What is glorification?

Answer

The concise explanation is that “glorification” refers to God’s ultimate elimination of sin from the lives of the saints (i.e., all those who are saved) in the eternal realm (Romans 8:18;2 Corinthians 4:17). When Christ returns, the glory of God «through whom we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. », (Romans 5:2)—His honor, praise, majesty, and holiness—will be manifested in us; instead of being mortal beings burdened with a sinful nature, we will be transformed into holy immortals with direct and unrestricted access to God’s presence, and we will experience holy communion with Him for all eternity. When contemplating glorification, our focus should be on Christ, as He is the “blessed hope” of every Christian; furthermore, we can view final glorification as the culmination of sanctification.

The ultimate glorification will only occur when the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ is revealed (Titus 2:13;1 Timothy 6:14). Until His return, we are burdened by sin, and our spiritual perception is distorted due to the curse. “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” «For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. », (1 Corinthians 13:12). Each day, we should diligently, by the Spirit, put to death the “fleshly” (sinful) aspects within us «For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. »

, (Romans 8:13).

How and when will we finally be glorified? At the last trumpet, when Jesus comes, the saints will undergo a fundamental, instant transformation (“we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” – 1 Corinthians 15:51); then the “perishable” will put on the “imperishable” «For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. », (1 Corinthians 15:53). However, 2 Corinthians 3:18 clearly indicates that, in a mysterious sense, “we all,” in the present, “with unveiled face” are “beholding the glory of the Lord” and are being transformed into His image “from one degree of glory to another” «But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.», (2 Corinthians 3:18). Lest anyone imagine that this beholding and transformation (as part of sanctification) is the work of especially saintly people, the Scripture adds the following bit of information: “For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” In other words, it is a blessing bestowed on every believer. This does not refer to our final glorification but to an aspect of sanctification by which the Spirit is transfiguring us right now. To Him be the praise for His work in sanctifying us in the Spirit and in truth (Jude 24-25; John 17:17; John 4:23).

We should understand what Scripture teaches about the nature of glory—both God’s unsurpassed glory and ourShare in it at His coming. God’s glory refers not only to the unapproachable light that the Lord inhabits (1 Timothy 6:15-16), but also to His honor «And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, », (Luke 2:13) and holiness. The “You” referred to in Psalm 104:2 is the same God referenced in 1 Timothy 6:15-16; He is “clothed with splendor and majesty,” covering Himself “with light as with a garment” (Psalm 104:2;cf: 93:1;Job 37:22;Job 40:10). When the Lord Jesus returns in His great glory to execute judgment (Matthew 24:29-31;25:31-35), He will do so as the only Sovereign, who alone has eternal dominion (1 Timothy 6:14-16).

Created beings dare not gaze upon God’s awesome glory; like Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:4-29) and Simon Peter «When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. », (Luke 5:8), Isaiah was devastated by self-loathing in the presence of the all-holy God. After the seraphim proclaimed, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Isaiah said, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” «And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. », (Isaiah 6:4). Even the seraphim demonstrated their unworthiness to gaze upon the divine glory by covering their faces with their wings.

God’s glory can be described as “heavy” or “weighty”; the Hebrew word kabod literally means “heavy or burdensome.” Most often, the Scriptural use of kabod is figurative (e.g., “heavy with sin”), from which we derive the concept of the “weightiness” of a person who is honorable, impressive, or deserving of respect.

When the Lord Jesus was incarnated, He revealed both the “weighty” holiness of God and the fullness of His grace and truth (“and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” [John 1:14;cf: 17:1–5]). The glory revealed by the incarnate Christ accompanies the ministry of the Spirit «But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: », (2 Corinthians 3:7); it is unchanging and permanent (Isaiah 4:6-7;cf: Job 14:2;Psalm 102:11;Psalm 103:15;James 1:10). The previous manifestations of God’s glory were temporary, like the fading effluence of God’s glory from Moses’ face. Moses veiled his face so that the hard-hearted Israelites might not see that the glory was fading (2 Corinthians 3:12-14), but in our case, the veil has been removed through Christ, and we reflect the glory of the Lord and seek by the Spirit to be like Him.

In His high priestly prayer, the Lord Jesus requested that God would sanctify us by His truth (i.e., make us holy; John 17:17); sanctification is necessary if we are to see Jesus’ glory and be with Him in eternal fellowship (John 17:21-24). “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” «Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. », (John 17:24). If the glorification of the saints follows the pattern revealed in Scripture, it must entail our sharing in the glory (i.e., the holiness) of God.

According to Philippians 3:20–21, our citizenship is in heaven, and when our Savior returns, He will transform our lowly bodies “to be like His glorious body.” Although it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, we know that when He returns in great glory, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is «Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. », (1 John 3:2). We will be perfectly conformed to the image of our Lord Jesus and be like Him in that our humanity will be free from sin and its consequences. Our blessed hope should spur us on to holiness, the Spirit enabling us. “Everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies

“And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as He is pure” «And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. », (1 John 3:3).