God's Work with Planet Earth

This is probably ambitious to take on all three of these in a single post, but it’s also ambitious because I’m taking things which are deep and complex and trying make them simple enough to be easily understood. We are living in Stage 3 of God’s work with planet Earth, but as God has an overall plan of salvation, He is working in the lives of individuals to prepare us for the next world.

What I didn’t really understand until just a few years ago was that in these transformation processes, God does the heavy lifting. (This is awesome good news!) Many of us believers/Christians think we have to make ourselves better or become a good person before God can accept us or help us. This is a lie straight from Satan, God’s enemy. I know this because I have access to God’s inspired Word, the Bible. What does God expect from and intend for humans? It can be found in this collection of sixty-six miraculously preserved books. It’s not exactly what I thought, or what most Christians think.

Three Processes

Out of these three processes, which scripture calls Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification, many Christians (myself included) get hung up and deceived mostly on the first two.

Some denominational groups tend to focus on Justification and forget the other two. Jesus accepts us just as we are and that’s all there is to it. Yes, He does, but He doesn’t leave us there, thank God!

Some religious groups swing to the other extreme and emphasize God’s law and teach that we must obey it (which is true), but they don’t teach the truth about HOW we keep it. And so, many Christians struggle to live up to the principles laid out in scripture using human willpower and determination, which is never successful on a consistent basis. I might be able to fake obedience for a short time and fool others into thinking I’m a good person, but I can not truly become a child of God without His power in my life.

Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about these three processes which God uses to prepare us for Heaven and the New Earth.

Justification

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” Romans 5:1

Peace with God? Yes, and this is important because…

“…Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:4

“For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” Romans 8:7

A carnal mind (a mind driven by animal lusts, impulses, urges) and a worldly mind which demands it’s own interests at the expense of others, are against the principles of Heaven which God has established. So there are conflicting conditions here:

• This carnal, worldly mind is the starting place for humans, and as we see in scripture, it is “enmity with God”, and like being God’s enemy.
• God’s desire and intention is to reconcile humans back to Himself, and to the way He originally set things up in the Garden of Eden (where He walked and talked with Adam and Eve).
• To make this possible, Christ the Son of God was born as Jesus the Son of Man. He became a human like us, overcame the sin where we humans fail, died on our behalf, and was resurrected and glorified to become our Advocate and High Priest in Heaven.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:

Without Jesus, we would die forever. Because of what Jesus has done for us, there is a way to live forever with Him. The key is a relationship and faith in Him, and that’s at the core of Justification.

“just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Galatians 3:6

This is Justification, and faith in Jesus is the Biblical requirement for salvation. Then Christ covers our sinful rags with His robe of righteousness.

“…For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,…” Isaiah 61:10

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Galatians 3:26-27

But once we have this faith and start getting to know Jesus, there is a change that starts in our lives.

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Romans 13:14

This is where the next phase comes in.

Sanctification

So how does one become sanctified, really?

“…But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:11

“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” John 17:17 (Jesus’ prayer to God the Father for His followers.)

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

So our characters become purified through getting to know Jesus and having faith in Him, by reading God’s Word, and most importantly by the work of the Spirit of God in our hearts and minds.

Does any of this involve or require human efforts to make ourselves better or more acceptable, or to become good? No. But God gave us the freedom of will and choice, so we need to choose and ask Him, then He can empower us to overcome and He can literally change our hearts (desires and attractions). I know He can because He has done this for me.

“for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13

Not only does God work in us to help us change our behavior, but also our “will”, or what we want and what we’re attracted to.

What is the purpose or goal of sanctification?

Jesus told people He forgave and healed, “go and sin no more”. God wants to save us from sin. In James 3:14-18 there is a list of character traits and behaviors that are “earthly, sensual, demonic” (which are contrasted in the following verses . Sanctification is how God saves us from these things:

• Bitter Envy
• Self Seeking
• Boasting and Lying
• Confusion
• Hypocrisy (say one thing but do another)
• Partiality (different treatment for different people)

And in Galatians 5:19-21, Paul’s list of “works of the flesh” is much more detailed and straight up.

• Adultery, Fornication, Lewdness
• Idolatry, Sorcery, Heresies
• Envy, Jealousies, Selfish Ambitions
• Contentions, Outbursts of Wrath, Murders
• Uncleanness, Drunkenness, Revelries

Let’s be honest, you and I don’t want to be around someone exhibiting these behaviors, and in Heaven there will not be people like this.

“…just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:21

So we don’t want to be like this, and sanctification is how God gets these characteristics out of us.

Okay, so when will this sanctification process be complete?

“being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;” Philippians 1:6

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23

All of us who have accepted Jesus and want to follow Him are undergoing a sanctification process in our everyday lives, which God tailors to each individual according to what they need. The verses above show us that this process will be completed at the second coming of Jesus.

And at the coming of Jesus, another major change in us will occur.

Glorification

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed– in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

While sanctification goes on during our lives in this world, glorification happens “in the twinkling of an eye”. So what exactly will glorification do to us?

“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” 1 John 3:2

“What we shall be” at that time has not been revealed in detail, but we have been given some clues. In this verse, we will be like Jesus because we’ll be able to see Him as He really is. This is in stark contrast to “no man shall see Me and live” (Exodus 33:20). Why couldn’t Moses see God? Because he and the Israelites were not Justified, Sanctified, and Glorified. But many of them will be when Jesus resurrects them to new life.

“So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:54

• Only God has true immortality (1 Timothy 6:15-16), however, when He gives us eternal life, we cannot die as we do in this world now.
• There are two ways we are made incorruptible:
  • Sickness, aging, disease, injuries will no longer be a threat to us.
  • The temptations, lies, mind games of Satan and sin will no longer attract or suck us in. All of these will be destroyed, and we won’t even be curious anymore.

More clues:

In 2 Corinthians 5, the Apostle Paul starts by comparing our earthly bodies to a “tent”, and our heavenly bodies to a “house”. Here are the attributes he used to describe the earthly bodies we have now:

• Earthly house = “this tent”
• Makes us groan
• It burdens us
• It is Mortal (subject to death)
• Like being naked

And to describe the heavenly body:

• “A house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”
• “A building from God”
• Life that swallows up mortality
• Like being “further clothed”
• A “habitation which is from heaven”

So both these bodies are physical (neither condition involves humans floating around with no body), but the “tent” is temporary and vulnerable while the “house” is permanent, durable, and more comfortable.

Jesus is referred to as our “forerunner” (Hebrews 6:18-20) and the “first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23). Because we die in our earthly bodies and will be resurrected at Jesus’ second coming, we are following that pattern of His death and resurrection.

“knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” Romans 6:6

This death and resurrection accomplishes a purpose of glorification, which is to do away with sin in our very natures. While sanctification removes sin from our hearts, glorification also replaces our earthly, sinful bodies with heavenly, glorified bodies, like Jesus has now.

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” Philippians 3:20-21

• When you make the choice to follow God, you are “justified” by His grace and you can be forgiven because Jesus already died for you
• Then we become citizens of Heaven, sons and daughters of God, even if we stay in this world a little longer while we wait for Him. And during this time we learn and grow as children of God (sanctification).
• When Jesus returns to this world as the King of Kings, He will transform our weak, degraded, vulnerable bodies into “incorruptible” and “immortal” bodies. How? By the same power He spoke this world into existence.

Summary

So first God gives each one of us life, gives us an opportunity to see the evidence and make a choice. Then He tries to reach us, sometimes through other people, sometimes through life experience, sometimes through angels or the Holy Spirit appealing to our thoughts.

Once He gets our attention and we choose Him, God begins to work to change our character from worldly to heavenly. This is to prepare us to be children of God and citizens of Heaven.

Finally, as Jesus returns to earth as the King of Kings to take back the world He originally created, every person who ever lived who “sleeps in Jesus” (1 Thess. 4:13-14) will be resurrected with a glorified body (1 Corinthians 15:51-54).

“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18