I would like to look at some other things that Paul has said in this section (vs 1 - 11) as we look at this verse.
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. verse 2
Here, we are called to rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. If we look at what Paul says leading up to this verse, we can understand what he means. In verse 1 Paul says we have been justified, counted righteous, by faith.
justified by faith: trust that the blood of Christ is sufficient and capable of saving, justifying, and reconciling us apart from works.
With this faith (trust), which itself is a gift of God, we enter into grace (God's unmerited favor, salvation), and we rejoice.
Rejoicing in the hope (expectation) of the glory of God - since we have now entered into His unmerited favor (grace), we will continue to see God glorified as He is revealed in us, through us, and around us - more and more now, and for eternity in Heaven.
How is God glorified/revealed in us, through us, and around us?
God is glorified when He is revealed, and He is most clearly revealed through the gospel message in action - which includes our salvation! So we can rejoice in the expectation (hope) that the life change we have experienced through the gospel message will work in us, through us, and affect those around us - revealing God and glorifying Him!
Then Paul says in verse 3: More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings...
So, more than rejoicing in the expectation that God will be revealed and glorified through our lives because of the gospel message in action (justified by faith in Christ Jesus), more than that - we are called to rejoice in our sufferings as well.
Paul goes on to explain what this means, which we have covered previously. When we read the following verses, we can begin to see the peace that passes all understanding that Paul talks about. When we are called to rejoice in our sufferings, and then we see that even in this God is glorified through the spiritual growth of His children as He is found faithful, we begin to see this is something the world cannot understand.
Paul transitions from sufferings into Gods love, and explains what kind of love He has for us. The kind of selfless love that includes offering His innocent Son as a sacrifice, to reconcile us to Him even while we hated Him!
In light of these two reasons Paul gives us to rejoice as children of God, we can look at how verse 11 starts off: More than that, we also rejoice in God
More than rejoicing as God is revealed in our lives, more than being called to rejoice in our sufferings, more than that, we can now rejoice in God.
To rejoice in God is to have that ultimate peace that He is our rock, our stronghold, our refuge, our source of everything and anything we will ever need. There are things in this life that are good, and can be used to glorify God - but nothing else is needed. We rejoice simply in God.
I think Paul placed this purposely as the third reason to rejoice because is sums up, and drives the other two. Because we can rejoice in Him - that He is who He says He is, we know He will reveal Himself in us, through us, and around us - so that we can rejoice in the expectation of His glory. Because we can rejoice in Him - that He is who He says He is, we can know that any suffering He allows His children to go through will ultimately reveal Him even more - and His love - so that we can rejoice even in our sufferings.
On the flip side, if we are struggling to rejoice in God, we will have hard time rejoicing in the hope that He will be revealed in our lives, and we will really have a hard time rejoicing in our suffering. It all starts with rejoicing in Him.
The path to becoming a more godly person, to rising above the temptations and struggle of this world, to glorying Him by allowing Him to be revealed begins with rejoicing in Him and who HE IS - THE GREAT I AM!
through our Lord Jesus Christ
We are able to rejoice in God through what our Savior Jesus Christ has done - there is no other way.
If God were to strip away all of the "good" things you have done, with all of the "good" decisions you made to steer clear of the sinfulness of the world, how would He see you?
If God were to strip away all the Sundays that you were in church, all the time you spent serving, all the money you gave in His name, how would He see you?
If God reminded you of all the sins you committed, from the slightest thought to the worst action, one by one from beginning to end, how would He see you?
He should see you rejoicing in Him through His Son, who has wrapped us completely in the robe of His perfect righteousness - without it we are utterly condemned, but with it we are saved to the uttermost! (Hebrews 7:25)
through whom we have now received reconciliation
It is through Jesus Christ that we have received reconciliation - He alone is the channel of this great act of love and sacrifice!
to be reconciled was covered in the last post, but I have included it here:
What does it mean to be reconciled?
In the Greek, the word reconcile means to change or exchange, to return
to favor with, to receive one into favor. In English, the word reconcile
mean to win over to friendliness, to compose or settle a quarrel, to
bring into agreement or harmony, to make compatible or consistent.
We are reconciled, we have a restored relationship with God, through our Savior Jesus Christ. This reconciliation is not based on or maintained through things that we do or don't do - it is only based on and maintained through Him. Everything we do should flow out of appreciation not obligation. We serve our God as His children, thankful and appreciative of what He has done!
(though we will never understand or grasp the totality of His love and sacrifice, even a taste should be enough to drive us to serve Him forever!)
Lord, I pray that You would reveal to us more everyday Your love for Your children...that this love would drive us to serve you out of love, awe, wonder, and appreciation of who You are! Forgive us when we take our eyes off of You, and guide us to seek you - that we might first rejoice IN YOU, so that we could rejoice in the hope of your glory, and so that we will rejoice in the midst of our suffering here on earth - to You be the glory forever and ever!
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