Hope of the Glory of God
Romans 5:1-2
By Marc Heatherington 7/15/23
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Rom 5:1-2
This is a familiar passage for Christians. The usual focus of sermons of this passage deal with our salvation by faith. I want to focus on the last part of verse 2. That last portion says, “we . . rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” I want to ask you a question. When is the last time you “rejoiced in the hope of the glory of God?” When I read this verse, and applied it to myself, I was stumped. I had never rejoiced in the hope of the Glory of God. I had never heard it preached as something I should expect or hope for. I have rejoiced in God’s forgiveness, salvation, eternal life, etc. But the hope of glory? Never.
The Bible speaks of a variety of hopes that God has given us.
the hope of the righteous will be gladness, . . . Proverbs 10:28
the hope of righteousness by faith. Galatians 5:5
the hope of salvation. 1 Thess 5:8
the hope of eternal life, Titus 1:2, 3:7
The hope of Christ’s appearing Titus 2:13
To this list, we should add the hope of the Glory of God.
WHAT IS GLORY?
We don’t talk much about glory. Glory is defined as splendor, dignity, or honor. To make the point, scripture contrasts glory with shame. Proverbs 3:35 says, “The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools.” 1 Corinthians 15:43 makes this contrast again, saying our bodies were, “sown in dishonor”, but will be, “raised in glory.” In Hebrews 1, Jesus is described as the radiance of God’s glory. Revelation 21:23 describes the New Jerusalem, saying, “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.”
Moses experienced glory when his face shined, after being in God’s presence. But the glory on Moses faded. In contrast, we are promised in 1 Peter 5:4 that we “will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.” It is eternal. Daniel speaks of this future glory, saying;
“Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” Dan 12:3
Although the thought of future glory is foreign to us, it was on the minds of the disciples. They wanted the glory. The following is from Mark 10.
“Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.” And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.” Mark 10:35-37
Their desire was repeated several times as the disciples continued to argue over who was the greatest.
THE NATURE OF MAN
Romans 3:23 says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Have you ever wondered why this verse uses the word “glory” rather than “righteousness”. Even if we had no sin, wouldn’t our glory still fall short of God’s glory? It would. But God is not careless with His word. In scripture, whenever someone is confronted with God’s glory, they not only fall short, they fall down. Even the apostle John, who personally knew Jesus, fell on his face when Jesus appeared in glory.
In Revelation 1, John described the scene: “. . His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. Rev 1:16-17
Our sin impacts our glory. And this is something God aims to remedy, for we are promised;
“When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Col 3:4
God’s forgiveness is so important. Forgiveness not only relieves our guilt, it prepares us for glory. To hope for God’s glory requires accepting God’s forgiveness. I couldn’t conceive receiving it, because God had shown me my sins and then my utter sinfulness. But God’s grace is greater than my sin. God didn’t prepare us for an eternity in shame, but to shine in His glory.
THE PROMISE OF GLORY
Glory is an important hope. Romans 9:22 says God will, “make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory.” When we were saved, we were prepared for His glory. That alone is a lot to grasp. When Colossians 3 tells us to set our minds on things above, glory is one of those “things” to set our minds on. We were prepared for His glory. And in Colossians, we are told when this will be fulfilled;
“When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Col 3:4
Glory is one of the heavenly rewards.
Romans 5:2 is not the only verse which speaks of the hope of God’s glory. Colossians 1:27 describes the mystery of God as, “Christ in us, the hope of glory.” We are all familiar with this verse. But again, I have to ask, how many of us connect “Christ in us “with the hope of glory?
2 Thess 2:13-14 says,
“. . God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
God has goals for us, and one of those goals is to have us obtains the glory of Jesus Christ. Before Jesus was crucified, Jesus said, “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them .” John 17:22. When we come to Christ, we receive the glory of Christ in us. Now, we wait for His glory to be revealed. Romans 8:18 says our sufferings won’t compare to “the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
When we preach the gospel, we usually focus on God’s love, His forgiveness, salvation and eternal life. Rarely do we share about the glory that awaits us. It is something we should be hoping for and setting our minds on. We will receive new, spiritual bodies. And of that body, 1 John says, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” 1 John 3:2-3
“We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” At the transfiguration in Matthew 17, and again in Revelation 1, Jesus is described as having a countenance like the sun shining in its strength. Imagine having that countenance. In Psalm 17:15 David related to this, saying, “As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.”
Let us rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
