The Riches of His Glorious Inheritance in the Saints
Week 13
Westminster Larger Catechism Q57-89
[Q84-87: Communion in Glory – After Death]
Our theme for the next several weeks:
“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the
Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not
cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my
prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation
in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts
enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which
he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious
inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable
greatness of his power toward us who believe,…”
(Eph 1:15-19)
Where are we going?
Question
Topic
57, 58 
59, 60 
The benefits of redemption & how applied
Who are the recipients?
Justification and Sanctification: What’s the difference?
Dr. David Van Drunen
The Visible Church
The Invisible Church
Union with Christ
Effectual Call
Communion in Grace with Christ – Justification
Justifying Faith
Communion in Grace with Christ – Adoption
1
2
10/13/2013
10/20/2013
10/27/2013
3
4
5
6
7
8
11/3/2013
11/10/2013
11/17/2013
11/24/2013
12/1/2013
12/8/2013
12/15/2013
Communion in Grace with Christ – Sanctification
9
12/22/2013
Perseverance and Assurance of Believers
Communion in Glory with Christ – in this life
Communion in Glory with Christ – after death
The Final Judgment
10
11
12
13
12/29/2013
1/5/2013
1/12/2014
1/19/2013

61-63 
64-65 
66-68 
66-68 
69-71 
72-73 
74 
75-78 
79-81 
82-83 
84-87
88-89
Week
Remember Q65?
Q. 65. What special benefits do the members of the
invisible church enjoy by Christ?
A. The members of the invisible church by Christ enjoy
union and communion with him in grace and glory.
Union and communion with Christ in grace and glory
• Union with Christ: the mystical, but real bond
– Done in effectual calling
– Who are effectually called?
• Communion in grace with Christ:
– Justification
• By the instrument of faith
– Adoption
– Sanctification
• Imperfection of sanctification
• Repentance
• Assurance
Q. 82. What is the communion in glory which the
members of the invisible church have with Christ?
A. The communion in glory which the members of the
invisible church have with Christ, is in this life,
immediately after death, and at last perfected at the
resurrection and day of judgment.
• Three phases:
– In this life
– Immediately after death
– Perfected on resurrection & judgment day
Q. 83. What is the communion in glory with Christ
which the members of the invisible church enjoy in
this life?
A. The members of the invisible church have
communicated to them in this life the firstfruits of glory
with Christ, as they are members of him their head, and
so in him are interested in that glory which he is fully
possessed of; and, as an earnest thereof, enjoy the
sense of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy
Ghost, and hope of glory; as, on the contrary, sense of
God’s revenging wrath, horror of conscience, and a
fearful expectation of judgment, are to the wicked the
beginning of their torments which they shall endure after
death.
What is ‘glory?’
• Examples of ‘glory’ in this life:
– Winning the championship….
– Winning WW II
Interested in … ?
• E.g., the reading of a will …
• I have no connection to the deceased:
– Curious about the distribution of the estate – no impact on me
• I am a family member – an heir of the deceased
– I am curious about it, but have expectation that I will benefit
Interested in that glory which he is fully possessed of…
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the
name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11, ESV)
… and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward
us who believe, according to the working of his great might that
he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and
seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all
rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every
name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to
come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head
over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of
him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:19-23, ESV)
• But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which
he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us
alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and
raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places
in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the
immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ
Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-10)
• The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they
may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they
may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you
sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that
they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to
see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before
the foundation of the world. (John 17:22-24 ESV)
• For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in
bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their
salvation perfect through suffering. (Hebrews 2:10 ESV)
Glory for us … NOW
• For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not
worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of
the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not
willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the
creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption
and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For
we know that the whole creation has been groaning together
in the pains of childbirth until now. (Romans 8:18-22, ESV)
• For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be
conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be
the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he
predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also
justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
(Romans 8:29-30, ESV)
The contrast…
To the invisible church:
To the wicked:
• Sense of God’s love
• Sense of God’s revenging
wrath
• Horror of conscience
• Fearful expectation of
judgment
• Beginning of torments
• Peace of conscience
• Joy in the Holy Ghost
• Hope of glory
• Quote about death rate = 100%
Q. 84. Shall all men die?
A. Death being threatened as the wages of sin, it is
appointed unto all men once to die; for that all
have sinned.
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a
second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for
him. (Hebrews 9:27-28 ESV)
Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was
not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to
come….
For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, …
(Romans 5:14, 17)
About death…
• Are there any exceptions to the rule that all men must
die?
– Enoch (Gen5:24)
– Elijah (2Ki 2:11; Heb 11:25)
– Believers alive at Christ’s return (1 Cor 15:51-52; 1 Thess 4:1617)
• Is there an exception to the rule that all men have
sinned?
• Is death to be regarded as ‘normal?’
– The Faith of evolution
– Eastern religions
– Biblical/Christian faith: The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
(1 Corinthians 15:26, ESV)
About death…
• What does the universality of death show?
– The universality of sin
• Will science ever overcome death?
• To what extent should a Christian go to avoid death /
prolong life?
– “You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13, ESV)
• Teaches not to actively take life unjustly
• Also, to preserve life (WSC Q61-70; WLC Q131-140)
– “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21,
ESV)
How do we deal with end of life issues…?
In an age of scientific advancement and
specialization, many Christians turn to medical
professionals to direct them in stewardship of their
bodies. While in many ways the advancements of
medical science are a blessing, they are also largely
driven by a secular mindset that, though it appears
compassionate and to proclaim hope, is actually often
subversive of genuine compassion and our hope in
Christ.
In Compassionate Jesus, Christopher Bogosh calls
Christians to examine the pervasive “prolong life at all
costs” mentality against biblical principles of care and
compassion that are rooted in Christ. This is a call to
enter into medical situations trusting in God’s
sovereign care and the power of prayer. It is hoped
that this book will begin a long-needed discussion
among Christians about how we relate to modern
medicine, encouraging us to allow the gospel to
inform the way we engage the healthcare system.
Q. 85. Death being the wages of sin, why are not
the righteous delivered from death, seeing all their
sins are forgiven in Christ?
The real question:
• Why do Christians have to experience death?
– Didn’t Christ pay the penalty for sin? Isn’t it a contradiction to say
that the Christian must now die?
– Could not God ‘translate’ the Christian as He did Enoch and
Elijah?
• What deliverance then do Christians have from death?
– The sting and curse of it are removed.
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality,
then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who
gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57, ESV)
Death … an expression of God’s LOVE?
• Death is the release from sin; the gateway to paradise
The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart;
devout men are taken away, while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from calamity; he enters into peace;
they rest in their beds who walk in their uprightness. (Isaiah 57:1-2, ESV)
And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in
the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their
labors, for their deeds follow them!” (Revelation 14:13, ESV)
Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints. (Psalm 116:15)
And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in
Paradise.” (Luke 23:43, ESV)
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that
means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard
pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that
is far better. (Philippians 1:21-23, ESV)
Q. 85. Death being the wages of sin, why are not
the righteous delivered from death, seeing all their
sins are forgiven in Christ?
A. The righteous shall be delivered from death
itself at the last day, and even in death are
delivered from the sting and curse of it; so that,
although they die, yet it is out of God’s love, to free
them perfectly from sin and misery, and to make
them capable of further communion with Christ in
glory, which they then enter upon.
Q. 86. What is the communion in glory with Christ, which
the members of the invisible church enjoy immediately after
death?
A. The communion in glory with Christ, which the members
of the invisible church enjoy immediately after death, is, in
that their souls are then made perfect in holiness, and
received into the highest heavens, where they behold the
face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption
of their bodies, which even in death continue united to
Christ, and rest in their graves as in their beds, till at the
last day they be again united to their souls. Whereas the
souls of the wicked are at their death cast into hell, where
they remain in torments and utter darkness, and their
bodies kept in their graves, as in their prisons, till the
resurrection and judgment of the great day.
The state of believers immediately after death…
•
What parts or division of man is assumed?
– Soul and body (bipartite – not tripartite or unitary)
•
Can we say that they enter into “soul sleep?”
– Parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)
– To the thief on the cross: “And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will
be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43, ESV)
•
What is the condition of their soul after death?
– But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of
the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the
spirits of the righteous made perfect, (Hebrews 12:22-23, ESV)
•
What about believers’ bodies?
– In a “waiting state”
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through
Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. (1 Cor 15; 1
Thess 4:14ff)
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those
who have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:20, ESV)
Contrast the death of the unbeliever….
There is an essential difference between the decease of the godly and the
death of the ungodly. Death comes to the ungodly man as a penal
infliction, but to the righteous as a summons to his Father's palace. To
the sinner it is an execution, to the saint an undressing from his sins and
infirmities. Death to the wicked is the King of terrors. Death to the saint is
the end of terrors, the commencement of glory.
—Charles Spurgeon