Week 41
Romans 8:29; Philippians 3:20-21 “For those whom He foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers…But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.”
It has been suggested that if a preacher preaches the truth of the gospel, the people will be prone to leave saying, “That is too good to be true!” For those who know the promise of the gospel in Christ, they may be inclined to agree.
This passage promises Christians a future state in which we will become like Jesus Christ in heart, mind, and body. This is not a quantitative description of holy transformation in the eschatos (no human will ever BE Jesus Christ in essence and capacity!), but it is certainly a qualitative description of who and what Christians will be when Jesus Christ comes back and finishes the application of redemption in our life and in our nature.
Christians rightly view ourselves with humility and gratitude to God. We exalt Jesus Christ as Lord, and we seek to magnify Him and diminish our personal significance; this is good. Thus, we read passages like this with true amazement and possible incredulity. And yet, the promise is prominently presented to us as central to our destiny and future hope as Christians. The day WILL come when God WILL finish His redeeming work in us in sanctification (See Philippians 1:6; 2:12-13) in such a fashion as to actually make us LIKE Jesus in mind, heart, and life. And, as a part of the redemption of creation (See Romans 8:19-25), our physical bodies will be remade and translated (See 1 Corinthians 15:51), resulting in our being made like the resurrected Christ. And His glory will shine in us and through us to magnify His grace and bring praise to His holy name. There is no greater human purpose than this! There is no greater divine promise to believers than this!
All Christians are emboldened and encouraged by this promise to us. Christians may be small, powerless, sick, physically deformed, marginalized, weak, and treated by the world as scum. But in Christ, we have a destiny that is more glorious than the most powerful person in the world; we belong to Christ, we are indwelt by Christ’s life, and one day our entire existence will reflect His goodness and glory.
Christian friend, draw the sweet nectar of God’s love and grace from this promise: You are Christ’s, Christ is your life, and one day you will live eternally with Christ (See John 14:3) and share His glorious existence forever in holy joy! Truly, this seems too good to be true, but IT IS TRUE BECAUSE IT IS GOD’S PROMISE TO HIS PEOPLE! Rejoice, because you are of all people in the world MOST BLESSED!
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for Your rich promises to believers in Christ. Thank You for the joy that comes from believing Your promises. Help me today to fight well against hopelessness and despair by trusting You and leaning hard on the promises You give to me in Christ. Amen!