For the last several weeks, I’ve been talking to you about understanding the big words. This has been kind of a theological series, but you guys have come to me and acted like you’d like to hear a little theology every now and then. I’ve talked to you about predestination and what the Bible says about that. I told you God knew you before you knew Him. I’ve talked to you about justification, the fact that God declares those who trust Christ to be not guilty. I’ve talked to you about regeneration, the fact that God brings His Spirit inside of you at new birth and gives you a new beginning. I talked to you last week about sanctification, how Gods wants you to live in victory over the sinful nature.
Today I’m going to talk to you about another big word and that is glorification. There are three passages from the book of Romans that I want to look at today. Romans 3:23 says this:
For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Romans 5:2 says: We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
What that says is that in sin, we lost something, but in salvation, we are looking forward to its restoration. It says when we sinned, we lost the glory of God. But God has given us hope that there is a glory yet to come.
Then Paul said in Romans 8:30:
Those He predestined He also called; those He called He also justified; those He justified He also glorified.
Now this message today will bring to a conclusion this series on “Understanding the Big Words.” It is a good way to end
because glorification is the end of God’s fantastic plan of redemption. It’s what God had in mind from the beginning. It was the whole purpose for which Christ came–that we might be restored to that original position.
Many of you are perhaps aware of the nook by Stephen Covey entitled, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
It has been on the number one bestseller list for a number of years. From that, Stephen Covey has written several other excellent books. I like this book and, in fact, I’ve been impacted by the book.
Stephen Covey said one of the habits of highly effective people is they begin with the end in mind. I want you to know something. God is infinitely effective. He always begins with the end in mind. He began knowing where He was going.
God said, “My plan is that, one day, I will stand before a group of people from every nation, kindred, tribe and tongue and I will say, ‘I am your God and you are My people.’” That was the moment for which God created all things. He would bring us to that culmination, that climactic moment of glorification.
Now let me give you the definition of this big word, glorification. 2
Glorification is the final act of God’s redemptive plan in which He will redeem the physical bodies of the righteous, restore their souls to perfection and release all of creation from the curse of sin. Let’s look at that definition in three points
Glorification means that one day our bodies are going to be redeemed. Look at some portion of your body, which are probably your hands. Look at them. One day, that flesh is going to be redeemed. One day, you’re not going to have the same body you have right now. The Bible says He is going to transform and change it.
Most of us are not pleased with our bodies. In fact, the vast majority of Americans wish they were either taller, shorter, skinner, more muscular, had a smaller nose, more hair, any hair, darker hair…you know, we would like to change something. We’re not very pleased with our bodies. Plastic surgery is a booming business in America. But I want to tell you something: one day, you are going to have a body that you are completely and totally thrilled with because that is the promise of God. God has promised that our bodies will experience His transforming grace and His transforming
power.
In Romans 8:23, Paul said: We wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as His children, including the new bodies He has promised us.
God said He would give us a new body.
Christianity is the only religion I’m aware of that promises a new body. Other religions will talk about the immortality of the soul, about your soul existing forever, or about reincarnation. Only Christianity talks about a resurrected changed body. God said He created all of you and will not allow any of you to see destruction because, when God created you, He
created you not as a dualistic creature.
Some people have this idea that human beings are like a spirit trapped in a body; that your body is like a prison, that your body is somehow bad and your spirit longs to be free from the body. Now that’s good Greek philosophy, good new age gobbledygook, but it is poor Christian theology.
Christian theology says your body is a part of who you are. Your body is not evil because, when God created your body, He looked down on what He had created and said, “It is good.” It is sin that has affected our body and God says that not only will He redeem your spirit, not only will He redeem your soul; He is going to redeem your body. God says human beings are unified beings. We are not dualistic, we’re unified beings. God says He’s going to save all of you. That’s what glorification is all about.
There’s going to come a time when Jesus Christ returns that He said, “I’m going to redeem your physical body.” You see, at Christ’s return, our bodies will be made similar to the resurrection body of Jesus. In a couple of weeks, we’re going to celebrate Easter. We are going to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The Bible says the body Jesus had after His resurrection, one day God will shape and form this body similar to that body.
In Philippians 3:21, Paul says:
Jesus will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like His own, using the same mighty power He will use to conquer everything else.
God says He’s going to change these bodies. Paul said in I Corinthians 15:51, 52: We will all be transformed in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. 3
He said there’s going to come a day when we are all going to morph. God’s going to change the whole molecular structure of this body. He’s going to change the whole DNA. We will have new bodies and a new life. There’s an old song that says, “On that resurrection morning when the dead in Christ shall rise, I’ll have a new body, and I’ll have a new life.” God says He’s going to change your physical body. I am really fascinated by certain exercise equipment. Don’t you especially like the ones for the abdomen? They show a person kind of like me who turns a few times and looks like Arnold Schwartzenager. If I could do that in three turns, I’d have been turning a long time ago. I am the poster boy for the “before” pictures. Did you ever notice on the before pictures people always look sad and they stick out their stomachs as far as they can? But when it comes to the after, they are smiling and sucking it in. They are saying, “Hurry up and get the picture, I can’t hold it in much longer!”
I want you to know God has some before and after pictures. They are in I Corinthians 15: 42-44. Paul is talking about what our body is like before it is changed and what it will be like after it is changed. Here is what he says: That body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable…sown in dishonor, raised in glory…sown in weakness, raised in power…sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body.
The before picture is perishable; the after picture is imperishable. The before picture is dishonor; the after picture is glory. The before picture is weakness; the after picture is power. The before picture is a natural body. The after picture is a spiritual body. That is God’s before and after shots.
Now, we are still in that before phase right now. I realize that even more now as I’m approaching 50. I can’t read anything except a large print Bible’s unless I wear these glasses. I bought these glasses 18 months ago at Sam’s. Once
you ever start using these, you’ll never be able to read again without them. About two months ago, I was walking down the steps in the office and all of a sudden, my big toe started hurting
something fierce. I thought I had a cramp on my big toe. I mean, it was hurting, and it wouldn’t go away. I was on my way to speak somewhere, and I was hobbling and telling my wife about my big toe hurting. It wouldn’t quit hurting, so I told her I must have gout. I don’t even know what gout is. I just know old people get it in their toes.
Well, I didn’t have gout, because my toe wasn’t red. They said it was supposed to be red and it wasn’t. I said, “Well, it looks normal, but it hurts.” Finally, I had to go to the doctor for some blood work, and while I was there I said, “Hey, by the way, my big toe has been hurting.” So she took off my sock and shoe and looked at my toe and asked, “Does it hurt when I do this?” I yelled, “Oh, yes!” She said, “You have arthritis.” I said, “Arthritis? You don’t get arthritis in your big toe.” She said, “You do!” I thought, “Oh. No! I’m old.” All of a sudden, you start getting applications for AARP and stuff like that. You realize this old body is getting old. I’ve got an age spot here and a bump I’ve been feeling and wonder where that bump came from.
Just because I’m in the before picture, I want you to see my after picture. I want you to see your after picture as a follower of Jesus. Jesus said your after picture is an imperishable body. Imperishable means a body that won’t wear out, that won’t grow old. No sickness, injury or death will affect this body. You will have a healthy and strong body forever – a body that is youthful and mature. God says that’s the kind of body He will make you afterwards imperishable.
Then He says that your old body is dishonorable, but your new body will be glorious, in glory. I looked that up and this is what it means: it’s going to be beautiful, attractive, radiant, visible brightness. That’s what glory means–visible brightness. Now I don’t know if that means we’re going to walk around shining, but there will be a visible radiance about this new body. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 13:43: The righteous will shine like the sun. So, the idea here is this body is going to nonperishable, beautiful, and glorious. Then He said the old body was weak, but the new one will be powerful. You know what that means? It means full of strength, as God intended us to be before we ever sinned–a body that’s like the Eveready bunny – it just keeps going and going and going. He says that’s the kind of morph body you’re going to have. It’s going to be changed. It’s not going to wear out. It’s going to be 4 perfect. It’s going to go on forever. God says it’s going to be a powerful body, a youthful, strong body. Glory to God!
That’s where we’re headed.
Then God says this: the old body is like a natural body; the new body is like a spiritual body. I looked at that and thought, “Now, what does that mean? Does that mean we’re not going to have a physical body?” No, it does not mean that, because our body is going to be like Jesus. He had a physical body. It doesn’t mean we’re going to be like ghosts, like vapor, or some kind of spirit. It literally means a body that is in complete control of the Holy Spirit. It’s a body that the Spirit is completely controlling.
Now you know what the disciples said to Jesus: the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. In the new body, the flesh will never be weak. It will always respond to the Spirit. It will always move in the Spirit. It will be a body that relates to the spirit world correctly and completely. That is the body that we’re headed for. The Bible says when Jesus comes, it’s going to be in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, and the change will take place. You know what that’s called? It’s called glorification. God’s going to restore to you the original glory that sin caused us to fall from.
The second thing that’s going to happen is, not only is God going to affect our bodies, but God will restore our souls to perfection. When Adam sinned, the souls of all humans became depraved. We talked about that and why we need the work of God’s sanctification to deal with our sinful natures. All of us inherited a moral defect inside of us. We’re all morally depraved. But there is going to come a time when God not only changes our body, He’s going to take away all that’s left over of that sinful nature. We will be restored in innocence and perfection. God is going to perfect our souls.
I told you last week that sanctification is victory over the sinful nature. Glorification is the absolute and final removal of the sinful nature. There will be no inclination to sin. There will be no inclination to lie, cheat, be dishonest, because God is going to perfectly and totally cleanse your soul of any of the leftover aspects of the sinful nature.
The writer of Hebrews said in chapter 13, verse 23: You have come to the spirits of the redeemed in heaven who have now been made perfect. God is going to completely perfect your soul. Some people often ask, “Do you think there will be the possibility of any sin in heaven? How do we know some idiot won’t sin and start this whole cycle all over again?” I can tell you with assurance there will never be another sin in heaven. How do I know that? Well, first of all, God will make sure there won’t be, because when God brings this thing to a conclusion, it will be brought to a conclusion.
I think there are three ways God will make sure there is no sin in heaven. First of all, there will be no one with any sinful nature. There will be no one inclined to sin, no one whose flesh is leading them to sin. You say, “Wait a minute! Adam sinned before he had a sinful nature.” I know so this is only just my first point. I have to get to the next two to build this whole picture.
The second reason there will be no sin in heaven is there will be no tempter in heaven. We used to sing the song, “Our Lord is coming back to earth again. Satan will be bound a thousand years. We’ll have no tempter then.” I want you to understand something. Adam didn’t come up with the idea to sin on his own. It was Satan who brought the idea to him.
I want you to understand something. Satan is going to be burning in hell forever, and we won’t have to worry about his tempting and his fiery darts and his whispers. He’s going to be gone. So, there will be no one tempting us to sin.
Here’s the third reason I believe there won’t be any sin in heaven. There will be no sinful options. You see, in order to sin, you have to have the availability of sin. There won’t be any available sin there. People often ask, “Do you believe we will have free will in heaven? Will we be able to choose?” I say, “Sure!” They ask, “Well if we can choose, we can sin.”
I say, “The only reason you can’t sin by choice is because all the options are good. It’s either Twinkies or Ding Dongs. There’s nothing bad about that. Vanilla or Chocolate.” In other words, there will be many options in heaven, but not one 5 of them will be a sinful options. They will all be good and righteous options. That’s part of that glorification, when Jesus comes. He says you will be glorified. He said, “I’m going to change your body. I’m going to change your soul into perfection. I’m going to put you in a place where you are removed from the power and influence of sin, and I’m going to put you like I originally wanted you to be in the beginning, before you disobeyed me. I’m going to restore you, because that’s my whole plan from the very beginning: to restore you back the way I originally created you.
The world as you see it now is not the world as God created it. Things are spinning out of control. Adam’s sin not only affected him and affected all of his descendents, which includes you and me, but it affected the entire planet and the entire created order.
Yesterday, I began the initial process of looking at my lawn and shrub bed for the spring. I would vow and declare that last fall I planted grass. You would think I planted weeds. I see weeds. I didn’t plant weeds. The grass I planted, most of it isn’t there. I look at that and think, “Look at these weeds!” You pull them up, you spray them with weed killer, you weed-whack them with the weed eater, and they still come back and you have to plead with the grass to grow. “Please grow! Please, please, please! I will water you. I will put good things on you. Just grow!
You go pick blackberries or strawberries and come back itching with chiggers. That wasn’t how it was supposed to be. There wasn’t supposed to be earthquakes, tornadoes, drought and floods. This is a world that is convulsing in travail because of being cursed by sin. Now you know the word travail is the pain of childbirth. When Shannon was born, there were two rooms we went into. One of them was called the labor room and the other was called the delivery room. I was so thrilled when we moved from one room to the other. My wife was more thrilled than I. The labor room was a time of pain, contractions and travail. The delivery room meant it was almost over – something was about to be born. That’s how Paul pictures the earth.
One of the things I know about labor from what my wife told me, I don ‘t know personally, but what I observed is that, as you get nearer the moment of birth, it gets more intense, more painful and the contractions get closer together. This is why I believe that we may be approaching the end. It could be a hundred years or tomorrow, but I think we’re getting much closer, because these travailing pains are getting more intense and closer together. I think somehow the world is about to be rolled soon into the delivery room for the revelation of the sons of God.
That’s the whole idea. The world is longing for redemption. Now this is an interesting passage, “…creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.” In Jewish tradition, there were several significant times for a Jewish father in the life of his son. One was obviously the birth and there was the celebration of the birth of the son, the whole presentation at the temple, the consecration and the circumcision. There was great joy at the birth of the son.
Then there was later the bar mitzvah, when the son became looked upon as a man, no longer a boy, but a man. He began a process of being an apprentice to take over the father’s business. Remember when Jesus was in the temple when he was 12 years old? His mother had lost him and she came to Jesus and said, “Jesus, where have you been?” He replied to her, “Don’t you understand? This is my bar mitzvah. I am to be about my Father’s business.” He wasn’t talking about Joseph’s business. He was talking about his heavenly Father’s business. He said, “This is my Father’s house, isn’t it?” You see, at 12, a young Jewish boy began to apprentice in the father’s business.
There was another significant third event in the life of a son, which occurred somewhere around the age of 30. After a number of years of being an apprentice and learning the business, the father was now ready to make his son a full 6 partner in the business. It was a big pronouncement, a big revelation, “This is no longer a child, this is my son.” And he would present his son in a formal occasion. Do you remember when Jesus was presented? When he was baptized by John, the voice of the Father was heard from heaven saying, “This is my Son in Whom I well pleased.” He was about the age of 30.
Paul was saying here there is coming a moment when that is going to happen for us. Sons are going to be revealed. The Bible says when He appears, we shall appear with Him in glory. If you go to communities and cities where there is a large Jewish population, particularly if they are shop owners or store owners, you will see something like this on the front of the many building: “Goldstein and Son or Finestein and Sons.” There was a point where the founder of that business said, “It is time for my son’s name to be on that marquee with mine.” There is coming a day of glorification when God is going to change these bodies into glorious bodies and purge these souls of the last leftover visages of sin. He is going to take us to appear with Him in glory. I can just imagine what it’s going to be like a big unveiling that will say, “God and Sons and Daughters.” Because we did not deny Him, He will acknowledge us before His Father. The Bible says when earth sees this revelation, it will know deliverance has come, and it will be free from all the bondage of the curse and sin.
Here’s what this whole idea of a glorified earth is. Do you remember when Adam was in the Garden of Eden; the Bible says God would walk with him in the cool of the day. I don’t know about you, but that blows my mind! How does God just come down and walk with you? In the Garden of Eden, there was no veil between the spirit and the physical. It merged into one. But when Adam sinned a veil vent up, and that veil is still there.
Do you believe there are angels in this room? Sure there are. The Bibles says they encamp about us. There are angels in this room right now. I believe God Himself is in this room right now. I can’t see Him with my physical eyes. I can’t touch Him with my hands, but He is here. When the earth is glorified, that veil that was put up by sin that separated us from the spirit realm is going to be ripped down and the merging of the physical and the spiritual are going to come back together. That’s why the Bible says the earth will be like a new earth. Why? Because the glory of the Lord will cover the earth like waters cover the sea. Wherever the glory of the Lord is, there is life, there is liberty, there is freedom, and there is glory. The Bible says the whole earth will be filled with His glory, and on that day we will walk in glory.
That’s why the Bible says this physical body, this natural body, has to become a spiritual body, a body that can walk in the physical and spiritual realm at the same time, a body that yields to the leading of the Holy Spirit. The Bibles says when that occurs, the earth is going to rejoice and there will be no more pestilence, there will be no more sickness, there will be no more pain, and there will be no more earthquakes. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. A New Jerusalem is coming down. The Bible says when that occurs, then shall be fulfilled the saying, “Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, Grave, where is your victory, oh, Death, where is your sting?” It will all happen and He will put all enemies under His feet.” Amen!
Now, my brothers and sisters, if you are a follower of Jesus, that’s your future. We are on the winning side. Let me read to you from Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase, The Message. II Corinthians chapter 5, here is what Eugene Peterson paraphrases what Paul said:
We know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven. God made, not hand-made, and we’ll never have to relocate our tents again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move, so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what is coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfinished shack and we get tired of it. But we’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, and our resurrected bodies. The Spirit of God whets our appetites by giving us a taste of what is ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so we will never settle for anything less. That’s why we live in such good cheer. You won’t see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet. Cramped conditions here don’t get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions that lie ahead. It’s what you trust in, but don’t yet see, that keeps you going. Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us? When the time comes, we will be ready to exchange exile for homecoming. Let me read Revelation 21: 7 I saw heaven and earth newly created. Gone were the first heaven and the first earth. And I saw Holy Jerusalem new created, descending, resplendent out of heaven as ready for God as a bride is for her husband. I heard a voice of thunder from the throne saying, “Look, look, God has moved into the neighborhood.” Don’t you just love that? God is “in the hood!”
Making a home with men and women. They are His people and He is their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good. Tears are gone. Crying is gone. Pain is gone. All the first order of things is gone. The enthroned conqueror says, “Look, I am making everything new. Write it down. Each of these words is dependable and accurate.
If you are a follower of Jesus, there is a new you coming. There’s a new world coming. That’s why Paul said, “We may, through sin, have fallen from the glory of God, but we rejoice in the glory of God and His coming.”