By Steven J. Hogan
~ A Saturday Morning Post #67 ~
It’s so easy to get bogged down in the details of life. There are places to go and people to see. There are things, both big and small, and important too, that demand your attention, that you need to tend to. There are issues relating to jobs, children, parents, houses, yards, finances, health, church, etc. And yes, you need to be faithful in all these things, for this is what God instructs you to do. But God also wants you to keep in mind the big picture, to have perspective, to see the end from the beginning, to know where you are and where you are going. In the past two posts, we have looked at God’s overall plan for this age, the next age and the age after that. Today, I want to look at some verses that give you an overview of God’s plan for your life.
Psalm 23:6 – “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Your life is made up of two main parts. There’s your time on earth, when you’re walking with the Lord, and are personally experiencing His amazing goodness and love. After this life, you will live forever with the Lord, experiencing much, much more of His goodness and love, and His incredible glory.
Romans 8:30 – “And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.” Four words summarize your salvation. First, we go back to eternity past and see that God predestined you to be saved. Second, there’s the time when you were called, when God worked in your heart, leading up to your salvation. Third, you were justified, you were born again and saved, becoming a child of God. Fourth and finally, you will be glorified, perfected in every way, referring to that time in the future when your salvation will be fully completed.
1 Corinthians 1:30 – “By His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, sanctification and redemption.” With three important words, this one verse describes your Christian life. Righteousness refers to when you were born again and made righteous in God’s eyes. Sanctification describes your present life on earth, as you grow in holiness and live for the Lord. Redemption speaks of the future, that time when Christ returns, and those living on earth will be redeemed, delivered from their old body and glorified, and taken up to be with the Lord Jesus.
Philippians 1:6 – “I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” God gives two key words describing your salvation, “began” and “perfect”. God “began” a good work in you, meaning there was a specific moment in the past when He saved you, starting His gracious and eternal work in you. In the future, on the day of Christ Jesus, at the time of the rapture, your life will be “perfect”, for your salvation will have been completed, for you will be glorified.
Colossians 3:3-4 – “You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with Him in glory.” Again, we get God’s perspective, for we see His overall plan for your life. The phrase, “you have died”, refers to being justified, for you were crucified with Christ, and saved from your old life. “Your life is hidden with Christ”, talks of your present sanctification, for it’s not about you, but about Christ living in and through you. Then “Christ… is revealed,” speaking of Christ’s return and the rapture of the church, that time when all believers will be glorified. Finally, we see that we will “be revealed with Him in glory,” meaning that we will visibly reign with Jesus Christ during His glorious millennial kingdom.
What can we conclude from these verses?
1. They focus on the big picture, the totality of your salvation, your justification, sanctification, glorification, and your reign with Jesus Christ on earth. Revelation 1:4-6
2. They don’t speak about physical death because that’s no longer a problem, for now you have life, eternal life. Regardless of what happens during your time on earth, it is guaranteed that you will be glorified and forever be with Christ in glory. Romans 8:28-30
3. A great number of believers won’t physically die before the rapture. For these people, God’s plans for their lives (justification, sanctification and glorification) are converging and coinciding with God’s plans for the end-times, the return of Christ and the rapture of the church. Revelation 6-7
4. Those who die before the rapture will go straight to heaven. But they won’t be there long, for this age is soon coming to an end, and then, with all the believers still on earth, they will be glorified. Shortly after that, the kingdom age will begin on earth. Psalm 47
5. Your salvation is an incredible and wonderful work of God. You can be most assured that God will fully finish His work in you, and that soon you will be with Jesus, glorified, in heaven, and with all the other believers. Philippians 3:20-21
6. Having this big picture perspective of your life gives you hope, encouraging you, and helping you to persevere to the end of your life, or the end of this age. “Fix your hope completely on the grace to be given to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:3-13
P.S. “Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12). As Christians, we need to live for the Lord in light of the great future our Father has given us. This article talks about our amazing and glorious future: Being in Heaven with Jesus, and the Believers, and in a New Glorified Body.