Paul knew that sufferings help to bring us into glory and so he could say, “For which cause we faint not; but though our outer man is consumed, yet the inner man is being renewed day by day. For the present lightness of the affliction worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:16-17, Gk.). In 2 Corinthians 4:17 Paul made a comparison, comparing the “present lightness of the affliction” with the “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” He was saying that the eternal weight of glory far surpasses the present lightness of the affliction. Here we see three comparisons: affliction with glory, lightness with weight, and present with eternal. Whatever sufferings we pass through are the lightness. This present lightness of affliction cannot compare with the eternal weight of glory. Do not be troubled by your sufferings. Rather, you must tell Satan, “Satan, regardless of the sufferings that I am passing through, I am happy. This is not a weight; it is lightness.” Brothers and sisters, do you feel that you are under a heavy weight? Many sisters have come to me saying, “Brother, you don’t know how hard and heavy my situation is. You don’t know what a weight is on me.” Sisters, it is wrong to say this. Your suffering is not a weight; it is a lightness. The real weight is the glory. All our sufferings are just the lightness, the present lightness of the affliction that works for us the eternal weight of glory.
Once again we need to ask, “What is glory?” Glory is the expression of God. There is no need to wait for eternity to have the expression of God. Even today, after the saints have experienced a certain lightness of affliction, we may see the glory in them. I can testify that I have seen many dear saints who are like this. They have passed through sufferings and eventually the expression of God has come out of them. The more they suffer, the more they are brought into the expression of God. Not only in the future, but even now, the sufferings bring us into the expression of God. This is the weight of glory.
Romans 8:30 says that those “whom He justified, these He also glorified.” This does not mean to put us into glory. To put us into glory is one thing and to glorify us is another. Then 2 Thessalonians 1:10 says, “When He shall come to be glorified in His saints.” One day, at the right time, Christ will come to be glorified in us. This means that He will come out of us. If you know the Bible, you will realize that, on the one hand, Christ is coming from without, and that, on the other hand, He is coming from within us. He has been sown into us as the seed of glory. This seed will grow until it reaches the stage of blossoming. Then the glory will come out. I do believe in the literal second coming of the Lord. But in the Bible the concept of His coming is not that shallow. Why has the Lord not yet come? It is very easy for Him to come down from above. He can do it at any time. But it is not easy for Him to come out of us. Although He can come down from above at any time, where is the people out of whom He can come? It is very easy for Him to shine upon us, but it is difficult for Him to be glorified in us. It is easy for Him to put us into glory, but it is not so easy to glorify us. For example, if a person has a pale complexion, it is easy to color it by adding some outward coloring. But for his paleness to be inwardly transformed to pinkness needs time for growth. The Bible does say that God is leading many sons into glory, but it also says that He will glorify us. To glorify us means to have the glory that has been sown into us saturate our whole being. When our whole being has been permeated and saturated with the element of glory, that glory will come out of us. This is what it means to glorify us. When we experience this glorification, we shall be in the expression of God. At that time we shall be fully on the other shore, fully in the expression of God. This is our glory.
Now we understand what it means to enter into glory, what it means for God to lead us into glory. Praise the Lord that we are crossing the river! We are still crossing the river—crossing the river from old Christianity into the new church life, crossing the river from the old self into the new spirit, crossing the river from all things other than God Himself into the expression of God. Every day we are the real river crossers. Day by day we are crossing the river. Our Captain has passed over all the rivers. He has cut the way and now He is the Pioneer, the Forerunner, and the Captain leading us into glory. For this, He has come into us as the Captain and as the seed of glory. Even now He is ministering to us from God’s glory, ministering Himself into us as the bread and wine to sustain and support us. This is the Captain of salvation. While we are heading toward glory, the glory is within us. Praise Him!