Sermon Tone Analysis

GLORIFICATION: The final and corporate act of our redemption

I.

Not a solo act

II.

Cosmic anticipation and participation

III. ; ; 54-56

Pleased to be rounding 3rd base to take us home on our tour of God’s grace in our great salvation!

We have considered in all of these doctrines - how God has affected our salvation and continues to work in us even after our salvation is effected to us.

Last few weeks we have seen how God even in our santification - that is - working holiness in our life, is intamily close to us in that he even gets the praise when in our desire to holy for him - For he wills and works in us.

And what great news that he provides for us what he desires for us.

His presence, power, and love for us while we live.

But now we move to the last - even though we could examine many more doctrines that completment our salvation - the last work of God is what all human history is working to - the final and consumate redemption of all that He has made and for his glory.

God wants us to know this so that we may even now, live as though we are already with him.

And if your like me you forget at times and think that once we close our eyes in death, that the end has come and there is nothing else to look forward to.

OPENING ILLUSTRATION:

Glorification can be defined

Many of us have been to concerts or plays.

You all know what happens when the show is over.

There is an anchor request.

That the performers come out to have a final bow; a show of praise by the audience, or if its a concert, then theres the chant of “one more song.”

In which the artists usually fulfill.

I think many of us though think that our salvation or redemeption ends when we die and go to heaven.

Like life being the great performance and when we die, that is it.

No curtain call, no request for an anchor.

Turn the lights off and go home.

Show is over.

But Scripture doesn’t end with our death - it declares that there is one more act to be performed.

That being the final act of God of God - in the application of our redemption.

Think of it as the completion of the whole process of redemption

As one theologian wrote:

“For glorification is THE GOAL wot which the elect of God were predestined in the eternal purpose of the Father and it involves the consummation - that is, the point at which something is complete or finalized, of the redemption secured and procured by the vicarious work of Christ.”

And we see this in a very known passage which we have seen before and helps us understand where this fits in in the chain of Redemption.

the point at which something is complete or finalized

Romans 8L:

This morning by God’s grace we are going to see what Glorification is.

Seeing that this final event in our salvation it is not an individualized event, but actually a single event by God which affects corporatly.

That is for all the redeemed of God.

All of God’s children at one time.

All the elect will be glorified together at one time.

So with that, if we could define Glorification then, we could say, which is written in your notes that GLORIFICATION IS:

So with that, if we could define Glorification then, we could say, which is written in your notes that GLORIFICATION IS:

THE FINAL AND CORPORATE ACT OF OUR REDEMPTION - That is a final act in which we receive our new Bodies and finally declare that the sting is swallowed up in victory.

A very simple definition but a glorious truth that should cause us to glory in God and see how glorious our salvation really is.

We will examine this doctrine then get into points of application at the end.

In the end we will hope to see that God himself will receive all the glory that is due to Him.

Ultimatly in the end, God himself will receive all the glory that is due to Him.

TRANSITION TO FIRST POINT:

STATE FIRST POINT: When does glorification take place?

What it is and what it is not.

1.

First what it is not: Glorification is not an act of God that is forced upon Him and affected to us at our death.

If you are like me, you once thought that once you died, you entered into paradise and received your new perfect bodies and that was it.

Your new glorified self then enabled you to live in a perfect world an do some pretty amazing things.

Like here on earth, only perfectly.

But that is not the final phase of your salvation.

It is true that the single solo event that we must take part in is death (save the Lord Jesus Christ returns in His second advent)

“To be away from this body is to be present with the Lord.”

And that when we die and are separated from our bodies, our souls do go into the presence of Christ and are perfect - without sin:

Hebrews 12:23

Hb 12:23

Those present with Christ are called “the spirits of the righteous and made perfect”

Our confession of faith is also clear on this:

Ch 31: para 1:

“The bodies of men after death return to dust, and see corruption; but their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having immortal substance, immediately return to God who gave them.

The souls of the righteous being then made perfect in holiness, are received into paradise, where they are with Christ, and behold the face of God in light and glory”

And believe me this is glorious news for those of us in Christ!

That we, once we have closed our eyes in death - immediately go to be with Christ and are made absoultley perfect!

But this is not the final act in our redemption.

Death and pure spiritual life in heaven.

While this is a great hope - it gets better than that - that being it is not the GOAL of our hope and what we are to be looking forward to!

There’s an anchor when the curtain of our life closes!

There is another act of God.

You see death is the wages of sin - sin being any disobedience to God’s law.

A promise that God made to Adam, who as the head of all humanity - the promise of death - was transferred to all his posterity.

So death being a promise, and because we all come from Adam - will face - but though we will face death - being free from death - by dieing is not the end and completion of our salvation.

John Murray in his excellent book “Redemption Accomplished and Applied writes:

“The last enemy, death, has not yet been destroyed.

it has not yet been swallowed up in victory.

Hence glorification has in view the destruction of death itself.”

All death!

Death being eternally vanquished.

A song that isn’t sang until the future.

QUESTION: So what can be better than entering into the presence of God and being with Christ?

What will we still be groaning for?

What will be missing?

We will be waiting for the REDEMPTION OF OUR BODIES!

Listen to Romans 8:23

“And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

We will get into creation’s glory later - but here Paul writes that there is by the Spirit a holy anxiety that “we” the children of God - are pacing the room with - even those in heaven - and what is it?

THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODIES.

THIS IS THE GLORIFICATION!

As one man wrote:

“It 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.”

QUESTION: WHEN THEN WILL WE RECEIVE THESE NEW GLORIFIED BODIES TO FULLY ENJOY OUR REDEMPTION?

Three Points for you to consider here:

CHRIST WAS FIRST

THEN US AT HIS COMING

IT WILL BE SOMETHING WE WILL ALL EXPERIENCE TOGETHER

A FINAL ACT OF CHRIST TO THE FATHER.

Like the ordo salutis, there is The ordo Glorification-ious

This will take place at Christ’s second coming and will effect all of Christ’s people at once together.