Sermon Outlines

By Frederick F. Schwindt, Evangelist

WHAT WE ARE AND WHAT WE SHALL BE

1. The sonship of the believers looms high in the writings of John:
   1. To him the thought of a new father and son relationship seems of special importance
   2. In the gospel of John he writes, "He came into His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in His name" - John 1:11-12
2. In our text:
   1. He speaks of the degrees of our sonship - progressive growth
   2. Ultimately reflecting the very image of the Son of God

1. We are now the children of God:
   1. That means we are His offspring, and not merely His creatures - Acts 17:28-29; Is. 65:23
   2. We have read before that Jesus Christ, our Elder Brother gave us the power to become sons of God through faith in His name
2. But even though we are now sons of God:
   1. We are as yet in a state of imperfection
   2. Even that godly man Paul said, "Brethren I count not myself to have apprehended" Phil. 3:13
   3. James, too, states very plainly that in many things we all offend" - James 3:1-6
   4. Yet faith in Jesus Christ has planted in us the seed of destiny; great potentials to be exhibited throughout all eternity - I Cor. 4:9
   5. An acorn is not an oak tree now, but it is not made manifest what it will be someday
3. The transfiguration of character:
   1. Much of our destiny remains as yet unrevealed
   2. The Gospel is a light shinning in a dark place - 2 Pet. 1:16-20; 2 Cor. 4:4-7
   3. The aim of the gospel remains the same though some things may be hidden from us

1. Erroneous ideas:
   1. There are some that teach that sanctification is instantaneous, sudden and complete
   2. They maintain that when that instant, second work of grace takes place, the carnal nature is removed instantly and completely
2. The Bible teaches, however:
   1. That sanctification is the work of a lifetime - 2 Cor. 7:1-3
   2. Paul is writing to the sons and daughters of God, yet he admonishes them in these words, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light" - Rom. 13:11-14
   3. The messages to the seven churches reveal clearly that the members of the seven churches, save two, are still in a state of imperfection - Rev. 2:3
3. The transformation vision:
   1. Paul says, that by beholding we become changed into the same image, from glory to glory, as of the Lord - 2 Cor. 3:17-18
   2. John saw the 144,000 stand on Mount Zion and in their mouth is found no guile, for they are faultless before God - Rev. 14:1-5
   3. But let us not overlook the fact that a clear vision of the Son of God will ensure a close likeness
   4. Paul was so bold when speaking of his calling that he wrote to the Galatians, "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace to reveal His Son in me, that I should preach Him among the Gentiles" - Gal. 1:15
   5. The clear vision is possible only to cleansed eyes - Said the true witness to the Laodiceans, "Anoint thine eyes with eyesalve that thou mayest see" - Rev. 3:18
   6. Many who profess Christianity have been blinded by the conceptions of the present world - 2 Cor. 4:4-6
   7. The divine mirror that reflects the image of the Son of God is, of course, the Bible "Search the scriptures for in them ye think ye have eternal life and they are they which testify of Me" - John 5:39