“Behold, I Make All Things New” (Part 4)

One of the joys we have as a Christian is to ponder, to think about with great anticipation, what life will be like, and more importantly what we will be like when God’s eternal plan of redemption is consummated in the new heavens and new earth; when we are glorified as beings of immeasurable dignity (Romans 8:29-30), made new in our body and soul in the likeness of the perfect man, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:49) (1 John 3:1-3). In fact, we are commanded by God, through the Apostle Paul, to engage regularly in such thinking. (Colossians 3:1-4).  So, over the next few posts I would like to share with you my thinking on this, thinking strongly influenced by God’s word, as well as by the writings of the three men I have previously introduced who have studied and written perceptively on this, namely Jonathan Edwards, Randy Alcorn and Edward Griffin.

As citizens of God’s eternal Kingdom, it is most certain that we will transcend or exceed any idea of what is normative of a man or women in this world, as we will manifest aspects of the infinite perfections of God’s being in ways we cannot presently fully conceive of or imagine.  It is not hard for me to believe that if our glorified selves were to appear in this present world we would be treated as gods, just as those with extraordinary beauty, giftings and talents are treated today, as we will image God’s glory as He intended when He first created man (Psalm 8:5-8) and even more so.

And we will do so, not that we would seek our own glory as men and women of extraordinary gifts and talents do today, but so that the glory of God, the infinite perfections of His being may be seen and known, loved and enjoyed by all, and most importantly, so that God can finally and forever enjoy us enjoying Him and His renewed creation.

As beings now perfectly imaging the holy and righteous nature and character of our Lord Jesus, we will no longer be motivated by self-interest, self-gratification or self-glorification, but by an everlasting desire to live in a manner that pleases, honors and glorifies God and blesses and benefits our fellow image bearers.

We will have no desire or ability to sin, to act selfishly or rebel against or offend God ever again (Revelation 21:27).  We will be willingly and joyfully dependent on Him as the author, possessor, redeemer and sustainer of our lives, the gracious provider of all that is good and perfect in the universe (James 1:17) (Psalm 84:11).

We will love our fellow saints and even the holy angels with the most tender affections.  However, our most passionate affections and deepest desires will always be set upon our triune God, as we will always long for more of His glory to be displayed in and through our lives.  He will be the object of our deepest love such that pleasing, honoring and glorifying Him will be our greatest joy and delight.  And because God is an infinite being, we will continually be growing in our knowledge of God, love for God, enjoyment of God, our happiness in God, as well as our ability to image His glory for the enjoyment and benefit of our fellow citizens of Heaven (Revelation 5:11-14).

In Heaven we will never be in a bad or contrary mood or display an ill temperament because things don’t go our way but will be in a constant state of pleasantness and rejoicing because our desire and joy will be found in everything going God’s way – which it always will (Matthew 6:10).  We will be fully persuaded that His ways are perfect, and that He is fully inclined, fully capable and fully committed to making us exceedingly and abundantly happy to the same degree and proportion to which He experiences joy and happiness in Himself (John 15:11) (1 Chronicles 16:27).  Thus, we will always be in a state of rejoicing and thanksgiving.

Our minds will be free from all worry, anxiety and care as there will be nothing in the new heavens and new earth that can harm us or interfere with our ever-increasing joy in God (Revelation 21:4) (Revelation 22:3).

We will always have access to God’s infinite wisdom and knowledge, always learning and desiring to learn more about His person, purposes and ways (Revelation 21:3).  We will display His wisdom and righteousness, as well as His goodness and kindness in our exercise of the dominion He will grant us in ruling and reigning with Him as joint heirs of His Kingdom (Romans 8:17) (Revelation 5:10). Though we may have different positions and responsibilities in that Kingdom based on our faithfulness in this life (Luke 19:15-19), we will never experience a drop of jealousy or envy because we will be fully satisfied in the love of God and in the joy and happiness of the redeemed.

Each of us will retain our unique individuality, body and soul, although in its perfected state (1 Corinthians 13:12).  We will each uniquely display aspects of God’s glory, of His creativity and ingenuity, through the gifts and talents He grants us that will be consistent with His purposes for our individual lives and our contributions to the lives of others, just as He has done in this world (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).

Though we will exist as unique individuals, there will still be unity, a union of distinct individuals, united in praise of our great and glorious God (Revelation 5:8-14).  We will always be a part of the “body of Christ”, “the church triumphant” who will each have something glorious, but uniquely different to share with others of our experience of God.  Christian author C.S Lewis noted in The Problem of Pain, “If all experienced God in the same way and returned Him an identical worship, the song of the church triumphant would have no symphony, it would be like an orchestra in which all the instruments played the same note”.

I pray that God will use these thoughts as He sees fit to help you fulfill His command in Colossians 3:1-4, a command given in love (as are all of His commands), given to help sustain us during our sojourn in this present evil world, a world that makes every effort to suppress the knowledge of  the glory of God, and of His eternal grace.

In my next post I hope to share thoughts regarding our resurrected body, a body that will be conformed to the Lord Jesus’ glorious body (Philippians 3:20- 21), a body in which we will glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

Grace and Peace ×