D
First Peter 4:14 speaks of “the Spirit of glory and of God”:
１
The Spirit of glory is the Spirit of God.
２
The Spirit of glory is the One through whom Christ was glorified in His resurrection—Rom. 1:4.
３
This very Spirit of glory rests upon the suffering believers in their persecution, for the glorifying of the resurrected and exalted Christ, who is now in glory—1 Pet. 4:13-14.
Ⅳ
The glory of God is intrinsically related to the economy of God—1 Tim. 1:4; Eph. 1:10:
A
God’s eternal goal is to bring His many sons into glory for the eternal corporate expression—the New Jerusalem—Heb. 2:10; 1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 1:5-6, 12, 14; Rev. 21:7, 9-11.
B
God has predestinated us to obtain His glory so that we may express Him; thus, the goal of God’s predestination is our glorification—1 Cor. 2:7.
C
God created us in His image as vessels unto honor, prepared unto glory; we were predestinated in His sovereignty to be His vessels of honor to express what He is in glory—Gen. 1:26; Rom. 9:21, 23.
D
Christ’s redemption has fulfilled the requirement of God’s glory—3:23-25; Heb. 9:5; cf. Gen. 3:24.
E
Through the gospel of the glory of God, God has called us by and into His eternal glory—2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Tim. 1:11; 1 Thes. 2:12; 1 Pet. 5:10; 2 Pet. 1:3.
F
The all-inclusive Christ dwells in us as the hope of glory—Col. 1:27; 3:4, 11.
G
As we behold and reflect the glory of the Lord, we are being transformed into the Lord’s image from glory to glory—2 Cor. 3:18.
H
God the Father is moving within us as the God of all grace so that we may participate in His eternal glory and even become the glory of God—1 Pet. 5:10.
I
The glory of God in the economy of God involves the high peak of the divine revelation—God becoming man so that man may become God in life, nature, and function but not in the Godhead—John 1:14; Rom. 8:3; 1:3-4; Col. 3:4; Heb. 2:10; Rev. 21:10-11.
Morning Nourishment
1 Pet. 4:14 If you are reproached in the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.5:10 But the God of all grace, He who has called you into His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself perfect, establish, strengthen, and ground you.
The Spirit of glory is the Spirit of God. The Spirit of glory is the One through whom Christ was glorified in His resurrection (Rom. 1:4). This very Spirit of glory, being the Spirit of God Himself, rests upon the suffering believers in their persecution for the glorification of the resurrected and exalted Christ, who is now in glory. Such a Spirit is the Spirit of God expressed through the suffering believers and the Spirit of the experienced God enjoyed by the suffering believers. The Spirit of glory certainly was upon Stephen when he was being martyred (Acts 6:15; 7:55). According to the book of 1 Peter, the Spirit of Christ is in us (1:11), and the Spirit of glory rests upon us [4:14]... One aspect of this wonderful Spirit is that the Spirit is in us to reveal Christ, and another aspect of the same Spirit is that He is also the Spirit of glory resting upon us to express God. The more we suffer and are persecuted for the Lord’s sake, the more glory there will be upon us... Therefore, we should rejoice when we are reproached in the name of Christ, because the Spirit of glory and that of God is resting upon us. This Spirit of glory is the indwelling Spirit, the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of grace, becoming the glory shining upon persecuted believers. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 865-866)
Today’s Reading
Second Peter 1:3 says that God has called us to, or by, His own glory. Furthermore, 1 Peter 5:10 says that God has called us into His eternal glory. According to 2 Timothy 2:10, God’s salvation is with eternal glory. This indicates that eternal glory is the ultimate goal of God’s salvation (Rom. 8:21). God’s salvation leads us into His glory (Heb. 2:10).The Word, who was God, became flesh and tabernacled among us, and... we beheld His glory (John 1:1, 14).
Man was made by God in His image in order that man may express Him for His glory. But man sinned. Now instead of expressing God, man expresses sin and his sinful self. Therefore, man is short of God’s glory [Rom 3:23]. Nevertheless, we have been ordained for God’s glory and called to it (1 Cor. 2:7; 1 Thes. 2:12). As believers, we are being transformed into this glory (2 Cor. 3:18) and shall be brought into it (Heb. 2:10). Eventually we shall be glorified with Christ (Rom. 8:17, 30) to bear the glory of God for God’s expression in the New Jerusalem.
Romans 9:23 says, “In order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory.” God created us as His vessels to contain Him and express Him. God makes known the riches of His glory upon us, His vessels, which He has prepared unto glory. We were predestinated by His sovereignty to be His containers, vessels of honor, to express what He is in glory. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 111-112)
God moves within us as the God of all grace, perfecting, establishing, strengthening, and grounding us so that we may participate in His eternal glory, into which He has called us in Christ (1 Pet. 5:10)... Eventually, through God’s move in us, we will participate in His eternal glory. The eternal glory will not come to us by accident. The coming glory is being built up today by God’s move in us. He is now perfecting us to build up that glory. He is now establishing us to build up that glory. He is now strengthening us and grounding us to build up that glory. Eventually, that glory will be a building, the holy city, the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:10-11). The place where we should be is the divine glory, which is now being built up by God’s perfecting, establishing, strengthening, and grounding. This is all God’s move in us. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 1, “The Move of God in Man,” p. 480)
Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 35