GOD’S ULTIMATE PURPOSE: HIS GLORY

PART THREE

GOD’S PURPOSE FOR THE CHURCH

A Paper Presented To The Theological Forum

At

Valley Baptist Church

Cherry Grove, OR

April 24, 2009

By

Professor Dale R. Spurbeck Professor of Greek and Bible Analysis Dispensational Theological Seminary

INTRODUCTION:

God’s glory was manifested in the Old Testament in a visual way where He revealed a bit of His glory to His people. It was usually seen in brightness and splendor and sometimes in a cloud or accompanied by a cloud. The glory of God settled down in the midst of Israel, first in the Tabernacle and then in the Temple. The glory was spectacular to the Israelites when it first appeared to them but then it apparently became more common place to them. The glory eventually departed from Israel because of the sins of the people, but it will return when the King comes in glory to establish His kingdom here on earth. However, the glory did return when the Eternal Word came to be flesh and tented among men. He manifested His glory, the glory of God, by the miracles He performed and the things He said. This was a different manifestation of the glory of God than that in the Old Testament. He came unto His own things and His own people rejected Him, Jn. 1:11. They crucified Him and He, once again, departed to heaven, but He will come again a second time to earth in glory. But before His return to earth, He will come back in the atmospheric heaven to catch His Church away to be with Himself. But for the time being the glory of God is being manifested in a different way. We will consider this as we look at God’s purpose for the Church.

What is God’s purpose for the Church? We will see that it is that the Church should glorify Him. But how is the Church to glorify God? The Church is made up of individuals who are members of the Body of Christ. The members of the Body of Christ can glorify God as individuals and will glorify God together as a singular body. To glorify God we must be like Him. To be like Him, we must be like His Son. God’s purpose for the believer is summarized in these words. ”But we all, on our part, having a quality of unveiled face, while ourselves reflecting as a mirror the glory of (the) Lord, are being transformed into the same image from (a quality of) glory unto (a quality of glory) even as from (the) Spirit from (the) Lord,” II Cor. 3:18. Notice the three statements of the verse- 1. reflecting as a mirror the Lord’s glory, 2. transformed into the same image
from glory unto glory, 3. even as from (the) Spirit from (the) Lord. In this segment of our study on God’s purpose concerning His glory we will be pursuing these thoughts and their application to the individual believer.

To be like Christ has been the desire of believers over the years. Many have sung these words:

”Oh? to be like thee! blessed Redeemer, This is my constant longing and prayer. Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures, Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear. Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art! Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness; Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.”1

—Written by Thomas O. Chisholm, born 1866.

Another song writer wrote

”Earthly pleasures vainly call me, I would be like Jesus; Nothing worldly shall enthrall me, I would be like Jesus. Be like Jesus, this my song, In the home and in the throng; Be like Jesus, all day long! I would be like Jesus.”2 -- Written by James Rowe, 1865-1933.

Yet another hymn goes

”Once far from God and dead in sin, No light my heart could see, But in God’s Word the light I found—Now Christ liveth in me... With longing all my heart is filled That like Him I may be, As on the wondrous thought I dwell, That Christ liveth in me. Christ liveth in me— Christ liveth in me;— O what a salvation this— That Christ liveth in me.”3

- Written by Daniel W. Whittle, 1840-1901.

That the believer can be like Christ and that Christ is in the believer are subjects that have been sung about for many years. The words may not be all totally accurate but we see the desire to be like the Lord, Jesus Christ. What does it mean to be like Christ? Believers can reflect the glory of God the Son as they are transformed into His image and this is when His life, eternal life, is manifested. The result of this transformation is advancing glory accomplished from the Holy Spirit. We will break the paper into seven sections: 1. The transformation of the New Testament grace believer into the image of the Lord. 2. The potential for the grace believer to be transformed into the image of Christ.
3. The salvation of the grace believer and the glory of God. 4. The grace believer’s fulfillment of God’s ultimate purpose for the Church: His glory. 5. The glorification of God by believers for what He has done. 6. The call for grace believers to glorify God.

1 Cf. Great Hymns of the Faith, # 316.

2 Cf. Worship and Service Hymnal # 358.

3 Cf. Great Hymns of the Faith, # 466.
7. The glory ascribed to God by believers. We begin with the transformation of the grace believer into the image of the Lord.

I. THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT GRACE BELIEVER INTO THE IMAGE OF THE LORD, II Cor. 3:18.

A. The Context Of The Transformation Into The Same Image From Glory Unto Glory, II Cor. 3:1-16.

1. The writing of Christ in the heart of the believer by the Holy Spirit, II Cor.

3:1-3.

The word epistle occurs in each of the first three verses of this chapter. Paul asks the question about whether he needs a letter of recommendation for the Corinthians or a letter out from them, (verse 1). He uses the negative particle |ir| (may) which demands a negative answer. He doesn’t need a letter of recommendation. The Corinthians are his letter, having been written, with the abiding result that it stands written, in his heart, being experientially known and read by all men, (verse 2). Paul carries this letter in his heart. ”It is being manifest that you are a quality of an epistle of a quality of Christ (genitive of quality) having been served directly by us, having been written, with the abiding result that it stands written, not with ink but by means of (the) Spirit from (the) living God, not on tables consisting of stone, but in tables consisting of fleshy hearts,” (verse 3).

The basis for being transformed into the image of Christ is that Christ is in the believer as a result of being written in the believer’s heart, i.e. his inner man, by the Holy Spirit. Christ introduced the fact that He would indwell believers in His discourse in the upper room. He said that the eleven disciples, Judas having departed, would know by experience, in the day that the Holy Spirit would come, that He is in the Father, they are in Him and He is in them, Jn. 14:16, 17, 20. You in me and I in you were totally new relationships never experienced by man before. The Lord Jesus had to complete His cross work, ascend to the right hand of the Father and then send the Holy Spirit before these relationships could begin. As we have seen in Second Corinthians three Christ is in the believer as a result of the Holy Spirit’s writing Him there in tables consisting of fleshy hearts, i.e. within a human nature. The heart, i.e. the inner man, is where body, soul and spirit come together within man. It is the ego (from the Greek word 4yco- ego), i.e. the ”I.” Christ is written in the human spirit, the realm in which we are presently saved, cf. Jn. 3:6.

Christ in His divine nature, as God the Son, indwells believers in their human spirit. By His indwelling He imparts life, the animating principle, to the believer. This life is His life, eternal life. It is a God quality of life. With God this life is without beginning or ending. It is His life that He imparts to believers and is the believer’s present possession. The Apostle John wrote at the end of the first century, ”And this is the record, that God gave (at the moment of past tense salvation) eternal life to us, and this (previously mentioned) life is in His Son. The one having the Son has the (previously mentioned)
life; the one not having the Son does not have the (previously mentioned) life. These things I wrote to you, for the purpose that you might know intuitively that you have (a quality) of life eternal/’ I Jn. 5:11-13. Physical life is the result of physical birth. Eternal life is also the result of birth, the new birth. It is the result of regeneration by the Holy Spirit. The Lord told Nicodemus that to enter into the Kingdom of God, the sphere of salvation, one must be born from above (for us ”born again”), Jn. 3:3. This birth is accomplished by the Holy Spirit. Jesus told Nicodemus, ”Except someone was born out from water even the Spirit, he shall not be able to enter into the Kingdom of God,” Jn.
3:5. The application of this birth to the individual is the result of faith. This faith is a gift from God, cf. Eph. 2:8, 9. It is the one believing who should not perish but have eternal life, Jn. 3:15, 16, 36. The content believed is the Gospel (good news) concerning Christ, how that He died for our sins, was buried and rose again, I Cor. 15:1-4. This takes place, as stated above, in the realm of the human spirit. Jesus continued His statement to Nicodemus, ”That thing which has been and is born out from the flesh (human nature) as to source is flesh (human nature), and that thing which has been born and is born out from the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) as to source is spirit (the human spirit- rational part of man),” Jn. 3:6. Past tense salvation has been accomplished in the realm of the human spirit by the regeneration from the Holy Spirit, cf. Tit. 3:5. It is by regeneration that the Holy Spirit writes Christ in the believer’s heart and God the Son indwelling the believer imparts His divine quality of life to the one believing. To have the Son is to have life, i.e. eternal life. Eternal life is the present possession of every grace believer. Having the Son within is the basis for the capability to reflect the glory of Christ as in a mirror while being transformed into the same image. Christ indwells believers in the realm of His divine nature. Believers are in Christ in the realm of His resurrected and glorified human nature. You in me and I in you are of the greatest importance to the believer. The application to the life of the individual believer is accomplished by the Holy Spirit from one degree of glory unto another degree of glory. The mirroring of Christ is the living out of eternal life. The believer lives out the life of the Son of God, the life of deity. God the Son has this life in Himself, Jn. 1:4. The manifestation of this life brings glory to God the Father as we manifest His opinion of us, not only in Christ, but because He is in us and imparts His life to us.

Just what is the glory of the Lord and the image of the Lord and eternal life? How is this life manifested by the believer? How is the Lord’s glory manifested? How is the believer transformed into the same image? How does this transformation progress from one degree of glory unto another degree of glory? This brings us to the next verses in the context.

2. The believer’s sufficiency from the Holy Spirit as a sufficient servant of a new quality of covenant, II Cor. 3:4-6.

a. The contrast between the letter of the law and the life given by the Holy Spirit, II Cor. 3:4.

As we move on in the context, we come to a contrast between the letter of the law and the life given by the Spirit. Paul continues by describing our confidence, ”But we have
such confidence as this face to face with God through the previously mentioned Christ,” (verse 4). The confidence Paul refers to is that Christ is written in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Oh, what a blessed thought that Christ is in us. We are not dependent upon ourselves and whatever we can do. Whatever we can do from ourselves is worthless before God. Whatever matters in the Christian life is what we are able to do out from God.

b. The believer’s sufficiency, II Cor. 3:5.

Paul continues, ”Not that we are sufficient from ourselves to reckon anything as out from ourselves (as to source), but rather our sufficiency is out from God as to source,” (verse 5). We are not enough in ourselves to do anything to please God. Paul, with all of his human capabilities, realized that he couldn’t count anything he was accomplishing in his life as coming out from his own self-sufficiency. His sufficiency or capability to do anything was out from God. It was all about what God did through Paul. God was the ultimate source of all that Paul was able to do. He was reflecting the Lord’s glory as in a mirror. Now, every believer has eternal life. Every believer is indwelt by the Godhead. Every believer is able to reflect the glory of the Lord. Every believer can be transformed into the image of Christ. Every believer has the potential to be transformed into the image of the Lord, from glory to glory and this from the Spirit. It is not out from us but out from Him.

c. The life by the Spirit, II Cor. 3:6.

Christ in us is what the New Covenant with the Church is all about. Christ in us and the New Covenant are brought together in the following verse. The antecedent to ”who,” is God, ”who also caused us to be sufficient servants of a new quality of covenant (for us, the Church), not servants of a quality of a letter (the law written on tablets of stone) but rather from the Spirit (the Holy Spirit); for the (previously mentioned) letter4 (the law) kills, but the previously mentioned Spirit (the Holy Spirit) makes alive,” (verse 6), A Christian who sets up standards, whether the Old Testament law or any other kind of law, is killed in his Christian life. He cannot please God. Paul had learned to live apart from the law at one time but when the commandment ”thou shalt not covet” raised its head, it killed him, he says to the Romans, Rom. 7:6-11. He had been living the Christian life having victory over the sin nature, but when the commandment came, the sin nature revived and he died, Rom. 7:9, 11. Now Paul couldn’t do the things he wanted to do and did those things that he didn’t want to do. He was living in the realm of His old nature rather than in the realm of the new, cf. Rom. 7:17-21. Thankfully, Paul found deliverance from the body of death that he was dragging around with him. It was through Jesus Christ our Lord, Rom. 7:24, 25. To live under law is to live under the control of the flesh. The Christian who tries to do things for God and to please Him by his own abilities and in his way is doing it from his fallen sin nature. The law kills but the Spirit gives life. The Spirit filled believer has his lack made up by the Spirit. Now the Spirit filled believer can serve God. We are now able servants of a new covenant, not the law.

4 The word ypajifia (gramma) a letter of the alphabet, that which is written. Different than hioxokr\ (epistole) which is a letter or an epistle in verses 1-3.
This new covenant is the ”New Covenant” by my blood that we are reminded of every time we partake of the cup at the ”Lordian Table,” i.e. the table that pertains to the Lord, cf. I Cor. 11:25. We are sufficient servants of this new covenant when we, by the Holy Spirit, reflect out the Lord’s glory. Christ imparts life as He indwells us and the Holy Spirit gives life having written Christ in our hearts. This life is the animating principle for living the Christian life to God’s glory. And this life is eternal life, a God quality of life.

3. The greater glory of the service of the New Covenant, II Cor. 3:7-11.

a. The greater glory from the Spirit under grace than the glory that shone on Moses9 face at the giving of the law, II Cor. 3:7, 8.

The Old Covenant, i.e. the law, kills because it demanded absolute obedience. Seven and sometimes eight of the Ten Commandments carried the death penalty. Though the law was a servant of death it had a glory of its own while the New Covenant with the Church has an even greater glory. Paul goes on to describe the difference in glory. ”But since the service pertaining to the death in letters having been engraved in stones came to be in glory, so that the sons of Israel were not able to gaze into Moses’ face on account of the previously mentioned glory, the glory of his face which was being rendered inoperative (or put out of business), how shall not the service from the Spirit be more in glory?” (verses 7? 8). When Moses, having spent forty days and nights on Mt. Sinai, came down with the tables of stone on which the Ten Commandments were engraved, the skin of his face was shining, Ex. 34:29, 30. Moses, as a result, put a vail on his face when he spoke to the people, Ex. 34:33-35. This visible glory on Moses’ face was not enduring. The glory was being rendered inoperative as it began to fade. There was a manifest glory on Moses’ face with the giving of the law, a law that ministered death. Paul questions how the service of the New Covenant, the service from the Holy Spirit, shouldn’t be more in glory than that glory of the law. The glory of the New Covenant need not fade. It is a reflection by grace believers of the Lord’s glory and as believers mature it can be an increasing glory as believers are being transformed into the same image as the Lord. The glory of the law was nothing like this.

b. The fading of the glory under law and the greater and remaining glory today, II Cor. 3:9-11.

Though there was a glory with the law, it brought condemnation while the righteousness from the New Covenant was more glorious. Paul explains this greater glory, ”For since the service producing the condemnation was a quality of glory, by much more the service pertaining to the righteousness is abounding in glory. For even that which had been glorified and was in a state of having been glorified, had not been and was not in a state of having been glorified in this part on account of the surpassing glory. For since that which had been rendered inoperative (the law) was through glory, by much more that which is remaining is in glory,” (verses 9-11). The contrast between the glory that accompanied the law and the glory of the New Covenant is great. The law brought condemnation, the New Covenant which pertained to righteousness is abounding in
glory. The glory of the law was a fading glory and was rendered inoperative but the glory of the New Covenant which is the glory of the Lord continues to abound as Christians reflect that glory. The glory under grace far exceeds the glory under law.

4. The judicial blinding of the Jews, II Cor. 3:12-16.

a. The encouragement for the grace believer to make use of boldness of speech in contrast to Moses who veiled his face, II Cor. 3:12, 13.

The glory that remains, the glory of the New Covenant, gives hope to the believer based upon the promise of God. Christ is written in the believer’s heart and the believer can be more and more like Christ and ultimately will be like Christ. This hope spurs Paul on as he continues, ”Therefore having such a quality of hope let us make use of much boldness of speech and not just as Moses who kept on putting a veil upon his face for the puipose that the sons of Israel could not gaze unto the end of that which was being rendered inoperative,” i.e. the law, (verses 12, 13). The reference here goes back to the account of when Moses came down from the mount the second time, following the incident with the golden calf, his face shone and the people were afraid to approach him. Moses then put a veil on his face whenever he spoke with the people but removed it whenever he went in before the Lord to speak with Him, Ex. 34:29-35. Moses put a veil on his face when he spoke to the people but now under grace and under the New Covenant, believers can reflect a glory with boldness with an unveiled face. ”We all, on our part, with face having been unveiled with the abiding result that it is unveiled, reflecting the Lord’s glory, are being transformed,” II Cor. 3:18. Grace believers have freedom to reflect the Lord’s glory by their lives without a veil to cover over the glory. The glory with reference to the grace believer is reflected with boldness.

b. Israel’s judicial blindness when it comes to the reading of their law, II Cor.
3:14-16.

Paul continues, ”But the workings of their minds (Israel’s) were blinded (or hardenedlike spiritual cataracts). For until the present day the same veil is abiding upon the occasion of the reading of the Old Covenant (the law), not being unveiled because by Christ it is being rendered inoperative (put out of business). But until today whenever Moses is being read, a veil is lying upon their heart; but whenever it (Israel) turns to the Lord, the veil shall be completely removed,” (verses 14-16). Israel today is under judicial blindness as well as Satanic and carnal blindness, II Cor. 4:4; I Cor. 2:14. They cannot understand their Old Testament Scriptures whenever they are read. Christ rendered the law inoperative. He didn’t come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it, which He did, cf. Mt. 5:18. Though the Jews read their Old Testament Scriptures today, they read them with spiritual cataracts so that they cannot begin to comprehend them. Hence, they reject the One promised in their Scriptures. However, the veil will be completely removed when they turn to the Lord, i.e. the Lord, Jesus Christ, who is the God-man. This will ultimately be fulfilled when ”all Israel shall be saved” when Christ comes back to establish His kingdom here on earth, Rom. 11:26.
II. THE POTENTIAL FOR THE GRACE BELIEVER TO BE TRANSFORMED INTO THE IMAGE OF CHRIST, II Cor. 3:17, 18.

A. The Freedom Of The Grace Believer As A Result Of The Presence Of The Holy Spirit, II Cor. 3:17.

”Now the Spirit is the Lord, and where the Spirit from the Lord is, there is freedom,” II Cor. 3:17. This is an important verse stating that the Holy Spirit is the Lord, i.e. He is deity. Just as the Father and the Son are referred to as the Lord, so is the Holy Spirit. He is equal with the Father and the Son. He is also the Spirit from the Lord. The Father sent the Holy Spirit in the name or character of the Son, Jn. 14:26. The Son also sent the Holy Spirit from alongside the Father, Jn. 15:26. The Son returned to heaven to send the Holy Spirit, Jn. 16:7. The Holy Spirit is not only the Lord, He was also sent by the Lord, i.e. the Lord, Jesus Christ. In the context, the Holy Spirit wrote Christ in the heart of the believer and having done so, He is a life giving Spirit with respect to the Christian’s sufficiency in life, cf. II Cor. 3:3, 7. He is the source of the New Covenant and its application of Christ’s life to the life of the believer.

B. The Transformation Into The Image Of The Lord, II Cor. 3:18.

1. The freedom of the believer to be transformed into the image of the Lord, II Cor.
3:18.

Now we come back to our verse dealing with the transformation that takes place in the life of the believer. This transformation is from the Holy Spirit. ”But we all, on our part, with face having been unveiled while reflecting the Lord’s glory as in a mirror are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as from the Spirit from the Lord,” II Cor. 3:18. We have freedom not being under any quality of law. The only rule given to the grace believer is the New Commandment, that ”you love one another as I have loved you,” cf. Jn. 13:34. We are free and we can now live to please God, not by self-effort but by God working in and through us. We are free to please the Lord. We do not please God by keeping any kind of law other than the New Commandment, which is a positive commandment. We can only fulfill it when we are Spirit filled and the Holy Spirit makes up for inability to love with this self-sacrificial, other centered God quality of love, cf. Eph. 5:18; Gal. 5:22.

2. The Lord’s glory, II Cor. 3:18.

Grace believers glorify God as they are transformed into Christ’s image. Christ is the image of God. Satan, the god of this present evil age, has blinded the workings of the minds of those who are unbelieving ”lest the light from the gospel (good news) concerning the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine to them,” II Cor.
4:4. Paul preached Jesus Christ the Lord, i.e. Jesus, the One who died for our sins; Christ, the resurrected and glorified One; and Lord, i.e. the divine slave master. Paul preached the gospel concerning Christ, I Cor. 15:1-4. God intervenes whenever someone believes the gospel, ”For God is the One saying; ’Light shine out from darkness,’ who
shined in our hearts for a quality of light with reference to the experiential knowledge concerning the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ/’ II Cor. 4:6. God was the one who caused the light concerning the glory of God to shine in our hearts. Now, as seen in the previous chapter, the sufficiency of the believer is out from God as to its source, cf.
3:5. Christ is written in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is a life giving Spirit. The light of the gospel has been shined in the believer’s heart in the same way that God told light to shine in darkness. Where believers were darkness, now they are light in the Lord, cf. Eph. 5:8. Paul goes on to describe the believer’s present possession of this light from the gospel as He continues, ”But we have this treasure in earthenware (cf. ostraca) vessels, in order that the excess of the power might be from God and not out from us,” II Cor. 4:7. We have the light of the glory of God in fragile clay pots.

We do not reflect the Lord’s glory from ourselves but from God. It is God the Holy Spirit who enables the believer to reflect this glory as He transforms us into the same image as the Lord from glory to glory. Any believer, in himself, is unable to manifest the Lord’s glory. It takes a supernatural transformation. The glory manifested by the believer is out from God as the source. There is no room for any believer to be proud of what he does or to grab the credit. God is the One who accomplishes the glory through us. It is God who makes us both to be willing and to be energetic in behalf of His good pleasure, Phil. 2:13. It is all out from God. It is our responsibility to be in tune to the Holy Spirit so that our will corresponds to His making us willing and energizing within us. Paul describes some of the things he faced daily, II Cor. 4:8-15. Though he goes through difficult circumstances he doesn’t cave in to things lacking in character and though the outward man is decaying, the inner man is being renewed day to day, II Cor.
4:16. It is within the inner man that the believer through the Holy Spirit is caused to be mighty by inherent power, Eph. 3:16. The renewdness comes in the realm of experiential knowledge, ”And having put on the new man the one having been renewed unto a quality of an experiential knowledge measured by the standard of a quality of the image of the One having created him,” Col. 3:10. The glory reflected by the believer is the glory of the indwelling Son of God. It is reflected when the believer relates to His position in Christ where He is a part of the new creation. Here we see that ”you in Christ” and ”Christ in you” work together. Our part is to frame our reflective minds on things above, Col. 3:1,2. When our reflective mind is framed on things above, i.e. what we are and have in Christ, rather than on things on the earth, we are in a condition where the Holy Spirit can fill us and the eternal life imparted to us by the indwelling Son of God can now be lived out. When it is lived out we live out the life of the Lord and we are being conformed to His image. We become Christ like in our living. Thus we see that the reflection of the Lord’s glory is accomplished from the inner man by the Holy Spirit. The transformation into the image of the Lord is ”from glory to glory.” As the believer matures He reflects more and more of the Lord’s glory. He becomes more like Christ from one degree of glory to another degree of glory.

The Lord’s opinion of Himself and the Father’s opinion of the Him is exactly accurate. He manifested eternal life by the works that He did and the words which He spoke. He began demonstrating His glory during His earthly ministry when He did His first sign miracle, pointing to His deity, when He changed the water into wine, Jn. 2:11, cf. verses
1-11. The believer does not perform miracles like the Lord did but he does manifest the character of the Lord by the supernatural enablement of the Holy Spirit when the life of
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Christ is seen in the believer’s activity while he is being conformed to the image of Christ from glory to glory.

3. The image of the Lord as illustrated by the Vine and the branches, II Cor. 3:18; Jn. 15.

a. The basis for the Vine and the branches: ”you in me,” and ”I in you,” Jn.
14:20.

It is God’s purpose that believers should be like Christ as they are transformed into the same image. Christ demonstrated to the eleven disciples just prior to His cross work how they could be in His image. When the Lord identified Himself as the Vine and the eleven, representing grace believers, as the branches, He presented how believers, as the branches, can reflect the glory of the Lord and hence glorify God, cf. John 15. To begin, the fruit produced is not the fruit of the branches but the fruit of the Vine. Believers as branches do not produce their own fruit, it is the fruit of the Vine, i.e. Christ’s fruit. The production of fruit is possible on account of Spirit baptism and regeneration. By Spirit baptism, the believer is in Christ. By regeneration Christ is in the believer. The disciples didn’t know about these things. In fact no one up to the Lord’s statement concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit and these new relationships had ever heard of such things. ”You in Christ” and ”Christ in you” was a totally new thing. It began with the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Lord had just said, ”In that day,” i.e. the day in which the Holy Spirit would come, cf. verses 16, 17, ”You will know intuitively that I, on my part, am in the Father, and you, on your part, in me, and I, on my part, in you,” Jn. 14:20. The picture of the Vine and the branches illustrates these two relationships, you in me and I in you. The Lord is speaking in anticipation of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of His ministries. Though the Holy Spirit is not mentioned in the immediate context of the Vine and the branches, He is seen in the broader context of the Upper Room Discourse, cf. Jn. 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26; 16:7. The fruit of the Vine, Christ, is what Paul calls ”the fruit of (or from) the Spirit,” Gal. 5:22, 23.

b. The Father’s dealing with believers as branches on the basis of fruit production, Jn. 15:2.

In the natural realm the vine produces the fruit through the branches. The branches apart from the vine cannot bear fruit. The vine dresser cares for the vine by removing branches that do not bear fruit and prunes the ones that do, so they can bring forth more fruit. But it is the fruit of the vine, not of the branches. The Lord used the vine and the branches to illustrate the coming relationship believers will have in Him and He in them. The Lord brings up fruit bearing in verse two. ”Every branch in me not bearing fruit He takes it away, and every one bearing fruit He cleans it (i.e. prunes it) for the purpose that it might bear more fruit,” Jn. 15:2. A branch is always a branch. If it is removed it is still a branch. The Lord Jesus was not saying that a believer could ever be removed from his position in Him. But He does illustrate that a believer can be removed from his life here on earth where he bears fruit. If a believer doesn’t bear fruit he may be taken home to heaven. This is what happened to some of the Corinthians due to their abuse of others in
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the Body of Christ at the table that pertains to the Lord, I Cor. 11:27-30. Some slept the sleep of death, (verse 30). The life of the branch is the life of the Vine. Christ in the believer imparts His life, eternal life, to the believer. Eternal life is eternal and does not end. In the illustration of the natural vine and the branches, unproductive branches are cut off and taken away. It is an illustration and we do not take it too far. Again, a believer is not removed from Christ, but the believer can be removed from here on earth, where he can bear fruit, and be taken home to heaven if he is an unproductive believer. So far the Lord describes bearing fruit and bearing more fruit as a result of pruning. The Lord allows things into the believer’s life to cause spiritual growth. The Lord allows the believer to be tempted but not with more than the believer is able to bear, I Cor. 10:13.

b. Abiding in the Christ, the Vine and fruit bearing, Jn. 15:4.

The Lord brings up a new concept beginning in verse four. He brings up the word ”abide.” The term ”abide” (iievco- meno) in Classical Greek meant, ”to remain,” ”to abide.” In the New Testament there are a few places where it carries this meaning but when used in contexts like the present context it doesn’t cany this idea of remaining. The believer does nothing to get into Christ nor can he do anything to keep himself in Christ or to get out of Christ. There are no amputations in the Body of Christ. Once a branch or once a member of the Body of Christ, it can never be changed. The concept is not that we remain in Christ but that we feel at ease in Him and He feels at ease in us. We cannot bear fruit apart from, not only being in Christ, but actually feeling at ease in our position in Christ. The Lord said, ”You abide (feel at ease) in me, and I in you. Just as the branch is unable to be bearing fruit from itself except it should happen to abide (feel at ease) in the vine, in a similar way neither are you, on your part, able to be bearing fruit, except you should happen to abide (feel at ease) in me,” Jn. 15:4. We must feel at ease in Him to bear fruit. He is the source of the fruit. It is the fruit of the Vine. The vine produces fruit through the branches. Christians as branches reflect the fruit of Christ, the Vine. As a believer feels at ease in Christ as a Spirit filled believer, he can now bring forth fruit. The transformation into the same image of Christ is being accomplished.

c. The inability for the believer to bear fruit apart from abiding, Jn. 15:5.

Feeling at ease in Christ is necessary to bear fruit. As one feels at ease in Christ there can be an increase in fruit bearing. The Lord stated this clearly as He continued, ”I am the Vine, you are the branches. The one abiding (feeling at ease) in me and I, on my part, in him, this one is bearing more fruit, for apart from me you are not able to do one thing,” John 15:5. As one feels at ease in Christ, he can bear an increase in fruit. This is the transformation unto a degree of the glory of the Lord. In such a way the believer becomes more Christ-like in his life. There is no room for self-effort on the part of the Christian. Just as a branch by itself, apart from the vine, cannot draw from the resources of the vine to bear fruit, a believer cannot draw from his resources in Christ without feeling at ease in Christ. Christians often try to do things for God in their own way and by their own ability. It is an attempt to please God from the flesh. Such Christians are carnal, i.e. pertaining to and emanating the things of the flesh. There is no fruit
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manifested when one tries to do things in his own strength. Believers are dependent on their position in Christ and feeling at ease in Him to produce fruit. When a believer is at ease in Christ, Christ is at ease in him and the eternal life imparted by Christ within the believer is reflected by the Spirit filled believer.

d. The similarity of the non-fruit bearing Christian’s chastisement to a natural non-productive branch, Jn. 15:6.

The Lord now presents a simile concerning the believer who doesn’t feel at ease in Him. Such a believer is similar to a non-productive branch. He is not saying that the same thing happens to the believer but that such a believer is like a useless branch. He says, ”If anyone should happen to not feel at ease in me, he is cast out5 like (similar to) a branch and is withered5 and they gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned,” Jn. 15:6. Some have tried to make this mean that believers are cast into hell, etc. However, that cannot be. Such a view contradicts too many plain verses in Scripture, cf. Jn. 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1. The subject in the context is not salvation but fruit bearing. As seen back in verse two when the unfruitful branch representing the Christian is taken away, the believer is taken home to heaven. There is no condemnation for the believer, Rom. 8:1. Christ has taken care of the believer’s sins by His death on the cross, I Cor. 15:3. The penalty has been paid. Only the believer’s works will be tried (put to the test to bring out that which is appro vable) by fire to prove what sort of work it is and if his work is burned up and he suffers loss, he, himself, will be saved as through fire, I Cor. 3:13-15. The believer who is not at ease in his position in Christ may be taken home early, I Cor. 11:30. The Lord will chasten His own, so that they will not be condemned with the world, I Cor. 11:32. There is no condemnation for a believer, but a believer may come to be disapproved (A. V. ”castaway”) on account of what he does with his body, I Cor. 9:27. These things have nothing to do with losing one’s salvation. But it is possible for a believer, though being in Christ, to feel ill at ease in his position in Him due to carnality and hence to fail to fulfill God’s purpose for him to be transformed into the image of Christ while reflecting Christ’s glory and hence be a failure to glorify God by his life here on earth. He fails to manifest the life of Christ, the Vine, by bearing fruit. The continued failure to bear fruit will result in chastisement so that the believer will not be condemned with the world. The natural branch is removed and cast out and burned. The similarity of the believer who is ill at ease in Christ is that He is removed from earth, the place where he bears fruit. He never ceases to be in Christ and Christ never ceases to be in him. Again, there are no amputations in the Body of Christ, but there is chastisement of the errant child of God. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. This is an incentive for believers to keep on walking by means of the Spirit and to keep on being filled by means of the Spirit, Gal. 5:16; Eph. 5:18. The Father is not glorified when believers live their own life according to the flesh. Only the Spirit filled believer fulfills God’s ultimate purpose for him.

e. The promise concerning asking and receiving for a fruit-bearing believer, Jn. 15:7.

5 Gnomic aorist expressing generally accepted fact that is expected to take place under the given circumstances. It is translated into English by the present tense.
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The believer who feels at ease in Christ and Christ’s utterances also feel at ease in him can ask whatever he should happen to desire and it will come to be for him, Jn. 15:7. It is not our purpose to deal with the subject of asking but to deal with the qualifications which are the utterances of the Lord. You are to ask according to His desirous will and in His name, i.e. in His character, I Jn. 5:14, 15; Jn. 14:13, 14; 15:16; 16:23-25. Asking is not a selfish asking for one’s self but an asking in the way that the Lord Jesus would ask in the same circumstances and according to His desirous will. But if the asking lines up with His character and desirous will, it will be given to the one asking.

f. The glorification of the Father by the bearing of much fruit, Jn. 15:8,

cf. verse 5.

Now the Lord comes back to the glorification of the Father. ”By this my Father is6 glorified, in order that you should bring forth much fruit and that you should become my disciples,” Jn. 15:8. The near demonstrative pronoun ”this” refers to the fruit bearing. The glorification of the Father starts with fruit bearing, (verse 2); moves on to the comparative ”more fruit,” (verse 2); and culminates in the superlative ”much fruit,” (verses 5, 8). The more fruit bearing, the more the Father is glorified. Remember that the fruit is the fruit of the Vine, Christ. It is His character that is borne out. The more fruit borne, the more one is Christ-like, the more one is Christ like, the more one is transformed into the image of Christ and reflects His glory, from one degree of glory (fruit, more fruit) unto another degree of glory (more fruit, much fruit). This is only accomplished from the resources of the indwelling Holy Spirit by the Spirit filled believer. As the believer matures, he will be reflecting more of the Lord’s glory as He is being more and more transformed into His image here and now on earth in present tense salvation. By this God’s ultimate purpose is fulfilled. By this the Father is glorified. The Lord chose or elected the eleven disciples, representing grace believers, for the purpose that they might go and bring forth fruit and that their fruit might abide, in order that they might ask the Father in His (Jesus) character and the Father would give them what they ask, Jn. 15:16.

Just what is the fruit to be borne by the believer? The Lord drops some hints in the context. First of all it is the fruit or character of the Vine, Christ Himself. The next verse in John fifteen comes back to the New Commandment, ”These things I am commanding you, that you love one another,” Jn. 15:17. The New Commandment is ”that you love one another, just as I loved you, that you, on your part, also love one another,” Jn. 13:34. Love is the first part of the singular fruit of the Spirit, Gal. 5:22. But notice the context. The Lord also speaks of joy, the second part of the fruit of the Spirit in the context, cf. Jn.
15:11; 16:20-22, 24; 17:13. And the Lord speaks of peace the third part of the fruit of the Spirit, cf. 14:27; 16: 33. The fruit of the Spirit is very specific, ”Now the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self

6 Either a gnomic aorist expressing a generally accepted fact, i.e. a general axiom or a dramatic aorist expressing with the certitude of a past even either a present reality or, as here, something that is about to be accomplished.
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control...” Gal. 5:22, 23. The fruit of the Spirit is the fruit of the Vine, Christ. The fruit is the character of Christ, the Vine.

4. The fruit of the Vine, the Fruit of the Spirit,

a. Love-dyaTrri (agape), Gal. 5:22.

Love is a God quality of love. Christ redefined this term when He gave the New Commandment that believers love one another just as He loved them. Love now becomes a self-sacrificial other centered mental attitude whereby the one loving has a mental concern for the well being of the object loved. There is a great emphasis in the New Testament on love. Love is a characteristic of Christ. It is a part of the fruit of the Spirit. Men had a human love but now the meaning is heightened to the kind of love that is a God quality of love. The Father loved the Son and the Son loved the Father, Jn. 3:35;
14:31; 15:9; 17:23, 24, 26. By directing this part of the fruit of the Spirit, believers, as fruit bearers, reflect the glory of the Lord. As the believer feels at ease in his position in Christ, he will, as a Spirit filled believer, reflect the Lord’s glory as he is being transformed into the image of the Lord.

The Lord demonstrated this kind of love to the disciples. John speaks of the Lord’s love, ”.. .having loved His very own, He loved them unto a quality of an intended end,” Jn. 13:1. The Lord demonstrated His love to his disciples, Jn. 13:4-12. The washing of the feet in those days was the job of the lowest, most abject, slave. Peter objected to the Lord’s washing of his feet. He had no idea what the Lord was doing. The Lord tells them that they should do as he has done to them. He isn’t saying to specifically wash feet, but to serve one another as slaves. Notice His statements, ”Therefore, when He had washed their feet and took his garments and reclined again, He said to them: ’Do you experientially know what I have done to you?’” Jn. 13:12. They did not know. ”You, on your part, call me the teacher and the Lord, and you say well, for I am. Therefore since I, on my part, your teacher and Lord, washed your feet, you, on your part, also ought to wash one another’s feet; for I gave to you an example (or a demonstration) that you, on your part, should also be doing just as I, on my part, did to you. Truly, truly I say to you, a slave is not greater than his lord or a sent one greater than the one having sent him. Since you know these things factually, happy are you, if you should happen to be doing them,” Jn. 13:13-17.

After Judas, the unbeliever, departs, the Lord gives the New Commandment and the Upper Room Discourse to the eleven remaining disciples. The New Commandment ”that you love one another as I have loved you” changes love from a selfish human love to a God quality of love which is a self- sacrificial other centered kind of love. It is more than the act of washing feet. This other centered self-sacrificial kind of love is when one sees a need and if able does something about meeting the need. This is what God the Father did when He sent the Son, Jn. 3:16. This is what the Son did when He laid down His life, I Jn. 3:16. It meets the need of a brother, cf. I Jn. 3:17, 18.   The Lord emphasizes this New Commandment to love as the discourse continues, cf Jn. 14:15; 15:11. Love is mentioned first in the list of the parts of the fruit of the Spirit for emphasis, Gal. 5:22, 23. Loving one another as Christ loved is possible for the Spirit filled Christian at ease in his position in Christ. Christ is then feeling at ease within him and eternal life is manifested
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by this love, a God quality of life. This love became a possibility for believers with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

b. Joy- x&pa (chara), Gal. 5:22.

The second part of the fruit of the Spirit is joy, Gal. 5:22. This is a supernatural divine quality of joy. It is not an emotional joy. It is a mental appreciation of the circumstances no matter what they are. The Lord spoke of fruit bearing and the New Commandment so the disciples in the future, following the coming of the Holy Spirit, as grace believers, could experience this joy. He said, ”I have spoken these things to you in order that my joy might be in you and your joy might be filled up so it is without lack,” Jn. 15:11. They will experience this joy for the first time after He has gone back to the Father in heaven. Before they experience this joy, they will be grieved but their grief will come to be turned into joy, Jn. 16:20. Following His cross work the disciples’ heart will rejoice, experiencing joy over and over and no one will be able to take their joy away from them. ”Therefore you, on your part, are on the one hand having grief, but on the other hand I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man will take from you,” Jn. 16:22. Their grief will be turned to joy as their heart or inner man rejoices. The kind of joy believers can now experience is a joy no man can take from them. The circumstances here change but this joy is available to those even going through difficult circumstances.

They will be able to ask the Father in the character (A. V. ”name”) of the Son and He will give them what they ask for, Jn. 16:23. They are to ask and they will receive that their joy may be in a state of fullness, i.e. without any lack, Jn. 16:24. Once more the Lord Jesus spoke of joy in His communication to the Father. He spoke the things in the Upper Room Discourse in His communication with the Father that they might have His joy in a state of having been made full in themselves, Jn. 17:13. Notice that this is His joy. This is not man’s joy. This is not something worked up. It is not something experienced only when things are going good. It is a part of the fruit of the Spirit that is available at any time for any believer. The only requirement is to be Spirit filled. It is different than the joy of the world which may enjoy circumstances that are good for the one enjoying, even including bad things that happen to others, cf. Jn. 16:20.

Now, Spirit filled believers can appreciate any circumstance that God allows in their lives, both good and bad knowing that a loving heavenly Father has allowed it for His purposes. Directing this joy is another way believers reflect the Lord’s glory while being transformed into His image from glory to glory. By such the Father is glorified. The spiritual believer, directing this joy is again reflecting the Lord’s glory as He is being transformed into the same image as the Lord from glory to glory. This joy is the same quality of joy the Lord experienced and is only supplied by the Holy Spirit to the Spirit filled believer.

c. Peace-lpr|vr| (eirene), Gal. 5:22.
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The third part of the fruit of the Spirit is peace. Twice the Lord mentions peace in the context of the Upper Room Discourse and around the context of the Vine and the branches. The disciples9 hearts were troubled because He said that He was going away. The Lord said to them, ”A quality of peace I am leaving with you, my peace I give to you; I am not giving to you just as the world gives. Stop letting your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid,” Jn. 14:27. Peace is a mental thing. It is an unruffledness of mind. The world has a peace when things are going well but it falls apart when things get difficult. This part of the fruit of the Spirit that the Lord gives is an unruffledness of mind no matter what the circumstances. The Lord, Himself, directed this divine quality of peace towards the circumstances He faced. It is a peace that surpasses all comprehension, which will guard the believer’s heart and the workings of his mind in Christ Jesus, Phil. 4:7. It is something that can be pursued along with two other parts of the fruit, faith and love by being Spirit filled, II Tim. 2:22; Gal. 5:22.

The Lord brings this peace up again as He continues His discourse. The Lord told them what He did so that they might have peace when He leaves them to go to the Father and they remain in the world. He said, ”I have spoken these things to you that you might be having peace in me. In the world you are having tribulation but cheer up, I, on my part, have overcome the world with the abiding result that it is conquered,” Jn. 16:33. This peace will be experienced after the Holy Spirit comes when they can relate to their new position in Christ, cf. 14:17, 20. The world system is an enemy. The people who belong to the world system are enemies. There is pressure in the world but Christ has overcome the world system. In Him, believers can experience real peace, a peace that is an unruffledness of mind in spite of the circumstances. This again is part of the fruit of the Spirit, a peace that passes all comprehension.

The Lord Jesus mentioned the first three parts of the fruit of the Spirit in His discourse. These characteristics are the fruit of the Vine and reflect the character of Christ, the Vine. Paul, by the Holy Spirit, gives the complete listing of this fruit that the Spirit filled believer can bear as He reflects the glory of Christ, Gal. 5:22, 23.

d. Longsuffering-|aocKpoGu|iia (makrothumia), Gal. 5:22.

The next part of the fruit is longsuffering. This is a long holding out of the mind. The term is used of God avenging His elect in the future where He is said to ”bear long with them,” Lk. 18:7. God will put up with those who are unrighteous judges in the future, i.e. He will have a long holding out of His mind toward them and then He will lower the boom on them. Longsuffering and the next part of the fruit, kindness, are also characteristics of the first part of the fruit, love, I Cor. 13:4. Longsuffering is accompanied by joy and is empowered by the standard of might from His glory, Col.
1:11. It is found with meekness and love as the believer is ”to walk... with meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing (or putting up with) one another in love,” Eph. 4:1,2. It is to be put on with three other parts of the fruit, kindness, meekness, and love, Col. 3:12,
14. Paul says that Timothy has closely followed his faith and love, II Tim. 3:10. This longsuffering is another part of the fruit that is a characteristic of Christ that the spiritual believer may direct towards other believers. When a believer is at ease in His position in
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Christ and Christ, as a result, is at ease in him, the believer can direct longsuffering towards other believers. Instead of reacting and responding to another believer this is a long holding out of the mind. It would be the opposite of exploding and going after the other believer whenever one is offended by that believer. It is a supernatural holding out of the mind.

e. Kindness- xpriaxoTric (chrestotes) (A. V. ”gentleness”), Gal. 5:22.

Kindness as part of the fruit is a mental attitude whereby the Spirit filled believer by a sweetness of reason puts others at ease. It is the kindness (A. V. ”goodness”) of God that leads to repentance, Rom. 2:4. The man who judges another while he does the same things is despising the riches from God’s kindness (A. V. ”goodness”) and forbearance and longsuffering, Rom. 2:4. The Lord is kind, I Pet. 2:3. God’s kindness and fondness for men appeared and intervened for our salvation measured by His mercy, Tit. 3:4, 5. We will be learning about His kindness toward us in Christ in the ages to come, Eph. 2:7. This kindness is something believers are to put on along with longsuffering and meekness along with other things, Col. 3:12. And they are to direct this part of the fruit of the Spirit by being kind to one another, Eph. 4:32. Paul practiced what he preached. He ”approved” or commended himself in various ways including ”by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by an un-hypocritical love,” II Cor. 6:6. Kindness is another way the Spirit filled believer can reflect the glory of the Lord while being conformed to the same image as the Lord. It is another part of the fruit to be borne by believers.

f. Goodness-dyctOcjOowri (agathosune), Gal. 5:22.

Goodness is a mental attitude whereby the spiritual believer has an inner sense of well-being. It results in a happiness, which will, by outward manifestation, carry over to others to make them happy as well. The adjective ayaOooouvri (agathosune) comes from the word dyaGoc (agathos) which is a good that makes one happy. This is illustrated by its use describing fruit trees. Every good tree produces good fruit, Mt. 7:17. The tree makes the farmer happy by producing good fruit that makes him happy. Paul refers to this part of the fruit of the Spirit as he writes to the Ephesians, as children (born ones) of light, encouraging them to walk as children of light ”for the fruit of the Spirit (some manuscripts read ”light”) is in all goodness and righteousness and truth approving what is well pleasing in the Lord,” Eph. 5:9, 10. The born one of God (a child of God) is a born one of light, i.e. he can manifest the life of God in human flesh. Part of manifesting the life of God as he walks in light is a manifestation of goodness, the happiness resulting from this inner sense of well-being. Paul also communicated with God that He would count the Thessalonians worthy of their call to salvation and fulfill all the good pleasure from goodness and work from faith by power, for the purpose that the name or character of Christ should be glorified in them and they in Him, II Thess. 1:11, 12. Good pleasure comes from goodness. Christ is glorified by the believer who has this inner sense of well being and doing work from another part of the fruit, i.e. faith. The believer is glorified in his position in Christ when counted worthy of his call to salvation. But to do so he directs this part of the fruit and Christ is glorified as His life is reflected by the believer.
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The Roman Christians were filled with all goodness. Paul wrote concerning them, ”But I, even I myself, stand persuaded my brethren concerning you, that you, yourselves, are full of goodness, having been and in a state of being filled from all experiential knowledge, being able also to admonish one another,” Rom. 15:14. Here we see that these Roman believers were full with this inner sense of well being. These, for the most part, were spiritual Christians. They directed goodness to the situations in their lives and it was manifested to those around them. They were full of goodness while being in a state of being filled so there was no lack of experiential knowledge. They were also able to admonish or warn each other reciprocally. Goodness being an inner sense of well being resulting in a happy demeanor is a characteristic of Christ which can be reflected by the believer as he reflects the Lord’s glory.

g. Faith- ttlotk; (pistis), Gal. 5:22.

Faith is an attitude supplied by God, whereby the believer takes God at His word. The Scriptures define ”faith” for us, ”Now faith is the substance (undergirding or foundation) with reference to things being hoped for, the evidence (a quality of conviction or proof) of a quality of things not being seen,” Heb. 11:1. Hope is based upon the promises of God. This attitude of faith, as part of the fruit of the Spirit, makes the things hoped for real in one’s mind now. We live in a ”dispensation from God, the one which is by faith,” I Tim. 1:4. In this Dispensation of Grace believers are to walk or order their lives by faith, II Cor. 5:7. Paul lived by a quality of faith concerning Christ, Gal. 2:20. The righteous live by faith, Gal. 3:11. The believer’s work should come from this attitude of faith, I Thess. 1:3. Joy can come from faith, Phil. 1:25. Faith and love work together, cf. Eph.6:23;IThess. 1:3; 3:6; 5:8; I Tim. 1:14; 6:10, 11; H Tim. 1:13; 3:10; Philemon 5. This attitude of faith is different than the gift of faith for initial salvation (Eph. 2:8) and different than the measure of faith for using one’s spiritual gift (Rom. 12:3, 60 and different than the spiritual gift of faith, I Cor. 12:9. This attitude of faith, which takes God at His word, can only be directed by a Spirit filled believer towards the hope that comes from the promises of God.

h. Meekness- irpaikiig (prautes), Gal. 5:23.

Meekness is a characteristic that the Lord Jesus manifested when He went into Jerusalem in His ”triumphal” entry, Mt. 21:5. This term doesn’t imply weakness in Scripture. He was ”meek and humble in heart,” Mt. 11:29. In the Old Testament Moses was ”very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth,” Num. 12:3. Neither Moses nor the Lord were weak or gentle as the term implies today. Meekness is not weakness. Moses’ siblings Mariam and Aaron were contending with Moses over the leadership over the Israelites. Moses did not cave in but maintained his objective to fulfill what the Lord had given him to do. He continued on leading the Israelites to the Promised Land. The Lord was willing to disinherit the people and make a nation out of Moses. However, Moses was concerned that the nations around about would say that Jehovah could not deliver the people, Num. 14:11-14. Moses appeals to Jehovah’s longsuffering and loving kindness to pardon the people and fulfill the things He had said, i.e. that He would take them into the land, Num. 14:15-20. Moses didn’t lose his focus.
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He kept his focus on what God had said. He had an objectivity of mind. The Lord Jesus had the same kind of a focus as He went into Jerusalem. Right after He entered Jerusalem He went to the temple where He cast out the moneychangers, Mt. 21:12. He was not weak or gentle. He had an objectivity of mind as He came into Jerusalem to fulfill the Father’s will for Him.

This objectivity of mind is a part of the fruit of the Spirit that a Spirit filled believer can direct. Believers need to receive or welcome with meekness, i.e. an objectivity of mind, the engrafted or implanted word, I Pet. 1:21. Paul could come to the Corinthians with a rod or in love and in a ”spirit of meekness,” i.e. with an objectivity of mind, I Cor.
4:21. He again appeals to the Corinthians through the ”meekness and gentleness of the Christ,” i.e. with an objectivity of mind and a sweet reasonableness, II Cor. 10:1. A spiritual believer is to restore one who is overtaken in a trespass in a spirit of meekness, Gal. 6:1. It functions together with longsuffering and love, Eph. 4:2; Col. 3:12; along with faith, I Tim. 6:11. Also having set Christ aside as Lord, the Spirit filled believer can give a verbal defense to everyone who asks the reason for the hope that is in him, I Pet.
3:15. When a believer directs meekness, i.e. an objectivity of mind, he reflects the glory of the Lord as he is being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.

i. Self-control- eyKpama (engkrateia) (A. V. ”temperance”), Gal. 5:23.

The ninth part of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control, Gal. 5:23. Self-control is the subduing of the desires, the passions and the appetites of the body. Paul uses the example of an athlete preparing for the games. ”Everyone, the one contending for himself in an athletic contest, exercises self-control in all things, therefore those, on the one hand, in order that they might receive a corruptible crown, but we, on our part, on the other hand to receive an incorruptible crown,’” I Cor. 9:24. Paul leads his body around like a slave so that he, himself, may not come to be unapproved (A. V. ”castaway”), I Cor. 9:27. Paul controls all of his bodily passions and appetites by practicing what he preaches so he won’t be unapproved.

We find another good illustration of self-control in the context of marriage as Paul wrote to the Corinthians. He encourages the unmarried to remain single but ”since they cannot exercise self-control (A. V. ”contain”) let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn,” I Cor. 7:8, 9. Some outside of marriage will have the bodily appetite and passion for sexual relations. Rather than fall into temptation and to be involved in fornication due to a lack of self-control, Paul says let them get married. A carnal Christian may end up in fornication, a work of the flesh, but the Spirit filled believer can exercise self-control. Paul is not saying that all unmarried Christians are carnal but it is a potential for them to be tempted in the realm of fornication. Assuming they do not exercise self-control they should go ahead and marry.

As the believer gains an experiential knowledge in his Christian life, he is to add selfcontrol (A. V. ”temperance”) to patience, i.e. remaining under the circumstances, and to patience godliness, cf. II Pet. 1:6. By self-control one learns patience as his bodily wants are brought under control. A carnal Christian will not learn patience but will be impatient
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and bitter under the circumstances of life. He cannot direct self-control to the circumstances of life and will not have remained under the circumstances. This selfcontrol is a supernatural thing produced by the Holy Spirit in the life of the Spirit filled believer.

This part of the fruit is especially required of one who holds the office of a bishop. Amongst other things, he must exhibit self-control over his bodily appetites and passions, while holding on to the faithful word according to (the standard of) the doctrine (to be believed and practiced), Tit. 1:9, 10, (cf. verses 6-10).

J

No law against the fruit, Gal. 5:23.

The nine-fold fruit of the Spirit is not something that can be legislated against. Paul wrote, ”against such there is no quality of law/’ Gal. 5:23. To reflect the Lord’s glory and be transformed into the same image from glory to glory by directing the fruit of the Spirit is all positive. There can be no law brought up against it. The Christian life is positive. The Old Testament law was made up of ”thou shalt nots” but there are no ”thou shalt nots” under grace. Under grace we are to bear fruit. But we cannot bear fruit on our own. Our own self-efforts come from the flesh. The only way we can bear fruit is by being filled by means of the Holy Spirit so that He makes up for our lack of ability. To reflect Christ is not something we do but it is what God does in and through us. As we frame our minds on things above, i.e. who we are and what we have in Christ at the right hand of the Father, the life of the indwelling Christ, i.e. eternal life, can be lived out through us. We reflect His image. It is the fruit of Christ, the Vine. When we reflect His glory, it is by bearing His fruit. By much fruit the Father is glorified. In this way God’s purpose for the believer is fulfilled. He is glorified.

C. The Christian And The Image Of Christ.

The transformation of the believer is into the same image from glory to glory, II Cor.
3:18. To transform7 is to change into another form. This is an on-going transformation in the believer’s daily life. It is based on Christ being in the believer. It is the outward manifestation of the eternal life, which the believer possesses within as a result of the indwelling Christ imparting His divine quality of life to the believer. To have the Son as a present possession is to have life, i.e. eternal life, I Jn. 5:11, 12. The Lord, Himself, originally existed in the outward manifestation of deity but He didn’t count it a thing to be grasped as a prize to be equal things with God, but He emptied Himself of that outward manifestation of the God by taking upon Himself the outward manifestation of a slave having come to be in the likeness of men, Phil. 2:6, 7. During His earthly ministry He appeared as a man to those who saw Him. He manifested His glory by the works that He did as He did the works of God here on earth before men. However, on the Mount of

7 |ieu<x|iop(j)6(o (metamophoo) comes from (iopcjyrj (morphe) the outward manifestation of what one is within. It is compounded with the prepositional prefix \xexa (meta) which in composition (compounded form) has the meaning here of a change or transfer. The word under consideration therefore has the idea of a change in the outward manifestation of the believer into another outward manifestation which manifests what the believer is within.
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Transfiguration, He was transfigured or transformed before Peter, James and John, Mt.
17:2; Mk. 9:2. There was a transformation of His appearance with the brightness of His face being like the brightness of the sun. The three disciples got a glimpse of His manifest glory. After His resurrection He appeared to the two on the road to Emmaus in a different outward manifestation so that they didn’t recognize Him, Mk. 16:12. Their eyes were being held so that they couldn’t recognize Him until their eyes were opened and then they did recognize Him, Lk. 24:16, 31. He could change His form and not allow men to recognize Him.

When believers reflect the indwelling Christ as in a mirror, they are being transformed, i.e. being changed, into the same image as Christ, the Son of God. This transformation into the same image obviously is not a change in physical appearance with the brightness of light during present tense salvation. It is a transformation, which is manifest by the life that is lived. The life of the indwelling Christ is manifested by the believer when the believer brings forth the fruit of Christ, the Vine. This fruit is produced by the Holy Spirit as the fruit of the Spirit. The image, then, is the image of Christ in His divine nature. The God quality of life imparted by the indwelling Son of God to the believer is what is being reflected and is where the transformation takes place into His image. At the same time this transformation is taking place, the believer is reflecting Christ as in a mirror. The Spirit filled believer being transformed into the Lord’s image can now manifest Christ by his life.

Paul desired that Christ should be formed8 by them. He wrote, ”My little born ones,” i.e. he had led them to the Lord, ”for whom I feel birth pangs (A. V. ”travail”) again until Christ should be formed by (A. V. ”in”) you,” Gal. 4:19. The preposition kv (en) is an instrumental ”by” here because they already have Christ in them, having been written in their hearts by the Holy Spirit by regeneration. Paul had felt birth pangs when he led them to the Lord and He does again until they should be brought forth as Christ-like believers. Paul suffered pain to watch these Galatian Christians grow and to outwardly manifest the character of Christ in their daily lives. For them to manifest Christ by their lives they needed to be spiritual. They are to be Christ-like but the Holy Spirit enables them to be Christ-like as they bear the fruit, i.e. the character of Christ in their lives. Christ-likeness is not produced by self-effort. Self-effort comes from the flesh.

It is possible to have an outward manifestation of godliness that is not the real thing. Godliness is the life of God lived out through human flesh. Paul warned Timothy about such individuals in Ephesus. He describes some men in the church in a quality of last days, I Tim. 3:1-5. A summary description of these individuals is given, ”Having a form9 of godliness, but denying the power from it: from such turn away,” I Tim. 3:5. Timothy is to shun or avoid those who are such. They have a mere semblance of godliness. To observe them they outwardly look good but they deny or say no to the power of godliness. Such individuals are carnal and unable to have the real outward manifestation

8 |iopcj)6o[j,ai (morphoomai) or laopc^ou) (morphoo) the verbal form in the passive meaning to be formed. This forming is an outward manifestation of that which one intrinsically is within.

9 [jLop^Goou; (morphosis)- This -oic (sis) ending noun in this context emphasizes a quality of a form with the meaning a forming or shaping; the mere form, semblance, cf. Thayer’s Lexicon, page 419.
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of godliness having only a resemblance of godliness. They do not direct any part of the fruit. They deny the power which comes from the Holy Spirit to have the real form of godliness, i.e. living out the life of God in human flesh. The Lord’s glory can only be reflected from the Holy Spirit.

The believer must get out of the way so that the Holy Spirit can cause him to be Christ like. To do this the believer must see himself as God the Father sees him in Christ. Paul describes how this works, ”Therefore, since you were raised intimately together with the Christ, you keep on seeking the things above, where the Christ is sitting on the right hand of God. You keep on framing your minds on things above, not on things on the earth,” Col. 3:1, 2. This moves to the other side of ”Christ in you.” This is ”you in Christ.” Christ in you is the result of regeneration while you in Christ is the result of Spirit baptism. The believer died together with Christ, was buried together with Christ and raised together with Christ, Rom. 6:3, 4. The believer is now to count himself on the one hand to be dead to the sin nature but on the other hand alive unto God in Christ Jesus, Rom. 6:11. Paul had experienced victory over the sin nature but he hadn’t come to a point where he had arrived. He knew Christ but not as he could know Him. To know the power of Christ’s resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings one must be conformed to His death.

Paul wanted to know Christ experientially in a way he didn’t yet know Him as he states, ”For the purpose that I may experientially know Him, and the inherent power from His resurrection, and the sharing in common of His sufferings while being conformed10 to His death,” Phil. 3:10. For the believer to come to an experiential knowledge of Christ and the power of His resurrection and the sharing in common of His present sufferings as believers suffer, he must be conformed to His death. He must count himself to have died together with Christ as a result of Spirit baptism. But he must also count himself alive unto God in his position in Christ. This is when one can experience the power of the resurrection11 and hence resurrection life. Resurrection life, a result of Spirit baptism, is part of the things above that the believer should frame his mind on but at the same time he must frame his mind on his co-death with Christ. When the believer’s mind is framed on things above he is out of the way and the Holy Spirit can make up for his lack of Christ likeness. This is when eternal life, the result of the regeneration by the Holy Spirit takes place. As one matures the transformation into the image of Christ increases in the glory that is reflected, from one degree of glory to another degree of glory. Then God’s purpose for the believer is fulfilled.

The transformation of the believer is accomplished in the believer’s mind or his faculty of thinking. Paul wrote of this to the Romans, ”And stop being conformed   to this age,13 but you be transformed14 by the renewdness pertaining to your mind, that you

10 oi)[iop(t)i(oo|iai (sumorphoomai)- in the passive means to be conformed or to be brought to the same form as someone or something else. The term is only found here.

11 Cf. Eph. 1:19-21- where there are four power words applied to Christ’s resurrection.

12 ouaxrpccTiCoo (suschematidzo) is an outward fashioning together like something else, an outward conforming.

13 cdcov (aion)- is the word age. The A. V. translates it ”world” but is the word ”age” referring to the legal age referred to in chapters 9-11.
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may approve what is the good, and well pleasing and mature, desirous will of God,” Rom. 12:2. The word we translate ”renewdness” only occurs here and in Titus 3:5. It looks at a complete renovation. It is accomplished ”through the washing (lavoring) of water by the Word and the renewdness of the Holy Spirit” at salvation, Tit. 3:5. The verbal form15 also only occurs twice in the New Testament. Paul suffered many things on account of the Corinthians for the ultimate purpose that the grace having increased through the thanksgiving of the many might be caused to abound unto the glory of God, II Cor. 4:15, cf. verses 8-14. Through it all he is renewed daily as he says, ”Wherefore we do not faint,16 but though our outer man is perishing” (in the process of decaying) ”yet our inner man is being renewed day by day,” II Cor. 4:16. Paul, during the difficulties he is enduring, is made new so that he is being refreshed daily. The ”inner man” is reference to the heart of man where body, soul and spirit come together. It is the rational, emotional and volitional part of man. It is ”I.”   The transformation of the believer from glory to glory is in the inner man where it is accomplished through the renewdness of the mind. Paul daily experienced an inner renewing. Such a renewing is based upon the initial renewdness from the Holy Spirit. Salvation takes place in the realm of the human spirit, Jn. 3:6. Hence the transformation takes place in the spirit belonging to the mind. Paul uses a different word with a similar notion to this renewal. He says to the Ephesians, ”And be renewed17 in the spirit belonging to your mind,” i.e. your thinking faculty, Eph. 4:23. The spirit part of the mind is the place where the believer is transformed into the same image and it should carry out into life as he bears fruit, i.e. the fruit of the Vine, which is the fruit of the Spirit. He will be like Christ in his daily life. This renewdness is in present tense salvation just as the transformation into the same image from glory to glory.

The new, in time, man is renewed by a full experiential knowledge which is measured by a quality of an image belonging to the One having created him, Col. 3:10. Christ created in Himself one new man, Eph. 2:15. The new (in time) man is the new creation which is a result of Spirit baptism and the believer’s position in Christ which was accomplished in past tense salvation, cf. II Cor. 5:17. Believers are positionally like Christ, the resurrected and glorified One. Now in present tense salvation the believer is to put on the new man like putting on a garment. This new man is also a new in quality or kind of man, Eph. 4:24. This is equivalent to putting Christ on as a garment, cf. Gal.
3:27. When this is accomplished the believer can now be Spirit filled. As a Spirit filled believer, the believer can now reflect the glory of Christ while being transformed into the same image from glory to glory. This is accomplished by framing one’s mind on the things above where Christ is seated at the Father’s right hand and the transformation by the renewdness pertaining to one’s life. By this transformation that takes place within the spirit part of one’s mind, the believer is transformed more and more into the image of Christ and reflect the Lord’s glory in his daily life.

14 |ieTa|xopc|>6a) (metamorphoo) to transform as in II Cor. 3:18.

15 dvccKcavoco (anakainoo)- to make new again, to renew.

16 eyKaKeo) (engkakeo)- to be weary in anything, to lose courage, flag, faint, cf. Thayer, page 166. The root meaning is to succumb to that which is lacking in character.

17 dvavoeo) (ananoeo)- to be renewed in mind. Only occurs here in Ephesians 4:23.
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This was all a mystery in the Old Testament. God dwelt in the midst of the Nation Israel but He was not in the individual believer. But now it was made known to the saints that the believer is indwelt by Christ and can match up to God’s opinion of him and in Christ he can mature. Paul wrote of these things to the Colossians.

”To whom (the saints) God desired to make known what is the riches from the glory pertaining to this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: whom we, on our part, are announcing, admonishing every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ Jesus,” Col. 1:27,28.

In these verses we find Christ in you and you in Christ. Christ in you, resulting from regeneration, is our hope, based upon the promises of God, of matching up to God’s opinion of us. There is great value that comes to the believer from the glory pertaining to this mystery. This is possible because Christ’s life, eternal life, can be reflected by us. At the same time Paul is concerned about the maturity of the believer. He would present every man mature in his position in Christ, which is the result of Spirit baptism. Glory here is the living out of the life of Christ who lives within the believer.

We will ultimately match up to His opinion of us when Christ our eternal life shall appear, Col. 3:4. Paul speaks of the believer’s position in Christ in the first three verses and now he moves to Christ in you. Christ in us is our life and when He appears at the Rapture, we will appear with Him in glory. It is then that we will be like Him for we see Him as He is, I Jn. 3:2. Then we shall all be changed, I Cor. 15:51, 52. It is then that our bodies of limitation will be changed to be conformed to be like His body of glory, Phil.
3:21. The ultimate glory will be accomplished in the believer. We are being conformed now but then we will be like Him. This is the way the Father sees us now in Christ. ”... and whom He declared righteous, these He also glorified,” Rom. 8:30. He sees us as already glorified and matching up to His opinion of us in Christ.

in. THE SALVATION OF THE GRACE BELIEVER AND THE GLORY OF GOD.

A. The Expressed Purpose: The Praise Of His Glory, Eph. 1:6, 12, 14.

1. The purpose resulting from the Decree, Eph. 1:6.

The grace believer is in Christ as a result of Spirit baptism, I Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27. Paul described some of the results of Spirit baptism when He wrote to the Ephesians. The purpose was ”unto the praise of a quality of glory from His grace.” Notice the surrounding context.

”Well spoken of (A. V. ”Blessed”) is the God even the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the one having spoken well (A. V. ”blessed”) us with all spiritual well spokenness (A. V. ”blessings”) in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before a quality of the foundation of a quality of the universe for the purpose that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestinated us unto the placement of mature
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sons (A. V. ”adoption”) through Jesus Christ into Him, measured by the good pleasure of His desirous will, unto a quality of praise pertaining to a quality of glory from His grace from which He graced us in the one being loved,” Eph. 1:3-6.

God the Father speaks well of us in Christ as He sees us in Christ. The basis for this goes back into eternity past when He chose or elected believers in Christ for the purpose that they should be holy, i.e. set apart to Him, and without blame, in Christ, before Him in love. Predestination, the marking off of bounds around before hand, guaranteeing the placement of sons was all measured by the standard of the good pleasure of His desirous will for the purpose of praise pertaining to glory from His grace. God’s opinion is seen in His choice and setting bounds about those who believe so that they will believe and be in Christ. It all comes from His grace. No one can earn it. No one deserves it. His glory or opinion comes from His grace.

2. The marking off of believers according to the determination from His desirous will that believers should be to the praise of His glory, Eph. 1:12.

God’s plan was determined from His many desires. Based on His determination believers are called to salvation having been marked off (A. V. ”predestinated”) measured by the standard of His purpose, Eph. 1:11. The purpose for it is expressed ”that we should be unto a quality of praise pertaining to a quality of His glory,” Eph. 1:12. God’s whole purpose for calling men to salvation is for the praise of His glory, i.e. His opinion as it relates to the believer and Himself.

3. The complete redemption unto the praise of His glory, Eph. 1:14.

This verse also relates to our salvation. The Holy Spirit is described as the one having sealed us in Christ and the one who is the earnest or down payment guaranteeing that we will get all we have coming in our inheritance in our future tense salvation, cf. I Pet.
1:4, 5. The Holy Spirit is seen as the down payment of the complete redemption, which we have in Christ, unto a quality of praise unto His glory. Paul says,

”In whom also you, on our part, having heard the word consisting of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also having believed you were sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, who is a quality of a down payment with reference to our inheritance, unto a quality of complete redemption with reference to the purchased possession, unto a quality of praise concerning His glory,” Eph. 1:13,14.

The Holy Spirit has sealed us in Christ so that we cannot be removed, cf. Eph. 4:30; II Cor. 1:22. The Holy Spirit is the seal. The Holy Spirit is also the earnest or down payment, cf. II Cor. 1:22; 5:5. The guarantee that we will get all that God has promised for us in the future is unto praise concerning His glory. His opinion of us will be proved in the future at the Rapture when we will get our inheritance.

4. The riches belonging to the glory pertaining to His inheritance in the saints,
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Eph. 1:17,18.

Paul identifies the Father as the Father of glory in the seventeenth verse. He is the one who deserves all the glory. He communicates to the Father that ”the eyes of their hearts might be illumined” by the Holy Spirit so that the Ephesians might intuitively know ”what are the riches pertaining to the glory from His inheritance in the saints,” Eph. 1:18. God finds wealth or value in His opinion that comes from His inheritance in the saints.

B, The Means Of Possessing The Glory Of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, II Thess. 2:14.

The call based on God’s choice or election of believers to salvation from a beginning18 is the means by which believers obtain the glory of Christ. Paul writes,

”But we, on our part, ought to thank God at all times generally concerning you, brothers, having been loved and still loved directly by the Lord, because God elected you from a beginning unto salvation by sanctification from the Spirit and faith in a quality of truth: unto which He also called you through our gospel, to obtainment of a quality of glory belonging to our Lord, Jesus Christ,” II Thess. 2:13, 14.

The call to salvation is based upon the Decree of God and His election. The call results in the obtainment of a quality of the Lord’s glory, i.e. His opinion of Himself. We are in Christ and He is in us. When we live in our position we are out of the way so that the Holy Spirit can enable us to live out the life of Christ that we have within. The Spirit filled believer will reflect this glory as in a mirror as he is transformed into the same image from glory to glory, II Cor. 3:18. At salvation believers obtain a quality of glory and can live it out when Spirit filled. The life of the indwelling Christ, eternal life, is reflected out.

IV. THE GRACE BELIEVER’S FULFILLMENT OF GOD’S ULTIMATE PURPOSE FOR THE CHURCH: HIS GLORY.

A. The Means Of The Fulfillment Of God’s Ultimate Purpose.

1. The glorification of The Lord Jesus Christ By The Holy Spirit, Jn. 16:14.

When the Holy Spirit came, He became the one who guides into all the truth. He didn’t speak concerning Himself, Jn. 16:13. This was promised to the eleven disciples but by application carries over to us. The Holy Spirit’s purpose was not His own glorification but He glorifies the resurrected and glorified Christ. He announced things through the Scriptures that He received from Christ. These are the things we find in the epistles that pertain to Christians. These things glorify Christ, especially when Spirit filled believers live out Christian truth.

2. The believer being made mighty by the Holy Spirit measured by the riches of

’ Some read ”firstfruit” but we accept ”from a beginning” as the correct reading.
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God’s glory, Eph. 3:16.

This is found in one of Paul’s prayers to the Father. He prays for the purpose that the Father would give to the Ephesians measured by the riches from His glory to be made mighty19 by His inherent power20 through the Holy Spirit in the inner man. The standard by which He wants them to be made mighty is the riches from His glory. The realm in which this might is supplied is ”in the inner man.” The inner man is the realm of the heart where body, soul and spirit come together. It is the realm that is the ego, the ”I.” The part of the inner man that will be made mighty is the human spirit. The Holy Spirit ministers in the realm of the human spirit, cf. He co-witnesses with our human spirits that we are the born ones of God, Rom. 8:16. This might within has nothing to do with us but all to do with the inherent power of God, i.e. His omnipotence. It is not based on our standards but on the standard of measurement of the riches21 available to us in Christ from God’s opinion of Himself and of us in Christ. This might comes through the Holy Spirit through the use of the Scriptures written to and for grace believers. The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to make mighty. This is dependent on one being Spirit filled and being guided by the Spirit in the use of the Scriptures in daily living. The result will be Christ settled down and at home in our hearts through faith, a part of the fruit of the Spirit, Eph. 3:17. This is accomplished in us as we have been and are in a state of having been firmly rooted and founded by love,22 another part of the fruit of the Spirit. Christ is already in us, having been written in our hearts by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. But He is not always at home. The Holy Spirit makes up for the lack of Christ likeness in the life of the spiritual believer. When we are spiritual we can reflect the Lord’s glory as in a mirror as we are transformed into the same image from glory to glory. This is from the Holy Spirit, cf. II Cor. 3:18. The transformation and the mirroring of Christ is based upon the inner man being made mighty through the Holy Spirit so that we reflect Christ as we direct the parts of the fruit of the Spirit, as in faith and love. Christ will then settle down and feel at home in us. God’s opinion of Himself and of us is accomplished by the Holy Spirit.

3. The means of the glorification of God on the basis of the believer’s position in Christ, Eph. 3:21.

Paul directs a doxology to God having spoken of the four dimensional love of Christ. He directs glory to God the Father.

”Now to the one being able to do over and above all things superabundantly which we ask or consider according to the standard of the inherent power which is energizing in us, to Him is the glory by the Church even in Christ Jesus into all the generations of the ages from the ages,” Eph. 3:21.

19 Aorist passive infinitive of the verb Kpateoo (krateo)- to grasp, to lay hold of, to be mighty, (A. V. ”to be strengthened”).

20 The instrumental of the noun Swctfxic (dunamis)- inherent power, ability, (A. V. ”with might”).

21 Cf. (glory)-Rom. 9:23; Eph. 1:18; Phil. 4:19; Col. 1:27; 11:33. Other-Eph. 1:7; 2:7; 3:8.

’ Cf. the four dimensions of love in the next two verses, Eph. 3:18, 19.
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Our omnipotent God has the ability to do far more than we can ask or even consider. It is to Him that Paul ascribes the glory. The Authorized Version reads ”in the Church by Christ Jesus.” Paul has been dealing with the believer’s position in Christ in the preceding context, so we exchange the translation of the prepositions. The glory is ”by” the instrumentality of the Church, but the sphere in which this takes place is ”in” Christ Jesus.   When we live in our position in Christ, God the Father gets glory. He gets glory, i.e. His opinion of both Himself and the Church in Christ is manifested and proven to be accurate.

4. The provision of the believer’s needs by glory in Christ Jesus, Phil. 4:19.

Paul says that God will fill full all the needs of the Philippians. In the previous context he deals with the monetary gift that the Philippians sent to him to meet his physical needs as a prisoner of Rome. Many interpret this verse to mean that God will supply all of their ”need according to His riches in heaven by Christ Jesus” as the Authorized Version reads. The riches in heaven are not monetary. But does ”glory” here refer to heaven. We think not. Paul’s theme is ”in Christ Jesus.” Again we would change the prepositions around to read, ”But my God shall fill full (so there is nothing lacking) all your need measured by the standard of His riches cby’ glory ’in’ Christ Jesus,” Phil. 4:19. We have all that we need to live godly in Christ Jesus. God has by His inherent power given us all things that face life and godliness through the full experiential knowledge concerning the one having called us to His very own glory and praise worthy things, II Pet. 1:3. It is by His glory, i.e. His opinion of us in Christ, that He meets our spiritual needs in Christ Jesus. We have all that we need in Christ. God doesn’t promise to pay us back materially but He does promise to fill our need spiritually in Christ. It is actually already accomplished. He has provided all we need and when things are difficult, we have all the resources necessary to fill up any lack that we have. No matter what the need, when our minds are framed on who we are and what we have in Christ, God meets our need in the spiritual realm by His opinion of us in Christ.

5. The means of glorifying God by fruit production, Phil. 1:11.

Paul communicates worship to the Father, that the Philippians’ love might abound more and more by a quality of a full experiential knowledge and with all mental perception or discernment so that they may go on approving the things that differ, i.e. the things that are excellent, distinguishing between good and evil. Their love needed to be directed in a quality of a full experiential knowledge so that they would direct it in a proper way, Phil. 1:9, 10a. The purpose was that they might be pure (A. V. ”sincere”) and that they might not be a cause of stumbling, Phil. 1:10b. At the same time they are in a state of being filled with a quality of fruit from righteousness which is through the intermediate agency of Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God, Phil. 1:11. The fruit that is from righteousness is the product produced by the believer. The Spirit filled believer can direct the fruit of the Spirit as Paul emphasizes love here. The fruit of the Spirit comes from righteousness or it could be taken as that the fruit is righteous. The filling with this fruit is through Jesus Christ to both the glory and praise with reference to God. God is glorified by the direction of the fruit of the Spirit by the Spirit filled believer
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and it also relates in praise to God. The glory here is speech from men and directed to God. His opinion is spoken back to Him together with praise.

B. The Fulfillment Of God’s Purpose For The Church By Service To The Glory Of God.

1. The service that is to the glory of God, II Cor. 8:19, 23; 9:13.

Paul describes a brother, possibly Luke, who accompanied Titus. This brother had a good reputation in the churches and would take their gift to the church at Jerusalem. This gift was being ministered by Paul and his fellow travelers facing glory with reference to the Lord Himself and their readiness of mind, II Cor. 8:19. The collection and carrying of the monetary gift to Jerusalem was a service for the glory of the Lord. Titus and those who were going with him to Jerusalem are commended as those who were messengers of the churches and of the glory of God, II Cor. 8:23. This giving was a religious service also, which not only made up for the lack of the saints’ giving but resulted in thanksgiving to God, II Cor. 9:12. Through the proof of this service they glorify God upon the basis of the Corinthians’ confessed submission unto the gospel concerning Christ, II Cor. 9:13. Here God is glorified by a service of believers in meeting the needs of other believers.

2. The glorification of God by ministering one’s spiritual gift according to the ability given by God, II Pet. 4:10, 11.

Every believer has received a quality of a grace gift and is to serve one another using this gift, I Pet. 4:10. Peter goes on to illustrate the use of this spiritual gift. Since someone has a speaking gift, he is to speak as a discourse (little saying) from God; since some man serves, he is to serve as out from an enduement of strength which God supplies, not himself, I Pet. 4:11. The purpose is that in all things God the Father might be glorified through Jesus Christ. The glory and the power are unto Christ into the ages from the ages. The use of spiritual gifts is to be for the glory of the Father and the Son.

3. The glorification of God by believers as a kingdom and priests, Rev. 1:6.

As a kingdom and as priests grace believers serve God the Father to whom is the glory and might into the ages from the ages. By the new birth, we belong to the Kingdom of God. We are also part of the Kingdom of His Dear Son. As priests we can offer spiritual sacrifices to the Father. In this way we serve the one to whom is the glory and might. When believers serve it is one way that the Father is glorified.

4. The glorification of the Father through the preaching of Christ, II Cor. 1:20.

Paul, Silvanus (Silas), and Timothy preached to the Corinthians at the beginning of the church there. Their message wasn’t wishy washy, yes and no but in Christ it was yes, II Cor. 1:17-19. Paul goes on to explain, ”For as many promises from God are in Him yes, wherefore also through Him the Amen,” i.e. I believe, ”facing the God is a quality of
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glory through us,” II Cor. 1:20. The core of Paul’s and his fellow apostles’ preaching was the Person of Christ. Christ is the affirmation of all of the promises of God. Paul’s response is ”Amen,” i.e. ”I believe.” God was glorified through their preaching Christ.23

5. The glorification of God as a result of suffering, I Pet. 4:16.

Peter has much to say about suffering and Christians. A Christian is not to suffer for wrong doing but assuming he suffers as a Christian, he is not to be put to shame but he is to glorify God in this matter. When a Christian suffers for righteousness he can glorify God by demonstrating what God can do in the life of a believer to help him live godly. Peter, himself, was a witness to the sufferings of the Christ, i.e. the Head and the body together, I Pet. 5:1. He was also a sharer of the glory that was about to be revealed.

6. The glorification of God by the death of Peter, Jn. 21:19.

The resurrected and glorified Lord Jesus told Peter what kind of a death he was going to die, Jn. 21:18. He was going to die by crucifixion. John editorializes telling us that the Lord was giving a sign pointing to what sort of death Peter was going to glorify God by, Jn, 21:19. God can even be glorified by the death of a Spirit filled saint. John probably knew how Peter died as he also knew what the Lord had told Peter. Peter’s death also showed how God’s opinion is shown forth in the death of a believer.

C. The Glorification Of God By The Christian Living As A Christian.

1. The worthy walk being empowered by the might from His glory, Col. 1:11.

Paul in his worship communication to the Father asks that they might walk worthy of the Lord. To do so they need to be growing. Paul writes,

”On account of this, we, on our part, since the day we heard, are not ceasing praying prayers of worship in behalf of you and asking that you might be filled with the full experiential knowledge of His desirous will in all wisdom and spiritual comprehension, for the purpose that you, on your part, should walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit and maturing in the full experiential knowledge concerning God, by all inherent power being empowered measured by the might from His glory unto all patience and longsuffering, accompanied by joy,” Col. 1:9-11.

Paul is concerned that these Colossian believers might be filled so that they wouldn’t lack in a full experiential knowledge of God’s desirous will in all wisdom, knowing how to use their knowledge and understanding, and in spiritual comprehension, putting facts together so they understand them. Such knowledge comes only from the Word of God and must be taught by the Holy Spirit to put it together and use it. Paul’s purpose for communicating to the Father concerning their knowledge is that they might conduct their

23 Cf. II Thess. 3:1 where Paul desired that the Word concerning the Lord would run (A. V. ”have a free course”), and be glorified as it was face to face with the Thessalonians.
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lives in a manner worthy of the Lord pleasing those around them. He also wants them to be bearing fruit, i.e. the fruit of the Spirit, cf. longsuffering and joy at the end of verse eleven. They also need to be growing, i.e. maturing in the full experiential knowledge concerning God, which is only possible for the Spirit taught believer. The means by which their growth will take place is by all inherent power, i.e. God’s omnipotence, being empowered measured by the standard of the might that comes from His opinion of Himself unto all patience and longsuffering (part of the fruit of the Spirit) accompanied by joy (part of the fruit of the Spirit). God’s opinion is seen by the enablement of believers to direct the fruit of the Spirit.

2. The glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ in the believer and the believer in Him, IIThess. 1:12.

Paul addresses worship to the Father again and he says he does so at all times generally concerning the Christians in Thessalonica. His purpose is that God would deem them worthy of the calling to salvation, and that He would fill all good pleasure of His goodness and work from faith with power, so that the name, i.e. the character, of the Lord Jesus might be glorified by them and they in Him, II Thess. 1:11,12. As a result of the salvation of these believers, Paul’s desire is that the Lord Jesus might be glorified by them. We take this as an instrumental ”by” since Christ in the believer is reflected by the believer as in a mirror as the believer is transformed into the same image. The character of Christ is the thing that the believer is transformed into from glory to glory. On the other side of the coin, the believer is glorified in his position in Christ. The Father’s opinion of the believer is the same as His opinion of Christ since the believer is in Christ. The glorification of the name of Christ is accomplished by the Spirit filled believer living out the life of the indwelling Son of God.

3. The glorification of God by the Christian suffering as a Christian, I Pet. 4:14.

Peter encourages the Christians in the Diaspora to rejoice as they are sharers in common of the sufferings of the Christ, i.e. the Head and the body together, I Pet. 4:13. What they are to rejoice for is that they may rejoice with exultation when His glory will be revealed. This leads him to speak of the happiness of the believer who is insulted for the name or character of Christ, I Pet. 4:14. Such a Christian can be happy because the Spirit of glory rests upon him. The rest of the verse is left out of some manuscripts and is left out of the Critical Text. We would include the rest of the verse which says, ”He, on the one hand, is blasphemed according to them, but, on the other hand He is glorified according to you,” I Pet. 4:14. Unbelievers will blaspheme Christ because a Christian lives a Christ like life, but in so doing the Christian glorifies Christ by His life as he is transformed into the same image from glory to glory.

4. The glorification of God by the good works of a Christian, I Pet. 2:12.

Believers are pilgrims and strangers here on earth and Peter says they are to abstain from fleshly lusts that wage a limited warfare against the soul, I Pet. 2:11. He goes on to describe the lifestyle of Christians among the Gentiles. The Gentiles speak against
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Christians as evildoers but Christians are to have a good appearing lifestyle so that the Gentiles, out from the Christians’ good appearing works, may glorify God in a day of visitation, I Pet. 2:12. The good looking, appropriate, works of a Christian can be used to cause unbelievers to glorify God.

5. The glorification of God by believers agreeing in speech, Rom. 15:6.

Paul gives one of the ways believers can use the Old Testament, Rom. 15:4. It may be used for our learning, i.e. doctrine to be believed but not practiced. He moves on to a wish that God would give to the Romans to reflectively think the same thing among one another measured by Christ Jesus, Rom. 15:5. The next verse gives the purpose, ”that with one accord or agreement, you might glorify the God even Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mouth,” Rom. 15:6. Believers are one in Christ and should be in agreement with one another and when they agree in speech they glorify God. They show that God’s opinion of Himself concerning their unity in Christ is accurate.

V. THE GLORIFICATION OF GOD BY BELIEVERS FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE.

A. For The Healing Of A Lame Man, Acts 4:21.

By the name, i.e. character of Jesus, Peter and John healed a lame man at the Temple. He had been lame from his mother’s womb. The religious leaders threatened the apostles for preaching in the name of Jesus but they were unable to punish them because the people glorified God for the miraculous healing that had been performed. This appears to be similar to the glorification of God in the Old Testament and the gospels where people glorified God by what they said, as they gave His full weight to Him.

B. The Glorification Of God By Men For The Conversion Of Paul, Gal. 1:24.

Paul is giving the account of his past life and then his salvation. He describes how the Christians in Judaea had heard that the one who persecuted them in the past was now preaching the faith he had at one time destroyed. The result was that the Christians in Jerusalem glorified God by Paul. They saw that God had saved Saul of Tarsus and changed His life so that he who was against them in the past was now one of them. They gave glory to God for the change. Again they gave God His full weight by giving His opinion back to Him.

C. The Glorification Of God For The Inclusion Of Gentiles In Salvation.

1. For the salvation of the Gentiles in the household of Cornelius, Acts 11:18.

The Jews in Jerusalem vocally glorified God for giving repentance to the Gentiles. Peter is giving his report to the church in Jerusalem about how he went to the house of Cornelius. When he told about how the Holy Spirit fell upon these Gentiles, just as He had fallen upon the Jews back at the beginning of the Church, and how God gave them the gift consisting of the Holy Spirit, it had an affect upon the Jews, Acts 11:15-17. The
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Jewish Christians in Jerusalem became silent and glorified God by what they said, Acts
11:18. God was glorified by them when they agreed that God had also given repentance unto life to the Gentiles. What they said manifested God’s opinion of Himself in giving salvation to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews.

2. For the salvation of the Gentiles through Paul’s ministry, Acts 21:20.

The setting for this verse is Jerusalem again but some years later. Paul had come back to Jerusalem for the Day of Pentecost and got himself into trouble. When he arrived he visited James and the elders in the church and went to narrating to them what God had done among the Gentiles through his service, Acts 21:18, 19. When Paul told them these things, they went to glorifying the Lord, Acts 21:20. But they continued on convincing Paul to take a Jewish vow to appease the zealots among the church in Jerusalem who were zealots of the law, Acts 21:21-27. This got him into trouble with the Jews in the Temple. However, the leaders of the church in Jerusalem did glorify God for what He had done among the Gentiles.

D. The Glorification Of God By The Gentiles In Antioch Of Pisidia, Acts 13:48.

On Paul’s first apostolic journey along with Barnabas, they came to Antioch in Pisidia and at the invitation of the rulers of the synagogue went and Paul preached Christ, Acts
13:15-41. There were Gentiles there in the Jewish synagogue who wanted the message to be preached to the Gentiles during the week between, Acts 13:42. Many Jews and proselytes followed them, Acts 13:43. On the next Sabbath most of the city came together to hear the Word of God which caused the Jews to be filled with zeal and to speak against the things Paul preached, Acts. 13:44, 45. Paul and Barnabas as a result turned to the Gentiles and when the Gentiles heard this, they went to rejoicing and glorifying the Word of God, Acts 13:47, 48. As many as were ordained unto eternal life believed. The words from God were glorified here by some Jews and many Gentiles in this Gentile city.

E. The Glorification Of God By The Gentiles In Behalf Of His Mercy, Rom. 15:9.

Some Jews in the early Church had a problem with the Gentiles in the Church. They had been given adoption, the manifest glory, the covenants, the law, service to God, and the promises, Rom. 9:3. The Jews thought they were better and judged the Gentiles, Rom. 2:17f. But God is not a respecter of persons but will judge all according to their works, both Jew and Gentile, cf. Rom. 2:6-11, 16. But when it comes to grace believers there is no difference Paul says, ’Tor all sinned (at a point of time in Adam) and come short of God’s glory,” Rom. 3:22, 23. However, God made known the riches from His glory (opinion of Himself in providing mercy) on the vessels (like those made by a potter out of clay, cf. Rom. 9:20, 21) of mercy which He prepared beforehand (cf. the Greek of Eph. 2:10 of the good works prepared beforehand) unto glory, Rom. 9:23. Paul includes both Jews and Gentiles as vessels who are recipients of mercy as he continues, ”Even us whom He called, not only out from Jews but also out from Gentiles,” Rom. 9:24.
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This gives us a bit of the background as we come to our verse. Paul encourages believers to be in agreement and ”to receive one another as Christ received us to the glory of God,” Rom. 15:5, 7. Christ was a servant with reference to the Jews. The promises were given to the Jews, Rom. 15:8. Christ was also a servant ”that the Gentiles might glorify God in behalf of His mercy,” Rom. 15:9. He goes on to give support from five Old Testament passages to demonstrate that God also has a place for Gentiles along with Jews.24 That Jew and Gentile would be one in Christ was a mystery in the Old Testament, Eph. 3:4, 9. Because of the work of Christ, the Gentiles can glorify God for His mercy. God deserves the glory from both Jew and Gentile for His kindness upon those suffering on account of sin is extended to both.

VI. THE CALL FOR GRACE BELIEVERS TO GLORIFY GOD.

A. The Encouragement To Glorify God With One’s Body And Spirit, I Cor. 6:20.

The believer’s body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and doesn’t belong to him, I Cor.
6:19. God no longer dwells in handmade temples as in the Old Testament but in living bodies. Paul explains why believers are not their own as he continues, ”For you were bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God’s,” I Cor. 6:20. The last part ”in your spirit which are God’s” is left out of some manuscripts but we do include it. This is an important verse to the Christian life. You no longer belong to yourself but you belong to God who bought you. Christ’s precious blood paid the price to set us free. Now we are to glorify God by our bodies, as well as in our human spirits. We can glorify God by what we do with our bodies and what we reason in our human spirits as we demonstrate that His opinion of us in Christ is accurate.

B. The Encouragement To Glorify God In Everything, I Cor. 10:31.

A few chapters later in First Corinthians Paul writes concerning a problem with offending another man’s conscience. The problem was eating things that had been offered in the idol temple. Paul realizes that all things are permissible under grace but all things aren’t best and though all things are permissible, not all things edify or build up a believer, I Cor. 10:23. You don’t seek your own edification but that of another, I Cor.
10:24. Don’t eat something if it will offend another man’s conscience, I Cor. 10:29. It is in this context that Paul says ”Therefore, whether you eat, or whether you drink or anything you do, do all things unto God’s glory, that you might come to be without being a cause of stumbling to Jews, and Gentiles, and to the Church belonging to God,” I Cor.
10:31, 32. Believers are encouraged to glorify God by their bodies and spirits because they belong to God. Here Paul tells how you can do this. You do everything you do to the glory of God, even the simplest things such as eating and drinking. It is permissible to eat anything that won’t make you sick or kill you under grace if you can give thanks for it. But there are times that something might be a stumbling stone to another believer. Paul encourages believers to think of the other believer rather than themselves. Anything you do, do all things to the Glory of God. This demonstrates His opinion of you to be

24

Rom. 9:10-12, cf. II Sam, 22:50; Psa. 18:49; Deut. 32:43; Psa. 117:1; Isa. 11:10.
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correct. His opinion is always right as He sees the believer in Christ but we don’t always match up to it here on earth.

VII. THE GLORY ASCRIBED TO GOD BY BELIEVERS.

A. The Glory Given To God As The Creator, Rom. 11:36.

”Because all things are out from Him (as to ultimate source) and through Him (as intermediate agent) and because of Him (causal dc, {eis}): to Him is the glory into the ages, amen.”

B. The Glory Given To God For Salvation, Gal. 1:5.

”The Lord Jesus Christ, the one having given Himself for our sins, so that He might deliver us out from the present evil age measured by the desirous will of the God even our Father, to whom is the glory into the ages from the ages, amen.”

C. The Glory Given To God For Providing For The Maturation Of The Saints.

1. The glory ascribed to God for the gospel for the maturing of Christians, Rom.
16:27.

”Now to the one being able to establish you measured by the standard of my gospel and the heralding with authority of Jesus Christ, measured by a quality of revelation of a mystery having been kept silent in time in eternities, but now having been made manifest through the prophetic Scriptures, measured by a quality of a commandment from the eternal God, having been made known for the obedience from faith: To the only wise God is the glory into the ages from the ages, amen,” Rom. 16:25-27.

2. The glory ascribed to God for the rounding out of the saints, Heb. 13:21.

”Now the God of peace... thoroughly adjust you in every good work to do His desirous will, doing in you the thing well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory into the ages from the ages, amen.”

3. The glory ascribed to God who establishes the believer, I Pet. 5:10, 11.

”Now the God of all grace, the one having called you unto His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after having suffered a short time, He, Himself, shall thoroughly adjust you, establish, strengthen, firmly ground you. To Him is the glory and the might into the ages, amen.”

4. The glory ascribed to the Lord Jesus Christ on account of growth in knowledge concerning Him, II Cor. 3:18.
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”But you be growing by grace and in a quality of knowledge concerning our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To whom is the glory both now and into a day age, amen.”

D. The Glory Ascribed To The Father By The Church In Christ Jesus, Eph. 3:21.

”Now to the one being able to do over and above all things superabundantly which we ask or consider according to the standard of the inherent power which is energizing in us, to Him is the glory by the Church even in Christ Jesus into all the generations of the ages from the ages, Amen”

CONCLUSION:

We have seen in this study that God’s ultimate purpose for the Church is to bring glory to Himself. This goes back to the Decree. He has marked grace believers off with boundaries unto son placement unto a quality the praise concerning the glory from His grace from which we are accepted or graced in the one having been and still being loved. He has marked off grace believers that we should be to the praise concerning His glory. He also gave the Holy Spirit as the seal and down payment to grace believers for our complete redemption when we get all that is promised to us. He did this unto the praise concerning His glory. By the illumination from the Holy Spirit we can intuitively know the wealth pertaining to the glory pertaining to His inheritance in the saints. Back in eternity past, God determined to save us and His purpose was that He should get the glory. His opinion belongs to Him and should be directed back to Him. The way believers can glorify God is by the divine enablement of the Holy Spirit. A believer must be living in the realm of his position in Christ so that He is out of the way and the Holy Spirit is then able to make up for his lack of Christ likeness. One is Christ like by being conformed to the image of Christ by manifesting the character of Christ by directing the fruit from the Spirit. This can be carried out in Christian service to the glory of God by Christians doing the works God has prepared beforehand for them. Another way God is glorified is the way the believer speaks. Using one’s spiritual gift can also glorify God. Suffering as a Christian and dying as a Christian are also ways God can be glorified by a believer. The believer can glorify God by living the Christian life. Living the Christian life goes back to being spiritual and directing the parts of the fruit of the Spirit in all circumstances. This is based on the believer being in Christ and Christ being in the believer. The life of Christ can be reflected by the believer who is living in His position in Christ as he is being transformed into the same image from glory to glory. God is worthy of all the glory.

What is God’s ultimate purpose? Is it anthropocentric? No! It is His own glory. He is worthy of all the glory. His glory is His opinion of Himself. His glory can be a manifest glory as it was in the Old Testament. Throughout eternity His glory is a bright flashing splendor with brilliant colors as He covers Himself with light like a garment. He has manifested His glory with brightness to men but nothing like His full shekinah glory. Moses was permitted to get a glimpse of just the backside of God’s glory. That glimpse
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was a greater sight of God’s glory than there was on Mount Sinai, in the wilderness and in the Tabernacle and the Temple. In the future His glory will be manifested to those dwelling on the earth when the Son of Man comes in His glory to establish His kingdom on earth. His splendor will light the earth from the New Jerusalem at that time. The Lamb is the Light. But God has manifested His glory in other ways than showing His shekinah glory. That glory departed from Israel as Ezekiel saw it depart and the glory returned in the Person of the Lord, Jesus Christ.

The glory was manifested by a man, the God-man, when God the Son became flesh. The baby in the manger was also the Eternal Word who is God. He lived a perfect life and exhibited knowledge and wisdom as He grew up but His glory was manifested when He began to perform sign miracles which pointed to His deity. The glory of God was manifested through a man who was also God. His purpose was to glorify the Father and when He brought glory to the Father, the Father glorified Him. The brightness of God’s glory was only manifested to the shepherds when Jesus was born. It also was manifested one other time at the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus. God’s glory was manifested by the God-man. Men glorified God by their speech as they saw the Lord’s miracles. This was different than the Old Testament manifestation of glory by a visible brightness. But when Christ was crucified, dying on the cross for our sins, and arose out from dead ones to ascend to the Father in heaven, this form of the glory departed again. But He had to depart to send the Holy Spirit. With the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, things changed. God’s glory is manifested here on earth in a unique way through grace believers.

Now things have changed. New relationships began with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost with the beginning of the Church. The Holy Spirit by regeneration writes Christ into the believer’s heart resulting in eternal life. God the Son in the believer imparts His divine quality of life to the believer. This is the kind of life the believer manifests when he reflects the Lord’s glory as in a mirror while he is being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory into a greater degree of glory as he is spiritual and maturing. For this life to be reflected out one must be Spirit filled and directing the fruit of the Spirit. There is no self effort. But to reflect Christ, one must be out of the way so that it isn’t the believer’s efforts and life that are seen. The believer must frame his mind on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, not on things on the earth. This goes to framing one’s mind on his position in Christ, which is the result of Spirit baptism. When we, as believers, keep our focus on our position and live in the realm of our position by counting it to be true, we are out of the way and living in the realm where the Father sees us right now. There He sees us as already glorified- ”them He glorified.”

”You in me and I in you” are of utmost importance to fulfilling God’s ultimate purpose for the Church, His glory. When we live in the sphere of ”you in me” we are out of the way so the ”I in you” and the resulting eternal life can be lived out and hence be manifested by fruit as we are being transformed into the same image of the Lord. The more we direct fruit the more God is glorified by us. We bear the fruit of Christ the Vine because we are in Him. His life in us is what brings forth the fruit and it is His fruit. We
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just have to be in a proper relationship to the Holy Spirit so that the fruit can be directed by us in our daily lives. The Father is glorified by much fruit. This should be our aim, to cease from our own labor and let God work in and through us so that we bear much fruit to the glory of God. This fulfills His purpose for us. This is accomplished as Christ is formed by us.

Christ in us is our hope, based upon God’s promises, of matching up to God’s opinion of us. Because Christ is in us we can live lives matching up to His opinion, i.e. His glory. Since Christ is in us we can perform to the glory of God. With the Holy Spirit dwelling in us we are to glorify God by our bodies and in our spirits which are God’s. Hence, Paul calls upon believers to glorify God in anything we do. We are to glorify Him whether we eat or drink or by anything we do. This involves every detail of our lives. God’s ultimate purpose is to glorify Himself. Ultimately we will in our whole being and in every way glorify Him for we will be like Christ, We are in the process of being conformed to the image of Christ now and ultimately we will be conformed to His image. We will be like Him because we shall see Him as He is. We will see Christ in His glory and we will share in the glory of the Resurrected and Glorified One.

”To God is the glory great things He has done.”

”To the only wise God is the glory into the ages from the ages.”

Rom. 16:27.

”But we all, on our part,

with face having been unveiled while reflecting the Lord’s glory as in a mirror

are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory

just as from the Spirit the Lord.”

II Cor. 3:18.

”To Him is the glory by the Church even in Christ Jesus

into all the generations of the ages from the ages.”

Eph. 3:21.

”And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such

as are under the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying,

’The blessing and the honor, and the glory, and the strength,

is unto Him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb

into the ages from the ages’”

Rev. 5:13

”Do all to the glory of God.”