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COMING GLORY
A. Introduction: There is no such thing as a problem free life in this sin-damaged world. The emphasis in the
Bible is on deliverance in the midst of trouble rather than deliverance out of trouble. Deliverance comes
in the form of the peace of mind, which comes from hope for the future that all will eventually be well.
1. Recently, we’ve been considering a statement that Paul the apostle made about how he dealt the many
hardships he faced. He is an example of someone who experienced deliverance in the midst of trouble.
a. Paul had an eternal perspective. He lived with the awareness that there is more to life than just this
life, and that we are only passing through this world in its present form. Paul knew that the greater
and better portion of our life is in the life to come, and that the ultimate end and reversal of life’s
hardships and troubles is in the life to come.
b. Paul wrote: II Cor 4:17-18—For our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long.
Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever. So we don’t look at the
troubles we can see right now, rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the
troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come are eternal (NLT).
1. Paul realized that everything in his life was temporary and that the joys of the life to come far
outshine the challenges of this life. Living with this perspective lightened the load of his life.
2. He also wrote—Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory (God) will give us
later (Rom 8:18, NLT). Paul knew that there is a lasting glory ahead for those who know God.
2. In the last few lessons we have been discussing what glory means. The Bible uses the word glory in
several ways. We have been focusing on the word glory as it is used in connection with God and with
the salvation that He provides through Jesus.
a. Almighty God is a glorious being who does glorious things, and He created human beings for a
position of glory. God created us to become His sons and daughters who partake of His Spirit and
life (His glory), and then reflect Him (His glory) to the world around us. Ps 8:4-5
1. All people have fallen from our created purpose (fallen from glory) through sin. Jesus came
into this world to die as a sacrifice for sin and open the way for all who believe on Him to be
restored to glory as God’s sons and daughters, through faith in Him. Rom 3:23; John 1:12-13
2. God is in us now (by His Spirit and glory) to empower us to live lives that glorify to Him. He
works in us to help us become increasingly like Jesus in our character and behavior, so that we
accurately reflect our Father (His moral attributes). Rom 8:29; II Cor 3:18; Matt 5:16; Rom 6:4
b. The word glory is also used for Heaven and the life after this life for all those who know the Lord.
In tonight’s lesson we’re going to begin to focus on this aspect of glory.
B. We aren’t going to do an in depth study of Heaven, but we need to make a few points in connection with our
study of glory. Let’s begin with one of the definitions given for the word glory in Strong’s Concordance, (a
standard reference book used in studying the Bible): Glory is the exalted state of blissful perfection which is
the portion of those who dwell with God in Heaven.
1. We need to unpack this definition. Exalted state refers to the eternal or unending state of those who are
in Heaven. Blissful has the idea of joy, great happiness, well-being, and contentment. The phrase
“which is their portion or share” means that each individual in Heaven experiences this bliss.
a. The ultimate destiny for those who know the Lord is seeing Him face to face and then living with
Him in a place where not only is there no more sorrow, pain, hardship, or death, there is continual
joy, happiness, contentment, and well-being beyond anything we’ve ever experienced.
b. There is no true, lasting satisfaction for a human being apart from a relationship with Almighty God.
We are meant for (created for) relationship with God, our Creator.
1. Solomon wrote: Eccl 3:11—He (God) has also planted eternity in men’s heart and mind [a
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divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun,
but only God, can satisfy] (Amp).
2. David wrote: Ps 16:11—You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your
presence and the pleasures of living with you forever (NLT); Ps 73:24-25—You will guide me
with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but
you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you (ESV).
2. To appreciate the glory that is coming, you must first understand that this world, and life in this world in
its present form, is not the way God created or intended it to be. All creation is infused with a curse of
corruption and death. God made no one (nothing) to die. Death is in the world because of the first
man, Adam’s sin. Gen 2:17; Gen 3:17-19; Rom 5:12-14
a. God created men and women to become His sons and daughters and He made the earth to be a home
for Himself and His family. The salvation that God provides through Jesus will ultimately undo the
damage done to God’s family and the family home.
b. You must also understand that no one ceases to exist at death. All human beings have an inward
and an outward portion to their makeup. II Cor 4:16
1. When the body dies, the inward portion and outward portion separate. Your body returns to
dust and you, minus your body, pass into another dimension that presently is not perceptible to
our physical senses. Luke 16:19-31
2. Those who leave this earth in right relationship with God through Jesus go to a place called
Heaven, and those who chose independence from God through sin go to a place called Hell.
c. Heaven is God’s home. The Bible refers to both God the Father and God the Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, as being in Heaven. Matt 6:9; Matt 12:50; Acts 1:11; Acts 3:21; Phil 3:20; Heb 8:1; etc.
1. Almighty God is Omnipresent or present everywhere at once. But He localizes His presence
in Heaven. (Remember, words fall short when we talk about how God, who is Transcendent,
Infinite, and completely Other than us, has chosen to interact with created, fallen, finite beings.)
2. The night before Jesus was crucified He told His apostles: John 14:1-3—Do not be worried or
upset…Believe in God, and believe also in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house,
and I am going to prepare a place for you…And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am (Good News Bible).
d. Heaven as it presently is, is temporary. In connection with Jesus’ second coming, all who are in
Heaven will be reunited with their bodies raised from the grave (made incorruptible and immortal),
so that they can live on earth again, in what the Bible calls the new heavens and new earth—this
earth renewed and restored, cleansed of all sin, corruption and death. I Cor 15:51-54; Rev 21; 22
3. At that time Heaven and earth will come together. God’s intention has always been to live with His
family in the world He made for us. The Bible begins and ends with God on earth with His family.
Gen 2-3; Rev 21:2-3
a. Jesus was born into 1st century Israel to a people group familiar with the Old Testament prophets.
The prophet Isaiah wrote about the new earth seven hundred years before Jesus came to this world.
Isa 65:17—For behold I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be
remembered or come to mind (Amp).
1. John the apostle saw the new earth in a vision: Rev 21:1-4—Then I saw a new heaven and a
new earth…I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven…I
heard a loud shout from the throne saying, “Look, the home of God is now among his people!
He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.
For the old world and all its evils are gone forever (NLT).
2. Rev 1:5—And the one who was sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making all things new!”
And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I am telling you is trustworthy and true”
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(NLT). The Greek word that is translated new in these verses (kainos) means new in quality
and superior in character as opposed to new in time.
b. The Old Testament prophets wrote that a time is coming when God’s glory (His splendor, His
beauty, His magnificence) will fill the earth.
1. Ps 72:18-19—Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.
Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory (KJV).
2. Num 14:21—As truly as I live (says the Lord)…the earth shall be filled with the glory of the
Lord (ESV).
c. Paul, as a 1st century Jew, knew before he ever met Jesus that God’s kingdom and glory will one day
fill the earth: The prophet Daniel wrote: The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never
be destroyed…and it shall stand forever (Dan 2:44, ESV); And the Lord will be king over all the
earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name alone will be worshipped (NLT).
1. Jesus gave Paul more details about the future, and part of Paul’s message to Christians became:
(Jesus) is the one who chose you to share in his own kingdom and glory (I Thess 2:12. CEV).
2. Paul wrote: Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege
where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory
(Rom 5:1-2, NLT).
C. Paul was able to call his many troubles momentary and light because he kept his attention on things he
couldn’t see: Things that are seen don’t last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. That’s why we
keep our minds on things that cannot be seen (II Cor 4:18, CEV).
1. There are two kinds of unseen things—things you can’t see because they are imperceptible to our senses
(invisible) and things you can’t see because they are in the future, in the life after this life. Paul kept his
focus on both of these unseen realities.
a. These unseen realities shaped Paul’s perspective, lightened his load, and brought him real help in
this life and hope for the future which lightened the load of life.
b. Paul knew God was with him, for him, and in him by His Spirit (present glory), and he experienced
these present tense realities, this present glory, in his life. He also had the hope of coming glory.
2. In AD 60-63 Paul was imprisoned in Rome and facing possible execution for his faith in Jesus. During
that period he wrote a letter to Christians living in the Greek city of Philippi that gives us insight into his
perspective. Paul established this group of believers and had a close, ongoing relationship with them.
a. When Paul initially preached the gospel in Philippi, he was arrested and put in jail after being falsely
accused of urging people to go against Roman culture. But God dramatically delivered Paul from
prison in a powerful demonstration of His glory.
b. An earthquake occurred, the prison doors flew open, and the chains fell off all the prisoners (glory
demonstrated). The Roman jailer was so affected by what he saw that he and his whole family
acknowledged Jesus as Savior and Lord. Acts 16:16-24
3. Paul was imprisoned in Rome for two years before he was released, but when he wrote his epistle to the
Philippians he didn’t yet know what his fate would be. Paul’s letter gives us insight into his perspective,
a perspective that gave him peace in the present and hope for future glory no matter what happened.
a. In prison Paul was able to say: Phil 4:13—I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers
me, who infuses inner strength into me (Amp); I am ready for anything through the strength of the
One who lives within me (J. B. Phillips).
b. He was also able to say: Phil 1:20-24—Whether I live or die, I always want to be as brave as I am
now and bring honor to Christ (CEV). For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain (NKJV). I’m
torn between two desires: Sometimes I want to live, and sometimes I long to go and be with Christ.
That would be far better for me, but it is better for you that I live (NLT).
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c. In the letter Paul also wrote: Phil 3:21—(Jesus) will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and
change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that he will use to
conquer everything, everywhere (NLT),
4. Paul was released from this prison stay in Rome, but rearrested several years later and executed. At
that time, he appeared before government officials at least twice before his death. Note what Paul wrote
in his last letter, written to Timothy, his son in the faith, when he knew he was soon going to die.
a. II I Tim 4:16-17—The first time I was brought before a judge, no one was with me. Everyone had
abandoned me. I hope it will not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and gave
me strength that I might preach the Good News in all its fullness for all the Gentiles to hear. And he
saved me from certain death (present glory) (NLT).
b. II Tim 4:18—Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and bring me safely to his
heavenly kingdom (future glory) (NLT).
5. Jesus’ first followers understood that this life, as it is, is temporary and that the loss and hardships of this
life will be reversed—some of it in this life, all of it in the life to come.
a. Note what Peter the apostle said in one of his first public sermons after Jesus returned to Heaven
following His crucifixion and resurrection: Acts 3:21—(Jesus) must remain in heaven until the
time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his prophets (NLT).
b. Salvation is the restoration of all that has been damaged by sin—restoration of the family (all who
put faith in Jesus) and restoration of the family home (the earth)—God and man together.
1. Peter was eventually martyred, executed for his faith in Jesus. In his last letter (epistle) written
when he knew he was soon going to die, we see his perspective on this life.
2. Peter faced execution looking forward to the new earth. II Pet 3:13—Nevertheless we,
according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells
(NKJV). God has promised us a new heaven and a new earth, where justice will rule. We are
really looking forward to that (CEV).
c. Many years earlier, during Jesus’ three year earth ministry, Peter had asked Jesus a question:
We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get out of it (Matt 19:27, NLT)?
1. Jesus didn’t rebuke Peter for the question, Jesus answered him. Jesus told His apostles that
they will be rewarded over and above what they gave up—some in this life and some in the life
to come. Matt 19:27-29; Mark 10:28-30; Luke 18:28-30
2. Mark 10:29-30—And Jesus replied, I assure you that everyone who has given up houses or
brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property for my sake and the (gospel), will
receive now in return, a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and
property—with persecutions. And in the world to come they will have eternal life (NLT)
A. Jesus’ answer deserves several lessons. But briefly, Jesus assured them: You will have
relationships to replace what you’ve lost through a new community of people, and you will
have provision for this life (food, clothing, and shelter).
B. There will still be trouble, because that’s the nature of life in a fallen world. But in the life
to come there will be restoration of all that is lost. And this time you will keep it forever.
D. Conclusion: We have more to say about this in the next lesson, but consider these thoughts as we close.
1. Jesus didn’t die to give us a wonderful life in this life. Even if you have a wonderful life, and all your
hopes and dreams come true, death takes it away.
2. Paul’s perspective was shaped by the fact that he knew that present hardship and suffering will end in
glory—first in Heaven and then on the new earth, living with the Lord in a perfect world.
3. In the life to come there will be restoration, recompense, and reunion, and that hope gave Paul peace of
mind. He knew everything he faced was temporary and that the coming glory will far outshine all of it.
