Beloved friends, we greet you in the wonderful name of our Savior, that soon-coming Savior and Lord, praying that God the Holy Spirit may be stirring your heart and mind to be concerned in knowing the teaching of God's Word, what is the hope of the Church? This ministry is not being given for being only informative and instructive to the mind, but more to cheer, to comfort, and refresh the hearts of God's people. My frank confession regarding these precious truths personally can be expressed in the words of an old Scotch preacher. It's better felt than tell, for it is only out of mine own heart's joy over these blessed truths I can be a blessing to others. We continue and seek to conclude the special sevenfold description of the new body of glory. that will be given every believer at the rapture and the first resurrection as recorded in first Thessalonians four sixteen and seventeen now we continue to consider or we have considered if I may suggest already the spirituality of that new body second the subjection of to the spirit of that body and also in our preceding message the superiority of that wonderful body of glory which will be the possession of all saints. Now we would like to consider the exaltation of this body. Remember that in Philippians three in verse twenty one, Paul calls the present body a vile body properly to be recognized as a body of humiliation. Why is it such? Well, in first Corinthians chapter fifteen, Verse forty-three, it is stated to be a body of dishonor. And when it is planted in the grave, that is the description of it. It has been through life a body of dishonor. It has not glorified God in infinite perfection. And I'm sure that all will agree that in the present life our body shows by sin and even by sickness and death its present dishonor. By human conception, even birth and all the experience of life is dishonor. It has brought that to God's testimony in many ways. Do you realize that we have to nourish this body and keep it alive? Even to propagate humanity, it is by conception and birth and the manner of thus nourishing the body, we keep it alive. Paul mentions in First Corinthians chapter six and verse thirteen that necessity, meats for the belly and the belly for meats. And he goes on to say, but God shall destroy both it and them. Here he indicates part of the great change for us that needs to be made. Let me insert some words from the Lord in Matthew chapter twenty two and verse thirty. regarding the present body. When he reasoned with the rationalizing Sadducees of that day, he told them that in the resurrection, of which they did not believe, in the resurrection they will neither marry nor be given in marriage, but they are as the angels of God in heaven. Now here he does not mean that one becomes an angel, but it reveals that the great change must take place. There will be a new body of glory which will not be reproductive. It is fixed eternally from a body of humiliation. It is to be eternally a body of exaltation. Now let us return back to First Corinthians. Let me read in chapter fifteen and verse forty-three again, reading it through. That body which is the present one when planted in the grave, it is sown in dishonor. but it is raised in glory it is sown in weakness but it is raised in power or in strength oh may I point out to you the exaltation of that body which shall be ours it will be raised in glory and it will be raised in power or strength oh thank God we shall never be weak again the blessed contrast from a body of humiliation to one of exaltation. Who can indeed understand it all? But oh, let us enjoy the prospect and enjoy the blessed revelation of it. Now let's consider, for a fifth consideration, the happiness of that new body. Ah, this body of humiliation in the present form, it travels through much sorrow and pain. Paul said, as he wrote to the Corinthians. For in this body we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, said Corinthians five too. I think of many dear saints right now, who today do groan on beds of affliction, and many others who may not be thus confined. It is a groan in creation we well know. But again let us think of that new body of glory. We shall be filled with bliss, with happiness and with joy. We shall never hunger nor thirst again. Everything that causes unhappiness here will be no more. As God writes in the book of the Revelation through his servant John, we shall have no more death, no more sorrow, nor crying. Neither shall there be any more pain. For the former things are passed away, Revelation, verse four. But let me go on further this same. Sixth, consider the splendor, the beauty of that new body. What a transformation in outward beauty and glory. If you think that you're beautiful now, forget it. Your transfiguration, my fellow believer and mine, is yet to come, and it will be in glorious beauty and splendor. We shall have a new body. Listen to the words of Jesus. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the Son in the kingdom of their Father? Matthew thirteen, forty-three. Take in his words we are to shine, not to mimic again to refer to Philippians chapter three. Verse twenty-one. Paul says we shall be fashioned like unto his glorious body. Remember when Jesus was transfigured on the Mount of Transfiguration? Remember that Mark wrote, His raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow. Mark nine, verse three. Did not Moses and Elijah appear with him also in glory, as you may read, in Luke nine thirty and thirty-one? There they were as dazzling white snow, and so the new body of glory will be a transparent, radiant palace for every believer, shining like the Lord himself. Listen to First John three, too. Beloved, now are we the sons of God? It does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Oh, the joy that the radiance and the moral glory of Jesus will be reflected in the body of glory that shall be ours. Do not forget the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter thirteen, forty-three, which we quoted. We shall be shining like the sun in its strength. What dazzling splendor! Beloved, this is the hope of the church. This is the glory, the grandeur for which we wait. Do you not see that when the body of the deceased believer is planted in the grave, it is like the seed of some brilliant plant that is yet to be? in like the small acorn, is just the seed having the potential of the mighty oak? And the apple seed planted becomes the apple tree? Yet how little even this illustrates our present body compared to the glory of the future body? Some many years ago, perhaps about fifty, a man said to me, I don't believe in the resurrection. I said, friend, Did you ever have a garden? He said, Yes. I said, Did you ever plant potatoes? Yes, he answered. Then I said, When you harvested your garden, did you get the old potato, that rotten potato, out of it? Or did you get new ones? That's resurrection, my friend. Resurrection power. Oh, he answered, I never thought of that. My beloved, the cemeteries are filled with planted seeds. in the earth, disintegrating, going back to the dust. But when these saints shall be resurrected by God's grace and power, when they come out, every one of them will have the splendor of the body of glory. Now that's worth being buried for when you know that you're saved. And the living believers will be changed to the same body of glory. Hallelujah. We must ask What in the world is wrong with people who do not wish and refuse to be saved? The devil has blinded their eyes. The last of all, the best thing of all about the body of the believer and its glory, it will be conformed to Christ. The most glorious fact of all is this. All the redeemed will be like Christ. Again we say, We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. We shall all bear his image. and think of looking upon all the glorified saints and singing in every one of them the beauty and the glory of our Savior. Let me quote the words of Paul, First Corinthians, chapter fifteen, forty-seven through forty-nine. I quote them from an excellent translation that I value. Listen to the words. For the first man, that was Adam, is of earth of dust, the second man, now that's Christ, is of heaven, But as he who is of dust, so are they who are of dust. And as the heavenly one, so are the heavenly ones. And as we have borne the image of the one from dust, so shall we bear also the image of the one from heaven. My beloved, what a transformation to be like Christ forever in moral beauty. This completes our third feature of the great event of the rapture. and the first resurrection. The time when we shall be called away, when we shall be called up. And this last feature we have considered, the Great Transfiguration. Oh, there are two others to consider, but may I say to my fellow believers, look up, lift up your heads, for your redemption draw at nine. The promise of the Savior I will come again and receive you unto myself is true, that where I am there ye may be also, and this is the hope of the Church. To my dear unsaved listener, does not the Spirit of God plead with your soul to come to Christ, break your will down, bend your heart and prostrate your soul with all your guilt and load of sin before the Christ of Calvary? He'll deliver you from sin's penalty, from his power, and from his eternal judgment. You don't have to go to hell. You can go to glory. He is mighty to save. Father, bless thy word to saint and sinner alike for our Savior's honor. Amen.