We dealt with the first half of this section of 1 Peter a few weeks ago, and I noted there are many difficulties in this passage, especially the language in verse 19. If you want to figure out where I landed there, well, you can go back to that sermon. But the point of these verses Really, as Peter is talking to Christians who are suffering, he is giving them already much practical instruction on how to deal with their suffering in the first part of and the latter part of. of chapter 2 and throughout chapter 3. But the point that Peter is teaching here in these particular verses that we just read together is that the road of suffering is the road that leads to glory. That's the main point. So you can have questions about what verse 19 means and these spirits and when Christ preached, but the main point is that the road of suffering is the road that leads to glory. Christ pioneered the way of suffering for us as the forerunner of our faith, as Hebrews calls him. Christ conquered through suffering, and in conquering, he entered into glory and he secured glory for us. So just as the sufferings of Christ culminated in the glories of Christ, if we are in Christ and suffering for him, it's actually a sure sign that you're on the right road. You haven't veered off somewhere. You're exactly where you need to be. The Lord has you exactly where he would have you to be as he is conforming you to the image of Christ through your suffering. And this road of suffering leads to glory. But our pilgrimage, and this is what I want to drive home tonight as we look at these last two verses of this section, our pilgrimage on the pathway to glory is not isolated from Christ. It's not as if he's made it. He's up there and he's saying now to us, I'm up here. Come on and get up here. Make your way. No, he is. He's with us. He is walking in us by his spirit. We are united to him as the glorified Christ. He has not only walked the path for us, but he is walking the path with us, by his spirit, giving us all that we need. By the mercies of God equipping us and by all of the blessings he has secured for us, giving us all that we need to walk this road. A few years back, I hiked part of the Appalachian Trail with my dad and Heather's dad and Heather's aunt. And my dad had a particularly rough time, which he's going to be here, Lord willing, next week. You don't need to tell him about this story. He had a particularly rough time. And we got to the base of a mountain called Blood Mountain, rightly named. And so we decided, hey, we need to get to the top. There's a shelter there. There's limited space. And if we don't get up there quickly, we'll have to sleep outside the shelter. So we decided. I told my dad, I said, hey, just hobble as far as you can. We're going to go up ahead. I'll drop my pack. I'll come back down to the bottom and then I'll carry your pack and we'll walk back together. And in a sense, that's what Christ has done for us. He has gone up before us to the top of the mountain and he has now then given us his spirit who is with us and giving us all that we need to climb that mountain. That pathway of suffering. This is why Paul speaks the way that he does in Galatians 2 verse 20. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. It's not as if, by the way, we are two lives, Christ is there and we are here, but rather we are one life. We are so united with Christ that our life is his life and what he has done for us in his life is our life. And this is why, by the way, Jesus says to the disciples that it's to their advantage that he would leave them. Now, we could imagine being a disciple and saying, what do you mean, Lord? You're here. We can see you. We can eat with you. We can touch you. We can have conversations with you face to face. What do you mean that it's better that you would leave us? Well, the reason is because Christ must ascend for his spirit to descend. Christ must ascend, having completed his work of redemption, and the spirit must descend to apply all of the benefits of that work to us. This is why Jesus says what he says in John 14 verse 19. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Why? Because I live, you also will live. And that day you will know, what will they know? That I am in my father, and you in me, and I in you. The whole point in that section in John's teaching, but I think also here that Peter's driving home for us is that our lives are united to the glorified Christ. And that shapes how we battle against sin. That shapes how we deal with suffering. That shapes how we walk in this pilgrimage in this world. It shapes everything about us. Because our defeats and moment of weakness and temptation don't mark us. Our struggles, our fears do not mark us. Sometimes the weakness of our faith does not mark us. What marks us before the Father's eyes is that we are united with the glorified Christ. And believing that shapes everything about the Christian life, everything. And that is what Peter here is driving home. We are participating even now, right now, in the glories of Christ. We're already seated in heavenly places. We've already been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavens. And so Peter is reminding these Christians that they're united to the glorified Christ. And he does it in particular by reminding Christians of their baptism and of Christ's ascension. and of Christ ascension. So there's two things I want us to see as we look at this passage. First, let's see a union through baptism, and then we'll see a union to the present reign of Christ. Notice how Peter begins there in verse 21. He says, baptism, which corresponds to this. What is he speaking about there? He's speaking about what he just spoke of with the flood, that the waters of the flood are a type or a picture of the waters of Christian baptism. What is a type? A type is a divinely ordained analogy in a person, event, or institution and redemptive history that points forward to a greater reality. The Old Testament is full of types. If you want to know what some of those types are, you could read Romans 5 that tells us that Adam was a type of Christ. You could go to the book of Hebrews, and over and over, the writer to the Hebrews shows how the temple is a type, the sacrifices were a type, the priesthood was a type, Moses as a mediator was a type. All of these things are types that point forward to a greater reality. And Peter here is saying that the flood is a type of the waters of Christian baptism. John Gill says this, unpacking this further, he says, as the Ark, when Noah and his family were shut up in it by God, represented a burial, and they seemed, as if it were, to be buried in it, it was a lively emblem of baptism, which is expressed by a burial. Mattel, the New Testament, talks about baptism. God saved Noah and his family through the waters of the flood. The flood, in a sense, was a baptism of salvation for Noah and his family. They were saved through water, Peter says. But the flood was also a baptism of judgment for the world. Only eight souls were saved through the water. The rest experienced the judgment of God. The same water bringing salvation also brought judgment. This is also seen in the Red Sea crossing, which Paul calls in 1 Corinthians 10 a baptism. The Israelites are saved through the water, but the Egyptians and Pharaoh and his army are not. And in these Old Testament examples, we see the waters separate God's people from the world. And the point is that God brings salvation for his people through judgment. And this is why Jesus speaks of his work, his cross work, as a baptism. He says this in Mark 10, 38, Jesus said to them, you do not know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? And they said to him, we are able. And Jesus said to them, the cup that I drink, you will drink and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized. Christ underwent a baptism of judgment to bring us salvation. He drank the cup of the Father's wrath. He underwent a baptism under death. And in a similar way, just as Noah and his family could only survive the floodwaters by being in the ark, all sinners everywhere can only survive the waters of God's judgment by being in Christ. And so there's a beautiful correspondence between. between the flood and Christian baptism. In Christian baptism, the immersion under the water is a picture of our death in Christ. And then the rising out of the water is a picture of our resurrection in Christ. Christ's death for sin is our death. And Christ's resurrection and victory over sin and death is our resurrection. and victory over sin and death. Flip over, if you will, to Romans 6, and Paul makes this point. There's several places in the New Testament that do this, but Paul in Romans 6 makes this connection quite explicitly. Romans 6, verses 3 through 5, Paul says this. Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead, by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Christ's death and Christ's resurrection for us is now ours as we are in Him. And our baptism, the visible sign that we see when someone actually gets in the water and they go under the water and come out of it, is a visible sign of that reality. That in Christ by faith we have died to sin and we have been raised in newness of life. And the amazing thing that Peter here is reminding them is that they have been saved. They have been saved by the work of Christ. Though they deserve the waters of judgment, though they should have been outside of the ark, in a sense, going back to the pictures of the flood, they should have been outside of the ark. Because they have placed faith in Christ, they are inside the ark. And God has saved them from his judgment by his Son. And that is a gospel call also for anyone here who is not trusting in Christ, whether you're young or old, whether you're a young girl or a young boy or an old girl or an old boy or wherever you find yourself. The gospel calls you to look to Christ and to be saved, be saved from the wrath to come, to be saved from those waters of judgment that are coming and look to Christ as the one who has undergone it for you. The gospel calls us to look to Christ, the one who has saved us. But Peter says something difficult here that can make us a bit uneasy. Notice what he goes on to say in verse 21. He says, baptism, excuse me, he says, oh, sorry, I'm still in Romans here. He says, baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you. Now, it appears that Peter is confusing the sign of baptism with the actual thing. But the scriptures actually frequently speak of baptism, the sign, and the thing signified, the spiritual reality, and close proximity unto one another. And the reason is because, in the ordinances, there is a spiritual union between the two, between the sign and the spiritual reality. I want to just give you a handful of verses here. And this will, I think, hopefully help us understand why Peter can speak the way that he does here. First, the imagery of washing, of washing with water and regeneration are used closely together in the Bible. So Paul says this in Titus 3, 5, he saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. Then in Ezekiel 36 verse 25, I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, from all your idols. I will cleanse you and I will give you a new heart and a new spirit. And I will put within you or I will put within you and I will remove the heart of stone from your from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Also throughout the New Testament, baptism and regeneration, being born again, this inward washing, they're used in close proximity. Paul says this while he's on trial, recounting what he taught and preached to the Jews. And now, why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name. Or in Galatians 3.27, for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. And another place you go is Colossians 2 verses 12 through 13, which speaks of our baptism being buried with Him in death, raised with Him in faith. But in the ordinances, in baptism in the Lord's Supper, two things are always in view. The sign, what it actually symbolizes, and the thing signified. And they go together, and the scriptures hold them together. They're not to be confused or to never teach, oh, if you get wet, you're saved. Right? If you go get in that water in there, man, if that's the case, everybody line up. If you've not been baptized, we've got to get you in the water right now. But the Bible speaks about the sign and the thing signified in close union together. Why? Because baptism and the Lord's Supper are means of grace. They don't automatically give grace, but God uses means of grace to help us grow in the faith. So prayer is a means of grace. The preaching of the word is a means of grace. Now, it doesn't mean if you come here in the Lord's day and you sit underneath the preached word that automatically you are going to grow up in grace. We are to attend to these things by faith and prayer, preparing our hearts. But the scriptures speak of these things as means of grace. They don't automatically save us, but they are kind gifts that God has given us and he ministers to us through them. So when someone is baptized, it's not a it's not a bare sign, but it is something that God has used as a word of promise to his people that what that sign signifies he has indeed done to those who have trusted in Christ by faith. Our confession hopefully speaks of it this way. It says this in Chapter 29, Paragraph 1, it says, Baptism. Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ. To be unto the party baptized a sign, a visible word, if you will. Of his fellowship with him in his death. and resurrection, and of his being engrafted into him, and of remission of sins, and of giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life. Baptism is a visible word from God that we have been engrafted or united into Christ by faith. It's a seal. It confirms and assures us of this truth. And baptism has really a twofold word in it. It is God's word to his people, that if you are trusting in Christ, then what is symbolized or pictured here is true for you. And it's also a word of the person being baptized. They profess, right? They profess. I have been united to Christ. I have professed faith in Christ. And it is a public profession that I desire to follow him. I would say that as Baptists, we tend to only emphasize the second. But our confession talks about it being a sign both from God to the one being baptized and a word from the one being baptized to God. Both of those things. And the Lord uses baptism and the Lord's Supper and his other means of grace to strengthen us in our faith, to help us to grow. likeness. Now, Peter qualifies what he says here. He says, he goes on to say, he says, baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you. Not as a removal of dirt from the body. But as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In other words, baptism does not inherently save anyone, and we need more than a physical bath. We need more than to get the dirt from underneath our fingernails and to remove the day's sweat from us. But we need an inward washing. And so just because someone partakes of baptism doesn't mean that they're saved. Baptism is a picture of an inward washing. It is a picture of the dead of sin being washed away. It is a picture of a clean conscience that is given through Christ's righteousness, that is received by faith. This baptism, this inward washing, is what the Bible refers to as regeneration. When we are made new, or as Ezekiel was talking about, when our hearts have been sprinkled clean from those idols and we have been, our heart of stone has been taken away and we've been given a heart of flesh. It is this inward washing, this inward cleansing. And baptism is a sign of that. It's amazing then how this passage is often used, often used to speak of baptismal regeneration, that one must be baptized in order to be born again. Well, the thief on the cross is in bad shape, is he not? Because Jesus said, today you will see me in paradise. Baptism is not necessary for salvation, but baptism is a means of grace that God uses to help us to grow up into salvation that we have received by faith. He also says that it's an appeal to God. It's an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so we come to the waters of baptism publicly professing faith in Christ alone for our salvation. Our baptism is not the basis for our salvation. Our baptism is not the object of our faith. I'm sure I'm saved because I believed in my baptism. No, Christ is the object of our faith. And in faith, we receive the ordinance of baptism. And we appeal to God for a good conscience because of Christ's work for us. Really, by the way, baptism, as we make that appeal, as we give this profession of faith. This is why we ask people, by the way, to read their testimonies before they're baptized. It's really the beginning of a life. That is professing. And I'm following Christ. That I do have a good conscience before God because I'm in I'm in Christ. And that is Peter's point here, and that is what he is reminding these suffering Christians, what he's reminding them about. And this is also, by the way, when we think about this appeal to God from a good conscience or for a good conscience, this is in part, there are better arguments for this, but this is why baptism is to be given to only those who have given a credible profession of faith in Christ. Those who have professed faith and the one who can give them a clear conscience before God. They don't baptize anyone else. The Lord may save someone at a very young age when they can't they can't give a verbal profession yet. But the Lord has saved them. That's certainly possible. And the Lord can do whatever he pleases. But we do not give the sign of baptism to anyone who cannot give a credible profession of faith. Because they have taken hold of Christ and faith, the one who can give them a clear conscience before God. This idea of coming to the Lord in baptism and this appeal for a clear conscience, the writer of Hebrews talks in a similar way in Hebrews 10, 22, let us draw near with a heart and full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Before we move on to the second point, I want to give us a couple of things to think about here as we think about the things that Peter has said about baptism and him reminding suffering Christians about their baptism. The first is, do you reflect on your baptism as a means of grace? And do you observe others being baptized? And do you see them and them go into the water? And does it remind you of what God has done to you in Christ? of that inward washing? And does that stir up your soul, once again, to be reminded of the purity that you have in the Lord Jesus Christ? If we actually saw the ordinances as signs and seals of salvation, as our confession talks about it, and as the Bible talks about it, I think we would think more often of our baptism and we, with a greater spiritual eye, would partake of the Lord's Supper. and see it as something as a great gift the Lord is giving us, to minister to us, to remind us. the fact that we are creatures, and he gives us, he gives us, listen, some churches want to have these services that give us this tangible sense of God, and that is foolish. The Lord has given us his word to worship him by his word through the spirit, and the Lord in his kindness has given us, by the way, two tangible, visible things that appeal to our senses to remind us of the gospel, and what are they? baptism and the Lord's Supper, and he uses them to strengthen our faith, to remind us of what Christ has done for us and to strengthen us and to call us to pursue him and to follow him. So we think about them in this way. How often do we partake of the Lord's Supper or the means of grace in general as empty rituals? Oh, you know, this is the thing we do. There is no sober judgment about ourselves. There is no sober evaluation of what Christ has done. There is no sober evaluation of what Christ is doing within us. We just partake of them because it's a duty, it's a command, and we must do them. Third, baptism is a symbol, as I've already said, of our union with Christ, of being united to him. And that then gives us a beautiful picture to be reminded every time we see a baptism, every time we're reminded of baptism, every time we read in the word about baptism, it gives us a great reminder that we need, that all that we need is found in Christ and all that we, and we have all that we need because we're in Christ. That we're not distant from him, we're not apart from him, but rather we are united to him. And so can you say with the Apostle Paul, can you evaluate your life and say, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me? That would be a tremendous thing for these suffering Christians to remember as they are suffering and they are being persecuted for their faith, and they are under undergoing harsh treatment, some from the magistrates, some from their masters, some from the citizens around them. They feel like they are exiled and sojourners and foreigners in the land, and here Peter's reminding them that they have been saved by the Lord Jesus Christ, they have been united to Him, and that that is their identity and that is all that they need. Christ is within them. Christ has secured victory and He is within them. And this is at least in part why he reminds them of their baptism. And that then brings us to verse 22. A union to the present reign of Christ. Notice what Peter says here. Who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God. With angels and authorities and powers having been subjected to him. So where's where's Christ gone after his victory? Well, he's ascended. He is he is in one sense. He has one sense. been victorious on the cross and defeating Satan, sin, and death. But at his ascension, he is now enthroned in victory. He is now seated at the right hand of God. The Lord has said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make all of your enemies your footstool. This is that great verse that is quoted over and over again in the New Testament. This is that verse that Paul quotes in 1 Corinthians 15 to tell us. Where are we at in the end times? You want to know where we're at in the end times? We're between the first and the second coming, and the Bible calls that the last days. And what is going on in the end times? Well, Christ is ruling and reigning at the right hand of God, and he is triumphing over his enemies, and all of his enemies are being subdued under his feet. And you say, oh, well, we don't quite see that. Oh, yes, the Bible says we don't quite see that yet. But God is working, and just as Christ has conquered through suffering, His church is going forth by the gospel, and they are triumphing over her enemies. Wow, through what? Through suffering. And it is in a great hope. for the suffering Christian, that their Lord and Christ, who is now seated at the right hand, is in a place where no one can take his throne. There will never be an assault on heaven, and he will be dethroned. There will never be a moment when his power is at odds, or maybe it won't continue. But he is seated and secured in victory, and his plan will come to pass for his people and for his church. And that ought to give us great hope. Because while we're down here, And it seems that all we can see is the suffering. Peter says, oh, no, you need to look up. And there you see there you see the glorified and ascended Christ seated at the right hand of the father. And he is subduing his enemies. He is ruling and reigning over all of his enemies. All three words here in verse 22, obviously angels and authorities and powers, all of them are speaking of angelic, all three words speak of angelic beings. And throughout the New Testament, the Bible connects the resurrection and ascension of Christ with him subjecting angelic beings to himself. So Ephesians 1 verse 20, that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places far above all rule and authority and power and dominion. And above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. Christ has triumphed over Satan and his minions. He has proclaimed victory over them. He has plundered the strongman's house, Matthew 12, and he has transferred us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. What does this what does this mean for us? I mentioned a few weeks ago when we first looked at this section that we think much of Christ's humiliation and suffering, as we ought, because he came and he suffered for us. But we often don't think enough of the fact that Christ is raised in victory. That he is conquered. He is conquering. And so then our waging war against sin, our striving to be faithful in this world, our striving to glorify God in all things is not a striving for victory, but it is a striving from victory because Christ has already secured it. Christ is already glorified. He has already ascended. And so here's a couple of ways as we close to apply this. First, it means if Christ is ascended and seated in glory, and if we are united to Christ, it means that we are reigning with Christ right now. Right now. This is why Paul says in Ephesians 2 that we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. Right now. Now, you may be sitting right here and this isn't heaven, but we are so united with Christ that we are seated with him right now in the heavenlies. That in a sense, as he sits the right hand of the father and he intercedes for us, in a sense, we could make some distinctions, but in a sense, because we're united to Christ, the son has no more ear to speak to the father than we do. Because we are in him. We are reigning with him. We are partakers of his glory. No scheme of man or devil can dethrone Christ, and no scheme of man or devil can ever separate us from Christ. And we are reigning with him. Not to remind us, some of us, it's not a real spiritual gift, but we have the spiritual gift of being a Christian. It's easy for us to be discouraged. It's easy for us. It's easy for us to begin to, as our brother said this morning, to really fixate on our sins in a way that isn't, I think, in a way that isn't godly, in a way that moves us to despair, that takes us out of the fight. But rather, when true conviction of sin comes, we see our sin, we repent and confess that sin, and we once again take hold of Christ. But there's a real temptation for us. As we see the world going the way it is, as we are reminded of the same sin that we are wrestling with, as we've had to go to our spouse or our children once again and confess sin, as we have failed in this way or that, we need to be reminded of the fact that all of the glories that Christ has secured for us in his currency and glory, we are partaking of already. Now, there's a not yet sense, and the Lord's Day reminds us of that not yet sense. We get a taste of it, and the Lord's Day points us forward to that greater day. Second, it means that we must grow in the knowledge of the glories of Christ, who he is, and we must grow in the knowledge of the glories that are in Christ. What has he secured for us? Have I asked you? What glories has Christ secured for you? What glories of Christ are you partaking of right now? Would you be able to answer? It's not a trick question. The New Testament and the Old Testament are full of giving us pictures and clear explanations of what those glories are. But could you tell me what they are? Could you tell me how they've been sweet to your soul? Could you tell me how they've helped you in a time of suffering? Could you tell me how they've helped you in a time of temptation? Do you see the glory of Christ? And do you see the glories that Christ has secured for you? We need to think on these things. We will only enjoy the heights of the glories of Christ if we understand the depths of Christ's suffering for us. And part of that understanding, by the way, is increased by our own experience of suffering. So Paul says this in Philippians 3, verse 10 and 11, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in death, that by any means possible, I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Do we pray that we may share his sufferings so that we might have a greater experience of the glories that he secured for us? Third, we must labor to set our hearts on Christ and glory. Robert Layton, a Puritan minister, said this. He says, what will you do? Will you let go of your interest in this once crucified and now glorified Jesus? Why does it not possess your heart more? It should not be like this, should not our hearts be where our treasure is, where our blessed head is? Oh, how much we may be ashamed to have any room in our hearts for thoughts, desires, or delights that are about anything other than Christ. Are our hearts set on Christ? Paul says in Colossians 3, if ye then, I guess this is quoting King James, if you are raised with Christ, seek those things which are above. Where Christ is, who is your life? Well, have you been raised with Christ? If you're a Christian, the answer is not a trick, it's a yes. Well, are you seeking Christ? Are you looking to him? Is he sort of your vision for all of life? Three more here. Fourth, we must bring our enemies, our fears, our doubts, our despairs, our lying thoughts to the king who is seated. Do you have fears? Do you have doubts, besetting sins? Well, bring them, bring them in the throne room before the resurrected and ascended Christ. There he is interceding for you, and there we can boldly go. before the throne of grace and give. You say, I don't know what to do with these things. Well, as someone said this morning in our prayer time for the day, well, God does. God knows what to do with these things. And prayer is a reminder. Every time we pray, a reminder. Oh, yeah, we're going to the one who knows what to do with these things. We're going to the one who knows what to do in all things. And we bring them to him. Fifth, we must live like we're united to Christ. eat, sleep, and drink like we're united to Christ. We must subject our emotions to the reality that we're united to Christ. We must subject our failures to this reality, our successes to this reality, our motives to this reality. We must evaluate our situation in light of this reality. We must evaluate our relationship with God in light of this reality. Some of us can struggle within our sin, and then we think, oh, God certainly doesn't love me now. But if you're not united with Christ, it doesn't change. He sees you still in light of Christ's righteousness. And the most important fact about you is that you are in Christ. That's the most important fact about you. You're in Christ. All that you need has been given to you in Christ. The Spirit is applying all that you need from Christ to you. The Spirit is reminding you that he is all that you need. And it's when we forget that, that we then turn inward and we forget our identity. It's when we turn inward that we begin to move to despair, that we begin to give in to sin and temptation. And lastly. The reign of Christ and our union with him equips us and calls us to persevere, to persevere, to continue when it seems difficult, when it seems we can go no further, when it seems the Lord, in our experience, has finally dropped the ball in this situation. Where is he? Oh, no, we remember. We are in Christ. He's resurrected and glorified. And even in the darkness of a time, he is with us. And we are to call out to him and we are to trust in him. And Paul says this in 2 Timothy 2, his last letter, by the way, before he dies, before he's martyred. The saying is trustworthy, for if we have died with him, we will also live with him. If we endure. We will also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. So we are united to the glorified Christ. We are reminded of that in our baptism as we see our union with him. We live our lives in light of that. He is not there and we are here, but rather he has gone there and then come here by his spirit and given us all that we need. And it's only once we realize that, that we will then have, by the mercies of God, Romans 12, 1, to live a life that can endure and persevere and suffer well and endure all kinds of hardships and disappointments. And yet always keeping our eyes on him. because he is our life. It is not I who live, but Christ who lives within me. And Peter's reminder here is a helpful reminder for us that Christ is in glory and in victory, and we are already partaking of those things right now. Let's pray. Lord, how forgetful we often are of the glories of Christ, who he is in his person and in his work for us as our mediator. Our hearts are so dulled to the glories that he has accomplished for us, those glories which your spirit is applying to us. We are so sinful, Lord, in our And our hearts being content with generalities, we don't think long and hard and specific. About what your son has done for us. And about what is being applied to us. But Lord, we pray that you would help us, we pray that you would help us to see all that we need is in Christ. And we have all those things because we are in him. And Lord, I pray for our church and for Christians of different temperaments and makeups and different propensities to go to one sinful extreme to the other. And Lord, I pray for those Christians in our midst, especially, Lord, who struggle with really being moved to despair, being moved to anxiety and depression, over the state of their battle against sin, over the state of the things around them. I pray that you would comfort them and remind them that they are united to Christ and that Christ has accomplished all that they need. And even right now, as they are feeling these things, the reality is, is that their identity is in Christ and in nothing else, not even these things. Lord, help us to think upon these things this week. And we ask these things in Christ's name. Amen.