OSS Glorification
We have been studying OSS and we have divided our study into what God did for us prior to our salvation; so, we looked at the theological concepts of foreknowledge, predestination, and election. We then looked at what God did for us at the moment of our salvation when each of us professed faith in Christ as our savior. We looked at the doctrines of calling, regeneration, repentance, restitution, righteousness, justification, substitution, imputation, atonement, propitiation, redemption, and reconciliation. We then looked at what God does for us after we are saved. We studied the concepts of sanctification and today we finish our series by examining our glorification.
Let us start by going to Ex 34:28-35. For some context, Moses received the Law on Mt Sinai as recorded in Ex 20-31. In Ex 32 we note that while Moses was still on the mountain, the people rebelled and Aaron made a golden calf for them to worship. In Ex 33 we have the intriguing story of Moses asking the Lord to see Him and God allows Moses to see his back as he passes by. Then in Ex 34, Moses records the law on a second set of tablets since he broke the first in anger when he saw the people worship the golden calf. We pick up the narrative in verse 28, Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord[h] wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments[i]—on the stone tablets. 29 When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant,[j] he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord. 30 So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses’ face, they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called out to them and asked Aaron and all the leaders of the community to come over, and he talked with them. 32 Then all the people of Israel approached him, and Moses gave them all the instructions the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses finished speaking with them, he covered his face with a veil. 34 But whenever he went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with the Lord, he would remove the veil until he came out again. Then he would give the people whatever instructions the Lord had given him, 35 and the people of Israel would see the radiant glow of his face. So he would put the veil over his face until he returned to speak with the Lord. Paul comments on this episode in 2 Cor 3:13, We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. In other words, Moses had spent 40 days on Mt Sinai in the presence of the Lord and when he returned his face was shining with glory and he to put a veil over himself as to not blind the people. Paul tells us this glory faded with time so Moses became normal again.
We have another example of a similar episode in Acts 6:15. Here Stephen is before the Sanhedrin. We pick up the story in verse 8, Stephen a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. 9 But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. 10 None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke. 11 So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” 12 This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council.[b] 13 The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. 14 We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” 15 At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s. In this passage Stephen’s appearance is transformed and his face shines, as Mose’s face did.
We have one more NT example in Mt 17:1-8, Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. 2 As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. 3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. 4 Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials[a]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” 6 The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground. 7 Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus. In this passage the Lord himself is transformed and Peter, James, and John are witnesses.
So, what are all three of these episodes about? The answer is all are a foretaste of what our future holds, and they give us a glimpse of what it means to be glorified. So let me make a few points about what glory is and what it means to be glorified.
The main Hebrew word for glory is kah-vod which means heaviness or weight, and the main Greek word is Doxa which means a condition or state of shining, brightness, splendor, or radiance. Scripture says God is light (I Jn 1:5, Jn 8:12) and when God manifests himself it is often with inexpressible and dazzling light (see Mt 17:1-8). Hence to define Glory both the idea of weight and light are helpful. T.A. Rohm defines God’s glory as “the visible manifestation of His weighty presence.” In other words, it can be viewed as the visible expression of all that God is. I think of Glory as a state of being. It is the dimension in which God and his heavenly host exist. Here is an illustration for greater clarity. Our sun shines daily. We see its light but cannot look directly into it for it is too bright. Its light is its glory. It is the visible manifestation of what it is, and we live and exist in that state or dimension.
Glorification, therefore, can be defined as the process whereby God takes us and makes us fit to live in His Glory. C.S. Lewis authored a book regarding this called the Great Divorce. Just to be clear Lewis has some different ideas regarding the afterlife and believes those who reject Christ here on earth will have a second chance to accept him in the life to come. Lewis describes a bus taking people from Hell to Heaven. The proposal is they are to spend the day there and if they like it, they can stay. Once they arrive, they are dazzled by the brightness and the clarity of the landscape. The passengers immediately complain of the stiffness of the grass, the overwhelming smells of the flowers, and the heaviness of even the lightest branch to pick up. Most of the passengers choose to return to the bus and Lewis describes the assorted reasons why they choose to return. However, the chief character of the story chooses to remain and the character notes as the day progresses how his eyes become accustomed to the light and how his feet get tougher to the feel of the grass and how his arms and legs get stronger to pick things up and walk in the woods and meadows. Lewis is describing the process of fitting to a new world of existence. This is what glorification is. So, what does this mean for us? It has two broad points of application. This first is what it means for us in the future, and the second is what it means for us now.
What Glorification means for the future
- When we die, our bodies will return to dust but our spirit will be with the Lord. 2 Cor 5:8 states, Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. Phil 1:20-24, For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
- When we die, we will be free of our old nature. I Jn 3:2 tells us, Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.
- When the Lord comes, we will get a new resurrection body (some advocate this occurs at the rapture, some at the second coming of Christ. I do not want to be dogmatic about the timing, but I do want to emphasize the new body). Phil 3:20-21 states, But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control1 Cor 15:40-44, There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. 41 The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory. 42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. 1 Cor 15:53, For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
What Glorification means for us now
- Be reminded we are all hard wired for Glory and have longings for it (these first four points from Paul Tripp). Eccl 3:11, Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. (sin is man’s misguided quest for beauty).
- God created this world to point to his Glory, Ps 19:1-4, The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech; they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
- Sin turned us into Glory thieves. Rm 1:21,For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
- Only God can cure our glory dysfunction and give us motivation for God Glory living. Our salvation is by grace. God saves us and gives us the power through his spirit to give God the Glory in our lives. Paul said for me to live is Christ (Phil 1:21). Paul once thought his earthly resume was valuable, but after his salvation he considered these things rubbish. (see Phil 3:4-8).
- Our future glorification allow us to endure present suffering: The Victor Frankl equation: Despair =Suffering – Meaning. The only way to decrease despair is to decrease suffering or increase meaning. Unfortunately, in this life we are not always able to reduce suffering, but God gives us meaning and that allows us to have hope. Rm 8:18, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 2 Cor 4:16-18, Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
- Death is our doorway to Glory. I Jn 3:2, Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
- Our story ends in Glory but we can live it out now. 2 Cor 3:16-18, But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. Amen!
