The result of justification (3): Rejoice in the hope of the glory of God

The result of justification (3):

Rejoice in the hope of the glory of God

 

 

 

”through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:2)

 

 

                The Bible Romans 5:2 says, “…  And we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”  The third result of justification is that we rejoice in hope of the glory of God (v. 2).  What is the glory of God here?

 

            First, let us consider the glory of God that has already been revealed.

 

                The Bible Romans 5:1-2 speaks of the three glory of God.  When we fell short of the glory of God because of our sins (3:23), we were justified by faith through our Lord Jesus Christ (5:1-2).  Although we were enemies with God, we were reconciled to God through the death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (v. 10), and we have peace with God (v. 1).  We have gained access into and established ourselves before the throne of God's grace through our Lord Jesus Christ (vv. 1, 2).  We rejoice (boast) in hope of the glory of God (v. 2).  We rejoice (boast) in hope of the glory of God (v. 2).  These three glories that have already appeared are not 100% complete.  If God reveals 100% of His full glory now, we cannot fully know His full glory.

 

            Next, let us consider the not yet glory of God that will be revealed.

 

                In a word, the glory of God that will be revealed is the second coming of Jesus.  The glory of God that will be revealed in the future is 100% perfect and eternal glory, and we will see God face to face (1 Cor. 13:12).  This glory of God is also our glory.  In other words, the glory of our Heavenly Father is the glory of His children, us.  The three glory of God mentioned in Romans 5:1-2 cannot be compared with the glory of God that will be revealed in the future.  In other words, the glory of God that we already enjoy through our Lord Jesus Christ cannot be compared with the glory of God that we will enjoy when our Lord Jesus returns again (5:1-2, cf. 8:8: 18).  The glory of God that will be revealed is that when Jesus appears, we too will become like Him and will see Him as He is (1 Jn. 3:2).  He will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body (Phil. 3:21).  We believe that God will bring with Jesus those who died in Him while believing in Jesus.  We who are still alive, will certainly not precede those who are already dead.  Because when the Lord comes down from heaven with a shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God, those who have died in Christ will be resurrected first.  After that, we who are still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and be with the Lord forever (1 Thess. 4:14-17).

 

                This hope that we hope for the glory of God is 100% sure hope (Rom.5:2).  The reason is because it is God's promise.  The God who promised and fulfilled the promise of the first coming of Jesus promised and will surely fulfill the promise of His second coming.  The reason we can believe that the glory of Jesus is our glory at the second coming of Jesus is because God has already promised it.  Look at Romans 8:30 – “And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”  Here the verb “glorified” is past tense.  Look at Ephesians 2:5-6: “made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions  …  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”  Here, the verbs “made us alive with,” “raised us up with” and “seated us with him” are all past tense.  We are already resurrected with Jesus, ascended into heaven with Him, and are seated with Him in heaven.  The verb “glorified” in Romans 8:30 and the verbs “made us alive with,” “raised us up with” and “seated us with him” in Ephesians 2:5-6 are all past tense.  The reason why the past tense was used is because it will come true with 100% certainty.  Therefore, since we hope for this, we rejoice and hope for the glory of God by faith with 100% certainty (Rom. 5:2).  This joy is the joy of salvation, the true joy, and the eternal joy.  If there is joy in this hope, we can only boast of the glory of God (v. 2).  God's glory is my glory!