Prepared for Glory
Audio Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Behold the Glory of God
2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10 (ESV)
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
5:1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
Sermon Outline
God is preparing us for something of such great substance (4:17) that how we live and what we experience can become deeply intertwined with glory.
1. Our Longings
v1 “…if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God…” (cf 4:16)
v2, 4 “in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling”
v3-4 “… not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed…”
2. God’s Preparations
v10 “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ”
v1 “…if the tent… we have a building from God, a house not made with hands”
v4 “so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life”
v5 “He who has prepared us for this very thing is God”
3. Faith that is Secure
4:16, 5:6, 5:8 “good courage”
v7 “we walk by faith, not by sight” (cf 4:18)
v5 “…who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee”
v9 “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.”
Prayer of Confession
Our glorious God, we can’t fathom the profound greatness of who you are. We confess that instead of seeking it, we have sought satisfaction for our longings in what our eyes see, what our peers value, what the world runs after. We have betrayed you; we have betrayed others; we have betrayed ourselves. Forgive every sin. Forgive every time we acted for our own pleasure, rather than what would please you. Forgive our failure to trust you. We thank you for the eternal glory that is ahead, and for Christ who came to prepare us for it. We thank you for the Spirit that is a guarantee, a strength, a help, a comfort. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
How can glory have “weight” to it? When you think of glory, what do you imagine, and is there any aspect of heaviness or substance to it?
How can life in the body feel like we are inhabiting a tent? What in that metaphor connects with the human experience?
How do you understand life after death? Is the soul free from a body? Are you just a decaying body? What is the Christian view of resurrection?
How does Jesus prepare us for eternal life? Why is preparation necessary?
In what ways is the Holy Spirit a “guarantee” (or down payment)? How does the Spirit enable us to know something of God?
What does it mean to walk by faith and not by sight? How is Christian faith a form of knowledge of the eternal?
How does the hope of future glory bring new possibilities for how we live now?
What does it look like to live a life that aims to please God? Why should a person live this way?