Identity, Hope, and the Reality of Heaven
Summary
In this sermon, I explored the profound identity and hope that believers in Christ possess. As followers of Jesus, we are not only called saints, but we are also set apart and sanctified in Him. This identity is not just a title; it is a reality that defines our existence. We are part of the family of God, united with Christ, and this union gives us the hope of glory. This hope is not a distant dream but a present reality that begins with our justification and leads to our glorification. Paul, in Romans 8, outlines the order of salvation, emphasizing that those whom God foreknew, He predestined, called, justified, and glorified. This assurance means that nothing can prevent the glory that awaits us.
I also delved into the nature of heaven, describing it as a real, tangible place where Jesus resides in His glorified body. Heaven is not an abstract concept but a part of God's creation, existing in space and time. It is where we will be immediately after death, in the presence of Jesus and the church triumphant. Our self-awareness and identity will continue beyond death, as we are not merely bodies with souls but soulish beings. This understanding challenges the Platonic view of the soul and body, affirming that we are whole beings created in the image of God.
Furthermore, I addressed the intermediate state, acknowledging the mystery surrounding our existence in heaven before the final resurrection. While we may not fully comprehend the nature of our temporary state, we hold onto the promise of being with Jesus, seeing Him face to face, and being reunited with fellow believers. Heaven is where we will worship Jesus, our Lord and Savior, and experience the fullness of His glory.
Key Takeaways:
1. Our identity as saints in Christ is not just a title but a reality that defines our existence. We are set apart, sanctified, and part of God's family, which gives us the hope of glory. This hope is a present reality that begins with our justification and leads to our glorification. [05:39]
2. The order of salvation outlined in Romans 8 assures us that nothing can prevent the glory that awaits us. Those whom God foreknew, He predestined, called, justified, and glorified. This assurance means that our future glory is as certain as our present justification. [07:08]
3. Heaven is a real, tangible place where Jesus resides in His glorified body. It is not an abstract concept but a part of God's creation, existing in space and time. Our immediate transition to heaven after death assures us of being in the presence of Jesus and the church triumphant. [10:02]
4. We are not merely bodies with souls but soulish beings created in the image of God. Our self-awareness and identity continue beyond death, challenging the Platonic view of the soul and body. This understanding affirms our wholeness as beings made in God's likeness. [14:03]
5. The intermediate state remains a mystery, but we hold onto the promise of being with Jesus, seeing Him face to face, and being reunited with fellow believers. Heaven is where we will worship Jesus and experience the fullness of His glory, even as we await the final resurrection. [18:43]
Youtube Chapters:
[00:00] - Welcome
[05:06] - The Making of a Saint
[05:39] - Our Identity in Christ
[06:34] - Union with Christ
[07:08] - The Order of Salvation
[08:26] - Responsibilities and Relationships
[09:15] - The Immediate Transition to Heaven
[10:02] - Heaven as a Real Place
[11:01] - The Physicality of Jesus in Heaven
[12:32] - Understanding Heaven
[13:07] - Consciousness Beyond Death
[14:03] - The Nature of the Soul
[16:18] - The Intermediate State
[18:06] - Seeing Jesus Face to Face
[19:03] - Reunion with Believers and Angels
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
Bible Reading:
1. Romans 8:28-30
2. 2 Corinthians 5:1
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Observation Questions:
1. According to Romans 8, what is the sequence of events in the order of salvation that Paul outlines? How does this sequence assure believers of their future glory? [07:08]
2. In the sermon, the pastor mentioned that heaven is a real, tangible place where Jesus resides. What evidence from the Bible supports this view? [10:02]
3. How does the sermon describe the nature of our identity as believers in Christ? What does it mean to be set apart and sanctified? [05:39]
4. What does the pastor say about the continuity of our self-awareness and identity beyond death? How does this challenge the Platonic view of the soul and body? [14:03]
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Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the assurance of glorification in Romans 8:30 impact a believer's understanding of their current life and struggles? [07:20]
2. The sermon describes heaven as a place existing in space and time. How does this understanding of heaven influence a believer's perspective on life after death? [10:17]
3. In what ways does the sermon challenge the traditional Platonic view of the soul and body? How does this affect a believer's understanding of their identity in Christ? [14:03]
4. The pastor mentioned the intermediate state as a mystery. How does this mystery affect a believer's hope and anticipation for the final resurrection? [16:18]
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Application Questions:
1. Reflect on your identity as a saint in Christ. How does this identity influence your daily decisions and interactions with others? [05:39]
2. The sermon emphasizes the hope of glory as a present reality. How can you live with this hope in mind, especially during challenging times? [07:08]
3. Consider the pastor's description of heaven as a real place. How does this understanding change your perspective on death and the afterlife? [10:02]
4. The sermon challenges the Platonic view of the soul and body. How can you embrace the biblical understanding of being a soulish being in your spiritual journey? [14:03]
5. The pastor spoke about the mystery of the intermediate state. How can you hold onto the promise of being with Jesus, even when faced with uncertainties about the afterlife? [16:18]
6. How can the assurance of being reunited with fellow believers in heaven influence your relationships with others here on earth? [19:03]
7. Reflect on the idea of seeing Jesus face to face. How does this anticipation shape your worship and devotion to Him now? [18:43]
Devotional
Day 1: Our Identity as Saints in Christ
Our identity as saints in Christ is not merely a title but a profound reality that shapes our existence. As believers, we are set apart and sanctified, becoming part of God's family. This identity grants us the hope of glory, a present reality that begins with our justification and leads to our glorification. This hope is not a distant dream but a certainty that defines our lives. Understanding our identity in Christ helps us live with purpose and assurance, knowing that we are deeply loved and valued by God. [05:39]
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10, ESV)
Reflection: How does knowing your identity as a saint in Christ influence the way you approach your daily tasks and interactions with others today?
Day 2: The Assurance of Salvation
The order of salvation outlined in Romans 8 provides believers with the assurance that nothing can prevent the glory that awaits us. Those whom God foreknew, He predestined, called, justified, and glorified. This sequence assures us that our future glory is as certain as our present justification. This assurance is a source of comfort and strength, reminding us that God's plan for our lives is secure and unchangeable. It encourages us to live with confidence, knowing that our salvation is not dependent on our efforts but on God's sovereign will. [07:08]
"And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified." (Romans 8:30, ESV)
Reflection: In what ways can you rest in the assurance of your salvation today, especially in moments of doubt or fear?
Day 3: Heaven as a Tangible Reality
Heaven is described as a real, tangible place where Jesus resides in His glorified body. It is not an abstract concept but a part of God's creation, existing in space and time. Our immediate transition to heaven after death assures us of being in the presence of Jesus and the church triumphant. This understanding of heaven as a tangible reality provides hope and comfort, knowing that our eternal home is a place of joy and communion with God. It challenges us to live with an eternal perspective, focusing on the things that truly matter. [10:02]
"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." (Philippians 3:20-21, ESV)
Reflection: How does the reality of heaven influence your priorities and decisions today?
Day 4: The Wholeness of Our Being
We are not merely bodies with souls but soulish beings created in the image of God. Our self-awareness and identity continue beyond death, challenging the Platonic view of the soul and body. This understanding affirms our wholeness as beings made in God's likeness. Recognizing the unity of our body and soul helps us appreciate the value of our physical existence and the importance of living in a way that honors God. It encourages us to care for our bodies and souls, knowing that both are integral to our identity. [14:03]
"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16, ESV)
Reflection: What steps can you take today to honor God with both your body and soul?
Day 5: The Mystery of the Intermediate State
The intermediate state remains a mystery, but we hold onto the promise of being with Jesus, seeing Him face to face, and being reunited with fellow believers. Heaven is where we will worship Jesus and experience the fullness of His glory, even as we await the final resurrection. This promise provides hope and anticipation, knowing that our ultimate destiny is to be in the presence of our Savior. It encourages us to live with a sense of expectancy, looking forward to the day when we will fully experience the glory of God. [18:43]
"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12, ESV)
Reflection: How can you cultivate a sense of expectancy and hope for the future while living faithfully in the present?
Quotes
But you who believe in Jesus are a saint, you are a holy one, you are set apart and sanctified in Christ Jesus and a saint, that is your identity. You're also brothers and sisters in the family of God, this is your family, but you are also, well you are in Birmingham, Alabama, but you are also in Christ, in union and communion with Christ and on that basis, that is your identity you are a saint, you are in union with Christ, you belong to the family of God, you are his children, and because of that, you have the hope of glory. [00:05:39]
Paul in the magnificent eighth chapter of Romans, in that wonderful peration, he tells us that those whom God foreknew he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren, and those whom he did predestinate them he also called and those whom he called he justified and those whom he justified he glorified him, he puts it in the present tense, it is the beginnings of what we call the order of salvation there is foreknowledge there is predestination, there is calling there is justification, and there's glorification. [00:07:08]
Nothing can prevent the glory that is before you, and although in one sense it is future, you might as well think of it as right now you have begun to taste the glory. What can we expect, you and I, I want to take you away for a moment or two from this world, we have our responsibilities in this world, we have our relationships in this world, there are things that we, that we want to do and places that we want to see and relationships that we want to form, but we are here for three score years and ten and maybe four score years but this world is not our home. [00:09:15]
Unless Jesus comes, you and I who are in Christ who are saints who belong to the family of God who have the hope of glory will enter heaven. Five seconds after you die where will you be, I pick five seconds at random you can say three seconds or one second or half a second or a millisecond but I'm just simply trying to make a point, when you die however you define death medically, what happens you are taken into heaven, your soul enters heaven. [00:09:55]
Heaven is a place, it is a location, it is part of creation, it exists, in my view it exists in the world of space and time, it is part of God's creation, where is it, it is where the physical body of Jesus is, after his ascension, following his resurrection Jesus ascended where did he go, he went to heaven, he went to sit at the right hand of the majesty on high, he exists in bodily form, his human nature is in union with his divine nature but his human nature remains human, it is physical it is tangible, it is corporeal. [00:10:02]
You can reach out and touch him, you can do what Thomas was asked to do whether he actually did it or not the text doesn't tell us but you, you could do what Thomas did and reach out your finger and touch him, he is in one zip code in heaven, I like to think of it as a parallel space to our own, I think you see perhaps a little glimpse at the transfiguration, when Peter and James and John were taken up into the mountain and and Moses and Elijah appear they, what did they do they, they walked through a rent in space, and they were there on the holy mountain and Jesus was transfigured. [00:11:01]
The hope of glory, that when we breathe our last, we shall still exist, and we shall still be conscious and we shall still be self-aware, you will close your eyes here and open them in another location in heaven, in the presence of Jesus in the presence of the church triumphant, we are body and soul, the church has not had a good time talking about the soul and what it means and it still finds itself adrift on many on occasion too much platonism and neoplatonism has entered. [00:13:07]
It isn't we shouldn't say that we that we have a soul, that's I don't think that is biblical understand we are a soul it's not that we have a soul it's not as as Plato thought that the soul is trapped within the body, and we need to be rid of the body in order that the soul can be released, that's not a biblical understanding we have a soul, no we are a soul we are soulish beings, what do we mean by that, well the reformers and the puritans thought of the soul as that rational, cognitive aspect of our being, that with which we think that with which we are self-aware, our self-consciousness if you like. [00:14:03]
What is it that survives death it is our self-consciousness, it is our self-awareness, some have made the confusion of saying that this is what distinguishes man from animals, and you'll hear Christians say something like you know, only Christ only only human beings have a soul and animals do not have a soul, well I'd beg to differ, the Hebrew word for soul in Genesis chapter 1 nephesh, is used of birds and fish and land animals and man, it means something along the lines of life they are alive, they have self-awareness they have self-consciousness to a degree. [00:16:18]
What distinguishes man from the rest of creation is not the soul it is the image of God, that only Adam and Eve were made in the image and likeness of God, so a death, my self-consciousness of who I am, my self-identity, I'm aware of myself I'm aware of my surroundings, and that continues, it doesn't switch off it just exercises itself in another location in heaven that's how I think about it. [00:16:18]
What will our glorification be like, and in one sense it will be incomplete, I don't know what to make of what we call the intermediate state, heaven is a temporary place, it's not, it's not the end it's not the final goal, you remember what Paul says in second Corinthians 5 and verse 1. We know that if our earthly tent that is our home is destroyed we have a building of God, a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens we we have he says we have a building from God. [00:18:43]
We will see Jesus, we've spent our entire Christian lives wondering what he's like, we don't have pictures of him, how tall is he, what are the color of his eyes, brown and pretty sure, he was from Jewish stock, we will fall at his feet, we will worship him, we will call him Lord and Master and Savior and Prophet and Priest and King, we have believed in you but now our eyes see you, in all your beauty, in all your splendor in all your glory, we will see Jesus for heaven is where he is, that is his abode that is his location, and we'll be reunited with other believers, old testament and new testament believers, friends and relatives and loved ones who believed in Jesus and passed into heaven, and will see angels and archangels and cherubim and seraphim. [00:18:06]
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