What is glorification?

The simplest answer is that "glorification" is God's final elimination of sin from the lives of the saints (that is, all who are saved) in the eternal condition (Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17 ). At the coming of Christ, the glory of God (Romans 5: 2), His honor, praise, majesty, and holiness, will come true in us; Instead of being mortals burdened with the sinful nature, we will be transformed into immortal and holy beings with direct and unobstructed access to the presence of God, and we will be able to enjoy holy communion with Him for all eternity. In considering glorification, we must focus on Christ, because He is the "blessed hope" of every Christian; Also, we can consider the final glorification as the culmination of sanctification.

The final glorification must await the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13; 1 Timothy 6:14). Until He returns, we are burdened with sin, and our spiritual vision is distorted due to the curse. "Now we see in the mirror, darkly; but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part; but then I will know how I was known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). Every day, we must be diligent by the Spirit to put to death the works of the "flesh" (all that is sinful) in us (Romans 8:13).

How and when can we finally be glorified? In the last trumpet, when Jesus comes, the saints will undergo a fundamental and instantaneous transformation ("we will all be transformed, in a moment, in the blink of an eye" (1 Corinthians 15: 51-52); then the "corruptible" he will put on "incorruptibility" (1 Corinthians 15:53) However, 2 Corinthians 3:18 clearly indicates that, in a mysterious way, "all of us" today, "with our faces uncovered" are "contemplating glory of the Lord "and we are being transformed in His image" from glory to glory "(2 Corinthians 3:18). So that no one imagines that this contemplation and this transformation (as part of sanctification) is especially the work of holy people. Scripture adds a small piece of information: “Because this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” In other words, it is a blessing poured out on every believer. This does not refer to our final glorification but to an aspect of sanctification by the Spirit. that transforms us now himself. Praise be to Him for this work of sanctification in us in the Spirit and in truth (Jude 24-25; John 17:17; 4:23).

We must understand what the Bible teaches about the nature of glory, both the unequaled glory of God, and that which we will share at His coming. The glory of God does not refer simply to the inaccessible light in which the Lord dwells (1 Timothy 6: 15-16), but also to His honor (Luke 2:13) and holiness. To whom the psalmist refers in Psalm 104: 2, it is the same God referred to in 1 Timothy 6: 15-16; He is "clothed with glory and majesty," who covers himself "with light as with garment" (Psalm 104: 2; cf. 93: 1; Job 37:22; 40:10). When the Lord Jesus comes in His glory to execute judgment (Matthew 24: 29-31; 25: 31-35), He will do so as the only sovereign, the only one who has eternal dominion (1 Timothy 6: 14-16).

The created beings do not dare to contemplate the great glory of God; as Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1: 4-29) and Simon Peter (Luke 5: 8); Isaiah was devastated despising himself in the presence of the holy God. After the seraphim proclaimed, "Holy, holy, holy, Jehovah of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory," Isaiah says, "Woe is me! I am dead; for being an unclean man of lips, and dwelling in half of people that have unclean lips, my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of armies! " (Isaiah 6: 5). Even the seraphim showed that they were unworthy to behold divine glory and covered their faces with their wings.

The glory of God may be said to be "heavy" or "heavy"; the Hebrew word kabod literally translates "heavy or burdensome". Often the scriptural use of kabod is figurative (eg, "burdened with sin"), from which we derive the idea of ​​the "weight" of a person who is honorable, admirable, or worthy of respect.

When the Lord Jesus incarnated, He revealed both the "heavy" holiness of God and the fullness of His grace and truth ("And that Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we saw his glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father ), full of grace and truth "(John 1:14; cf. 17: 1-5). The glory revealed by Christ incarnate, accompanies the ministry of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3: 7); it is immutable and permanent (Isaiah 4: 6-7; cf. Job 14: 2; Psalm 102: 11; 103: 15; James 1:10) The previous manifestations of the glory of God were temporary, like the fading of the glory of God on the face of Moses. Moses covered his face so that the hard-hearted Israelites would not see what