LAST time we led up to the glorious freedom of the children of God which Paul speaks of in these verses before us. We dwelt on the firstfruits or earnest of this glorious freedom, which is given us by the Holy Spirit, and we looked into something of the groaning we have in this life because we fall short even of these firstfruits in some measure, which cause us to long more for the reality which is to come. We now go on to dwell on this glorious freedom of the children of God, which Paul speaks of as �our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.�

ADOPTION AS SONS.

We may well find a contradiction in this when we first consider the expression �our adoption as sons�. Surely we are already adopted into the family of God and are already children of God through faith in Christ. Paul has spoken of this in verses 15-17 of this chapter. There we are told that we have received the Spirit of sonship. And by the Spirit we are able to cry �Abba, Father�. We are told that the Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God�s children, and so heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. This is what Paul is speaking of when he says in our verses that we have the firstfruits of the Spirit.

Through Christ we have been saved from our sins and accounted righteous in God�s sight. We have been re-born and adopted into God�s family. This is true, and the Holy Spirit gives us a foretaste of this blessed relationship by causing us to know and feel that we are God�s children, and enables us to be reverently intimate before God and call him Father/Daddy. But this is only an earnest. When we look at ourselves and when others look at us, we look just like any other human being. Further we have no status of glory in this life that marks us out in any special way. It is true that through our re-creation and the work of the Spirit within us we grow more into the likeness of the character of children of God, or ought to, but we still only show a pale reflection of that character. Further we only see through a glass darkly or through frosted glass, and see the glory which is ours only partially and experience it only partially.

Paul is speaking here in the expression �our adoption of sons� as the revealing of us a sons of God in the heavenly glory. Paul is speaking of a manifestation or revealing of us as God�s children in the change which takes place at Christ�s return, when we shall receive new bodies like Christ�s resurrection body, which will be a body fitted for that heavenly realm and the presence of God, and we shall shine forth in the glory of the true character of sons of God, and where our activity will be exalted service to bring glory to God, and we shall enjoy wonderful joy and blessing. This will happen at the redemption of our bodies, that is when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead. It is this that the New Testament speaks of in glowing terms in several places. Let us seek to appreciate and understand this as we look at different passages in the New Testament.

THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODIES.

This is the first thing for us to appreciate as we look at the glory of our inheritance. In this life the new creation, created to be like God in righteousness and true holiness, can only be expressed through our fallen and corrupt flesh, which resides in this earthly body. The glory of our inheritance is that we shall be delivered from this body and receive a new glorified resurrection body, which will be like Christ�s resurrection body. Then our new self in Christ will be able to express itself truly and completely.

Paul speaks of this in detail in 1 Corinthians 15:39-54. Let us look at it now. Paul illustrates this change by using the analogy of the seed and the plant. The seed represents our earthly body, and the plant represents our glorified body. The plant is so much more glorious than the seed. Looking at the seed we could never imagine, if we did not know, the glory of the plant that grows from it. The seed has to die and end, but out of this death the plant grows up in glorious splendour. Though the change is so immense, there is an identity from the seed that is continued. Each seed produces an individual and unique plant. The potato brings forth a potato plant; and the tulip bulb brings forth a tulip; and so on. The resurrection of the body is like this as far as such an illustration can represent it. The reality will be more marvellous.

When will this happen? It will happen at the coming of Christ in glory. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13ff that when Christ comes in glory �the dead in Christ shall rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever.� At that moment those who have died will receive a resurrection body, and those who are still alive will find a change takes place when the earthly body will fall away and be replaced by a new body. It doesn�t matter whether we have died before Christ�s return or whether we are still alive at that time, all believers will be raised in this way together. When Paul speaks of the dead sleeping here this surely must refer to the body sleeping, because we are told elsewhere that to depart from this life is to be with Christ. This is an intermediate spiritual state which will be without a body. So if we die we still await our adoption as sons, where our inheritance as children of God will be manifest it glory and reality.

Paul describes this wonderful change and resurrection very fully in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians. This new body will be a heavenly body. It will have the splendour of the heavenly body. Our earthly body is fitted for this world. Our new body will be fitted for the heavenly realm and be glorious as this heavenly realm is glorious. Paul goes on to describe this new splendour. This new body will be incorruptible or imperishable. Two things are expressed here. The first is that our new body will be free from all corruption of sin or evil, and secondly in will never decay or die. It will be eternal. Then we are told next this new body will be raised in glory. There will be no more dishonour due to sin, but perfect purity and holiness that befits the heavenly realm, where our new self in Christ, created to be like God in righteousness and true holiness, will be able to express itself in perfection. Further there will be no more weakness. In this life our bodies grow tired, and they suffer from sickness and old age. All this will be ended. We will be raised in power. C.S.Lewis expressed this so graphically as he described the glory of the children when they reach the heavenly Narnia in the last of the Narnia stories entitled �the Last Battle�. He describes them in height of their strength and beauty, and able to run without getting tired, and being able to swim up waterfalls, and such like. This is all imagination but does help to illustrate the wonder of our new bodies and the heavenly realm.

Then Paul speaks of our new body as being a spiritual body. The New Testament speaks of flesh and blood not being able to inherit the kingdom of God. This earthly body, natural body, is flesh and blood. Our new body will be real, but it will be spiritual. It is hard for us to imagine such a body, but we have an example in the resurrection body of Jesus. His body was real. It could be touched, and it could be seen. It was not a ghost or a spirit without any substance. Jesus also proved his body was real by eating in the presence of his disciples when he visited them in the upper room after his resurrection. However this spiritual body was not subject to space and time as our natural bodies are. He could be in one place at one moment and in another at the next. Walls and locked doors were no obstacle to him. We will not be able to appreciate this reality until we receive our adoption as sons, but our new bodies will be totally fitted for the heavenly realm and the new heaven and earth, which will be timeless and eternal and beautiful.

Paul goes on to speak of Adam becoming a living being, and so handing down to all humanity this living being, this life. Christ the second Adam is a life giving spirit. Here again we are not able to perceive the glory revealed, but we are able to appreciate something of it. Paul goes on to tell us that this body is not from the dust, but from heaven, and so heavenly. And so Paul finishes by telling us that at Christ�s return this will happen in twinkling of an eye. We will be changed, and this mortal shall put on immortality and this perishable will become imperishable.

This is not the only passage which speaks and describes this wonderful change. In 2 Corinthians 5:1ff Paul speaks of this knowledge we are given by revelation of the Spirit through the Bible. It is that this earthly tent, and by this earthly tent Paul refers to our earthly body, when it is destroyed by death, will not leave us unclothed, that is without a body. No! we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, and by this eternal house Paul is referring to our resurrection body. He goes on to use the language he has been using in our Romans verses, and says that while we wait for this wonderful change we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling. He speaks of the unnaturalness we feel to be without a body, and this is why the intermediate state in spirit which we enjoy after death with Christ can never be the complete blessing. We are still waiting to be clothed with our resurrection body at Christ�s return. When this clothing with our resurrection body takes place we shall find this mortal being swallowed up by life. This is such a powerful and vivid expression - swallowed up by life. This means not just life without end, but life which is complete and whole and wonderful and totally joyous.

Then in Philippians 3:20,21 Paul says �Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.� What a tremendous and glorious statement this is. As believers we are now citizens of heaven. This is our country and our home and where we truly belong. We await for a Saviour from heaven, and this is a direct reference to the second coming of Jesus at the end of the age. This statement speaks of the great power Jesus will demonstrate at his return which will bring everything under his control. Part of this bringing everything under his control will be that we will be transformed by this power, and this body of our low estate on earth will be changed so that we will be given a body like Christ�s resurrection body, which was glorious as we have already seen.

We have already looked at 1 Thessalonians 4:13ff, but let us look at it once more to fix in our minds the revelation of the glory of the resurrection of our bodies. We see that the return of Christ will be a return in majesty with his holy angels accompanying him. By a loud command he will command our resurrection. Those who have died will rise, that is their bodies will rise and be joined to their spirits, and they will be complete for the heavenly glory. Those still alive at the time of Christ�s coming will be caught up to be with Christ and their bodies changed. All this will be so that we may be with our Lord for ever.

Lastly, there is a wonderful reference in 1 John 3:1-3. This wonderful resurrection, with all the blessings included in it, is attributed to God�s love. God, in Christ, has lavished this love upon us. It is love which is of pure grace. We have no claim on God, and are totally undeserving of favour, but God lavishes his unconditional love upon us. How is this finally expressed. We know that when Christ shall appear - that is return to this earth in glory, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. This will be the most blessed vision that we could possibly imagine.

CONCLUSION.