Glorification is the ultimate fulfillment of a disciple's hope, where they receive physical bodies fully transformed to reflect and share the glorified image of Christ. This outcome of the disciple's journey is the final stage of salvation and is deeply connected to God’s desire for intimate fellowship and the gospel of the coming kingdom.
Glorification involves not only receiving a new body but also the fulfillment of God’s promise to restore all of creation to an Edenic state. The glory to come will be marked by Jesus, the King of kings, sitting on His glorious throne, with the glory of His Father shining forevermore. This promise of sharing in God’s glory motivates believers to endure and persevere through these present-age trials, knowing that their current sufferings are temporary compared to the eternal glory awaiting them.
The Transformation Of Our Humble State
Glorification involves the complete transformation of believers into the image of Christ at the resurrection of the dead. This final phase of our redemption is what was promised in Philippians 3:21, which states that Christ:
…will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
Philippians 3:21
- Our Original Edenic State: We were once in God's image, full of glory and splendor. God created man in His likeness granting him dominion over the earth and all creation. This was the state God intended for man from the beginning. The earth was free from the curse and man was free from pain, sickness, and death. As it was in the beginning, it will be again when God finalizes death and removes the curse from the earth.
- Our Current Humble State: In God’s love, He allowed man to freely choose to maintain allegiance for life or pursue self-exaltation. The choice to seek knowledge outside of God’s wisdom led to a rupture in trust and relationship between man and God. This departure from intimacy with God resulted in a severing of spiritual life within man, which in turn brought about mortality in the earthly vessel we now inherit.
- Mercy And Grace: Even in the rubble of the fall, God showed mercy by allowing mankind to remain alive. He also made a promise to man that He would send a seed from the woman to redeem man from its current state back into the original heart of God. This redemption would, however, come at a cost: death.
In due time, God the Father sent His Son to earth in the same humble state we are now in to redeem us back to the Father. Jesus —the Son of God and Son of Man—, who came from the bosom of God through the womb of Mary was made the perfect mediator between God and man in order to bring us back into Oneness with Him. This is a gift that is not deserved but yet graciously granted to all who would turn their allegiance from self-exaltation back to the Father through His Son.
- Obtaining the Glorified State: Through our Father Adam sin entered the world, but through Jesus, the last Adam, life enters all the more. Jesus, the Son of Man, was tempted in every way as we are; yet He never sinned. Never once did He turn from the Father’s instructions and will. And still, He paid the penalty for sin by His death. This humble state of servanthood and sacrifice pleased the Father. The Father allowed His Son to endure such hostility and suffering in order to exalt Him to the highest glory at His right hand. Through this, the Father has granted all who believe in His Son to one day take on the same glory if they too will suffer and die as His Son did.
Obtaining this glorified state is made possible through Jesus’ payment bringing us into a justified (legal and right standing) state with God. However, obtaining the glorified state of Christ will require us to follow in His footsteps; a lifestyle of sanctification and endurance. We too must endure the cross, not fall into temptation, and suffer through hardships in this present age — even unto death so that we too may be glorified at His coming.
We Will See Him As He Is
What this glorified state will look like is still not fully known. We are only given a taste of this promise of glory as something to look forward to. When Jesus took His final breath, he tasted of the same death we all are appointed to (Hebrews 9:27). Three days later, He received the inherited, glorified body as the forerunner in order to bring many sons into this glory (Hebrews 2:10). Jesus showed Himself to His disciples in His glorified state so that they would believe saying, “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed”. While they were privileged to see the Lord in His resurrected body, it was not enough to fully understand this restored state. One can only hold fast to the promise of obtaining the same body as our Lord in order to know how it will be.
The state of glorification must wait for the return of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead. For it is at the revelation of Jesus Christ that we will be raised from the dead and will be as He is as Paul and John very well explain:
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
1 John 3:2
...in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1 Corinthians 15:52-53
Endurance, Perseverance, Salvation
The resurrection of the dead marks the believer's entrance into the awaited hope of eternal life, free from the limitations and sufferings of the mortal body. The hope of glorification encourages believers to endure and persevere through trials and tribulations. This is the salvation of endurance Jesus spoke when saying that through trials, persecutions, and tribulations those who endure unto the end, would be saved (Matthew 10:22, 24:13). His desire for His disciples is for them to look towards a glory that surpasses the brokenness of this age. Those who persevere through hardships are heirs of the same glory Jesus obtained through His sufferings.
…and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Romans 8:17-18
This is a glory beyond what any form of glory this world can try to offer. Having this perspective helps believers to remain steadfast in their faith, knowing that their temporary sufferings are preparing them for an eternal weight of glory. James 1:12 further emphasizes this endurance: "Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him."
Eternal Fellowship with God
Receiving a state of glorification brings believers into eternal fellowship with God. Though our relationship with God has been enacted by the blood of Jesus, we only can experience a portion of what He has in store. Scripture is clear. We are looking through a dim mirror now but then face to face. We know in part now, but then we will know fully for we can fully know Him (1 Corinthians 13:12). Here is a quick run-through of the current limitations, the requirements, and the promise of eternal fellowship with God.
Current State:
- All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
- No one can see God now and live (Exodus 33:20).
- Without holiness, no one will see God (face to face) (Hebrews 12:14).
The Requirement to be Transformed:
- Have faith in Christ, this faith includes the hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:1-2).
- Be immersed into Christ through water baptism which will bring forth the glory of a resurrected body (Romans 6:4-5).
- Receive the spirit of the Father as a down payment for this glorified and redeemed body at His coming (2 Corinthians 5:4-5, Ephesians 1:13-14).
- If you have this hope, you will purify (sanctify) yourself to see Him (1 John 3:3).
- Have a mindset for perseverance and endurance through this present age (Romans 2:7).
God’s Promise to Fellowship With His People
- At the restoration of all things, God will live among His people (Revelation 21:3, 22:3-4).
- At Jesus’ coming, He will glorify and beautify His people with salvation (Psalm 149:4-5).
And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.'
Revelation 21:3-4
This eternal fellowship signifies the complete restoration of the relationship between God and His people, free from all sorrow and suffering.
The Kingdom of God
The promise of a glorified state fulfills God’s intention for human redemption. It is the restoration of what was lost in the Garden of Eden; however, this restored heavenly Eden will be even more glorious than the first. The fall of man resulted in a separation from paradise, and as a consequence, no one can enter the glorious Kingdom of God without first undergoing a transformation.
This transformation into a glorified body is essential as our current bodies are susceptible to sin, decay, and death. These are limitations that cannot exist in the perfection of God's Kingdom. In 1 Corinthians 15:50 Paul writes, “I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” Our current flawed nature cannot coexist with the holiness and perfection of God’s eternal kingdom, even in the ongoing sanctification process.
The reality of needing a glorified body to enter the Kingdom of God compels us to place our hope firmly in this truth. It pushes and encourages us to live in a way that reflects that future glory and to embody the values of the coming Kingdom even now as we await the day when we will be transformed and fully experience the fullness of God’s presence.
Maintaining this Hope
As we wait for the Lord, let us keep this hope in us; that He who promised will deliver. This hope of the glorified transformation of the saints was proclaimed by the prophets of old. Job proclaimed in his time of distress:
As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!”
Job 19:25-27
His heart was set on the truth that this life is not the end. Although we may experience death and decay, one day we will behold our Redeemer in the flesh. His hope was on a restored body where the Redeemer would renew the flesh and dwell with man. We too must remain steadfast with this hope in order to obtain the resurrection from the dead. We do taste of glory in this age but we have not obtained it in perfection. As Paul says, we should press on so that we may lay hold of that which is to be revealed (Philippians 3:10-12).
The return of Christ marks the beginning of glory and thus our blessed hope is in His coming. So we eagerly await and anchor our hope on that day when He will come through the sky to restore all things.
In Closing
Glorification is the final stage of a believer’s journey, involving the complete transformation of our bodies into Christ’s image, the resurrection to eternal life, and the inheritance of God's kingdom. It is a powerful motivator for endurance and perseverance through trials, providing hope and assurance of eternal fellowship with God. Glorification is the ultimate fulfillment of God's redemptive plan, where believers will experience the fullness of His glory and the complete restoration of all things in the coming kingdom of God.
Maranatha
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