fully glorified, body 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:16.120 and soul reunited together where we will enjoy God for all eternity. 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:20.639 And that glorification is going to happen at the return of Christ. 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:27.159 So when you're thinking glorification, you're not just thinking death, you're thinking the 00:08:27.159 --> 00:08:30.279 second coming and the resurrection. 00:08:30.279 --> 00:08:34.639 And it's summed up very well by a great theologian who's much better at explaining things than 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:36.159 I am, John Murray. 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:40.360 He was a Scottish theologian who spent most of his working life in America in the 20th 00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:41.360 century. 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:45.639 And he says, glorification is the complete and final redemption of the whole person 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:50.039 when in the integrity of body and spirit, the people of God will be conformed to the 00:08:50.039 --> 00:08:55.519 image of the risen, exalted and glorified Redeemer. 00:08:55.519 --> 00:08:57.439 So glorification, what is it? 00:08:57.439 --> 00:08:59.279 That's what it is. 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:01.639 Question number two, who is involved in this? 00:09:01.639 --> 00:09:05.319 Well, I suppose there's two questions to ask under this heading. 00:09:05.319 --> 00:09:09.080 We just asked, first of all, who makes the glorification happen? 00:09:09.080 --> 00:09:11.439 And then who is it who's glorified? 00:09:11.439 --> 00:09:12.720 So who makes it happen? 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:14.240 Who receives it? 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:17.120 And the answer to the first question is God. 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:22.840 God is the one who makes it happen with virtually every element of God's plan of redemption. 00:09:22.840 --> 00:09:26.000 He is active and we are passive. 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:27.440 He takes the initiative. 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:28.759 He performs the action. 00:09:28.759 --> 00:09:30.320 He does what is necessary. 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:36.399 We see that in Romans 8.30, it says, whom he predestined, he called, he justified, he 00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:37.840 glorified. 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:38.840 God does it. 00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:46.000 In verse 17, you can see that we are glorified, that's passive, something that happens to 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:47.160 us. 00:09:47.160 --> 00:09:51.120 We will be glorified by him. 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:57.240 So God is active, we are passive, we await Christ's return, and he will come again and 00:09:57.240 --> 00:10:03.400 bring about this decisive final work of glorification. 00:10:03.400 --> 00:10:06.920 So if God does it, who is it who gets glorified? 00:10:06.919 --> 00:10:12.559 And I suppose you would think the answer is simple, that it's just us and that's true 00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:15.079 in a sense, God acts and we benefit. 00:10:15.079 --> 00:10:23.759 But there's more to it than that because our glorification is utterly bound up with someone 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:33.559 else because you can see that in verse 17, we are glorified with him, with Jesus. 00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:40.639 So our glorification is bound up with the glorification of Jesus Christ himself. 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:45.439 Colossians 3.4 says the same thing, when Christ who is your life appears, then you also will 00:10:45.439 --> 00:10:49.359 appear with him in glory. 00:10:49.359 --> 00:10:55.519 So when Christ returns, he will return in glory, and we are going to share in that glory 00:10:55.519 --> 00:11:00.719 if we are Christians because we are united to him. 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:05.200 And so when we are glorified, it's not because of any glory in ourselves, it's not about 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:09.279 us working our way up and becoming really good and really impressive. 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:17.200 We are simply glorified because we are united to Jesus, we are fellow heirs with him, and 00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:23.600 by his grace we are made to share his glory. 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:24.600 So who is it? 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:30.000 Well, God does it, we receive it, but only through our union with Jesus Christ. 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:33.600 Question number three, why is this necessary? 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:35.919 Why does God want this to happen? 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:42.639 Well, as we said at the start, glorification is the final goal of God's plan of salvation. 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:45.679 So if you're going to ask yourself the question, what's Christianity all about? 00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:48.200 What's the whole point in the Bible? 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:51.519 What's God's objective in it all? 00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:54.399 The answer is glorification. 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:56.639 That's his ultimate goal. 00:11:56.639 --> 00:12:05.159 And the reason why I think it's the final goal is because it is only at glorification, 00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:13.159 only at this end moment when we will finally see the complete and full reversal of everything 00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:17.399 that has gone wrong with humanity and with creation. 00:12:17.399 --> 00:12:24.279 This is where we will see the curse that came with the fall being undone. 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:28.639 And that's the final perfect reversal of the curse. 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:32.240 Because if you go all the way back to the beginning of the Bible, to Genesis chapter 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:40.679 three, you'll see that when humanity sinned against God, the result of that was a curse. 00:12:40.679 --> 00:12:44.120 And so the Lord said to the serpent, you are cursed. 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:49.319 And then later on he said to Adam, cursed is the ground because of you. 00:12:49.320 --> 00:12:54.640 And in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life thorns and this is the chubbring 00:12:54.640 --> 00:12:58.080 forth for you shall eat the plants, the field by the sweat of your face. 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:02.840 You shall eat bread till you return to the ground for out of it you are taken for your 00:13:02.840 --> 00:13:07.600 dust and to dust you shall return. 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:14.000 So at the very beginning Adam and Eve sinned against God and the result of that is a curse. 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:16.800 And that curse affects all of creation. 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:19.519 That's one of the first things that the Bible tells us. 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:26.719 But if you go all the way to the end of the Bible, to the very end of the book of Revelation, 00:13:26.719 --> 00:13:32.559 you'll see an amazing description of restoration. 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:36.519 And it's really interesting when you go to Revelation and the very end it returns to 00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:38.839 the language of a garden. 00:13:38.839 --> 00:13:41.839 So it's really interesting to read the first two chapters of the Bible and read the last 00:13:41.839 --> 00:13:43.479 two chapters of the Bible. 00:13:43.480 --> 00:13:49.600 First two describe a garden, you can go home this afternoon and see what the last two chapters 00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:52.720 describe. 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:56.600 God is going to restore everything. 00:13:56.600 --> 00:14:02.879 And a really important phrase appears in Revelation chapter 22. 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:10.800 It says, no longer will there be anything accursed. 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:17.359 And so glorification is going to undo that curse. 00:14:17.359 --> 00:14:22.639 And that's why ultimately glorification is linked to the resurrection where the great 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:26.439 consequence of the curse, death, is going to be destroyed. 00:14:26.439 --> 00:14:31.799 Paul speaks about that in his great resurrection chapter in 1 Corinthians 15 where he speaks 00:14:31.799 --> 00:14:38.000 about the perishable putting on the imperishable, the mortal putting on immortality and then 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:40.479 shall come to pass the saying that is written. 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:43.720 Death is swallowed up in victory. 00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:51.360 So God's big purpose is to undo the damage of the fall and that is only going to fully 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:54.360 happen at glorification. 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:59.120 And all of that raises the question, how does it happen? 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:02.000 What is going to be accomplished when Christ returns? 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:04.000 So we thought about what? 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:05.000 We thought about who? 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:06.320 We thought about why? 00:15:06.320 --> 00:15:10.200 But we need to spend a wee bit of time thinking about how. 00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:13.960 Now I want us to just focus on four things to see how all of this fits together, the 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:20.280 beginning of the Bible and the end goal of glorification. 00:15:20.280 --> 00:15:26.520 Glorification is going to deal with the problems that arose as a result of that curse. 00:15:26.520 --> 00:15:33.759 So you can see here the curse brought various consequences. 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:36.280 There's four of them there set out before you. 00:15:36.279 --> 00:15:43.000 For death, and so we saw that when you read through chapter 3, God says to Adam, chapter 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:47.559 2, that was the warning, if you eat of the fruit, you shall surely die. 00:15:47.559 --> 00:15:50.480 Humanity was supposed to bear the image of God. 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:55.799 That was the great role of humanity, but the curse broke that and humanity no longer bore 00:15:55.799 --> 00:15:58.439 the image in the way that it should. 00:15:58.439 --> 00:16:04.319 Creation itself, as we read, was cursed, thorns and thistles came forth, working the ground, 00:16:04.319 --> 00:16:06.199 became a trial. 00:16:06.200 --> 00:16:10.440 The relationship between God and humanity was broken. 00:16:10.440 --> 00:16:14.759 There was alienation and hostility. 00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:20.840 And at glorification, each of these things, as you can see, is going to be dealt with 00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:25.280 by an aspect of what Jesus' return is going to accomplish. 00:16:25.280 --> 00:16:27.960 The first of these is resurrection. 00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:31.759 When Christ returns, the dead will be raised. 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:37.840 So it says back in 1 Corinthians 15 and 52, in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:43.519 the last trumpet, the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable. 00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:48.799 The power of death will be broken because death is the separation of body and soul. 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:50.200 That's what death basically is. 00:16:50.200 --> 00:16:54.360 And at the resurrection, body and soul are going to be reunited. 00:16:54.360 --> 00:16:58.919 And not only that, the frailties and weaknesses and limitations of our bodies are no longer 00:16:58.919 --> 00:17:02.279 going to spoil our worship and service of God. 00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:06.159 So the blind will see, the lame will walk, the deaf shall hear. 00:17:06.159 --> 00:17:11.279 That's why all the miracle works of Jesus were pointing us towards this final restoration 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:13.720 work that He's come to accomplish. 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:18.519 As we read, the perishable body will put on the imperishable, the mortal body will put 00:17:18.519 --> 00:17:20.240 on immortality. 00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:23.359 In all of these things, the curse is being undone. 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:30.679 The death that came through that curse is going to be destroyed forever. 00:17:30.679 --> 00:17:38.479 And Paul speaks about this in Romans 8 because he describes how our present sufferings are 00:17:38.479 --> 00:17:47.079 not worth comparing with the glory that this is going to bring. 00:17:47.079 --> 00:17:51.919 God is going to bring an amazing hope of life through the resurrection. 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:58.279 But alongside that resurrection, there's going to be transformation as well. 00:17:58.279 --> 00:18:01.720 Not only are we going to be resurrected, body and soul, we're not going to be just 00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:06.480 brought back to the status and condition that we have here on earth, but something greater 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:07.480 is going to happen. 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:15.480 As verse 29 of Romans 8 says, we're predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. 00:18:15.480 --> 00:18:21.560 And that same truth is expressed in Philippians 3 where it says, our citizenship is in heaven 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:28.839 and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to 00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:37.319 be like His glorious body by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to 00:18:37.319 --> 00:18:38.319 Himself. 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:44.839 So, at the resurrection, bodies raised, reunited with souls, but not to the same condition that 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:51.959 we had here, brought to a transformed level where we will be conformed to the image of 00:18:51.959 --> 00:18:53.359 Jesus Christ. 00:18:53.359 --> 00:18:57.119 And again, this is undoing the damage of the fall, because if you can see it all fits together 00:18:57.119 --> 00:18:58.359 so beautifully. 00:18:58.359 --> 00:19:00.480 We were made to bear the image of God. 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:02.720 We sinned and broke that image. 00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:03.720 We are saved. 00:19:03.720 --> 00:19:05.000 We are being restored. 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.879 At glorification, we're going to bear that image again. 00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:16.400 We're going to be conformed to the image of the Son, brought back to everything that 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:18.000 we were once meant to be. 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:23.160 Paul says, and again in 1 Corinthians 15, just as we have borne the image of the man 00:19:23.160 --> 00:19:29.160 of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 00:19:29.160 --> 00:19:35.280 We're going to be made like our elder brother, Jesus Christ. 00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:40.559 The third thing that's going to happen at glorification is that there's going to be 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:41.559 a regeneration. 00:19:41.559 --> 00:19:46.920 Now, when I say regeneration, I'm not referring to being born again as a new, when we're given 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:50.519 a new heart as part of our saving process as a different thing. 00:19:50.519 --> 00:19:53.359 What we're talking about here is the renewal of creation. 00:19:53.359 --> 00:19:54.960 Jesus spoke about this himself. 00:19:54.960 --> 00:20:01.160 In Matthew 19, he says, truly I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will 00:20:01.160 --> 00:20:05.800 sit in this glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones. 00:20:05.800 --> 00:20:11.640 When he says, in the new world, the word he literally uses there is regeneration, in the 00:20:11.640 --> 00:20:14.519 regeneration. 00:20:14.519 --> 00:20:21.720 Creation is going to be remade, which is why the Bible often describes this realm as a 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:26.240 new heavens and a new earth. 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:32.799 The old heavens and the old earth are going to be restored to a new heaven and a new earth. 00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:37.680 At glorification, creation is going to be restored. 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:43.319 You'll see again that the curse is being undone. 00:20:43.319 --> 00:20:45.759 The curse broke creation. 00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:52.359 It became a place of hostility, of suffering, of toil, of thorns, of thistles, and of pain. 00:20:52.359 --> 00:20:56.160 All of that is going to be undone. 00:20:56.160 --> 00:21:03.279 At glorification, the ground, the creation is going to be renewed. 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:07.720 Paul tells us something amazing in Romans 8. 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:14.960 He tells us that creation is longing for that to happen. 00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:19.440 From verse 19, he says, the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:25.360 sons of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:30.279 him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:35.839 corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God, for we know that the 00:21:35.839 --> 00:21:43.839 whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:46.000 We can see the evidence of that all around us. 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:53.399 Creation is groaning under a curse, but at glorification, the earth will be made new 00:21:53.400 --> 00:21:58.560 and the curse will be utterly undone. 00:21:58.560 --> 00:22:04.040 And then the fourth thing that's going to take place is that God's family is going to 00:22:04.040 --> 00:22:06.200 be complete. 00:22:06.200 --> 00:22:10.040 And that's the amazing balance that you have in Romans 8, because here you have Paul talking 00:22:10.040 --> 00:22:15.600 about future glory, but at the same time, he talks about us being adopted into God's 00:22:15.600 --> 00:22:16.759 family. 00:22:16.759 --> 00:22:19.640 We are God's children through faith in Jesus Christ. 00:22:19.640 --> 00:22:21.000 We are his family. 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:22.960 We are joint heirs with Christ. 00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:24.240 He is our older brother. 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:30.880 So in other words, our glorification will involve us entering into the fullness of God's 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:37.400 family and the alienation of the curse is going to be undone. 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:44.039 We and the creation with us are eagerly, eagerly waiting for the time when we will be perfectly 00:22:44.039 --> 00:22:47.000 and completely in God's family. 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:54.000 And that curse, which separated us from God and which broke human relationships, is going 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:56.839 to be undone. 00:22:56.839 --> 00:23:02.000 In the new heavens and in the new earth, as Revelation 22 tells us, the dwelling place 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:08.960 of God is with people, with his family. 00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:15.319 And this raises a really, really important point in regard to glorification. 00:23:15.319 --> 00:23:20.679 When we think about all the steps of God's saving work, we think about election and we 00:23:20.679 --> 00:23:25.759 think about being called and we think about being justified and sanctified and all these 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:27.399 various steps. 00:23:27.399 --> 00:23:33.639 And these are all in many ways quite individual. 00:23:33.639 --> 00:23:38.480 And so you'll often hear, maybe preachers like me telling people that you need to put 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:40.919 your faith in Jesus Christ as an individual. 00:23:40.919 --> 00:23:42.319 No one else can do it for you. 00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:43.519 You have to do it. 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:44.519 That's true. 00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:52.160 When we talk about justification, we talk about your sins being counted as righteous, 00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:54.160 your debt being canceled. 00:23:54.160 --> 00:24:00.039 When we talk about you being redeemed, it's your freedom from slavery that's been accomplished. 00:24:00.039 --> 00:24:07.480 So it's very, in many ways, personal and individual, which is very, very important because nobody 00:24:07.480 --> 00:24:08.720 can believe for us. 00:24:08.720 --> 00:24:11.000 Nobody can be justified for us. 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:16.359 We as individuals have to have that personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 00:24:16.359 --> 00:24:25.160 However, although that personalness is really, really, really, really important, I want us 00:24:25.160 --> 00:24:35.160 to make sure that we notice that glorification is different because glorification is something 00:24:35.160 --> 00:24:42.800 that we as Christians will experience together. 00:24:42.800 --> 00:24:47.600 We will all pass away at different points. 00:24:47.600 --> 00:24:54.519 So question 37 is something that's going to happen to different people at different times. 00:24:54.519 --> 00:25:00.040 But question 38 is not an individual experience. 00:25:00.040 --> 00:25:03.240 It's a shared collective event. 00:25:03.240 --> 00:25:05.920 It's something that's going to happen together. 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:06.920 Paul talks about that. 00:25:06.920 --> 00:25:10.400 He says, the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:14.920 of an archangel, with the sound of the trumpet, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 00:25:14.920 --> 00:25:20.920 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds 00:25:20.920 --> 00:25:23.480 to meet the Lord in the air. 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:30.400 And so we will always be with the Lord. 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:32.039 And that's really important. 00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:38.759 The final goal of God's redemptive plan in your life and in my life is not an individual 00:25:38.759 --> 00:25:39.759 event. 00:25:39.759 --> 00:25:43.200 It is an event for the people of God together. 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:48.519 So God's great goal, His whole plan is not to create glorified individuals. 00:25:48.519 --> 00:25:57.079 It's to create a glorified people, a family, a church, a covenant community. 00:25:57.079 --> 00:26:01.879 And so while, yes, we need to emphasize the need for personal individual faith in Jesus, 00:26:01.880 --> 00:26:06.160 we must remember that that's a means to a collective end. 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:12.280 It's leading us to the point where we will all be part of God's collective people. 00:26:12.280 --> 00:26:18.600 And that, of course, makes perfect sense because if we are united to Jesus Christ, it means 00:26:18.600 --> 00:26:21.160 we are also united to each other. 00:26:21.160 --> 00:26:26.440 If we are adopted as God's children, it means we are also brothers and sisters. 00:26:26.440 --> 00:26:32.200 All the various steps in God's great plan of salvation are preparing us for a collective 00:26:32.200 --> 00:26:37.680 glorification when Christ returns. 00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:44.400 And that should not surprise us at all because Jesus' prayer in John 17 was that we may be 00:26:44.400 --> 00:26:51.799 one just as you, Father, and me, and I in you, that they may also be in us so that the world 00:26:51.799 --> 00:26:57.680 may believe that you have sent me, the glory that you've given me, I have given to them 00:26:57.680 --> 00:27:02.440 that they may be one even as we are one. 00:27:02.440 --> 00:27:08.480 Ultimately, Christianity is not about you or me. 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:12.519 It's about us. 00:27:12.519 --> 00:27:18.559 Glorification is something that we will share in together. 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:19.559 So what is it? 00:27:19.559 --> 00:27:20.759 It's the end goal. 00:27:20.759 --> 00:27:21.759 Who does it? 00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:22.759 Who does it? 00:27:22.759 --> 00:27:25.759 We receive it in our union with Christ. 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:26.960 Why is it necessary? 00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:28.440 It's to undo the curse. 00:27:28.440 --> 00:27:29.440 How is it going to happen? 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:36.039 It's going to deal with all the specific things that the curse damaged in God's plan. 00:27:36.039 --> 00:27:40.039 Now, what are the implications of this for us? 00:27:40.039 --> 00:27:44.879 Well, I want to just say four things very, very briefly. 00:27:44.879 --> 00:27:51.119 Number one, glorification reminds us that we should all be thinking about our future 00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:54.199 as Christians. 00:27:54.199 --> 00:28:02.079 And that sounds so simple, and yet it's something that we tend not to do. 00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:06.239 How often do we go through each day thinking about glorification, thinking about the future 00:28:06.239 --> 00:28:08.079 that God holds for us? 00:28:08.079 --> 00:28:12.119 But we've been reminded here that it's something that should fill our minds and that we should 00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:15.359 meditate upon as much as we can. 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:19.199 And it should also remind us that this world is temporary. 00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:26.640 So for that reason, we should have a loose grip on this world and a firm grip on the 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:28.400 world to come. 00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:33.440 And that will help us when we face trouble and sorrow and hardship and disappointment. 00:28:33.440 --> 00:28:39.120 And it will also keep us from unnecessary sorrow because sometimes we can hold on to 00:28:39.120 --> 00:28:41.640 things that are temporarily too much. 00:28:41.640 --> 00:28:46.960 We can hold on to our possessions or our status or our position, even though we know that 00:28:46.960 --> 00:28:50.039 these things are always going to be passing away. 00:28:50.039 --> 00:28:56.840 It gives us a far better perspective on life if we think about our future. 00:28:56.840 --> 00:29:03.559 Number two, glorification means that we should be thinking about each other. 00:29:03.559 --> 00:29:09.440 If the goal of salvation has togetherness at its center, which it does, then that should 00:29:09.440 --> 00:29:13.840 shape the way we live our lives as Christians together now. 00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:20.039 And so that's one of the amazing things about being a Christian. 00:29:20.039 --> 00:29:24.919 The fact that this world is temporary means that we should have a loose grip on stuff. 00:29:24.919 --> 00:29:30.759 So your possessions, your house, your wage, all of these things are ultimately going to 00:29:30.759 --> 00:29:31.759 pass away. 00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:38.159 We're not going to be able to take any of these things with us and we should keep a loose 00:29:38.159 --> 00:29:39.799 grip on these things. 00:29:39.799 --> 00:29:46.799 Do you know that as a Christian, there is something that you can hold on to really, really, really 00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:50.839 tightly? 00:29:50.839 --> 00:29:54.759 And that's each other. 00:29:54.759 --> 00:30:05.359 As Christians, we can hold on to each other so tightly because we are together now and 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:08.559 we're going to be together then. 00:30:08.559 --> 00:30:13.839 And having your brother or sister in Christ beside you now means that you're getting a 00:30:13.839 --> 00:30:20.000 glimpse of what glorification is going to be like because the bonds that we share together 00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:25.519 now as a community in this church and as part of the wider church of Jesus Christ across 00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:31.720 this country and across the world, these bonds are the seeds of an eternal family. 00:30:31.720 --> 00:30:35.240 So you can look at your fellow Christian. 00:30:35.240 --> 00:30:38.920 You can look at your Christian husband, your Christian wife, your Christian friend, your 00:30:38.920 --> 00:30:49.120 Christian parent and you can say, I'm really looking forward to glorification with you. 00:30:49.120 --> 00:30:57.440 And you can also think of your brothers and sisters who are no longer with you. 00:30:57.440 --> 00:31:03.839 And you can look forward to sharing glorification with them as well. 00:31:03.839 --> 00:31:06.599 So we should be thinking about each other. 00:31:06.599 --> 00:31:11.599 We should also be thinking about the new heavens and the new earth. 00:31:11.599 --> 00:31:16.359 Now I want you just for a minute to think about every way in which the curse mucks up 00:31:16.359 --> 00:31:18.459 your life. 00:31:18.459 --> 00:31:26.559 So you think about the curse back in Genesis where our relationship with God was broken, 00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:31.639 where our relationship with other people was broken, where our relationship with ourselves 00:31:31.640 --> 00:31:38.160 was broken and where our relationship to our physical bodies and our physical environment 00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:39.160 was broken. 00:31:39.160 --> 00:31:44.920 Think about all the ways in which that wrecks your life now. 00:31:44.920 --> 00:31:52.680 So you can think about physical pain that I'm sure many of you live with every day. 00:31:52.680 --> 00:31:58.759 You can think about weakness, maybe either in temperament or in terms of coping with 00:31:58.759 --> 00:31:59.759 things. 00:31:59.759 --> 00:32:05.759 You can think about illness that you or loved ones may be suffering. 00:32:05.759 --> 00:32:11.400 You can think about the worries that you have. 00:32:11.400 --> 00:32:19.279 You can think about the failings that have hurt you or hurt others in life even as Christians. 00:32:19.279 --> 00:32:33.680 All of these things are the result of the curse, but there is no curse in glorification. 00:32:33.680 --> 00:32:35.680 Nothing. 00:32:35.680 --> 00:32:36.920 Nothing. 00:32:36.920 --> 00:32:45.039 That's why God will be able to wipe away every tear in your eye. 00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:51.759 There will be no more pain, no more sorrow. 00:32:51.759 --> 00:32:58.159 The former things will pass away. 00:32:58.159 --> 00:32:59.639 So we should be thinking about our future. 00:32:59.639 --> 00:33:00.879 We should be thinking about each other. 00:33:00.879 --> 00:33:03.720 We should be thinking about the new heavens and the new earth, but most of all we should 00:33:03.720 --> 00:33:10.839 be thinking about our father and our brother because glorification is going to bring a 00:33:10.839 --> 00:33:14.879 perfect relationship with God through Jesus Christ. 00:33:14.879 --> 00:33:19.959 We read Paul say in Thessalonians, we will always be with the Lord. 00:33:19.959 --> 00:33:26.919 And that's God's goal. 00:33:26.919 --> 00:33:34.199 That's what God wants, that you will be with him. 00:33:34.199 --> 00:33:38.799 And the whole of the theology that Paul has described from Romans 1 through to the end 00:33:38.799 --> 00:33:48.039 of Romans 7 is working together to make that possible because God's great goal is glorification 00:33:48.039 --> 00:33:58.440 and at the heart of that is the fact that we will be with him and God will have his 00:33:58.440 --> 00:34:05.039 precious children with him. 00:34:05.039 --> 00:34:12.199 When Adam sinned against God and they disobeyed his instruction, do you know what the first 00:34:12.199 --> 00:34:18.759 thing God said was? 00:34:18.759 --> 00:34:23.400 He said, where are you? 00:34:23.400 --> 00:34:33.360 In glorification, God will never have to say where are you again because we will be with 00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:36.760 him forever and ever. 00:34:36.760 --> 00:34:49.320 The curse is utterly undone and we will dwell in God's house forevermore. 00:34:49.320 --> 00:34:59.079 If you're a Christian, you have an amazing future and we share in that future together. 00:34:59.079 --> 00:35:11.279 But if you're not yet a Christian or you're not sure, then please, please, please know 00:35:11.279 --> 00:35:15.400 that you can be part of this too. 00:35:15.400 --> 00:35:19.319 And God wants you to share in this as well. 00:35:19.319 --> 00:35:26.519 And God has brought you here today to hold out that offer before you and to say, I want 00:35:26.519 --> 00:35:30.079 you to share in that as well. 00:35:30.079 --> 00:35:43.800 And you really have to ask yourself whether pushing that away could ever be worth it. 00:35:43.800 --> 00:35:53.280 Let's pray. 00:35:53.280 --> 00:36:02.040 Father, we thank you for the fullness of your saving work in Jesus Christ. 00:36:02.040 --> 00:36:12.560 And we thank you for the amazing future that lies ahead of all who trust in Jesus. 00:36:12.560 --> 00:36:17.960 And we acknowledge and we recognize that you're doing far, far, far, far more than we could 00:36:17.960 --> 00:36:23.040 ever deserve or ever be worthy of. 00:36:23.039 --> 00:36:29.440 But it just shows us again what an amazingly gracious and kind God you are. 00:36:29.440 --> 00:36:37.679 We pray that our minds would be filled with the thought of our future in Jesus Christ. 00:36:37.679 --> 00:36:47.759 And we pray for every single one of us that we would all trust in Jesus and that that 00:36:47.759 --> 00:36:51.639 future would be our future for each one of us. 00:36:51.639 --> 00:36:52.639 Amen. 00:36:52.639 --> 00:36:53.639 Amen. 00:36:53.639 --> 00:36:54.639 Amen.