Different Degrees of Glory # 1

Different Degrees of Glory # 1

My dear friends, I now propose to discuss the question of different degrees of glory. The FELICITY OF HEAVEN, set forth in general terms, will consist of the absence of all evil, both natural and moral, such as sin, and all its bitter fruits - death, disease, labor, care, sorrow and pain; and the presence of all good suited to man as a rational, moral, social, and immortal creature, such as the perfect holiness of his nature, the presence of God in Christ, the society and converse of blessed spirits, and that service and honor which God may appoint to the holy inhabitants of the place. A question arises, Will these inhabitants be equal in all respects in honor and felicity? I do not think so.

All real Christians will be in heaven, and posses in substance its chief felicity - as well they who are converted on a death-bed; as they who yield themselves to God in their youth; as well as the believer who lives and dies in unmolested ease, as the martyr - all will be equal as to their deliverance from every kind of evil; all will be with Christ, see God face to face, and be perfectly happy - but still there will be circumstances connected with their heavenly state, that will raise some higher in the scale of splendor and blessedness than others.

While, therefore, there will be many things in which the felicity of the redeemed will be COMMON - it will be common in its object, the blessed God and the adorable Redeemer; in its subject, all the powers of the glorified body and soul; in its duration, which will be eternal; in its security, since all will be sustained by the Divine faithfulness; and in the full satisfaction of soul, which each, according to its capacity, will possess. 

Yet there will be some peculiarities and DISTINCTIONS attaching to the more eminent servants of God. We may not be, and indeed are not, able to say with precision and in all things, in what these peculiarities consist - but we know that they will exist. We can conceive of a larger capacity for happiness in some than in others, just as there is a greater capacity for enjoyment in a man than in a child, or in one man than in another; yet all will be perfectly happy, according to their powers of receptivity. Vessels may be of various measures, yet all full. Heaven may consist of a graduated scale of rank, station, and service; yes, doubtless will; and one glorified spirit may be fitted for a higher post, a more important service, than another. Hence we can conceive, how perfection in all, can accord with variety, and even different degrees.

I will now consider the principle on which this difference will proceed, and by which it will be regulated. It will not be a capricious arrangement, a mere arbitrary appointment - nothing that God does, either in nature, providence, or grace, is of this character. Everything He does, He performs according to the counsel of His will; there is a reason for everything, a principle according to which everything is allotting to some a higher degree than others in glory, God proceeds on some principle, and what is it? Not worldly rank; some subjects and paupers will probably be higher in heaven than their monarchs. Not literary or scientific renown; some uneducated rustics may be elevated above scholars and philosophers. Not even success in converting souls to God, if it be unattended with a proportionate degree of pure motive and consistent piety; some obscure but eminently holy ministers, will have a brighter crown, than others whose popularity God may in a way of sovereignty employ for extensive usefulness.

Character, conduct, motives - as known to the omniscient God, will be the rule. We cannot find a better, a more intelligible representation of the subject, than the one usually employed, "Degrees of glory in heaven, will be proportioned to degrees of grace on earth."

We now see an obvious difference among God's people. There are some who are called in the morning of their existence, and who spend a long life in the service of God - while others called by grace at the last hour of life. There are some whose circumstances of ease and comfort call for little sacrifice or self-denial - while others follow Christ to beatings, imprisonment, and death. There are some who though really regenerated, make little progress in sanctification, and evince so many imperfections, and so much worldly-mindedness, as to render their profession doubtful and suspicious - while others, who have overcome the world by faith in the most conspicuous manner, and by their eminently holy and consistent conduct, bring much glory to God. There are some who are grudging, indolent, or money-loving - while others are liberal, self-denying, and laborious. Now I contend that according to these differences on earth - there will be corresponding differences in heaven.

The PROOF of differing degrees of glory, will be found in the following arguments.

1. It is set forth in the following scriptures. Even the Old Testament asserts the fact. "Those who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the skies, and those who turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever," (Dan. 12:3). Our Lord, in His sermon on the Mount, encourages His persecuted followers to endure, by this consideration, "Great is your reward in heaven," (Matt. 5:12). See also Matt. 10:41-42). "He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall never lose his reward." In speaking of the righteous at the last day, the apostle says, as "one star differs from another star in glory, so also is the resurrection of the dead," (1 Cor. 15:41). 

To the same effect, are all those passages which speak of the rewards of the final judgment, when "every man shall receive the things done in the body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad," (2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 22 :12). How decisive is the language of the apostle, (Gal. 6:7-9), "Be not deceived; God is not mocked - for whatever a man sows, that also shall be reap. For he who sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." "This I say, He which sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully," (2 Cor. 9:6). How clear and how impressively are such statements, that our life is a seed-time for eternity; that all our conduct is the seed sown, and that the harvest will be according to the seed we sow - in kind, quality, and quantity.

~John Angel James~

(continued with # 2)