All that Scripture says about ‘rising in glory’ is said about believers.  It is represented as a spiritual process.  They who have the Spirit of God in their spirits because they have it receive the glorified body which is like their Saviour’s.  It is not enough to die in order to ‘rise glorious.’  ’If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.’  The resurrection is promised for all mankind, but it may be a resurrection in which there shall be endless living and no glory, nor any beauty and no blessedness.  But the body may be ‘sown in weakness,’ and in weakness raised; it may be ’sown in dishonour’ and in dishonour raised; it may be sown dead, and raised a living death.  ’Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.’  Does that mean nothing?  ’They that have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation.’  Does that mean nothing?  There are dark mysteries in these and similar words of Scripture which should make us all pause and solemnly reflect.  The sole way which leads to the resurrection of glory is the way of faith in Jesus Christ.  If we yield ourselves to Him, He will plant His Spirit in our spirits, will guide and growingly sanctify us through life, will deliver us by the indwelling of the Spirit of life in Him from the law of sin and death.  Nor will His transforming power cease till it has pervaded our whole being with its fiery energy, and we stand at the last men like Christ, redeemed in body, soul, and spirit, ’according to the mighty working whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself.’

THE INTERCEDING SPIRIT

   ’The Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with
   groanings which cannot be uttered.’—­ROMANS viii. 26.

Pentecost was a transitory sign of a perpetual gift.  The tongues of fire and the rushing mighty wind, which were at first the most conspicuous results of the gifts of the Spirit, tongues, and prophecies, and gifts of healing, which were to the early Church itself and to onlookers palpable demonstrations of an indwelling power, were little more lasting than the fire and the wind.  Does anything remain?  This whole great chapter is Paul’s triumphant answer to such a question.  The Spirit of God dwells in every believer as the source of his true life, is for him ‘the Spirit of adoption’ and witnesses with his spirit that he is a child of God, and a joint-heir with Christ.  Not only does that Spirit co-operate with the human spirit in this witness-bearing, but the verse, of which our text is a part, points to another form of co-operation:  for the word rendered in the earlier part of the verse ‘helpeth’ in the original suggests more distinctly that the Spirit of God in His intercession for us works in association with us.