Prepared for Glory (2 Corinthians 5:5)

“He that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.” — 2 Corinthians 5:5

 

Summary:

The final blessedness of believers is eternal life with God, pictured as a heavenly home and as mortality being swallowed up by life. Yet no one is naturally prepared for this glory. God must prepare us through a divine work that education, example, and moral persuasion cannot achieve. This fitness matters because happiness depends not only on the excellence of what we enjoy, but also on having a heart suited to enjoy it. God also gives believers the Holy Spirit as an earnest—not merely a pledge, but the beginning of the inheritance itself. The Spirit’s present work therefore anticipates heaven and offers a real foretaste of it: spiritual knowledge begins, holiness renews the inner person, and believers already experience peace, rest, joy, fellowship, and praise. Through grace, heaven becomes known and desired before believers enter its fullness.

Outline:

• God prepares believers for final blessedness
  • The promised inheritance is eternal life in the heavenly house that God has made.
• This preparation is a divine work
  • We are not born Christians, nor can education, example, or persuasion create spiritual life.
• Fitness for heaven is necessary
  • Happiness requires a heart conformed to its object and able to desire and enjoy it.
• The Spirit is the earnest of heaven
  • His presence is not merely a promise of the inheritance but a real beginning and portion of it.
• Present grace is a foretaste of glory
  • Knowledge, holiness, peace, joy, fellowship, worship, and eternal life have already begun in believers.