John Calvin:
Suffering
Chapter 11 - The hope of glory
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Christ,
the hope of glory
- Faith is the foundation on which hope rests.
Hope nourishes and sustains faith
- Romans 3:23 - 23for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God,
- 2 Corinthians 4:4 - 4The god of this age has
blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the
gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- Hope linked with faith in Christ can never be
disappointed because nothing can separate us from the love of God, which has
been poured out in our hearts.
- Hope in Christ regards salvation as most
certain.
- Our salvation is gradually advanced by
adversities
- Romans 5:1-5 - 1Therefore, since we have been
justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now
stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we
also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces
perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not
disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy
Spirit, whom he has given us.
Christian hope rests upon faith in Christ
- God will cover us with his wings:
- Psalm 57 - When he had fled from Saul into the
cave. - 1 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes
refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has
passed.
- Peter reminds the faithful that they should
direct their thoughts to eternal salvation:
- 1 Peter 1:3-9 - 3Praise be to the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a
living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into
an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fadekept in heaven for
you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the
salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly
rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all
kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faithof greater worth than
gold, which perishes even though refined by firemay be proved genuine and
may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though
you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now,
you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for
you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
- Faith does not promise us length of days, riches
and honors but is contented with the assurance that God will never fail us. The
chief security lies in the expectation of future life, which is placed beyond
doubt by the Word of God.
- Job 19:25-27 - 25 I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been
destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own
eyesI, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
- Job 13:15 - 15 Though he slay me, yet will I
hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.
Waiting
and hoping for the coming of Christ
- God intends to test his faithful ones
- We must understand that God has good reason for
doing all this and we need to be exercised.
- If we are given gold, would we
not test it to determine it's value? If we doubted its genuineness - we would
test it by fire...
- Titus 2:11-14 - 11For the grace of God that
brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say "No"
to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and
godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hopethe
glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave
himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a
people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
- Romans 8:17-18 - 17Now if we are children, then
we are heirsheirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in
his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Future
Glory - 18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing
with the glory that will be revealed in us.
- Romans 5:5 - 5And hope does not disappoint us,
because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he
has given us.
- Romans 5:21 - 21so that, just as sin reigned in
death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 - 16Therefore we do not
lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being
renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us
an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Looking
beyond the sunset
- Things that are seen are temporal; things that
are unseen are eternal..
- 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 - 17For our light and
momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs
them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For
what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
- While Paul doesn't minimize the importance of
the present life; we should view our life in a heavenly perspective
- Colossians 3:3-4 - 3For you died, and your life
is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then
you also will appear with him in glory.
- Colossians 3:1-2 - 1Since, then, you have been
raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at
the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly
things.
- Jesus said - Matthew 6:33 - 33But seek first his
kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as
well.
- Suffering should turn our eyes heavenward
towards the life to come, anticipating the glory of the heavenly
kingdom.
- The prospect of future glory should fill us with
joy.
- Even those Christians whose situation is
hopeless may find comfort in the prospect of heavenly glory.
- If our joy is derived from the hope of a future
life, then patience will grow up in adversities; for no kind of sorrow will be
able to overwhelm this joy
- No one will calmly and quietly submit to bear
the cross except those who have learned to seek their happiness beyond this
world.
- Joy and patience are far above our strength....
We must persevere in prayer that he may not permit our hearts to faint....
Prayer and perseverance are necessary in our daily conflicts. The best remedy
to the weariness is diligence in prayer.
The
triumph of grace
- Time heals all wounds is partly true; time and
grace together heal the wounds of sorrow and renew the spirit.
- Do we fear death?
- "Death, do not be proud, though some have
called you Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so." John Donne
- Hebrews 2:14-15 - 14Since the children have
flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might
destroy him who holds the power of deaththat is, the devil 15and
free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
- Psalm 56:3-4 - 3 When I am afraid, I will trust
in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me?
- 1 John 5:4 - 4for everyone born of God overcomes
the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
Received at last to glory
- Scripture's meditation on the
future does not center on man's attainment of eternal happiness, but on the
glory of God, on salvation by grace, on the marriage of the Lamb.... Worthy is
the lamb who was slain!
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