Where is this all going to end - or will it?
Vern Peterman · Jun 26, 2011
What God Is Doing in Believers, No. 26
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/492623855225

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

A number of people have told me they've never heard of anything like a lot of what's being taught here. They've never heard anything like this before. So that's one thing. The other thing that's interesting is that as we go through it, even though we've covered in depth some things of some of these things. We could go on for longer, because while some of these things are apparently rarely taught, and we've covered them for several weeks, there's more that we can cover, isn't there? In fact, we have not climbed the depths and gone to the limits. So what I want to do is to just hit some bullet points. So here are some of the things that we've addressed.

What's the spiritual anatomy of a believer? So that we understand what changes and what does not change. One of the things that I have discovered in looking at various Bible colleges and seminaries, very, very few of them do a good job talking about what the Bible says is the nature of man, the anatomy, the spiritual anatomy like the unbeliever and the believer. There was one fellow who I encountered that went to Dallas Theological Seminary, and he said he didn't learn what the Bible says about the Atomic World. He's a believer here, so he came to be taught at CCU, and he ended up picking up something basically secular. But again, it seems to be rarely taught and understood, which is a shame, because I think the Bible does have the answers. People just don't know how to find them. People don't know how to discover their time.

No? OK. Right. You are thinking. OK. That's great. We looked at in Adam, the old man is all of who you were. the old sin nature. Sin nature is sometimes called. And the flesh is simply the sin nature as it acts through the body. So a different term essentially pointing to the same source. You said that there is in Christ, you have the new man, all of whom you are, present tense, in Christ. And you have a new nature.

There is the sin associate with the body. You do not have a continuing old man. But why don't you have a continuing old man? Why not? Yeah, and he died, and the old man, the old man is all of who you were in Adam, right? Are you an Adam anymore? No. You are no longer an Adam. Are you ever going to be an Adam? Do you wander in and out of being an Adam?

No. Okay? So the old man is out of the picture. Not the sin nature, but the old man is. Right? Okay. And then the other thing we said is the continuity of person or continuing person is the part of us that God is changing. God's not changing who you are in Christ. Right? God is not changing the new man or the new nature. God is changing that continuing person such that Paul could say, I was and I did. And he could tell people as he does in Acts, as he writes to 1 Timothy. In 1 Timothy, I was and I did. Why? It's because of that continuing person. It's not because he wanders back into Adam.

We also said that there's a physical realm and a spiritual realm of the believer. And the physical realm has the components of a body, and a part of the body is the brain, right? The brain is not, you know, here I've got a body and a brain. You've got the brain as a part of the body. It's on the physical side.

You also have the soul, which is a spiritual realm entity, and it is on the spiritual side, right? So the brain and the soul are physical and spiritual counterparts. And we said that the body in the brain and the soul in the spirit here has mind, emotions, and will. So this is the spiritual anatomy of a believer, right?

And we mentioned that Hebrews 4.12 says that the word of God is alive and powerful and touches that dividing line between soul and spirit.

Nothing else gets that deep. Nothing else gets that effective. You can go to the doctor and he'll prescribe things, you can go and even have brain surgery, and nothing that the doctor can do will touch the spiritual side like the Word of God. I'm not saying you shouldn't go to the doctor, okay? But the doctor can't touch what's on the spiritual side like the Word of God can. And we also said that there are five senses in the physical realm, we all recognize that, but that likewise there is a counterpart five senses in the spiritual and the physical realm.

Now, the next bullet, what does it mean for the believer to be conformed to the image of Christ and how does that happen? Let me let you answer that. What does it mean to be conformed to the image of Christ and how does that happen? Yeah? The example you used was forming a piece of tin into an image or a form by tapping. Right, so we gave the example that for instance, let's see if I have a picture of it. There. Here is the form on the top of a piece of wood, where it's a concave shape, and you have the sheet metal that is laid over the top of it, and there with a ball-peen hammer, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

So how is this helpful in understanding what it means to be conformed to the image of Christ? What is this telling us? that it takes time, okay? It's not an all of a sudden thing. What would happen if God said, you know, I'm just going to conform you to the image of Christ, just like that, you know? You believed today, and by tomorrow morning when you wake up, you're going to be immediately conformed to the image of Christ. What would that, huh? That would be nice. Right? And why doesn't God just do that? Why doesn't he just say, hey, you know, this is how it happens, just bang. Next morning you wake up and, whoa, I'm conformed. Why doesn't God just do that?

In other words, he wants a process in place, right? God has intended that we have a process. There will be a day when we'll, I guess you could put it this way, wake up and we will be fully conformed, right? In other words, ultimately that as an instantaneous event is not possible on this earth. God waits until we pass through heaven's gates. But what he intends here is a process.

And we kind of described it as this tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. And what is that tap, tap, tapping? Is that like this nerve-wracking noise I keep hearing in my head? Is that what it means? What does it mean for God to be doing this tap, tap, tap, tap, tap?

Yeah, Bud? It's His workmanship. Okay, it's His workmanship that's going on. And how does that happen? Yeah. He works all things together for good. Does that mean everything that happens, you say, boy, that was good. No. Some things you look at and you say, you know, that really hurt. Sometimes you might even say, you know, it still continues to hurt. But, he's using the all things, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, to conform us to the image of his Son as a process.

So that's part one. And what's miraculous about that process? What's miraculous about it? Yeah, one is we don't do it, so that's the only way it's miraculous. You're right about that. That's for sure. But what else? How would you describe that it's miraculous? What does God do that's miraculous? What's the verb? God works all things together for good. That's what's miraculous.

He takes things and you look at it and you say, you know, there is no way that I would sign up for this. You know? Hey, how would you like this? Would you like this to happen in your life? And you would say, no, there is no way I would sign up for this. And things like that will happen.

The miracle is that God can take things that we would never sign up for and accomplish something spiritual and eternal. as a result of those things that you would never sign up for. That's miraculous. And God works all things. That really terrible guy that you have to work with or work for. It's this troublesome neighbor. It's this thing that happened to your kids or your grandkids. All things. He works together for good. all things. Let's take a look at the next bullet here.

What does it mean for the believer to be transformed to the image of Christ and how does that happen? Now when you say the image of Christ conformed, now we have this word transform. Why is there a different word used and both of them are God's process and both of them happen to the believer and both of them or something that God pulls off and brings us to the image of Christ. What's this different word, transformed? And why does God do something different that seems to head in the same direction? How does God transform us?

Yeah? So did you say that was the miraculous issue of the biological cycle from, you know, like a frog or whatever, the transformation? Okay. Alright, so here's the conforming, which we say is the circumstantial effect that brings us to the image of Christ, and the other part is this transform, yeah?

He transforms us through us beholding Him in His Word. Yeah, so God has, interestingly, God has brought two things into the physical realm, the circumstances and His Word. Is His Word in the physical realm? Yeah, you probably got a copy of it in the pew rack in front of you. It's in the physical realm, but God uses these things that are different.

It's not just circumstances. He uses these things that are different. And as we behold the Lord through his word, We are transformed. So here are two different processes. God brings them about miraculously into the physical realm, and he works to have a spiritual outcome as a result. Isn't that interesting? And so there are two parallel processes that operate by different means.

The two parallel processes were conformed and were transformed into the image of the Son. Both of them have the same end result, but God uses those two processes in parallel. Now, the second one, being transformed, definitely has to do with the Word of God. Does being conformed have to do with the Word of God as well?

Yes. And Stan says yes. Does anybody disagree? Anybody have a contrary position? Don't get too contrary, but I mean, Why would Stan say yes? Why does being conformed have something to do with the Word of God? It's the application of God's Word in those circumstances. Okay, yeah. In other words, first of all, we have God's Word. Do we understand what God's doing? Or am I just, you know, God, that isn't what I want. I wouldn't sign up for this. I'm mad at you. I'm really frustrated. I don't understand. Why God? Why me? Instead of saying, you know, now I know what the Lord's doing. Now I understand.

I can remember lying down when I got Lyme disease, and I'm thinking, man, I can hardly function. I can't wake up. I can't sleep. It feels like somebody's running over my arm and then backing up again. This hurts like crazy. My body isn't working. I got some kind of crazy thing going on with my nervous system.

I remember just laying there and thinking, you know, in the midst of this, thank you, Lord, for this. Would I sign up for it? No way. But thank you, Lord, for this. Instead of being frustrated, why me? God, what are you doing? I'm ticked, God. It's instead understanding what God's doing. Have you been through it? Do you think with some people? Yeah.

You can't say, well, when you're going through horrible things and all this sort of stuff, it's thank you, Lord, for it. I couldn't be more grateful. The airbag's all puffed up and my glasses are all smashed into my face and my eyes are going to be black. And so do I just instantly say, thank you, Lord? Wow, that was great!

What a rush, right? Is that supposed to be our instant response all the time? Or is thankfulness, maybe the Lord brings that out in different circumstances at different times? Might be. And why would that be? Why is it that we don't instantly, whoo! Man, I just had a head on. That was great. Thank you, Lord. Why isn't that our response?

I think over time you gain perspective. You're not in a panic anymore. Now, over time, do you mean through the process of that one incident? Or do you think over the process of life? Which one are you referring to? In other words, over time, with a number of different events, you have this insight.

Here's Paul, and he's in the middle of the fifth shipwreck. And you say, wow, boy, this is just fantastic. I can't breathe, but boy, I love this seaweed. So, yeah, I think what happens in the midst of it, it can be difficult. It can take a processing, you know, for a while to get to the place of understanding why, yeah, I should be thankful. But, so, yeah, it can take a while. And it might also be that it takes a while even with one process, you know, versus another. Some things happen, they just hit us and then they're gone. and other things they kind of linger.

Romans chapter 1 specifically said in verse 21 it says for although they knew God they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him. Now, this is expressing the viewpoint of the unbeliever, right? So the unbeliever doesn't naturally look at giving thanks. It's been expressed as one of the great frustrations of the atheist. He has nobody to give thanks to. But as a believer, you're right, Bev, the thankfulness is something that may take time, a sequence. It's over the times of life to come to a point.

And in particular things, it may take a while to realize, oh, okay, I do have something to be thankful for. Yes? Yes. And that's ultimately the real reason to have thankfulness for a difficulty, right? Because it is ultimately the outcome. We would really never be in a spot of saying, boy, that pain felt good. It doesn't work that way.

And how do we come to the understanding? Through the Word of God. So actually God's Word has a part in each one of these ways in which we're being made in the image of Christ. An understanding of what these circumstances are that bring us to be conformed, okay? So there's God's Word there as insight and understanding. And then God's Word as the instrument by which we behold Christ and are then transformed. Both of those things involve God's Word, but in a different way.

In a different way. Yes, Dan? And that's why we're commanded to gather together because we're supposed to learn this from other people as well as God's Word. Yes. It's through association and teaching and all the other things that the Church is supposed to do. Yeah. God intends to use the body of Christ as an instrument in both of these things. in both of these things. Let's look at the next one here.

What does it mean for the individual believer to grow toward maturity and how does that happen? What's this growth toward maturity? Can't you just kind of wait and you grow and mature spiritually? Just kind of got to wait your time? Does spiritual maturity happen just because the clock ticks? We have the spiritual capacity to understand God's Word. Right. As believers in Christ, we have the spiritual capacity to understand God's Word and so to grow. Okay? Good. Good. Yes?

It's kind of like physical growth. You don't have a lot of control over that yet. You do have to eat, drink, and so along with spiritual growth you need to read and associate and find out God's word and buy it. Just like in physical growth you don't just let the clock tick and the calendar pages turn to grow. You need some things in order for that growth to take place as the clock ticks and as the calendar pages turn. In the same way, we need certain spiritual nutrients as the clock ticks and as the calendar pages turn in order to grow spiritually. What are those spiritual nutrients that we need to grow individually? as believers, as the clock ticks and as the pages turn. If I read the Bible for 15 minutes every day and pray, say, for 15 minutes every day and just let the clock tick and the pages turn, is that going to pull it off? Is that going to do it?

What? Oh, you mean it takes something else? I mean, I thought, heaven sakes, if I have 15 minutes of reading the Bible and 15 minutes of praying and letting the clock tick and the pages turn, I've got her covered, right? Not so much? Yeah? Well, the conformity on the outside, I think that helps you grow as well. Just on the outward circumstances. Sometimes you have a gay moment. Yeah, yeah.

We have an understanding. Is growing different from being transformed and conformed? Is it essentially the same thing or is it something different? It's ultimately the same thing, isn't it? It's a different way of expressing the same thing. Yes? When you think about it from a perspective outside of the Lord, Everyone has experiences. They aren't being conformed. The thing that conforms us to the image of Christ is because of the transformation that's also taking place. Because it's the Word of God applying to us. It's not just circumstances. Just going through circumstances won't do it.

There are people that reach the end of life and they're terrified. And they have no hope. They're people that go through the years of life and have not taken what the Lord has laid out as true. Either because they're an unbeliever who has not believed, or even as a believer, there are things that are true of them that they do not know. Here's an interesting question.

If you were to make a guesstimate, would you say that most believers understand what it means to be in Christ? Out there in the whole realm of Christianity with all the different kinds of believers in different places, do most of them understand what it means to be in Christ? No, and it's interesting, you don't have to ponder that long. No, not so much. Or what does it mean for Christ to be in you?

I would venture to say most seminary professors don't know that. Most pastors don't know that. Yeah? Okay, I think you're right in one part, but even you'll have guys that take Hebrew and Greek and they still don't understand. They may even have a doctorate. in the subject and still not understand. Very interesting. Being smart doesn't make you wise. Yeah, and that's an important distinction. Just having lots of brains and lots of degrees doesn't necessarily make you wise. Good point.

Let's take a look at the next one. What does it mean for the believer to be sanctified and how does that happen? Set apart. Yeah, set apart is the word pair that describes it. Set apart. It's related to the word for holy It's related to the word for saint. Set apart. What does it mean, set apart? Does that mean that you're isolated? If I go to Loveland Pass and walk about 10 miles, am I set apart?

Is that what we need? Yeah. Well, actually, technically, it would be the start of the process, right? Be the start of the process? And the problem with going level and pass and going about 10 miles away from the road there, what's the problem with it? That's all in the physical realm, right?

What we're talking about, I can be set apart in the middle of a crowd. How about that? Spiritually set apart in the middle of a crowd. I might not even have room to move. I might be trying to get out of the stadium and not have room to move, but still be set apart. Isn't that interesting? It's not about physical proximity, it's about spiritually being set apart.

Now what are you set apart for? Is that because isolation is just great? Are all Christians in solitary confinement? What's the importance and value of being set apart? What's it for? Pardon? For God's purposes, set apart for God's purposes. God has an intent and a purpose in setting us apart, not just making us isolated and putting us in solitary. We're not in solitary confinement. We are set apart for His specific purpose, set apart even if we don't even have room to move because of the crowd. We are still set apart for His purpose, yes.

And one good example of that, which we don't like to think about, is Joe. Okay. I mean, he was set apart to be an example to many people. Yeah. And he was part of God's plan. Yeah. Yeah, if you look at it, that's another one of those things, would you sign up for this? Absolutely. No? And so this being set apart, very interesting, because it's not intuitive. It's set apart, but I've got all kinds of people around me. Well, yeah, but it's not about physical proximity, is it? And there's something else about sanctified.

Are you, in Christ, in that aspect of your person, in Christ, are you completely and totally set apart already? Yes, in Christ you are completely and totally set apart already. It's a done deal. Why has God got any process in place then? Because we're here, not there. Right, but we're here, and what else does that mean? We said that the in Christ part is fixed and unchanging. There is a part of us, the continuing person, that's the part that's undergoing the process. So in Christ, we're already set apart because Christ is set apart. In our continuing person, that is what is being changed over time.

The last bullet there, what does it mean for the body of Christ to grow toward maturity and how does that happen? How is the body of Christ growing toward maturity different from the individual believer's growth toward maturity? It's together. I can't sit here as an individual believer and say, man, I'm just growing with the body of Christ. The body of Christ is just growing and it's just me. doesn't happen that way, right? It is as a church body, all of us together there is spiritual growth, and does that parallel individual spiritual growth, or is it something quite different? Pardon? They go together.

Ultimately, what does God desire? God desires each individual believer to be growing spiritually and He wants the church body to be growing spiritually as well. He wants both processes to be in place. That's what God has designed because that's what He desires.

It's kind of interesting because as you read through scripture, the same process takes place because they spend some time looking at individuals For example, like Cyrus. But then they also spend time looking at the nation itself, like Babylon. You have individuals within Israel that are singled out and they talk about the process with them. But then you also have Israel corporately. as the whole body of believers, or the whole body of people. So the same process you can see throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Here's what is interesting. In 1 Corinthians, in chapter 6 of 1 Corinthians, Paul says that each individual believer is a temple. And then in chapter 3, he says that all of us together are a temple. Both are true. And both of them have spiritual consequences and principles that apply.

As you go out and get in your car and head home, each individual person that gathers here together at Holly Hills, each individual person who is a believer is a temple of the Holy Spirit and we corporately are a temple of the Holy Spirit. So here's Holly Hill's Bible temple, right?

And what does that mean? It's not this thing. It's this thing. It's us, right, together. We are the temple, and individually we're a temple. Let's look at the chart that is on the bottom half of the first page there. We see past point position. And what do we mean by past point position? When a person believes, all of the things that are true of the position that they will have for the entire time that they're on earth become true of them then.

And how did that happen? How did that come about? Did that person say, you know, I'm going to work really hard to be in Christ. Is that how it happened? How did it come about? For me, I find it's a daily process of, thank you Lord that I have been crucified with Christ, my old man. Thank you Lord for this and that. And now, by faith, you put off the old man and you're on the new. That ain't Christ unto me, this is daily Christ. Now, you're right, and actually that's part of the present process, correct? No, that's fine, because you put the focus. That's the second thing. In other words, daily it needs to go on, and that's how processes happen.

But when you were first saved, how did that happen? What did you believe? Did you just kind of believe something? I believe in God. That's good enough? you're saved and you ask forgiveness for your sin. And the expression of it is based on what? Basically it's faith, right? So if we express with our lips, we're expressing what has taken place. It's that initial faith, and all we did was we believed that Christ died for our sins and was buried and rose again. It's that simple.

Now, totally unbeknownst to that person, By the way, do you ever sit down with somebody who's an unbeliever and explain to them, look, if you will believe in Christ, then you know you're going to be in Christ, and Christ is going to be in you, and you're going to be one of his sheep. And you're going to have this eternal position, and you go through the whole list, and it takes pages and pages and pages of notes to go through all these things. And you tell a person all those things before they believe, and all you've got to do is believe this, and all these things are going to be true of you. Is that what you do? No. The reality is, the person who is born again by that faith in simply that Christ died for their sins and was buried and rose again, That person is born with spiritual amnesia.

He has no idea what has just happened to him. So how does he come to know that? Or does he? How does he come to know these things? You say it's discipleship? What's happening? So the Holy Spirit reveals God's Word. So can he just kind of sit there and the Holy Spirit is going to pull it off? Okay. Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us. Okay. Yeah? Through the Word of God. Alright. So can I do like some of the folks in Uganda do, and you take the Bible and just mount it up on the wall, and I'm there. Look at it. Great Bible. And it's tough nailing those things to the wall and mud walls, but somehow they pull it off. The secret is you've got to pre-wet the nails.

So what is it, how is it that that person comes to learn, oh I am in Christ and this means this? and Christ is in me, and that means this. How does that come about? Yeah. So that goes back to the conforming and the transforming. I mean, God's in charge of that process.

So your circumstances guide you in certain places, and through the process of the circumstances, you're transformed inside by God's Word. And as you work through the course of life, And you mature. And you eat great. I want to thank a number of us for having to go through the long subject. It's a great experience. Yeah, and a lot of people get, you know, so that that ends up being a good chunk of their experience as a Christian. And what's amazing is some pastors will even encourage them to head down that road.

They will even insist that they go down that road. We hear about the Roman Road. Is that what God had in mind? The Roman 7 Road? Their pastors, boy, every Sunday they're sitting there banging away. Make sure you go down that Roman 7 Road. It's like they're stuck there. This transmission is just stuck. I'm sorry you couldn't go on this road and that's all. Please don't do what the Romans did.

Anyway, so I think the thing is we look at the past position that we had and it took place right at the moment we believed and we're spending the rest of our time catching up to what God's already done. That's the process that's taking place. We're catching up to what God's already done. What I didn't understand for a long time, because I did understand the Greek tenses and I still don't understand it that well, but that's past perfect, right? What's that? The decision process, making that choice. You made it in the past. That initial faith is a once done deal, right?

It's because of the tense. Unless you see that in the Greek tense. For many years I couldn't understand why they kept saying that. But it's clear. It is a done deal, right? It's a done deal. For by grace are you saved. Perfect tense. A completed past action, ongoing results into the future, implying permanence. Perfect tense.

But what we've been talking about and focusing on mostly is we've been assuming in this elective this position and we've been making reference to it but not focusing on that. What we've been looking at is what's the process or what are the processes that God has in place for each of us individually and for us corporately as believers. We've been talking about here is the process or here are the processes that God has in motion in our lives while we're here. While we're here. And what I'd like us to shift to briefly is the next part, the future fulfillment. In other words, why does God have us in place with this process that's going on?

Are we supposed to be like the Sadducees? You're supposed to do all these things in the law and do all the sacrifices and all that, and yes, there's a God, but when life is over, it's over. You're done. That's what the Sadducees believe. We do all these sacrifices and we do all this stuff and we follow all the laws and all that because when this life is over, you're done.

Is that what we're doing this for? No. The answer is no. And I think that's the key. Everything about the position that we have and the process that God has in place is directed towards an eternity. is directed towards the future. And so that's why, you know, we kind of, I put it in formally, this is a getting ready kind of place. It's a getting ready kind of place because when this life is over, it'll all seem pretty short. And we're getting ready for something that lasts forever.

Yeah. God has a reason for not just saying, you know, as soon as someone comes a believer, I'm just taking them home. Every single one. Just whoop! You know? And so here, you know, you have this Billy Graham crusade, you know, and all these people go down and all of a sudden the whole stadium floor is empty.

Because the Lord just takes them home, you know? The real problem is you have nobody to lead the crusade in the first place, right? Yeah, why doesn't the Lord just, as soon as someone comes a believer, just sweep them up, take them home, they disappear. I think the one place in the book of Philemon where Philemon, if you look at his God-father title, Paul is more Jesus than, you know, Paul said to Philemon, perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever.

No longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother. God is doing something for us that I can still appreciate. That this time of separation, that we'll never ever want to be back down here to the West Side again. We are getting ready for something that will last forever and is intended to last forever.

But there are at least two things that are happening here that continue to happen after you're saved that are the reasons for being here. One is these processes that God has in place are important. God values what is taking place in your life as a believer. They're important. Secondly, those people who have come to recognize what God's doing here on this planet can tell other people the gospel and can tell other believers, here's why God has you here.

Here are the processes that you're going through. Here is the purpose for why you're still here and why God didn't just go and just whisk you right up straight in through heaven's gates the minute you became a believer. He's got a reason for you to be here, and it is about other people. He's got a reason for you to be here, and it's about the body of Christ. He's got a reason for you to be here, and it's about you. And He's got all those reasons for you to be here, and that's why He doesn't just, the moment you believe, just take you out, take you out, right?

He has multiple reasons for having you here. And he's not done with those things. Right? He's not done with those. And that's why he still wants you here. And that's why you're here this morning. Right? That's why I'm here. It's all those multiple purposes that he has for us being here still and now. Okay.

Flip side here. flipside of this one sheet of paper, all these processes, all the reasons that he has us here, for other people who are unbelievers, for other people who are believers, and for the process that he is carrying about in each one of us as individuals, for all those multiple reasons he has us here, Because it's focused on an eternity. It's not like the Sadducees when you're done here You're done, and you're through and you don't exist anymore. It's not like the Sadducees believed they were wrong God is carrying these things out because of the eternal perspective 1st John 3 2 puts it this way we know that when he appears we will be like him because we will see him just as he is Will you When you go to be with the Lord, will you be an absolute, total, carbon copy of Christ?

What? That came awfully fast. Would you say? You said no. Why not? We're being made in the image of Christ. Why do you so readily say no? Yeah, he is fully God and fully man. Will we ever be fully God and fully man? The answer is no. Are you fully man in the sense of being a human? Yep.

And what's happened is in Christ, we already have that unchanging character of Christ, not deity, but character of Christ, already as Alright, we have our position in Christ. And as we brought it up previously, in that respect, you are already a part of the new creation. But, even when we will be like Him, we won't be Him, and we won't be deity. We won't be deity. We'll be conformed to the image of Christ, but we won't be Christ. We will see him just as he is. We will see him just as he is.

What's that? We will not be clones. We will not be clones. And what's interesting, even clones aren't really identical, right? So that's another interesting feature. But, yeah, we will not simply be clones. You won't be just walking around and, boy, man, all these people, it looks like there's a gazillion Jesuses, right? No. He will be identifiably him. And we will be made in character to be like him.

At present, we have a sin nature associated with this body, and if you haven't found out yet, you soon will, that these bodies don't hold up all that well. He intends to replace it with one that holds up very well for all eternity. A body like Christ's resurrection body. That kind. And the sin nature with which we wrestle at this point will then be out of the picture. You will not have the sin nature giving you the siren call, hey remember me? Does the voice sound familiar? That won't happen.

We will be undistracted beholding the Lord face-to-face directly, having been made conformed completely into His image and character, having been made to be completely transformed into His image and having a body like His. So the last part, bottom part of the page there, the present process processes have a purpose, future fulfillment. So this talk about the future isn't just a distraction, it isn't an illusion, it's saying that everything that's going on here has an eternal purpose.

Romans 8.18 at the bottom of the page there, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. It is not worthy to be compared. What does that tell you? We're not talking about a 10 or 20 percent improvement.

We're talking about a radical change, spiritually speaking. In terms of the value of it, the scale is just completely on the floor on one side. This thing weighs out way beyond the scale. The scale is tilt. What's going on now, what the processes are costing us, is a bargain. Would I ever sign up for the Lyme disease? Not a chance. Is it a bargain compared to what God is doing with it eternally? Oh yes, it most certainly is. It most certainly is. Let's pray. Okay?

Lord, we do give you thanks as we look at the process that you're carrying out, the processes that you're carrying out within each of us and among us as a church body. And we thank you for that. We look to you to daily give us greater insight into what you're doing forever. And we thank you for it. We thank you as we increasingly realize what you're carrying out and what you're going to make of it. We thank you for the bargain that you've offered us all by your grace. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.