78. Received to Glory
Romans 15:7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
Christ has received us; He has welcomed, accepted and loved us into His presence, which is the glory of God. This promise has come true for us who believe in Him, and the promise will be completely fulfilled when we are shed of this mortal coil and welcomed into God’s Eternal Mansions. The glory of God is the presence of God on the earth; it is not seen but it is believed. The glory of God does presently surround us and fill us. If we could see it we would be awestruck; but Christ in us, the hope of glory, is obscured by the Sin in us and around us. Nevertheless, it is true that Christ has received us to the glory of God. We need to believe and then live as though it is true, because it is. We are in the glory of God; we have come short of God’s glory, presence and acceptance, but Christ has received us: we come short but Christ does not. Once Jesus entered into the Glory He invites us to come along.
After we have lived our life with God by faith in Christ we will die. “Die” means that we will lose forever the body of death and the Sin that corrupts. Then the soul will clearly see the glory of God without being consumed. We will see Christ with open arms welcoming us into eternal glory, glory no longer hidden by sin and self. Then we will be reunited with our resurrected body, which has been changed to be like His glorious body. Then we live forever in that state. We enjoy the glory.
A secondary possibility for understanding the words, ”to the glory of God,” is that Christ receives us to the glory and praise of God. God is praised, honored, blessed and pleased when we are received. God created and redeemed for this very purpose that He might enjoy us and we might enjoy Him forever in undiminished glory.