Wednesday, June 15, 2011

"...Glory begun below..."

"...God's love suffuses the Christian's consciousness [see Rom. 5:5] and leads him or her to say: 'the Son of God...loved me and gave himself for me' (Gal. 2:20).  In the light of this, Christians are 'filled with an expressible and glorious joy' which is the Spirit's fruit (1 Pet. 1:8; Gal. 5:22; cf. 1 Thess. 1:6; Rom. 14:17).

"The present experience of Christ by the Spirit is a foretaste of the future fullness.  Even in suffering and persecution Christians may enjoy this foretaste because the Spirit rests on them in his dual capacity as 'the Spirit of grace and glory' (cf. 1 Pet. 1:8; 4:13-14).  Truly, 'the men of grace have found glory begun below' (Isaac Watts)."

-- Sinclair Ferguson, "The Holy Spirit" (p. 180; IVP)

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