Final Glorification, Part 1

Introduction: Moving to the Third Mountain Peak

0:02 In our Lord's Day morning studies in the Word of God, we are considering together some of the rich provisions of God's grace to sinners under the general heading of the cardinal blessings of salvation in Christ. We have emphasized again and again in past studies that there is a common orbit within which all of these blessings are found and conferred,

0:30 And that orbit is nothing less than union with Christ. And so when I use the language, the cardinal blessings of salvation in Christ, I'm not using the preposition in as synonymous with from, but I'm using it purposely. For we are speaking of the blessings of a salvation which in its entirety comes to us within the orbiter framework of of union with Christ. But within that salvation there is an order. All of the blessings are not conferred at once. All of the blessings are not synonymous. And it is in our best interest to understand and to be able to distinguish things that differ. Having contemplated what I have called the threshold blessings of regeneration and calling

1:28 We then went on to examine the biblical teaching of those blessings which come the moment we pass over the threshold out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of God's dear Son. Those blessings, of course, being justification and adoption. And now we are contemplating the third great blessing, a part of which comes to us immediately upon passing over the threshold, but is stretched on out all the way

1:58 to the consummation of salvation in Christ. And I've again and again used the analogy of a massive mountain with three great peaks, the mountain being the biblical doctrine of sanctification, the three peaks of that mountain being the three facets or three aspects of this great provision of grace, sanctification begun or definitive sanctification,

2:27 sanctification continued or progressive sanctification, sanctification completed or climactic sanctification. Well, this morning we take our zoom lens and move from the second peak to the third and consider this morning and then God willing again next Lord's Day morning this matter of completed or climactic sanctification.

2:54 Often the word that is used to describe this aspect of God's gracious working is the term glorification. Now as we attempt to think through this marvelous teaching of the Word of God, I would encourage you to think with me along three lines of biblical concern. Number one, the essence of climactic sanctification, then the order of climactic sanctification, and

3:22 And finally, the certainty of climactic sanctification. The essence, the order, and the certainty. First of all, then, the essence of climactic sanctification. And the essence is nothing less than the actual realization in the experience of a believer of the ultimate goal for which he was chosen in Christ,

The Essence of Climactic Sanctification: Inner and Outer Man Perfected

3:51 To which he was predestined in Christ. And for which Christ actually died. The essence of climactic sanctification is nothing less. Than the actual realization in experience. Of that for which we were marked out in Christ. Before the foundation of the world. Now what was it for which we were marked out? Well we go to our old friend Romans 8.

4:21 29 and 30. For in these verses, there is an explicit statement in answer to that question. Verse 29. For whom he foreknew, that is, loved beforehand, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his sons.

4:47 that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And whom he predestined, these he also called. Whom he called, these he also justified. And whom he justified, these he also glorified. And there is a parallel between glorified and conformed to the image of his Son. Notice that God predestined us to nothing less

5:17 than the perfect reflection of the image of his Son, whom he foreknew, these he also predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son. In the language of Ephesians 1 in verse 4, we were chosen in Christ, that we should be holy and without blemish before him. Well, what does it mean to be holy and without blemish? It means nothing less than to be conformed to the image of Christ. Now this will bring within its scope the perfecting of our outward and our inward man, or the perfecting of the soul or spirit and the body. Now these distinctions are not metaphysical, that is, theoretical in the realm of philosophic thought.

6:14 These distinctions are not rooted in heathen philosophy, as some in our day are trying to teach. I'm simply using the language of the Bible. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, 16, Though the outward man is perishing, referring to his body and all of his bodily functions, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

6:41 Now, he is not teaching that we are two separate entities. No, we are one total integrated whole as human beings. But within that whole, there are two dimensions of reality. The outward man and the inward man, or in the language of Matthew 10, 28, our Lord said, Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but after this have no more that they can do, but fear him,

7:09 who after he has killed the body can destroy the soul, who can destroy body and soul in Gehenna. Now our Lord makes a fundamental distinction between the body and the soul. And so I'm simply echoing the language of the Bible when I say that the essence of climactic sanctification is conformity to the image of Christ which will involve both the outward man and the inward man, both the body and the soul, both that which is external and tangible and physical in our humanity and that which is intangible and non-physical in our humanity. Now, how do we know this? Well, because the Bible teaches it explicitly. You will notice in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 23,

8:04 that speaking of the privileges of New Covenant believers, expounding those great privileges to which they come when they come to Christ, the mediator of the New Covenant, the writer to the Hebrews says in Hebrews 12 and verse 22, but you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, and that's not a hunk of real estate over in Palestine, that's the church,

8:33 The heavenly Jerusalem. So when people say, don't spiritualize the Bible, when the Bible says Zion in Jerusalem, it means a piece of real estate. Well, my friend, if that's spiritualizing, then God has done that here in his own word. He has told us that the Mount Zion and the city of the living God to which we have come are the realities of new covenant privileges.

8:59 We've come to the church of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all. Now notice carefully. And to the spirits of righteous men made perfect. And here the writer to the Hebrews says that there is a body of spirits

9:27 They belong to righteous men and their spirits have been made perfect. Now because their bodies are still in the grave, the saints who have gone before us are perfected in the inward man. The climactic sanctification of the Spirit has occurred. Though the body is not yet glorified and perfected, the Spirit is.

9:57 Thank God the body one day will be. Philippians chapter 3, verses 20 and 21. Philippians 3. All we're trying to demonstrate now is the essence of climactic sanctification involves total conformity to Christ, both in the inward and in the outward man. We've seen the text which teaches that the spirits of just men that depart this life are made perfect.

10:26 Now what about the bodies? Verses 20 and 21 of Philippians 3. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform and hear the translation of the King James or the authorized version, has given rise to a false concept of the body. Why they ever translated it vile, I will never understand. The word is not translated vile elsewhere in the authorized version. The word itself does not mean vile. It means humble or low estate. And that's the way it's translated in its other usages, even in the authorized versions.

11:13 who will transform the body of our lowest state, or as the new American standard renders it very accurately, the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory. Now notice, nothing is said here about the Spirit. The concentration here is upon the outward man. And at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, He will transform the body of our humble state, that body which we now have, into conformity with the body of His glory. And then and not until then will conformity to the image of Christ be complete. It is not complete conformity when we join the spirits of the just man made perfect and with the inner man

12:08 reflect the perfection that is in Christ as to His holiness. It is not until the body is fashioned like unto the body of His glory that our sanctification will be complete. Now let me qualify in the most careful, explicit language possible. This does not mean that we are elevated to Godhood.

12:37 The blasphemous teaching of Mormonism, and that is the official teaching of the Mormon church, that all of us will ultimately become gods. Mormonism is polytheistic through and through. And all of the smiles of the Osmons cannot change the blasphemy into an acceptable Christian doctrine. No, we will not be elevated into godhood.

13:06 Total conformity, the image of Christ is the conformity of human beings to the image of Christ. So it is not elevation to godhood, it is elevation to what manhood truly once was and now in paradise regained will be, and that forever. In other words, in the language of 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 49...

13:36 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 49. As we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. And Paul was very careful by the Spirit's guidance to use a word that does not mean likeness after a fashion. There is a word in the Greek language that means that.

14:05 But he uses the word from which we get our English word icon. Whose image and superscription is upon that coin? You see, the image was a representation of a real man with a real shape of his nose and a real slope to his forehead. And with a real and distinct character in his chin. Caesar's image was upon the coin. And when you looked at it, you'd say, well, that's not just a man or some man. That is Caesar.

14:34 We shall bear the image of the heavenly. We shall be made into the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we shall not cease to be ourselves as creatures, but we shall bear the image of the glorified Lord Jesus Christ. There will be no more contradiction of sin in our spirits. There will be no more of the influence of sin in our bodies. There will be no lack of positive conformity to the standard of righteousness in our spirits. And there will be no lack of the ability to fulfill the standard of righteousness by our bodies. Nothing less than that constitutes the essence of glorification.

15:30 Now, if that's not enough to make you shout, when I just say it, I get the goosebumps preaching. And I'm not embarrassed to say that. To think that God has marked us out and predestined us to nothing short of that. And that is the essence of climactic sanctification. The ultimate goal of conformity to Christ in the outer and the inner man will be realized in our experience.

15:58 Now, before we pass on to consider the order of this, may I pause and just ask you a simple question. Does this thought excite you? Does it fill you with holy longings? Can you hear that and say, meh, big deal? My friend, there is perhaps no surer index of where you are spiritually than your reaction to a statement such as we've made in the past few minutes concerning the essence Of climactic sanctification. Now I'm not saying. The index is to be found. In whether or not you get the goosebumps. That's a matter of your present emotional state. But whether or not. In the deepest recesses of your being. There is a response of all Lord. Can it be. That that is the thing. To which you've marked me out. Hasten the day. When I will indeed love you. With unsinning heart.

16:57 and serve you with a body that is no longer a body of humble estate with all of its limitations, but a body that surges with the life and power of the glorified Christ. What was the response of your mind and your spirit to those few minutes briefly describing the essence of climactic sanctification? If you are an earthling, whose interests and concerns and appetites and ambitions are rooted to this world. That doesn't turn you on at all. My friend, this world in the fashion thereof is passing away, and all who commit themselves to serving its passions and its lusts will perish with it. It's only those in whose hearts a longing for these realities has been born by the Spirit who will ever experience

The Order: Two Stages for Those Who Die Before the Consummation

17:54 those realities. Well then, in the second place, let us consider from the Scriptures the order of climactic sanctification. Having examined the essence of it, now the order of it. The issue involved in this part of our study is precisely how, in what sequence of redemptive activity, by what means will this perfecting of the whole man take place?

18:23 Well, the answer must fall into two basic categories. One that applies to the majority of the people of God throughout the ages of the history of redemption, and the other will apply to that generation of people who are alive at the consummation of the history of redemption. Now, that's a simple enough category, isn't it? First of all, then, the order of climactic sanctification for the majority of the people of God through the ages.

18:54 This perfecting of the outer and the inner man for them or for us, whichever is appropriate, will come in two stages. The first stage will be made up of the perfecting of the inner man at death, and secondly, the perfecting of the outward man at the coming of Christ. First of all, then, the perfecting of the inner man at death.

19:24 We've already contemplated Hebrews 12, 23, which is the clearest text in the New Testament, stating that the spirits of just men who die before the final consummation, those spirits are made perfect on the basis of the work of the Redeemer. Ye are come unto the spirits of just men made perfect. And there are two other passages which bear the weight that the people of God have placed upon them through the centuries, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and Philippians chapter 1. Notice the language of the apostle in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Having spoken in verse 16 of chapter 4 of the outward man perishing, the inward man being renewed,

20:18 The Apostle goes on in verses 17 and 18 to speak of the perspective he has which is not time bound, but is spirit and eternity bound. And right on into chapter 5, just read it as though there were no chapter division. He goes on to expand on this whole subject of the body in the present economy of things and the longing there is for the body in the future dimensions of redemptive power and activity. And in the midst of that discussion, he says, verse 6, Therefore, being always of good courage and knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. That's how we know it. This is a knowledge that comes to faith only.

21:16 The knowledge that as long as we're at home in this body, the body likened to a tent, and as long as we're pitched under this tent of the human body, this outward man that is decaying, we are away from the Lord. That is, as to His immediate presence. Home in the body, absent from the Lord. Verse 8, we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from from the body to leave this tent and to be at home with the Lord. And so the phrase that we often hear among believers, absent from the body, present with the Lord, is no pious gush. It is no ethereal notion to which weak people run in a time of crisis in the face of death. No, no.

22:12 It is the great consciousness of the people of God that in the redemption purchased by Christ, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Now that poses a problem. While in this body, the spirit is afflicted with remaining sin. This is the apostle who said, I find then a law.

22:38 that when I would do good, evil is present with me. For him as well as for us, the flesh lusted against the spirit, the spirit against the flesh, these two contrary the one to the other. How then can such a spirit, laced throughout with remaining sin and corruption,

23:00 Its mental and spiritual faculties dulled by sin we see through a glass darkly. How can such a spirit be made fit for the immediate vision of Christ? Only one way. From the moment that spirit leaves that body and consciously looks upon the face of Christ, God puts forth an almighty energy To make it a perfect spirit. And that energy is not in the experience of death, but it is the same energy that has been at work in that spirit, breaking the dominion of sin in definitive sanctification. Continually at work in that spirit in progressive sanctification, more and more conforming it to Christ by degrees.

23:57 more and more enabling it to conquer sin by degrees, God, as it were, just cranks up the intensity and shrinks the time. And in an instant, that Spirit is made perfect to be at home in the presence of Christ. This is why He can say, as He does in Philippians chapter 1, words that as we shall see particularly in our study, which will be mainly application next Lord's Day morning, God willing. On the surface of things, this seems to be a contradiction. The disembodied state is nowhere set forth as the focal point of a Christian's hope. It's the coming of the Lord that is our hope. It's the total conformity to Christ in the inner and outer man that constitutes our glorification. Yet, Paul, speaking of the disembodied state, says in Philippians chapter 1,

24:55 Verse 21, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Well, wait a minute. How can it be gain to have the integrity of humanity disrupted? The body-soul entity radically fractured so that the spirit leaves the body and the body goes into the grave and ultimately to dust.

25:23 can he say to die is gain? And he goes on to say he's hard-pressed. He's torn between two great longings. On the one hand, he wants to remain in labor for the spread of the gospel. But now, verse 23, I'm hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better. Well, what was the very much better?

25:53 Not the abnormality of the disembodied state. That's an abnormality. But the reality of having a spirit made perfect in the immediate presence of the Lord Jesus. It's an abnormality for a spirit to be disembodied and wrenched from a body. But it's a greater abnormality to have a spirit that has already experienced deliverance from the dominion of sin

26:24 that has had implanted within it longings to be perfectly holy, to have that spirit frustrated of its longings and its ambitions. And so he said, between those abnormalities, this is the one to be desired, to depart and be with Christ, which is very much better. What a wonderful thing. To think that the grace that came to us overcoming our native blindness so that we began to see ourselves as God sees us, wretched, undone, guilty, hell-deserving sinners, the same power that operated upon us not with a physical energy, but with an energy that nonetheless is considered the very dunamis of God,

27:16 It took a rebel will that was set in a course of self-pleasing rebellion against God and subdued that will. The same power that took away the blindness, liberated the will, brought us to embrace a Savior whom we once considered unworthy of any consideration. He showed us the beauty of Jesus. And in union with Christ enabled us to die to sin's dominion.

27:45 and in the power of the indwelling Spirit to know many conquests along the way amidst our defeats and failures. What a wonderful thing as a Christian to have an intelligent, well-grounded understanding that that same power which operated in my definitive sanctification, which is operating in my progressive sanctification, will burst upon my Spirit with irresistible energy

28:14 The moment I die and when it's done with me, every last vestige of sin will be removed from the Spirit. No wonder, Paul says, I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is very much better. Though he says in 2 Corinthians 5, there's something in me that has an aversion to the disembodied state. My longing is not to be unclothed, but to be clothed upon with life.

28:44 Yet he says here in Philippians, I desire to depart and to be with Christ. The perfection of the inner man will come at death. This is what has happened to most of the people of God through the ages. If the Lord does not return in our generation, it will happen to us. Christian, don't have vague notions about what will happen when you breathe your last. Face death with a well-grounded biblical confidence.

29:13 of what God in almighty, sovereign grace will do to that spirit that must leave the body at his core. And then there will be the perfecting of the outward man at the coming of Christ and the resurrection from the dead, Philippians 3, 20 and 21. Notice the emphasis here. Our citizenship is in heaven from whence we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

29:41 Who will transform the body?

30:11 will be put forth at the return of Christ to operate upon our dissolved bodies. And what will come forth? A body that is fashioned to the body of His glory. And that's the order of climactic sanctification for the majority of God's people throughout the ages. And since this may well be the portion of most, if not all, of us, I say again, we ought to be well instructed

The Order: One Stage for Those Alive at Christ's Return

30:41 in these things. Well then, the second category, that generation of people alive at the consummation, what will happen with them? Well, this great goal will be realized in one stage. What others get in two stages, they will get in one. The simultaneous glorification of the outward and of the inward man, 1 Corinthians 15, 51-53, which is speaking primarily

31:09 of the change in the body, and yet in those words, we shall be changed. In the light of the analogy of Scripture involves not only the body, but those saints at the moment of the Lord's coming. How will they be found? Some of them will be found on their knees, confessing the sins of the previous days.

31:32 confessing the sins of that day. Some will be on their knees crying out, Lord, I want to love you more. I want to serve you more. Why do I stumble and fall and grieve you when you've been so gracious to me? Think of it. When the Lord comes, some of His saints will be on their knees mourning the reality of indwelling sin. Some will be in the office, their minds totally taken up with their jobs as they ought to be. Whatever thy hand finds to do, do with all thy might.

32:01 who in the midst of their work are conscious that in seeking to do their work with all their might, their hearts are so prone to idolatry and often at the end of the day they have to pray, Lord, thank you for the grace to do my work with all my might, but cleanse me from the idolatry of letting my work capture my heart. Some of the saints will be busy at their work. Some will be busy changing the diapers of their little ones, washing their clothes. But this they have is a common denominator, all of them are conscious that there is not only corruption yet in the body. They feel it in their aches and their pains and in the creaks and in the groans and in the balding heads and other manifestations of the seeds of death. Well, when the Lord comes, that climactic sanctification and all the power of the redemption that is in Christ,

32:55 will operate simultaneously upon the inner and the outer man, and in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the spirit will be perfected, the body will be glorified, and then those of us who've come through two stages will be given preferential treatment. 1 Corinthians 1 Thessalonians 4 says, The dead in Christ shall rise first.

33:23 Then we which are alive and remain into the coming of the Lord shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we, those who got it in two stages, those who got it in one, so shall we ever be with the Lord. Now that's the biblical teaching concerning the order of climactic sanctification. Now we come to what to me is the most glorious part of our study this morning.

The Certainty: Commitment of the Father — Purpose and Execution Begun

33:52 the certainty of climactic sanctification. Now here's the issue. Upon what foundation does our hope for this great and climactic blessing rest? Now that's not an academic question. At least it's not for me. Amidst all the struggles of progressive sanctification, is there any end in sight? Is there a time coming when I will no longer have to mourn over my fickle heart, when I will no longer have to confess the sins of dullness and waywardness and pride and lust and envy, is there a time coming when this spirit, this mind and soul, the inner man, will know for one hour unfettered joy in the fellowship and service of Christ

34:54 Any true Christian here this morning would give his last shirt to have one hour of that in this life. One hour when he could, in the presence of God, say, My conscience bears witness in the Holy Ghost that I have given to Christ the measure of love and devotion and honor of which He is worthy and which His holy law demands. But we do not and we cannot in this state Why then bother? Is there any end in sight? Will it always be this way? Well, that's the question. Is there any certainty of the perfection of the Spirit? And what about this body? This body that is to be a living sacrifice, we heard this morning. It is to be given up to the service of Almighty God. I can only pray in this body. I can only preach in this body. I can only sing the praises of God in this body.

35:50 So whatever service I render has got to be by and with this body, but this body has the seeds of death in it. This particular one feels it daily when the first conscious thought each morning is the pain in the lower back. And the reminder is there. The seeds of death are in that body, but it's that body that must go to the study and pray.

36:18 body that must labor in the Word and in doctrine, that body that must preach. And so there are many of you sitting here this morning whose service to God in the body is a laborious thing because of bodily infirmities. And you say, oh, if I could only have a body that serves with unfettered life and to serve my Lord Jesus Christ. Will I ever have such a body? Hallelujah. I'm going to have such a body. Now you say, are you so certain? Well, that's our question. That's what we want to resolve. What is the basis for the certainty of the perfection of the Spirit and of the body? Well, let me lay before you what I understand to be that certainty or the basis of it. It is nothing less

37:13 than the commitment of the entire triune Godhead to act in grace and power to bring it to pass. The whole of the triune Godhead is committed to act in grace and in power to bring it to pass. Very briefly notice what the scripture tells us.

37:35 What is the Father's particular commitment? Not that there is any contradiction of will, but in the outworking of redemption. As you've often been told in this place, peculiar emphasis is placed upon certain things which the Father does and certain things which the Son does. The Father does not die, He sends the Son. The Son does not send Himself, He is sent of the Father. The Spirit does not come of Himself, but is sent by the Father through the Son, or by the Father and the Son.

38:05 Well, what is the Father's peculiar commitment to this climactic salvation? Well, it's the commitment of purpose and of execution. It's the commitment of purpose. We've already studied the passage in Romans 8. It is the Father who has predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son.

38:25 And therefore Paul can say, Whom the Father predestined he called, whom he called he justified. And it's so certain because it comes within the orbit of divine purpose, whom he justified. He puts it in the past tense, what we would call the past tense. He's already glorified them. Well, I ain't glorified. You're not glorified. God says it's as good as done. Once something comes within the immutable purpose of the Almighty, it is as good as done. Oh, Christian...

38:55 Though this anticipates much of next week, I can't hold back on some of the application. Christian, as you sit there this morning, do you have the joyous confidence seeking to worship God in a body that feels the oppressiveness of the humidity, seeking to worship with a spirit that is battered and scarred from the lost battles of the past week? Do you have the confidence

39:19 But it's not always going to be that way because the Father purposed to make you into the image of His Son. And His purpose is immeasurable. It cannot change and nothing can thwart it. But not only the Father's purpose.

39:34 But the Father's execution of that purpose begun. Philippians 1.6 referring primarily to the Father being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ. The Father is committed. Well, what about the Son's commitment? Well, it's the commitment of an efficacious sacrifice. The commitment of a prevailing intercession.

The Certainty: Commitment of the Son — Sacrifice, Intercession, Mediatorial Reign

40:02 It's the commitment of a triumphant mediatorial reign. Why did Christ die? He didn't die to have just the miserable lot he's got here this morning. If this is all he died to have, that would be a miserable reward for his sufferings, because we're a miserable lot. I won't do a poll, because I already know what it would be, if you're honest. I could ask this morning, how many Christians...

40:29 Are conscious that you did not love Christ with all your heart this past week? Every one of you would raise your hand. How many of you are conscious that you willfully, knowingly transgressed the law of God? That law coming to you stained in the blood of His own dear Son. And you'd hang your head while you raised your hand and say, It is I. Did Christ die just to have this kind of a miserable lot? My Bible says in Ephesians 5, Turn to it please.

41:00 He died to have something much better than that. He died according to this passage. Verse 25, Husbands, love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her in order that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church and in all her divided loyalty, with all of the stain of her remaining corruption and indwelling sin, no, in order that he might present to himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and blameless.

41:59 Christ died with this specific intention of so bringing to bear upon those for whom He died, His church, the powers of redemptive privilege, that when He's done with them, they will be utterly spotless and wrinkless in His presence. That's the commitment of the Son, His efficacious sacrifice. His prevailing intercession, Hebrews 7.25, Wherefore He is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth, to make intercession for them. What's He praying? Well, we read John 17, and we get at least a hint of His present intersensory life. He's praying that we shall behold His glory. He is praying for the perfection of His own work in us. And then, particularly with reference to the outer man,

42:55 Christ is committed in His triumphant mediatorial reign. 1 Corinthians 15, 25 He must reign till He has put all enemies beneath His feet. And in the context, the enemy is death that still works in the bodies of believers. And He says Christ must reign as a successful mediatorial King until death is not under His foot in principle as it is now, but in terms of your body and mind.

43:23 Until we have glorified bodies, death in that sense still reigns by the permission of God, not by the judicial infliction of God as we'll see next week, but by the permission of God. Death still reigns and takes its toll in the bodies of believers. And Christ on His throne says, I will sit and I will administer my reign of grace as mediator and I will not flinch in the accomplishment of my purpose until death is a

43:53 Bollast and destroyed on behalf of all my people. He must reign till this body no longer feels an aching pain in the lower back every morning. When there are no creaks and groans after the Sunday school picnic. And when there is no dullness in a worship service for lack of sleep. He must reign until this body can serve him with a service that he demands and of which he is worthy.

The Certainty: Commitment of the Spirit — Irreversible Pledge

44:24 Well, my dear friends, the Father's commitment is one of purpose and execution begun. The Son is a commitment of sacrifice, intercession, mediatorial reign. But what about the Spirit? Well, His is the commitment of irreversible pledge or down payment. Ephesians 4.30, Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby we are sealed unto the day of redemption.

44:51 The Holy Spirit has come as the stamp of divine ownership. And that ownership stretches from the moment we are brought into the kingdom on to the day of redemption. And in the language of 2 Corinthians 5, Paul, speaking there of this matter of the body and the burdens that come from the present state, speaks of the Holy Spirit as down payment. Verse 5 of 2 Corinthians 5,

45:20 He who prepared us for this very purpose, that is, that mortality might be swallowed up of life, is God who gave us the Spirit as a down payment. Now you see, God never commits Himself to a purchase and backs out of the contract. And the fact that I have the Holy Spirit dwelling in me is God's down payment, that in that very body, which is now His temple, the power of God will operate to do what? To grant me a perfected spirit and body in this climactic dimension of sanctification. But he is not only committed as the irreversible pledge, but his commitment is one of irresistible power. Romans 8, 11. Look at the language. If the spirit of him that raised up Christ from the dead dwelled, raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you,

46:18 He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you. Oh, I wish we had the time to open up the text in some detail. But notice what stands on the surface. It is the Spirit of the One who raised Christ from the dead who dwells in us. And as surely as Christ was raised, the text says...

46:48 We shall be raised. The Spirit does not dwell in me simply to give me longings for what I will be able to do, what I could do if I were glorified. He dwells in me to make sure that one day I shall be able to do all that I long to do and cannot do because I have this body of humiliation. Now in a very real sense, this commitment of the triune God

47:18 The commitment of the Father, Son, and Spirit all meets in the great biblical doctrine of union with Christ. And it is because we are in Christ that we are included in the purpose of God, for He chose a people in Christ. He predestined them in Christ unto sonship. It is because we were in Christ when as our great head and representative He died. And He died to perfect us that we must be perfected. It's because we were in Christ when he was buried and rose again that we have shared even now in the spiritual dynamism of that death and resurrection, but we shall one day share in the literal physical dynamism of that resurrection. The great teaching of Romans 6, Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 15 all finds as its watershed the doctrine of union with Christ.

48:14 So that when we turn to 1 Thessalonians 4 and read, Those who sleep in Jesus. Don't pass over that lightly. My union with Christ will not be dissolved in death. But it will be manifested in the resurrection. Think of it. They sleep in Christ. The dead in Christ. Well, that's not their spirits. Their spirits are not dead. So when he says the dead in Christ.

48:43 He's speaking of that body that goes into the grave in a way I cannot explain. He's still united to Christ. And that's the glory of the Christian's experience now. This body that feels the power of death. And every creak and groan and ache and pain and abnormality is a seed of death. It's an arrow pointing to the grave. But thank God in the midst of it we can say...

49:11 This body that is marked for the grave, if it is my lot to join the great host of God's people through the ages, is a body that is in union with Christ, and it can no more remain in the grave than Christ could remain in the grave. Well, then you can face surgery. Crow's feet, lines under the eyes, creaks and groans, and

49:39 And even the grave itself. And say with the apostle. We wait for a savior. Who shall fashion the body of this humiliation. Like unto his own glorious body. Why? Because you've got some vague ethereal notion. That well Jesus did something somehow or other. That some way in some degree has something to do with helping the other. No, no my friend.

Application and Pastoral Plea

50:10 Have an intelligent grasp upon the commitment of the Father in His purpose and in the execution of that purpose begun. Have an intelligent believing grasp upon Christ's commitment in His sacrifice, His intercession, His triumphant mediatorial reign. Have an understanding of the Spirit's commitment as the irreversible pledge or down payment of a complete redemption. Have confidence in His irreversible power, and then as a Christian, in the midst of all of the realities of progressive sanctification, with its downs and ups, with its disappointments, with its defeats, with its holy frustrations, you will never be crippled as the pattern of your life. You will be able to say with the Apostle, we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.

51:06 That's why a perpetually discouraged Christian is a contradiction. All right, you blew it. You sinned and you've grieved and you've mourned. But in the language of the psalmist, why go you a morning all the day long? It isn't always going to be that way. And it is this great reality that must nerve the child of God himself.

51:30 And God willing, next week that will be my purpose, to open up the practical implications of this great truth of climactic sanctification. Suffice it to ask this morning, as you sit here, Christian, do you have anything of this confidence? You who are not in Christ, do you see the wretchedness of being out of Him? This great blessing is not ours because of anything in us.

51:57 Not because we fixed ourselves up until we tipped the scales and God says, well, they've been good boys and girls, now I'll give them a lollipop. Give them some confidence as they face death. No, no. We stand in your presence and say, by nature, by practice, in terms of all that we are and we've done, we deserve nothing but to have our spirits wrenched from our bodies and Go to the abode of the wicked dead and await the day of judgment until that spirit with a resurrected body will stand before God and be sentenced to hell. That's what we deserve. You say, where in the world do you get this confidence then? We get it one place in our blessed Redeemer. We get it in Christ because it is in Christ that this blessing of sanctification is found.

52:49 Every dimension of it, every mountain peak of it, it is in Him and flows out of the grace that is in Him. Ah, but you say, how in the world can that be mine? If you'll have Him, you may have all the blessings that are in Him. And that's why in the Gospel, God offers His Son. Not a little formula, so you do something. People often are troubled with this. I don't know if I've done it the right way. I don't know if I...

53:16 Said the right words. It's not doing something the right way. Saying the right words. It's coming to Him. Believing on Him. Throwing yourself upon Him. Oh, my friend, out of Christ. Hastening to your grave. What a tragic thing to die out of Christ. Dear child of God.

53:43 also hastening to the grave or to that glorious moment in history when Christ will come, do you have a well-grounded, intelligent, believing grasp upon this third mountain peak of redemptive privilege, climactic sanctification? Oh, if we do, then we too will say with Paul, I'm torn. I want to go. That's far better. I want to stay. I've still got a job to do.

54:12 Are you torn this morning? I'm amazed how many Christians, say amazed how many, I'm shocked at times to see the number of Christians who have such fuzzy notions about these matters. They just know somewhere, somehow, Christ will make everything turn out all right. You get a little further down the Rhine, particularly most of you are young, and death becomes a little more of a reality to you, and you want something more than a few fuzzy notions.

54:38 Well, you've got to buy your own burial plot and know that someday I'm going to be there six feet under. And you look at it and say somebody's going to come by on Memorial Day and put some flowers on what remains of me. The reality of it begins to bear down upon you. And you say, do I have any confidence? And you go to your Bible and say, blessed be God, I have enough confidence to face death and the grave in the certain hope of being

Closing Prayer

55:09 Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father, we find that words are inadequate to express the gratitude which we as your people feel in our hearts.

55:35 that so great a salvation has been provided and conferred upon us in Christ. O God, for those who have no such confidence, but who yet fear death and the grave, may your word this day be the means by which you draw them to your sons.

55:58 that in Christ they may know the forgiveness of sins and confidence in the face of death and of the grave. We pray that your Holy Spirit will seal the word in order to draw from our hearts acceptable praise and in order to bring to us the comfort which we so desperately need. Seal then that word by the power of your Spirit. May the blessing of your grace continue with us through this day

56:28 We plead through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.