Joy in the Presence of God

Let's turn there to the epistle of Jude. Once again, Jude's epistle. We're very near to the end of the book now. So we are looking at today, verse 24. We've finally come to the final doxology of Jude's epistle, and we weren't quite finished today.

We'll have perhaps one more sermon after today to finish off. And that's simply because this final doxology is so rich and powerful, but I think it'd be a shame to rush through it. But looking at verse 24 today, our subject is going to be our future joy in the presence of God. But as usual, I want to start with prayer and then we'll read the text. So let's address our God.

Lord, thank you. Thank you for this time of worship that we've already had. for the songs that we've been able to sing to your praise, for the holy word that we've already read and benefited from so much. It is a great blessing to do all these things, Lord, as a church, as a congregation, for those called out from the world and into your own body. Lord, we come now to hear your word preached, and I ask that you would continue to be with us, to instruct us and teach us in the things that we need to know, and we approach your word with full and true humility, knowing that we don't stand over your word as judges, but you will judge us by it.

We submit to your word, Lord, because it is your own word, holy, without error, able to convert the soul, And Lord, as we consider today the prospect of being presented before the presence of your glory, give sight to the eyes of our souls. What we've never seen, Lord, with our mortal eyes, let us see with the eyes of our souls. Grant us even a shadowy, far-off glimpse of our future joys. Give us joy even now in the anticipation of these things. Renew, Lord, our appreciation for the gospel.

Help us to see the goodness of the good news, how sweet it is and its power. Use this time, Lord, to fix our minds on eternal things. Be with us, Lord. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

So let's turn to Jude's epistle. Remember, we're focusing on verse 24, but as usual, we'll read the whole text. This is the letter of Jude. Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ, may mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

For certain people have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he is kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day. Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. Yet in like manner, these people also, relying on their dreams to defile the flesh, reject authority and blaspheme the glorious ones.

But when the Archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, the Lord rebuke you. that these people blaspheme all they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them, for they walked in the way of Cain, and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain, to Balaam's error, and perished in Korah's rebellion. These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves, waterless clouds swept along by winds, fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted, wild waves of the sea casting up the foam of their own shame, wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness, that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires, their loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage. But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, in the last time there will be scoffers following their own ungodly passions. It is these who cause divisions, worldly people devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

And have mercy on those who doubt. Save others by snatching them out of the fire. others show mercy with fear hating even the garments stained by the flesh now to him who was able to keep you from stumbling to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy to the only god our savior through jesus christ our lord be glory majesty dominion and authority before all time and now and forever Amen. So we finally come to verse 24, the beginning of Jude's wonderful concluding doxology. If you're not familiar with the term doxology, that's just what we call this kind of thing.

It's a brief word of praise, glorifying God. It comes from the Greek word doxa, meaning glory. There are several doxologies scattered throughout the New Testament, and I'm sure you'll remember many of them. You can think, for example, of the angels who praise God at the birth of Jesus in Luke's Gospel. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.

Paul often breaks out into doxology in his epistles, like Romans 11. For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. Jude's doxology is one of the longest and richest of the New Testament doxologies.

It's spiritually deep, it's full of comfort and assurance, lifts our hearts up to God, setting before us his eternal glory and majesty. So I think it's well worth taking our time to study this text carefully and reflect on these wonderful truths that should lead us to overflow with praise. Jude's doxology consists of two main parts. In the first part, he describes the one to whom he is addressing his doxology. Jude doesn't name God at first, but he describes him, addressing him as to him who is able, that is, able to do various things for his people.

We'll be exploring this a little bit today. But then this one who is able is named as the only God, our Saviour. And this God is addressed through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Jude is approaching God in the only way available to us, which is through the son, in his office as mediator between God and man. Having now identified God as the subject of his doxology, Jude, in the second part, then ascribes to God various attributes, glory, majesty, dominion, and authority.

It's not as though Jude can somehow grant to God these things. It's simply a matter of recognition. Jude recognizes that God is glorious and majestic and has all dominion and authority. Jude recognises that God is glorious and majestic and has all dominion and authority, and here he is acknowledging this truth, proclaiming this truth and praising God for this truth. He adds that these things belong to God before all time and now and forever.

That is, God has these things eternally, unchangeably. And he ends then, appropriately, with Amen. This is originally a Hebrew word. It was sometimes translated in the New Testament as truly or assuredly. Used at the end of a prayer or a doxology, it has the meaning, effectively, of so is it or so be it.

And it serves, effectively, to just confirm your affirmation of this truth that you've prayed or just addressed to God and to commit yourself to that truth. So that's just a quick overview of this doxology. As I said, today we're focused on verse 24. Jude writes, down to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy. God is here identified as he who is able to do two things.

First, to keep you from stumbling. And secondly, following on from this and resulting from this to present you before the presence of his glory. The second point is further expanded to describe the manner in which we are to be presented, and that is we'll be presented blameless and then with great joy. The idea that Christians are kept or guarded is something that we've already explored quite a bit. This has been a theme throughout Jude's letter.

Remember that Jude starts by identifying his audience as genuine Christians who are kept for Jesus Christ. Rebels and unbelievers, by contrast, are kept, but in a different way and for a different purpose. Rebellious angels, we read in verse six, are kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness. False brethren are designated for condemnation, and their place in the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. Toward the end of his letter, Jude has now returned to this idea that believers are kept.

In verse 21, we've seen how believers are urged to keep themselves in the love of God. When we looked at that passage, we explored how believers have the responsibility to abide in Christ, to persevere in the faith. But here in the doxology, Jude is reminding us that, of course, the ultimate power and cause behind us persevering in the faith is not our own power. If we keep ourselves in God's love, that is only because God himself has kept us from stumbling. He works in us, through his appointed means, to keep us.

That is, to keep us from stumbling into soul-destroying sin and error, from stumbling into unbelief, which all the God is able to do this with the implication that he will indeed do what he's able to do. That's why this should be so reassuring to our souls. And because we are kept from stumbling, then God is therefore able to present us before the presence of his glory with great joy. And this is what I really want to focus on today. I want to consider what it means to be in the presence of God's glory.

We'll see that this is an unapproachable glory for sinners. In fact, to be in the presence of God is not good news for sinful humanity. To be in the presence of God's glory would be nothing but horror and terror and destruction for each one of us were we to remain in our natural sinful condition. This will then lead us to consider my second point, which is this question. How is it that any of us sinners could possibly find ourselves in the presence of God's glory and not suffer this terror that would be joyful rather than utterly undone?

How is this possible? What has to happen for this to take place? And that, of course, is a crucial question because it concerns our eternal destinies. Finally, we'll have a chance to reflect on how this future state that we have promised can be participated in, in some sense, even now, that we can have joy even in this life. And I hope that this reflection altogether will be an encouragement to you in the Christian life.

So let's consider what it means to be in the presence of God's glory. Now, glory, I think, is an interesting concept in scripture. I find it quite difficult to nail down a precise definition. It's one of those words that you feel like you know what it means when you hear it, but when you have to explain it, it's more challenging than you might expect. It's an abstract, multifaceted idea.

If you look up the words for glory in the original biblical languages, you'll often hear in Hebrew the word in its most literal use refers to something's weight or heaviness and that's not particularly useful in our context but you can sort of imagine that if you applied this word figuratively you'd get this idea of metaphorical weightiness you get this idea of greatness and splendor something has glory because it has great importance it's worthy of honor and awe and reverence The Greek word doxa is similar and includes the idea of reputation and honour, or majesty and excellence, or sometimes even literal brightness and radiance. That is what we mean by glory. Now, some earthly and heavenly things can be said to have glory in various ways, but God's glory is uniquely great. Something that belongs to him alone. He says, my glory I give to no other.

To be in the presence of God's glory is really just to be in the presence of God himself, revealing and manifesting himself, showing us who he is. This is a thrilling and terrifying thought. We do well to contemplate God as holy and righteous and infinite, but our minds very quickly run into a wall. We've never encountered anything like this. We have no point of reference.

Our best analogies are only dim hints and shadows. Think of the greatest of earthly splendour that we encounter in this life, that evokes a sense of overwhelming awe. You've only made the very first steps in approaching what God is like. Just think of the wonders of nature, mountain ranges of immense height, vast canyons. The deepest depths of the oceans.

Consider the heavens. Fill the stars in their high and mysterious beauty. Their uncountable number. Their unfathomable vastness. You feel so utterly small in the presence of these things.

They're staggering. They inspire awe and even fear. They're terrifying in their grandeur. But none of these things, all with a certain finite glory of their own, approach God. God's glory is utterly beyond this creation.

Indeed, scripture tells us that God dwells in unapproachable light. When Moses asks to see God's glory, he's told, man shall not see me and live. To be in the presence of God's glory, even in a limited and accommodated sense, is a terrifying experience. One well-known depiction of this is from the prophet Isaiah. I want you to come and see this in Isaiah chapter six.

This is a very powerful text. Isaiah chapter six, we'll read the first seven verses of this chapter. Isaiah chapter six, starting with verse one. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the Seraphim.

Each had six wings. With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. One called to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called and the house was filled with smoke and I said woe is me for I am lost for I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips for my eyes have seen the king the lord of hosts and one of the seraphim flew to me having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

And he touched my mouth and said, behold, this has touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." Notice Isaiah's terror in witnessing this glorious manifestation of God. He says, woe is me, for I am lost. Or as the King James reads, I am undone.

Other translations say, I am ruined or I am destroyed. He feels his existence is entirely undermined by this experience. To be presented before the presence of the glory of God is too much. Notice that this is connected with an intense consciousness of sin. Before the glorious purity of God, his own uncleanness is intolerable.

The only way that Isaiah can remain in God's presence and not die is that his sin needs to be dealt with. Atonement is made, his guilt is taken away. This is a very important point and we'll return to this later. But for right now, I want to give you a couple more examples to bring this point home. What is it like to be in the presence of God's glory?

Consider also the calling of Ezekiel. Let's go to Ezekiel chapter one. He also has an astonishing vision of God. This is quite a mind-boggling passage, if you read the whole chapter. It captures a sense of staggerment and confusion and terror that feeble creatures must feel in the presence of God.

Let's just get a taste of this. I'm gonna read from verse 22, Ezekiel chapter one. We'll read starting verse 22. Over the heads of the living creatures there was a likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring crystal, spread out above their heads, and under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another, and each creature had two wings covering its body. And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings, like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty, a sound of tumult, like the sound of an army.

When they stood still, they let down their wings. And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings. And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire. And seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance.

And upward from what had the appearance of his waist, I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. downward from what had the appearance of his waist, I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him, like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain. So was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard the voice of one speaking."

So Ezekiel falls on his face, having witnessed the likeness of the glory of God, He is, like Isaiah, undone. He describes it, but he's keenly aware of how insufficient his words are to capture the scene. He keeps saying appearance and likeness, as if to tell us, what I saw was like these things that you're familiar with, but are so much greater than I can say. He's utterly overwhelmed by the sight. I want to give you one more example.

This time from the New Testament. Let's come to Revelation chapter one. I want to show you the Apostle John's reaction to a vision of the risen and glorified Lord Jesus. Let's read, starting from Revelation 1, verse 12. Revelation 1, we'll start verse 12.

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me. And on turning, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the lampstands, one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe with a golden sash around his chest. His hairs, the hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire.

His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace. And his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand, he held seven stars. From his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword. His face was like the sun, shining in full strength.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. And he laid his right hand on me saying, fear not, for I am the first and the last and the living one. I died and behold, I am alive forevermore. And I have the keys of death and Hades. So this is John, a spirit-filled Christian and apostle, who lived and ministered with this same Lord Jesus in the flesh for three years.

He saw him resurrected and ascended into heaven. John has served this Lord Jesus now for decades, ministering in his church. But here he is, face to face with his Lord again, and he's struck with terror. He falls as though dead. Note that this is the experience of a believer, much like Isaiah and Ezekiel, actually.

Believers, they're forgiven, at peace with God, but still to exist in the presence of his Lord and God before his glory is almost unbearable. That's the experience of a believer. Let's consider now what it's like for unbelievers, because there will be a day in which all of us, each one of us, will be presented before the presence of his glory, but not all with great joy, because some people will not be forgiven. Some people will not be at peace with God. We are promised a day when Christ will return in divine glory to judge the living and the dead.

This is what he himself says about that day as recorded for us in Mark's gospel. Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him will the son of man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his father with the holy angels. The apostle Paul also speaks of this day. when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels and flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. We hear about the reaction of unbelievers to the presence of the Lord in Revelation chapter six.

Let's go over there so you can see this for yourself. Here we have some powerful imagery depicting the end of the age and the second coming. So let's go to Revelation chapter six. and we'll start with verse 12 of chapter 6. When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth.

The full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as a fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place And the kings of the earth, and the great ones, and the generals, and the rich, and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand? So this is very much opposite of joy in the presence of God's glory. The glory of God is terrifying.

They flee, they try to hide. They wish to die rather than face the wrath of the Lamb. Of course, we know that death can be no escape. So all that being said, I think that raises a question. How is it that any of us could face the glory of God and experience joy rather than catastrophic life-ending terror?

And not only joy, but great joy, the highest of all possible joys. Well, that's what I want to consider next. Let's consider what the scriptures say concerning joy in God's presence. I want you to just feel the contrast before we answer any questions. On one hand, we have the terror of God's presence.

On the other, we have the promise of deepest joy in God's presence. Because indeed, the scriptures do set forth the promise of living in the presence of God and seeing his glory as the height and pinnacle of human existence. As Christians, we often look forward to heaven. We yearn for all the wonderful things that will come along with this. We might be particularly aching for reunion with loved ones that have died.

We might be longing for the end of toil and strife in this life, perhaps the end of bodily suffering, of full and final freedom from the presence of sin in our lives. And indeed, all of those things are good, and we should be looking forward to them, but none of it compares to the joy of beholding God face to face. Longing to be with God and enjoying his presence is something that we see throughout the scriptures. Think of Moses again, who yearns to see God's glory. Think of Job, who proclaims, even in the midst of his suffering, yet in my flesh I shall see God.

This desire to behold God, to live in his presence, is also beautifully described in the Psalms. I want to give you an example. Let's look to Psalm 27, verse four. This is a Psalm of David. Psalm 27, we'll read just verse four.

He writes this. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, to inquire in his temple. David's heart's desire is to be living in the presence of the Lord, in his temple, beholding his beauty. This flows out of his love for the Lord, his devotion to the Lord. This is something that brings him the profoundest joy.

We see this even more clearly in Psalm 16. So let's turn over just a few pages to Psalm 16. This is where the Psalmist, David himself, is singing of the joys and pleasures of being in the presence of God. Let's look at Psalm 16, and we'll read from verse nine. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices.

My flesh also dwells secure, for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your Holy One see corruption. You make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy. At your right hand, pleasures for evermore. So these are eternal pleasures in the presence of God, fullness of joy.

All joy outside the presence of God is only partial and limited at best. It's only in his presence that our joy can be full. This should make a lot of sense to us because all that is really good and brings real joy comes from God. Anything that you know in this life that is truly good, that brings you joy, is merely a derivative, shadowy reflection of God's perfect goodness. It all comes from him.

So in coming to God himself, we find joy in its purest form. We've come to the source and summit of all joy. And this is what we're made for, to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. This is why the New Testament speaks so much about the joy of the Christian and the parable of the talents. The master speaks to the faithful servant and says this, well done, good and faithful servant.

You've been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. This is what we are to anticipate, entering into the joy of our master. Indeed, the joys of all eternity are to come from the presence of God.

Come and see this in Revelation chapter 21. I think this is a text that's just bursting with joy. We have a depiction of a new heaven and a new earth. Let's just read the first four verses of Revelation 21. Such an incredible passage.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them.

They will be his people. And God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. for the former things have passed away.

So God will dwell with his people. He will be our God, will be in his glorious presence forever. And look down just at verse 22, the same chapter. He says, and I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

So this heavenly city must be bathed in the light of God's glory. And rather than terror for the saints, this will be fullness of joy. So that's the promise. And what a contrast that is to the terror that we read about just earlier. But what we haven't answered is our question, how is this possible?

How is it that any of us could ever stand in the full brightness of God's glory, and rather than flee in terror or fall down as though dead, we'll have comfort and peace and joy? Well, Jude tells us that God is able to do it. That's the first thing that we should note. God is able, one way or another. And only God is able.

This is not something that we can bring about by our own effort and will. There's no change that we can make to our own souls that make us fitted for the experience of God's glory. This is an impossibility. But God is able. He's able, as Jude says, to keep us from stumbling and to present us blameless for the presence of his glory.

Blameless. I think that's the key. That's what has to happen. This is the point that I need to emphasise. We need to be made utterly blameless, perfectly pure.

A stain of sin that we all carry around with us needs to be entirely obliterated because our sin is what prevents us from joyful communion with a holy God. If you're honest with yourself, you know that being made blameless is a tall order. Consider yourself in the mirror of God's law and you'll see just how horribly impure you are. You can't cleanse yourself. This is why it has to be God's doing.

It should remind us of Isaiah and his intense awareness of his impurity in God's presence. The solution is not that Isaiah needs to go away, clean up his life, come back when he's qualified. No, Isaiah can't do anything to help his predicament. The solution that's offered is the only solution there is. That's the grace of God in making atonement.

A burning coal is taken from the heavenly altar. His unclean lips are purified. His guilt is taken away. And this is the only hope that any sinner can have of entering into God's presence with joy rather than terror. We need full and complete atonement to be made on our behalf, to deal with our sin once and for all.

The good news is, of course, that atonement has been made. The Lord Jesus did indeed come as a sacrificial lamb to take away the sins of the world. All who belong to him, all who are united to him by faith are included in his atoning work. He died in our place. He secured our forgiveness.

In him we are fully pardoned. In exchange for our unrighteousness we receive his perfect righteousness. We call this justification. God counts us pure and holy and blameless in Christ. We are accepted and welcomed at peace with God in Christ.

This is a wonderful thing and it's true for every believer now. This continues to be true throughout our lives because God is able to keep us from stumbling. He keeps us, guards us, preserves us in the faith, abiding in Christ so that we make it to the end justified. And yet that's not the full story because all of that was true of the Apostle John when he came face to face with Christ and his divine glory. And even he was not prepared for what he saw.

I don't think any of us, were we suddenly transported into heavenly glory as we are right now, would fare any better than John. The problem that remains is the continued presence of sin and impurity in the lives of every believer. Though we are genuinely redeemed, genuinely accepted by God, some corruption remains in each one of us. Probably a lot of corruption, actually. And this has to be dealt with, too.

No remnant of sin can abide in the presence of a holy God. We are legally counted holy already in the courts of heaven, but we also need to be made actually, practically, completely holy. When it comes to our ongoing progress in personal holiness, we generally call that sanctification. But even that is not enough, because no believer has ever attained perfect sanctification in this life. What's required is what we sometimes call our glorification.

Glorification is the final step in the salvation of a Christian. This is effectively the completion and perfection of our sanctification. I think this is what Jude is talking about when he speaks about God presenting us blameless before the presence of his glory. Every trace of sin has to be removed completely forever. We need to be glorified.

Now talking of glorification, scripture is often focused on the glorification of our bodies. Having died with corruptible bodies, tainted with sin, we need to be raised incorruptible, pure and fitted for eternity. But what I want to focus on is the moral and spiritual glorification that has to come along with this. The Apostle Paul talks about this in Ephesians chapter five. He's instructing husbands to love their wives, but in so doing, he gives us a beautiful picture of what Christ does for his bride, the church.

He says this, husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water, by the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Christ demands a spotless bride, but he himself will make her spotless. This involves justification, sanctification, and finally, glorification. You might expect that this needs to take place at some point before we're finally able to enter God's presence and behold his glory. It seems to me from the scriptures that our full and final purification will be simultaneous with our sight of God.

The completion of our purification will occur when we see him. I want you to come and see this in 1 John 3. This is a very important passage. 1 John 3. I think we give it not nearly enough attention.

Let's read 1 John 3. We'll start with verse 1. This is what he writes. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God, and so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what will be and what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is, and everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself, as He is pure. Let's make sure we're following what John is saying. He's urging us to see the Father's love for us, that we're called children of God. And he says, and so we are. So this is a reality that is true here and now.

Believers are God's children already. But the fullness of this reality has not yet come. There is something about our future reality that is yet to be revealed. And this is what he says about this, which I find amazing. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is.

When we enter into the presence of God and he appears to us, we'll see him. We'll see him as he is. We'll have some kind of direct spiritual sight of God beholding him as he is. This is very mysterious, but glorious. Doesn't this move the heart?

The infinite, invisible, incomprehensible God will make himself known to us in a profound way. And this will be, it seems, transformative. The sight of God will somehow make us like God. Back in the Garden of Eden, man was made in God's image and likeness. But that image was horribly defaced, ruined by sin.

By grace, each believer is now being remade after the image of Christ, who is the true and perfect image of God. And when we finally see him, We will image him fully, at least as fully as creatures are designed to. We shall be like him. The image of God will be realized in man once again. Now, when we say that we'll see God, we shouldn't imagine this as literal sight with our physical eyes.

With our physical eyes, we shall certainly see the Lord Jesus in his glorified humanity. He is, after all, the image of the invisible God. He's God in flesh. Let's be clear that the divine essence in itself is invisible, as the scripture declares. God is spirit.

He's not a material object that can interact with photons. That's why the sight of God here, as promised by John, can't be mere physical sight. It's so much deeper than that. Many people, of course, saw the human form of Jesus in his earthly ministry. So many of them saw in him nothing more than a man.

Many people, on the day of judgment, will see the glorified Jesus, and they'll be terrified, and they'll be forced to acknowledge him as God. but they won't see that blessed sight of the divine nature. The sight that's promised here by John is a spiritual sight, seeing as a metaphor for our direct spiritual apprehension of his divine glory. With our bodily eyes, we shall see his humanity, but with the eyes of our soul, as it were, we will behold his divinity. This is a sight that none but the redeemed will see.

Paul speaks of this in 1 Corinthians, when he uses a language of both sight and knowledge. He says, Seeing God face to face is a spiritual sight that will consist in full knowledge. So never be comprehensive knowledge, of course, because God is infinite and will always remain very finite creatures. But we will know him as far as glorified creatures are able to know. And that knowledge will be perfect in the sense that it'll be without error, without mistake.

We'll see him as he is. We'll know him closely, intimately, accurately. And this will be the source of our perfect joy. So God is able to present us before the presence of his glory with great joy because he is able to glorify us, to cleanse us fully and finally when we enter into his presence and we'll enter his presence never to leave it again, never to lose sight of his glory because we are to enjoy him forever. The last thing that I want to reflect on is how we can taste something of this joy on this side of glory.

joy in this life might not reach to the heights of the fullness of joy that's to come because we don't yet see God as he is. But Christian joy is not exclusive to the world to come. I want to argue we can have joy now first in the anticipation of future joys and second in enjoying the blessings that we already have already. So there is joy to be had now in this life For the gospel is good news. Think of the parable in Matthew's gospel.

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. As joy, even before he acquires the field, he's so delighted in this message of the kingdom. The gospel is so good because it includes the promise of eternal life in the presence of God. So the joy that we can have now is a joy of anticipation of future joys.

We rejoice now because we are looking forward to the perfection of heavenly joy. The Lord says, blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. So one way that we can be more joyful now is to meditate on what's to come, our heavenly reward.

Cultivate your love for God so that that glorious moment when you will see him as he is will be something that you long for. Make this something that you genuinely desire. And to do this we don't need to do anything weird or mystical. You can just learn to long for him by spending time with him, hearing his voice and his word, pouring out your heart to him in prayer, worshipping with the saints. These are ordinary things that we can do to grow in our love for God, to learn to anticipate the joys to come.

This brings me to my second point, which is that our present joy isn't entirely about looking forward to future joys. We can delight in the blessings that we've already received and already experienced. Our present state of being in the grace of God is the reason that we can be assured of our future joys. And itself is an incredibly joyous thing. What we have now is nothing less than Christ himself.

And through him, the father and the spirit, we have real living fellowship with the triune God right now. Jesus says this in John's gospel. If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He also speaks about the helper, the spirit of truth, whom he gives us to be with us forever. He himself says in setting forth the great commission, behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.

So we have Christ now. He is present with us right now, and even now, we've been given the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. It's true that This knowledge is now limited. We do have to wait to receive the fullness of this gift. We know him now by faith rather than by sight.

We see in a mirror dimly. We know only in part, but though limited in comparison to what one day will be, what we have already is an incredible gift. We can look to Christ now and by faith enjoy the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. And because we have Christ now, this means that we have already justification, sanctification, adoption, promise of future glorification. Everything we've already talked about, we have these things right now.

We can find so much joy in this. And this should ground us and anchor us in all life's troubles because the Christian life is to be a life of joy and rejoicing with our hope grounded in God himself. So nothing, no earthly thing can trouble the source of our joy. Our joy is secure forever in him. So let's praise the Lord because he is able to present us for the presence of his glory with great joy.

We've seen that the presence of God's glory is not necessarily joy for the impure, for those not in Christ who remain in sin and unbelief. The only sight of God's glory they will ever have will be when Christ himself comes in the glory of his father to judge the living and the dead. and that sight of Him will be their undoing. In that moment, all their worldly hopes, all their dreams, all their pride and selfishness will be revealed to have been a delusion. They'll realize that they traded their only chance of eternal joy for absolutely nothing.

If that's you, then I tell you, flee to Christ. Flee to Him, and you'll be counted with the saints. You'll have an altogether different experience. We've seen, for the saints, the presence of God's glory will be joy. It'll be joy because we'll be blameless, and we'll be blameless because we'll see him as he is, and that blessed sight will purify us of every remaining trace of sin once and for all.

This is the promise for each and every Christian. Everyone who knows and loves the Lord Jesus as saviour and Lord, if you belong to him, you're already accepted in him, and your glorification is guaranteed. I want to encourage you on this. I want you to find joy and peace and comfort and hope in this. The Lord says, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

This needs to be the desire of our hearts. If you're a Christian, you find this doesn't really move you, then that needs to change. I know this is all very abstract and otherworldly and difficult to grasp, but if your heart is cold to this, if it's cold to this promise of seeing your God, that's a very bad sign for your spiritual health. All I can recommend is that you renew your devotion to the Lord. Beg the Lord to soften your heart.

Fix your eyes on him and lean on his grace. Return to your first love. Cast off all that worldly sin and distraction that distance you from him. Indeed, I think all of us need to be doing this because even if we do have moments where we genuinely desire to see God, how inconsistent is that desire? How weak?

The glory that awaits us is so great. It's a terrible shame that it occupies so small a place in our hearts. Do we really believe that in His presence is fullness of joy? May the Lord help us to see it. I want to leave you with just one last passage.

This is from the last chapter of Revelation, with fulfillment of all that we've spoken about is foretold. Listen to this. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads, and night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Amen. Let's pray. Lord, you are good. Your steadfast love endures forever. Lord, forgive the hardness of our hearts.

Lord, help us to desire to know you, to be with you, to see you exactly as you are. Lord, be our comfort in sorrow, be our anchor in troubled times, be our joy and hope and rest and peace. May we, by faith, even now get a glimpse of your glory in the face of the Lord Jesus. May we yearn for that day we no longer see as in a glass darkly, but face to face. Thank you, Lord.

I pray you in the name of Jesus. Amen.