According to the publisher's description, the book by J.B. Phillips, "Your God is Too Small", (1953) was a groundbreaking book that, "challenged reader's conventional views about God and encouraged them to search for a meaningful redefinition of a higher power..." Phillips explained that modern man had created a God not big enough to meet his modern needs. Many put God in a box and limited Him to their narrow understanding of Him.

     God's three step plan for humanity is to have an exceeding abundant life that has no end. Our ultimate comprehensive salvation includes, 1) being saved from the penalty of sin, called justification, received by His free Grace through faith alone in Christ alone, plus not one thing (totally apart from any human work, any law keeping); 2) being saved from the power of sin called sanctification, received by faithful service and perseverance in suffering, and 3) being saved from the presence of sin, called glorification received at the end of life's faith journey with varying degrees.

     The reorientation of our thinking begins with an expansion of our understanding of the word "saved".
The word "saved" can be used sometimes in Scripture to refer to the entire process that begins with initial faith alone in Christ alone for everlasting life, this is "zoe" life salvation, this is the good news of the grace of God, the "Free Grace Gospel". But the pursuit of salvation does not end there. There is "psuche" soul salvation to be gained through diligent effort. This is where salvation moves to costly growth, and climaxes with exceeding glory for those who patiently endure suffering for Christ to the end of their earthly life.

     God who is very rich in glory (Eph. 3:16) desires to share and impart His glory with us. God has called us, to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Th. 2:14). The hope of the glory of God manifested in us is first accessed when we personally place our faith alone in Christ alone, having been justified, "declared righteous", receiving the gift of everlasting life (Rom. 5:1-3). At the beginning of the salvation process, the length and location of where we will spend eternity has been determined, that is, with the LORD.

     The evangelistic message of today often sounds much like a musical arrangement with missing notes and notes out of place generating a muddled tune with no harmony. Most sense something just doesn't sound right, but can't put their finger on it.

     In a similar way, modern evangelicalism has created a salvation too small for man, limiting it to only what is necessary to escape the fires of Hell. It's a myopic salvation that only sees one aspect of God's overall plan. This narrow understanding of what it means to be saved has sold the world short of the great vision of God's full and comprehensive salvation that He has to offer humanity.

     The solution is to rearrange the notes and place them in their proper place. What is necessary is a readjustment and an expansion of our thinking, seeing the big picture, looking past a near-sighted understanding of salvation, moving past justification through sanctification to glorification, and creating a beautiful symphony that is sweet to the ears and the soul.

     Today, brothers and sisters, you are becoming what you will be in the life to come. This should motivate us to give it our all. We don't have to live a long time, (our time on the earth is short anyway), but we need to live qualitatively to have an effect throughout all eternity. The length of our eternal existence has already been determined. The real question is what will be the depth of our eternal life, the weight of our eternal glory? You cannot add to its length, but you can add to its depth or weight. You cannot add to life's quantity, but you can add to life's quality.

     Jesus offers life, and we receive the life that He gives. Today, we ought to faithfully use the life He has given us and the resources to help set up our position of service in the life to come. The depth and positional status in God's future kingdom is presently being determined. A "weight of glory" is a kind or amount of manifestation that each person will reflect the glory of Jesus Christ forever.

     Lastly, the motivation for good works is the Bema, "the Judgement Seat of Christ". People who come to Christ need to focus more on this day of judgement, and their glorification--the manifestation of our glorified life to come.

     The manifestation of God's glory is the chief purpose of all of His creation. It is the only reason that anything exists. Glory is that which makes an object significant, prominent or attracts attention. It is the physical manifestation of the Divine presence. It is the visible display of the invisible God. "The heavens declare the glory of God..." (Ps. 19:1a).

     All believers are God's children and will be glorified to some extent, and all will receive an inheritance, for they have overcome the wicked one by faith. In addition, believers who faithfully serve and suffer with Christ will be called "Sons of God" and will receive, a greater portion of God's inheritance, praise, honor, and glory. The light affliction, which the suffering servant may presently experience is only for a moment. This affliction is not without a purpose. It, in fact, can only be obtained through affliction. It is working for the suffering servant a far "more exceeding and eternal weight of glory," (2 Cor. 4:17), so as to create a greater portion of God's reflected glory.

     Believers who faithfully suffer affliction in service for Christ will receive additional opportunities and responsibilities to joyfully serve the Lord for eternity. Those who Shepherd (pastor) the flock of God when the Chief Shepherd appears, will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away, and will be partakers of the glory that will be revealed (1 Pt. 5:1-4). Those who fail to proclaim these distinctions are selling the church short of the possibilities of a more exceeding joy when His glory is revealed at His coming (1 Pt. 4:13-14).

      Glory "doxa" is chiefly the possession and characteristics of the LORD, the qualities that demonstrate His greatness, beauty, and slender. His fame, power, wealth, honor, and majesty is His glory. Simply point to the glory of God is "God on Display".
 
     His glory exists prior to and apart from His external manifestation of it. Some of His glory is seen (back), but others are not seen (face) [see Exodus 33:18-23]. His glory is purely the external manifestation of His presence, seen in physical elements of fire, lightning, thunder, thick darkness, brilliant light, smoke, rainbow, all the appearance of the likeness of God. Man is the pinnacle of God's creation, who inherently possess glory having been created in His image, according to His likeness. God made man a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor (Ps. 8:3).

     Man is to naturally give God glory or glorify His name "...everything that has breath is to praise the Lord. Praise the Lord! (Ps. 150:6). However, man cannot add to God's glory, but only recognize or acknowledge it, that the whole earth is full of His glory!" (Isa. 6:3b). He is the God of glory, powerful, and full of majesty (Ps. 29:3-4). Ungodly and unrighteous men, those who suppress the truth, become fools and exchange the glory of God for something much less (Rom. 1:18-23). Eventually, all mankind will see it, in all its splendor (40:5), when "they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Mt. 24:30).

     The processes of glorification involves sanctification, being made holy, conformity to His spiritual image.

     The entire process of God's comprehensive complete salvation is not gained by faith alone, but requires commitment, perseverance, good works and suffering for Christ in the midst of various trials and tribulations, only the first stage of our salvation is obtained by receiving the free gift of everlasting life by faith alone.

     Gold coins were not counted but weighed. Their value was determined by their weight. Not every coin weighed the same, because some shaved off the ends of the coin, making them weigh less. The glory the faithful servant of Christ is to receive will far outweigh the suffering he/she may experience in his earthly life (Rom. 8:18) and that glory will be forever, never to be diminished in splendor. Our sufferings are temporary, but our glory is eternal. Our afflictions are light, our glory is heavy.

     Having believed, as we then commit ourselves to costly growth, abiding in His Word, God's glory then begins to be magnified in us. Those who patiently persevere in doing good, and seek for glory, honor, and immortality receive in return "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor 4:17). "...glory, honor, and peace is promised to everyone who works what for is good" (Rom. 2:7,10). Those who move from free grace to costly growth to exceeding glory will receive not only eternal "zoe" life, but also a richer experience of eternal "psuche" life.