The Joys of Redemption

The Bible mentions at least three sources of constant joy that believers will find in their redemption. And perhaps the greatest of these is the fact that we will have full communion with God.

After their sin in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve hid from each other and from God. And when God cursed them, they were cast out of his special presence. But in the consummation, Jesus will restore human nature, so that we’ll be permitted into God’s special presence in a physical way, so that we can see his glory with our own eyes. Listen to how the fourth century bishop, Augustine of Hippo, summarized this blessing in his work the City of God, book 22, chapter 30:

God Himself, who is the Author of virtue, shall there be its reward; for, as there is nothing greater or better, he has promised himself. What else was meant by his word through the prophet, “I will be your God, and you shall be my people,” than, “I shall be their satisfaction, I shall be all that men honorably desire — life, and health, and nourishment, and plenty, and glory, and honor, and peace, and all good things”? This, too, is the right interpretation of the saying of the apostle, “That God may be all in all.” He shall be the end of our desires who shall be seen without end, loved without cloy, praised without weariness. This outgoing of affection, this employment, shall certainly be, like eternal life itself, common to all.

A second joy of redemption believers will experience is perfect communion with each other. In addition to destroying our relationship with God, Adam’s sin ruined human relationships. But Revelation 22:2 claims that when we are fully redeemed, the nations will be healed — wars will cease, injustice will end, and relationships will be fully restored. The entire world will become a peaceful, friendly, familial community of people who love and serve each other.

Finally, the third joy of redemption is the fact that we’ll reign with Christ over the new heavens and earth. Paul mentioned this in 2 Timothy 2:12, where he wrote, “If we endure, we will also reign with him.”

Jesus, because of his sacrifice and obedience, has now begun to do what Adam couldn’t. He stands as our covenant head, and he reigns over the entire creation. And in the consummation of the world, redeemed humanity will finally rule creation in a way that glorifies God and perfectly benefits all creation.

Christians can respond to our future hope, full redemption, in a spirit of hope. Hope is the confident anticipation of a positive future. And the remarkable, practical nature of hope is that it makes us buoyant, it makes us persevering, it makes us resilient, and it gives us in the present a kind of anticipative joy in the confidence that what is promised will become a reality. [Dr. Glen Scorgie]