Those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called, he also justified,

and those whom he justified, he also glorified.

This week on things unseen, we've been reflecting on these words of Paul in Romans chapter 8,

verse 30. The sheer power of them is amazing. I heard it said once that C.H. Spurgeon read them

on one occasion when he was preaching and commented, brethren, there is no stopping this God.

It's absolutely wonderful.

And Paul has kept the best, in a sense, to the last.

Glorification.

There's kind of a Russian doll effect in this verse, isn't there?

Open up predestination in Christ and you find calling by Christ inside.

Open up calling and you find calling by Christ inside. Open up calling and you find justification in Christ inside.

Open up justification and you find glorification and likeness to the Lord Jesus inside.

I've sometimes said when I think the people who are listening may have watched the famous

long-running BBC TV series Doctor Who, that the gospel is like Doctor Who's time machine.

His time machine on the outside is an old battered London police phone box.

But the thing about it is, it's larger on the inside than it is on the outside, and

it's full of marvels. And when we think about the gospel, isn't that true? And when we think

about the gospel's effect on us, it's also true. On the outside, we're basically nobody's specks of dust in a vast cosmos. But God

has set his heart and glorifying us. Our lives are as big as that. He's putting glory into us,

making our humanity eventually glorious. And all because he loves us, who could be more amazing, more

moving, more thrilling, more wonderful, and more comforting to us than that.

There's a whole new world then in this one word glorified.

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