“The Glories To Follow”

by Chris Simmons

After discussing the hope of salvation in 1 Peter 1:4-10, Peter references the fact that “the prophets” foretold of the “grace that would come” which would be made possible by the “sufferings of Christ” (1 Peter 1:11). “Sufferings” that the Hebrew writer says Jesus both “endured” and “despised” (Hebrews 12:2) because of the “joy set before Him.” Likewise, Peter states that the prophets not only predicted the “sufferings of Christ” that Jesus chose to endure, but also the “glories to follow.” Suffering that we choose to endure only happens when the reward (the glory or joy) is worth it. The apostle Paul willingly endured great persecution and tribulation but he did so because of the reward. We read of his mindset in Romans 8:18, “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.” There was no question in Paul’s mind that anything he might be called upon in this life to endure was worth the “glory to be revealed.” To Paul, every moment of suffering was just that – momentary – with the hope of glory “far beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). We need to be as clear as Paul and our Lord were in knowing what joy and glory await the faithfully obedient. So then, what were the prophets referring to when they “predicted … the glories to follow”?

They included Jesus resurrection from the dead. What a glorious and awesome moment that was when Jesus arose from the dead. We read in Matthew 28:1-10 of the “severe earthquake” that took place when God’s angels came down from heaven to roll away the stone after Jesus arose, of the “fear and great joy” of the disciples and of their worship of Him upon seeing Him in the flesh. What a day of great victory, joy, and glory to God! A glorious day that would forever shape and define man’s relationship to God. Peter spoke of the glory that followed Jesus’ shedding of His blood in 1 Peter 1:20-21 where he wrote, “For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” Prophecy declared that the glory of Jesus’ resurrection was the ultimate declaration of His divine status as the Son of God as Paul wrote in Romans 1:2-4.

The “glories to follow” included Jesus’ ascension to the right hand of His Father in heaven. Jesus didn’t come to earth to establish a physical kingdom (John 18:36) but to be glorified by returning to His prior rightful place at the right hand of His Father in heaven. Jesus stated in Luke 24:25-26, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17:5 that He might return to the “glory which I had with You before the world was.” Paul spoke of the fulfillment of this in Ephesians 1:19-21, “These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” Jesus returned to the glory He had set aside when He came to earth to be our Savior. What a glorious moment that was as a “cloud received Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9). Paul summarized this in 1 Timothy 3:16, “He who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”

The glory to follow has to include when the message of forgiveness and remission of sins was proclaimed. It’s impossible for human language to adequately convey the glory of the message that allows man to find forgiveness and redemption in Christ. Paul and the rest of the apostles considered themselves so blessed to have the opportunity to proclaim this glorious news as we read of Paul in Colossians 1:25-27, “Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations; but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The gospel is God’s power to save man (Romans 1:16) and it’s His means to call us in His glory as we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:14, “It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The gospel of Jesus Christ is most certainly a “glorious gospel” (1 Timothy 1:11).

Finally, the glory to follow culminates with the realization of hope for the faithful. There is a glory which is eternal and thus will never end (2 Corinthians 4:17), when God’s children exchange their perishable bodies “sown in dishonor” for a spiritual body “raised in glory” that will never perish (1 Corinthians 15:42-43). On that day, those made righteous by the blood of Christ who have been “looking for the blessed hope” will rejoice in the “appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus” (Titus 3:13). Paul states this promise by God in Colossians 3:4, “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” As we struggle in this life to deal with the trials and suffering that come upon us for our faith, let us remember to “keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation” (1 Peter 4:13).

So how clear is our vision of the glories to follow if we are faithful to Jesus? Our ability to clearly and accurately see the glory God has invited us to is crucial to our faith and our ability to pass through “the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:11). So let us soberly reflect on Paul’s prayer for his brethren that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18-19). Let me end with the words of the second verse of a hymn entitled, “O That Will Be Glory,” “When, by the gift of His infinite grace, I am accorded in heaven a place, Just to be there and to look on His face, Will through the ages be glory for me.”