GLORIFICATION

EXERCISES

• 
  Review the memory verse of the week, and talk about how it relates to the Truth section.
  
• Review the Pentateuch, Historical books, Poetic books, and Major Prophets of the Old Testament.
  
• Someone may be ready to recite all 66 books of the Bible by now.

SUGGESTED DISCUSSION

• 
  TRUTH – You can discuss any of the in Bible questions you would like to address. Here are some tips that may help:
  • Job 19:23-27 – In verse 26, Job implies that after dying he would continue to have a physical, conscious existence.
  • Daniel 12:1-3 – Verse 2 foretells a time of deliverance for God’s people when the dead would rise to be judged. Some would be granted eternal life, while some would be condemned.
  • Matthew 22:23-33 – In verse 30, Jesus says that in the resurrection people would not marry because they would be like the angels. You have to ask in what way they would be like the angels? Jesus could mean that they would be non-physical beings as are the angels, but that would contradict clear teaching on the resurrection elsewhere in the Bible. The more consistent interpretation is that people of the resurrection, like the angels, would not have marital relationships.
  • 1 Corinthians 15 – This chapter is a lengthy defense of Christ’s resurrection and the general resurrection of all people, mentioned in Daniel 12. Paul defense makes the following points:
    
    • If Christ is not raised, then Christians have no hope, their faith is vain and they are still in their sins. They would be better off to adopt the philosophy of the hedonists: Eat, drink, and be merry, for there is nothing after death (12-19; 32).
      
    • If Christ has been raised, then Christians can look forward to being raised in His glorious likeness when He returns to establish His authority, destroys every competing authority, and delivers the Kingdom over to God (20-28).
      
    • The resurrected bodies will be of a different nature than our current bodies, although they will still be physical. Our present bodies are perishable, weak and dishonorable. The resurrected bodies will be imperishable and glorious, bearing the image of Jesus, “the man of heaven” (35-49).
      
    • Christians who are alive when Christ returns will not “sleep”, that is, die. Instead, their bodies will be transformed. They will be clothed with new imperishable, immortal bodies.
  • 2 Corinthians 4:7-18 – Paul is willing to endure hardship, even unto death, because he is encouraged by the promise of glory. He views no suffering as too costly, and no accomplishment of greater worth than achieving God’s glory because all that is of this world is temporary.
  • Philippians 3:12-21 – The prize that Paul is so zealous to achieve (v 14) is being transformed into the glorious likeness of his Savior (v 21). He has his mind set on his heavenly home with Jesus, and invites us to share his perspective (v 20), and shun the shameful worldview of those who live for the pleasures of this world (v 19).
  • 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – The spirits of those who are dead in Christ will accompany Him when He returns in glory. He will resurrect new bodies for them which will join with their spirits. Then those Christians who are still alive, will not die, but will be instantly transformed, and raised to meet Jesus in the air.
  • Hebrews 11:1-16 – The point of this passage is that these heroes of faith trusted God and believed His promises even though they weren’t fulfilled in their lifetimes. They didn’t think of this world as their home, but regarded themselves as aliens passing through the world, steered toward their eternal destination by the promises of God. This should be the perspective of all Christians, regardless of their rank or experiences in the world.
    
• TRUTH – Here are the main points about glorification that you’ll want to make clear:
  • Glorification is the completion of God’s gracious redemptive plan. It is all of grace, and Christians contribute nothing to it.
  • It is the event when God will cloth His people with immortal, glorious bodies. God never intended humans to exist forever as non-physical beings like the angels.
  • It is the destruction of death, the removal of the curse, the perfection and restoration of glory in God’s people.
  • It is a hope that anchors the suffering soul, warns the wayward, and calls both to live earnestly and faithfully for God’s Kingdom.
  • It is the reward of those who endure to the end, despite their suffering in this world.
    
• EQUIPPING – Invite 1 or 2 of your JG members to share how the Bible’s teaching on glorification could be applied to their lives at this time and shape their worldview.
  
• ACCOUNTABILITY – Allow time for smaller groups of 2 or 3 to ask accountability questions and pray for one another.
  
• MISSION – Continue the discussion of helping people investigate Christianity using the Life Issues booklets as a tool for making the gospel known in word. Discuss the question, “Is the Bible God’s Word?” and a few of the questions from the first Life Issues booklet.