Diligence and Glory
(week 10/06)
Olubi Johnson
2 Peter 1:3, 10 KJV: According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure:
Here, we are told we have been called to glory and virtue.
We have been called to inherit and manifest the glory of God both in this life and in the life to come:
John 17:22 NKJV: And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
2 Thessalonians 2:14 NKJV: to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 3:35 NKJV: The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools.
2 Timothy 2:10 NIV: Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
Now the key to making this calling to the glory of God sure is diligence in walking in the love of God.
Diligence in walking in love will cause the manifestation of the glory.
It was unity in diligent prayer and purpose that brought the manifestation of the glory of God on the day of Pentecost:
Acts 1:14 NIV: They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Acts 2:1-4 NIV: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Manifestation of the glory of God will cause perfection in conduct:
John 17:22-23 NKJV: And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
This is because it is the glory of God that will burn and cleanse away all the impurities in our lives both individually and collectively as a church:
Isaiah 4:3-5 NKJV: And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy–everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4 When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, 5 then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering.
Malachai 3:1-3 NKJV: “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the LORD of hosts. 2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.
Zechariah 13:7-9 NKJV: “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, Against the Man who is My Companion,” Says the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; then I will turn My hand against the little ones. 8 And it shall come to pass in all the land,” Says the LORD, “That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one- third shall be left in it: 9 I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; And each one will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’ ”
So the Holy Spirit is calling us to be diligent in maintaining the unity of love by the Word and the Spirit so as to manifest His glory in this hour!
