Glory in the first creation

1
Glory in the first creation

• In the beginning
• The glory of God displayed (Ps 81 Ps 191)
• The glory of his people established (Ps 84-5)

2
The Fall - glory lost!

• But then
• God robbed of his glory because we wanted
  self-glory
• God dishonoured
• People shamed

3
Gods new creation glory restored

• Genesis 4 to Revelation 22
• Gods work to save is an even greater (new)
  creation and restores his glory and ours

4
Reminders

• Eph 23-14
• The big picture of God salvation
• Our four needs
• Gods four deeds
• Our four responses

5
Needs / Deeds / Responses

• Security / Predestination / faith
• Forgiveness / Justification / faith
• New direction / Sanctification / cooperation
• Hope / Glorification / Perseverance

6
The glory of our end

• Fullness of heavenly blessings received (v3)
• Fully holy and blameless saints (v24)
• Part of Gods big picture where everything comes
  back into right relationships (v10 1 Cor
  1527-28 Ps 8)

7
The glory of our end

• The deposit turns into the inheritance (v14)
• The inheritance is sharing in the heavenly
  fullness of Christs rule (vv18-23 Rev 4-5)
• Seated with Christ in the heavenly places and
  seeing the incomparable riches of Gods grace
  (26-7)

8
Time out!

• Our response?
• Anticipate with great joy
• Persevere in the present (its worth it!)
• Sacrifice ourselves now, knowing whats coming

9
Connecting the dots .

• Time
• God who chose to save in the eternity before
  creation (P), who saved in history (J) who now
  gives the first-fruits (S) and who will complete
  in eternity (G)

10
Connecting the dots .

• Order
• Gods predestination that launches the whole
  work, and which is effected in our justification,
  applied in our sanctification and completed in
  our glorification

11
Connecting the dots .

• Holiness
• Holiness that is purposed in predestination,
  granted as a status in justification, given
  practical expression in our sanctification and
  perfected in our glorification

12
Connecting the dots . time out

• Wow!
• If the first creation is worthy of great hymns,
  poems etc - how much more the universal and
  eternal new creation?

13
Sanctification / glorification

• Sanctification without glorification
• no clear sense of direction and no motivation
• Sanctification confused with glorification
• perfectionism with its twin children of
  complacency and despair

14
Sanctification / glorification

• An incentive to keep going
• A target to work towards
• Freedom from despair
• Guarded against complacency

15
The end of our glory

• The end purpose of our glory is to glorify God
• Our salvation means praise of God (v6)
• Our hope in Christ results in Gods glory (v12)
• When the deposit becomes the inheritance Gods
  glory is praised (v14)

16
In the end Ps 8 again

• The glory of God displayed
• The glory of his people established

17
Time out

• Speaking and singing words that give all the
  credit to God for our salvation (To God be the
  glory, great things he has done)
• Living such clearly Christian lives that we
  reflect Gods glory and lead others to admire him.

18
Our end is in our beginning

• One long sentence
• Four big words
• One big message Praise be to the God and Father
  of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in
  the heavenly realms with every blessing in Christ.