Do you see what Paul seems to be saying here? He speaks of the converts as the crown of his boasting in the day of Christ. It is what he will present to the Lord Jesus for his glory—the fruits of the harvest of Paul’s life and ministry. In the coming of Christ, he is anticipating their faith as part of the outcome of God’s work in his own life, by which Christ would be glorified. Now, Paul, of course, looked forward to the return of Christ more fervently than Roman citizens looked forward to the coming of their ruler. In fact, he calls it our hope and our glory. It is entirely positive, as a Christian looks forward to the returning of Christ. And this is why he sees these people as his glory and joy.
You know, the same is true for you and me. You are not the apostle Paul. I am not either. We do not have his epochal work. But you are you, and I am me. And God has given us gifts, talents. He has given us stewardships. He has made us fathers and mothers. He has put us in marriages, has put us in families. We are in workplaces. We are part of a church. We have work together. You have gifts. We have ties. We do it all together.
And you and I have the great privilege—on the parousia of the Lord of glory, the coming of the Lord Jesus—not a work by which we are saved, but to present to him the harvest of his grace in our lives for his glory. You know how Jesus talks about it in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:1–46. He says that if you have nothing to offer him, that can only be because you do not know him and you are not saved. That means that if you are saved, the grace of God is at work in you. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, he is going to work through you. And this is—this is our thrill, our glory, and our joy: that little old me, at the coming of Christ, I am going to have a crown, as it were, to present to him, and he is going to wear it. And it is going to be his glory that is now my glory and my joy. With what zeal and commitment we ought to apply ourselves to this present life, the work of the church. How wonderful, how serious it is. How it ought to be our glory and our joy—that which he has given us.1
Richard D. Phillips
19 Quelle est, en effet, notre espérance, ou notre joie, ou notre couronne de gloire? N'est-ce pas vous aussi, devant notre Seigneur Jésus, lors de son avènement?