Topic: The Hope and Foretaste of Future Glory [Church of God Mission International] Above Only Daily Devotional 26 June 2021
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Above Only Devotional
Saturday June 26
The Hope and Foretaste of Future Glory
Romans 8:22-23 (NLT ), Colossians 1:27b (CEV)
For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. *…And the mystery is that Christ lives in you, and he is your hope of sharing in God’s glory.
A foretaste is something that is given to whet your appetite. It is a precursor for something greater ahead. A good example of a foretaste is when you watch a movie trailer or preview. Movie trailers or previews are usually very captivating and intriguing. The clips that are shown are deliberately selected and presented in a way to whet and arouse your appetite in anticipation of the full movie. There are times that after watching a movie trailer, you are filled with so much excitement that you cannot wait to watch the full movie. Every manifestation of God’s glory that we experience on this earth is just a foretaste or preview of the glory of God that is going to be manifested in our lives when Jesus returns.
God has called us to a life of glory. God wants us to be sure that we will experience His glory in our lives both now and in the future because we have Christ in us. However, the glory of God we experience now cannot be compared to what we shall experience in the future. The glory of God we experience now is meant to increase our anticipation of the fullness of God’s glory that we shall experience when Christ returns. God has given us the Holy Spirit as a foretaste or preview of future glory. One of the major assignments of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Christ or manifest the glory of Christ in our lives. The Holy Spirit does this by taking the things that belong to Christ and revealing and manifesting them in our lives (John 16:13-15). The Holy Spirit transforms us from glory to glory into the image of Christ (2Cor.3:18). When Christ returns, the Holy Spirit will quicken and transform our mortal bodies to become immortal bodies just like the body Jesus has right now (Rom.8:11). This hope causes us to keep yielding to the leading of the Holy Spirit and purifying ourselves (1 John 3:1-3).
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I thank you for your glory that I enjoy now and for the greater glory I will receive when Christ returns. I yield myself to you.
Bible in One Year Reading Plan
2 Kings 9:14-10:31, Acts 17:1-34, Psalm 144:1-15, Proverbs 17:27-28