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March 20

For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. — Rom 8:29 BSB

The risen body of Christ serves as the type to which the risen bodies of the saints will be conformed, for “as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” This glorious image is the one to which all the saints will be conformed. Though Christ’s risen body retains all the essential characteristics of humanity—otherwise, it would cease to be manhood in union with Godhead—it is so unspeakably glorious that we cannot even begin to conceive of its surpassing glory, nor can we fully grasp the lesser degree of glory that will clothe the saints' bodies at the resurrection. As the Apostle John writes, "Beloved, now we are the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2).

However, we can be certain that there will always remain an essential and unapproachable distinction between the glory of Christ’s humanity and ours. His humanity, being in eternal union with His Deity, derives a glory that is distinct from and far superior to all others. No other glory can compare to His. The glory of the moon can never equal the glory of the sun, though the moon shines with the sun's reflected light. “He will change our vile bodies to be fashioned like His glorious body,” but though they will be like His, they will not be the same. It will be the saints' eternal happiness to see Him as He is and to be made like Him. However, their everlasting joy will come from adoring the unique glory that belongs to Christ, a preeminence that is His birthright and will forever be their delight to worship.

To have a body free from sin, sickness, and sorrow, filled with holiness and happiness, able to see Him as He is without dying from the sight, and reunited with a glorified soul, expanded to its fullest capacity for joy and bliss—if this is not enough, what more could God give?


Daily Blessings - March 20

Public domain content taken from Devotional Writings by J.C. Philpot.


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