Quei^t. But how shall any Christian know that his body shall be like to the glorious body of Christ ?
Ans. 1. I answer, He may know it from this : The change of a Chris- tian heriins in his soul. Christ begins the change of our souls to be like his : full of love and obedience to God ; full of pity and compassion to men ; full of industry to do good. Our souls will be like Christ's soul. First look to thy soul, what stamp that bears. Is there the image of Christ on thy soul ? Certainly he that hath transformed this soul to be gracious, he will transform the body to be glorious, like his glorious body. Look to thy soul then. If thou art the child of God by adoption, if thou hast the spirit of adoption and grace, and findest peace of conscience and joy in the Holy Ghost, thou mayest know thou shalt have the adoption of thy body. Thou hast the first adoption in thy soul ; thou art the child of God : know that thou shalt have the second adoption, spoken of Rom. viii. 23, ' We wait for the adoption of our bodies.' If thou partake of ' the first resur- rection,' that thy soul is raised from sin, thou shalt partake of the second resurrection at the day of judgment.
For Christ is a perfect Saviour. He saves not only the soul, but the body. Though he begin with the soul, he ends with the body. He took our bodies as well as our souls ; and he will glorify our bodies as well as our souls. And if we find the work of grace a ' spirit of glory' in om' souls, undoubtedly we may know that our bodies shall be glorious.
Ans. 2. Again, Thou mayest know that thou shalt partake of this glorious estate, that thy body shall be like the glorious body of Christ, hy the use that this body is put to. How dost thou use this vile body for the time thou livest now ? Dost thou use it to the base services of sin ? Dost thou beat thy brain, and thy breast, and thy spirits ? Dost thou take up thy time and all to provide for the flesh ? Whither doth thy feet carry thee ? What dost thou meddle with in the world ? Are all thy members w^eapons of an unsanctified soul to ofiend God, and to ' fight against thy soul ?' 1 Pet. ii. 11 ; to cherish lusts that fight against thy soul and against thy Maker and Redeemer ? Then know this, that thou hast no hope of glory : ' He that hath this hope purgeth himself, and is pure as he is pure,' 1 John iii. 3. This hope, where it is found, it is a purging, a cleansing hope ; and all the members of the body will be used to a sanctified purpose. A man will not sacrilegiously use those members that are dedicated to Christ ; that are temples of the Holy Ghost ; that are fellow-heirs, as St Peter saith, concerning the wife and the husband, 1 Pet. iii. 7. The body is a fellow- heir with the soul, of glory. He will not use it to the base services of sin. He that shall have a glorious body will esteem so of it here. "What ! shall I use the temple of the Holy Ghost ? That that is a fellow-heiv of heaven with my soul ! that is the spouse of Christ, a member of Christ, as well as my soul ! Shall I use it to these and these base services ? It cannot be. If a man have the new nature in him, he cannot. It will not suifer him to sin in this manner. He cannot prostitute his body to base services.
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Those that do so, how can they hope that their bodies should be glorious, like unto Christ's ?
St Paul gives three evidences in one place, to know our interest in this glory of our bodies, in 2 Cor. v. 1, Saith he, ' We know that when this earthly house or tabernacle shall be dissolved, wo have a building,' &c. We know we have a glorious building, a double building, heaven and our bodies. We have two glorious houses. Heaven and these bodies shall be a glorious house. But how do we know this ?
Saith he, in the second verse, ' We groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon,' There is a wondi-ous desire after this clothing, Rom. viii. 23 : ' The creatm-e groaneth, much more we that have the first fruits of the Spirit.' There will be a sighing for this glory, a waiting for the blessed coming of Christ ; for Chiist to redeem soul and body perfectly. That is the first sign, a desire and groaning earnestly.
In the fourth verse there is another evidence, ' He that hath wrought us for the same things is God.' He that hath wrought us for the blessed estate to come is God. So, whosoever hopes for a house in heaven, when this tabernacle is dissolved, he is ' wrought ' for it, that is, he is a new creature for it. God hath wrought his soul and body for it. God fits our souls here to possess a glorious body after ; and he will fit the body for a glorious soul. So both shall be glorious ; a glorious soul and a glorious body. He hath ' wrought us ' for the same. If a man therefore find the beginning of the new creature, that it is begun to be wrought in him, he may know that he shall partake of this glory of the body, because he is ' wrought ' for it.