Experiencing Divine Love and Glory in Christ

Devotional

Day 1: Experiencing Divine Love and Glory

The love that God the Father has for His Son, Jesus Christ, is the same love that believers are invited to experience. This divine love is not just a concept but a transformative power that fills us, allowing us to love Jesus with purity and strength. As we align ourselves with God's glory, we find our deepest fulfillment and joy. This convergence of divine love and human joy is a profound spiritual experience that invites us into a deeper relationship with God. [16:22]

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:14-19, ESV)

Reflection: Think of a moment when you felt truly loved by God. How can you extend that same love to someone in your life today?

Day 2: The Joy of Christian Hedonism

Christian Hedonism teaches that our ultimate joy is found in glorifying God. This concept reveals that God's glory and our happiness are not at odds but are intertwined. As we experience God's glory, we find our deepest satisfaction and fulfillment. This understanding invites us to seek joy in God's presence and to find happiness in living a life that glorifies Him. [02:45]

"Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:25-26, ESV)

Reflection: Identify one area of your life where you seek joy apart from God. How can you redirect that desire towards glorifying Him today?

Day 3: Assurance in God's Righteous Covenant

God's righteousness is not only about mercy but also about His unwavering commitment to His promises. Once we are part of His covenant community, His righteousness ensures our salvation. This assurance provides believers with encouragement and confidence in their relationship with God. Understanding this aspect of God's character invites us to trust in His faithfulness and to grow in our knowledge of Him. [09:12]

"Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations." (Deuteronomy 7:9, ESV)

Reflection: Reflect on a promise from God that you find difficult to trust. What steps can you take to deepen your trust in His faithfulness today?

Day 4: The Transformative Love of the Trinity

The love shared between the Father and the Son is at work within us through the Holy Spirit. This divine love transforms us and draws us into the life of the Trinity, offering a profound spiritual experience. As we participate in this divine relationship, we are invited to love Jesus with the same love that the Father has for Him. This transformation is a journey that leads us to a deeper understanding of God's love and glory. [20:30]

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you." (John 14:16-17, ESV)

Reflection: Consider how the Holy Spirit is working in your life today. How can you be more open to His transformative love and guidance?

Day 5: Growing in the Knowledge of God

Knowing God is the pathway to experiencing His love and glory more fully. As we grow in our understanding of who God is, we are invited to participate more deeply in His divine life and love. This growth leads to a deeper spiritual fulfillment and a more profound relationship with God. By seeking to know God more, we open ourselves to the richness of His love and the joy of His presence. [22:44]

"Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth." (Hosea 6:3, ESV)

Reflection: What is one new thing you can learn about God today? How can this knowledge deepen your relationship with Him?

Sermon Summary

In this sermon, we explore the profound love that God the Father has for His Son, Jesus Christ, and how this love is extended to us as believers. The essence of the gospel is revealed in the mutual glorification between the Father and the Son, and how we are invited into this divine relationship. The ultimate goal of God is His own glory, and our ultimate joy is found in witnessing and participating in this glory. This convergence of divine glory and human joy is the heart of Christian Hedonism, where our deepest fulfillment is found in glorifying God.

The sermon delves into the nature of the Trinity, emphasizing the love and glory shared between the Father and the Son. This love is not just a distant admiration but is meant to be experienced by us. We are called to love the Son with the same love that the Father has for Him, a love that is pure, omnipotent, and eternal. This divine love will one day fill us completely, allowing us to love Jesus with the fullness of God's love.

The sermon also highlights the righteousness of God in His covenant with us. Once we are part of the covenant community, God's righteousness ensures our salvation. This righteousness is not just about mercy but about God's commitment to His promises. As believers, we are encouraged to grow in the knowledge of God, as this knowledge is the pathway to experiencing His love and glory more fully.

Key Takeaways

1. Divine Love and Glory: The love that God the Father has for His Son is the same love that will fill us, allowing us to love Jesus with divine purity and power. This love is the ultimate fulfillment and joy, as it aligns with God's glory and our deepest desires. [16:22]
2. Christian Hedonism: Our joy and God's glory are not in conflict but converge in the experience of God's glory. Our ultimate happiness is found in glorifying God, and this is the essence of Christian Hedonism. [02:45]
3. Righteousness in Covenant: God's righteousness ensures our salvation once we are part of His covenant community. This righteousness is not just about mercy but about God's commitment to His promises, providing assurance and encouragement to believers. [09:12]
4. The Trinity's Role: The love of the Father for the Son and the Son's love for the Father are both at work within us through the Holy Spirit. This divine love transforms us and draws us into the life of the Trinity, offering a profound spiritual experience. [20:30]
5. Growing in Knowledge: Knowing God is the pathway to experiencing His love and glory. As we grow in the knowledge of God, we are invited to participate more fully in His divine life and love, leading to a deeper spiritual fulfillment. [22:44]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:15] - Divine Love and Glory
[01:17] - Essence of the Gospel
[02:06] - The Trinity's Glory
[02:45] - Christian Hedonism
[04:26] - Future Glory
[05:18] - Love and Redemption
[07:11] - Righteous Father
[08:54] - Covenant Community
[10:40] - Knowing God
[12:46] - Loving God with God's Love
[14:33] - Obstacles to Fulfillment
[16:22] - Divine Love in Us
[19:05] - Closing the Gap
[21:09] - Practical Application
[23:02] - Closing Prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
- John 17:24-26
- Philippians 2:5-11
- 1 John 1:9

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Observation Questions:

In John 17:24-26, what does Jesus pray for regarding His followers and their relationship with divine love? How does this relate to the love between the Father and the Son? [00:57]
According to Philippians 2:5-11, what actions of Jesus led to His exaltation and glorification by God? How does this passage describe the relationship between humility and glory? [06:47]
In 1 John 1:9, how is God's righteousness connected to forgiveness? How does this relate to the concept of God's covenant with believers? [08:31]
How does the sermon describe the role of the Holy Spirit in the relationship between the Father and the Son, and how does this affect believers? [02:06]

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Interpretation Questions:

How does the concept of Christian Hedonism, as described in the sermon, reconcile the pursuit of personal joy with the glorification of God? [02:45]
What does it mean for believers to love Jesus with the same love that the Father has for Him? How might this transform a believer's life and relationships? [16:22]
How does the sermon explain the significance of God's righteousness in ensuring the salvation of those within His covenant community? What implications does this have for believers' understanding of God's promises? [09:12]
In what ways does growing in the knowledge of God lead to a deeper experience of His love and glory, according to the sermon? [22:44]

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Application Questions:

Reflect on a time when you experienced joy in glorifying God. How can you intentionally seek to align your joy with God's glory in your daily life? [02:45]
The sermon suggests that divine love will one day fill us completely. What steps can you take now to open your heart more fully to this love? [16:22]
Consider the role of the Holy Spirit in your life. How can you become more aware of and responsive to the Spirit's work in drawing you into the life of the Trinity? [02:06]
How can you actively grow in your knowledge of God this week? Identify one specific way you can deepen your understanding of His character and promises. [22:44]
The sermon highlights the importance of God's righteousness in His covenant with us. How does this assurance affect your confidence in God's promises and your daily walk with Him? [09:12]
Think about a situation where you struggled to love someone with purity and power. How can you apply the concept of loving with God's love in that relationship? [16:22]
Reflect on the obstacles to fulfillment mentioned in the sermon. What practical steps can you take to overcome these obstacles and experience deeper joy in your relationship with God? [14:33]

Sermon Clips

The gospel is this in my my understanding the goal of God is his own Glory my goal is my own joy and the gospel is that they terminate on the same point so that there's no conflict between the two my joy is to see glory and to to love Glory God's glory is to display it for people to enjoy because it's magnified when people look at it and say wow well my wow is my fulfillment and my wow is his Destiny as the most glorified of all beings and therefore my fulfillment and joy and his goal to be glorified reach their Apex in the same moment of experience. [00:02:31]

The beauty of this prayer is that Jesus insists on dealing with the father in terms of the Covenant Community I am not praying for the world father, now that makes all the difference in the world because once you're out of the world and into the Covenant inside the commitment of the father his righteousness is at stake in your salvation once you know yourself to belong to the Covenant Community to be covered by the blood of the Covenant you can look up to the father and say, righteous father I'm your child keep your oath be just and for jesus' sake forgive me. [00:09:21]

Once you have entered into his favor through faith in the blood of Jesus he Now deals with you in terms also of his Covenant keeping righteousness and so Jesus reminds the father you are a righteous father and those with whom you are dealing here are those whom you have given me whom I have kept and who belong to you forever so deal with them in your righteousness and then as you can see he launches right into a distinction isn't this interesting though the world did not know you yet I knew you these knew that you sent me. [00:10:06]

What is our greatest joy in life I think our greatest joy in life is to love something or someone love is the greatest joy love are a sunset love a person love a concert love of Truth to go out of yourself and and to just be delighted and AED by something all right now here's the problem on this Earth number one there isn't anything worthy of our love nothing can satisfy here not the most wonderful spouse not the most awesome Sunrise not the most beautiful music they all don't satisfy. [00:14:00]

There's coming a day when the love with which Almighty omnipotent absolutely pure and holy God the love with which that God loves the Sun is going to flow into my life and I am going to love the son with the very love of the Almighty I will see the son the way the father sees the son I will be pure the way the father is pure toward the son I will have omnipotent energy with which to love the son and that will be the end there will be nothing beyond that towards which I can Aspire and I will be occupied with that for all eternity. [00:16:16]

We grope for words to describe how much Jesus loves us in this prayer and how much he wants for us in these words here why did he add an i in them you know if if if C is as great as it is why did he add and I in them well remember now it is the son whom we are loving with the love of the Father the love that the father has the son is going to come into us and I might insert here I believe that's the Holy Spirit we have him in measure now it say in measure he was not given to the son in measure we have him in measure. [00:17:39]

There will be a day when our bodies are spiritual bodies perfectly suited for the full experience of the very love that the father has for the son and that's the Holy Spirit the living person of the love of the father for the son remember that we are loving the son with the love of the father but Jesus wants to make sure I think that we don't just think of him as a kind of object see his glory and be with him see there he is out there and we're here sort of watching him or maybe he's way up on top of a mountain like the glory of God that descended on Mount Si we see Jesus way up there and he doesn't want to leave us with that impression. [00:18:25]

He wants to say I'm I'm coming in on you I'm coming in so close I'm going to be inside you so that's the first implication he wants to close the gap that we might think would exist between a sinner and a glorious son and he will be visible and beautiful and we will gaze upon him but that's not all he's coming in closing the Gap moving into our hearts in a way that we've never experienced even though right now Colossians says Christ in you the hope of what Glory well there's going to be an experience of inness that we've never experienced before. [00:19:26]

I do want to love the father with the love of the son and I've got it now I've got it it's not just the father who's moving in on me with his love for the son it's the son who's moving in on me with his love for the father and so I have the Trinity as it were inside of me doing their thing and I'm doing it with them these are amazing things rejoice and be glad when men persecute you and revile you and say all manner of evil for great is your reward in heaven. [00:20:18]

I have made you known to them his name simply stands for his his character his fullness when when the text says that the father gave the son a name which is above every name that means he labeled him for who he is he found a word he found a name to describe the greatness of the sun well it doesn't say what the name is but but whatever the name is that's who God is and he makes known to us he begins to make known to us Yahweh I am who I am jealous my name is jealous and two years ago we just worked through about nine of those Nam names remember he is in the process of making it known he'll go on making it known. [00:21:49]

When we get to heaven he'll finish making him known and knowing god is the road to the experience of these things and so I simply summon you to join with me for the next 20 or 30 years to grow in the knowledge of God lord as we disperse now and go out with each other and get together and eat and fellowship and talk with one another don't let these things be quickly forgotten may they be good seed in good soil May Satan be shot out of the air as he comes down like a bird to pluck up the seed and take it away and may the soil be good so that thir 30 fold 60 fold hundredfold fruit might be born this week as as we all share with people at work what it is to be a Christian. [00:22:44]

Dismiss us now with your love and don't let us forget Lord that you desire us that you have more in store for us and want more for us than we could ever want for ourselves oh God make us happy you tonight I pray in Jesus great name amen this is light and Truth god-centered preaching to help you see Christ clearly and treasure him truly I'm your host Dan Kover thank you for listening on our next episode John Piper begins a three-part biographical series titled jip Packer the role of clear thinking in theology I hope you'll join us for more resources visit desiringgod.org. [00:23:20]

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Experiencing Divine Love and Glory in Christ

Devotional

Day 1: Experiencing Divine Love and Glory

Day 2: The Joy of Christian Hedonism

Day 3: Assurance in God's Righteous Covenant

Day 4: The Transformative Love of the Trinity

Day 5: Growing in the Knowledge of God

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Experiencing Divine Love and Glory in Christ

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