Glorification: What’s It Mean?
Key Scriptures: Romans 8:18–30; 1 Corinthians 15:42–57; Philippians 3:20–21; Colossians 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; 1 John 3:2–3; Revelation 21:1–5
The Christian life begins with salvation, continues through sanctification, and reaches its glorious completion in glorification.
God does not merely save us from the penalty of sin. He is preparing us for the day when we will be completely free from sin and perfectly transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
The Bible calls this final stage of salvation glorification.
Paul writes:
“Whom he justified, them he also glorified.” — Romans 8:30
Glorification is God’s final work in the salvation of the believer. When Christ returns, God will raise believers who have died, transform believers who remain alive, give us glorified bodies, remove every trace of sin, and bring us into everlasting fellowship with Him.
What God began when He saved us, He will finish.
What Is Glorification?
Glorification is the final and complete transformation of believers into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
Today, Christians live between two realities.
We have:
- been saved, but we still live in a fallen world.
- eternal life, but our bodies still grow old.
- been forgiven, but we still struggle against sin.
- the Holy Spirit, but we still experience sorrow, sickness, temptation, disappointment, and death.
Glorification brings all of that incompleteness to an end.
John writes:
“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
Notice those words: “We shall be like him.”
God will completely transform us so that we perfectly reflect the holy character of Christ.
That is glorification.
Salvation Has a Past, Present, and Future
Understanding glorification becomes easier when we see the complete work of salvation.
We can describe salvation in three great biblical truths:
Justification — we have been saved from the penalty of sin.
Sanctification — we are being saved from the power of sin.
Glorification — we will be saved from the presence of sin.
Justification happens when we trust Christ, and God declares us righteous.
Sanctification continues throughout the Christian life, and God increasingly makes our lives reflect that righteousness.
Glorification occurs when God’s saving work reaches its completion, and God completes the work and makes us perfectly like Christ.
Salvation is God’s work from beginning to end.
Glorification Is Certain
Romans 8 contains one of the strongest promises concerning the believer’s future.</span>
Paul writes:
“Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” — Romans 8:30
Something interesting appears in that verse.
Paul speaks of glorification in the past tense.
From our perspective, glorification is still future. Yet Paul describes it as though it has already happened.
Why?
Because God’s promise is so certain that Scripture can speak of the believer’s future glory as an accomplished fact.
God does not begin saving someone and then forget to finish the job.
If God has justified us through Christ, He will one day glorify us with Christ.
Our Bodies Will Be Changed
Christianity does not teach that the body is unimportant.
God created the human body. Sin brought corruption and death into God’s creation, but redemption includes the body.
Paul explains:
“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.” — Philippians 3:20–21
Our present bodies wear out.
They become tired, hurt, become sick, and grow old.
Eventually, unless Christ returns first, they die.
But death does not have the final word.
Jesus does.
At the resurrection, God will give His people glorified bodies.
What Will a Glorified Body Be Like?
Paul gives us a wonderful description in 1 Corinthians 15.
“It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption.” — 1 Corinthians 15:42
Our present bodies are corruptible. They deteriorate.
Our glorified bodies will be incorruptible.
Paul continues:
“It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.” — 1 Corinthians 15:43
Think about those contrasts:
Corruption becomes incorruption.
Dishonor becomes glory.
Weakness becomes power.
Mortality becomes immortality.
The body that:
- struggles today will not struggle forever.
- hurts today will not hurt forever.
- grows old today will not grow old forever.
The grave is not God’s final destination for the Christian.
Resurrection is coming.
Glorification Happens When Christ Returns
The believer’s great hope centers on the return of Jesus Christ.
Paul describes that day:
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.” — 1 Thessalonians 4:16
Then:
“The dead in Christ shall rise first.”
And believers who are alive at Christ’s coming will also be changed.
Paul describes the same event in 1 Corinthians:
“We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” — 1 Corinthians 15:51
Then he tells us how quickly:
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.” — 1 Corinthians 15:52
The transformation will not take years.
It will not require rehabilitation.
It will happen in a moment.
God will finish instantly what He has been preparing throughout our lives.
Death Will Finally Be Defeated
Death has followed humanity since Genesis 3.
Every generation has buried its loved ones.
Every cemetery reminds us that something is terribly wrong with this world.
Death was never part of God’s original declaration that creation was “very good.” Death entered because of sin.
But Christ conquered death through His resurrection.
Because Jesus lives, death cannot keep those who belong to Him.
Paul triumphantly declares:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.” — 1 Corinthians 15:54
Then he almost seems to taunt death:
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” — 1 Corinthians 15:55
For the Christian, death is a defeated enemy.
It may still frighten us, hurt us, and temporarily separate us from people we love.
But it cannot win.
Jesus Christ has the final word.
We Will Be Free From Sin
Perhaps the greatest blessing of glorification will not be freedom from sickness or even freedom from death.
It will be freedom from sin.
Imagine never again:
- having a sinful thought.
- speaking an unkind word.
- feeling jealousy.
- struggling with temptation.
- carrying bitterness.
- disappointing God.
- needing to confess sin.
- experiencing the conflict between what we know is right and what our sinful nature wants.
Today we struggle.
Paul understood that struggle well.
But glorification ends the battle.
Sanctification gradually makes us more like Jesus.
Glorification completes the process.
We Will See Jesus
The greatest promise of heaven is not streets of gold.
It is not gates of pearl.
It is not reunion with loved ones, wonderful as that will be.
The greatest promise is Jesus Himself.
John writes:
“We shall see him as he is.” — 1 John 3:2
For centuries, Christians have prayed to Someone they have never physically seen.
We have trusted Him.
Loved Him.
Worshiped Him.
Served Him.
Preached about Him.
Sung about Him.
And one day, faith will become sight.
We will see Jesus Who:
- died for us.
- rose for us.
- interceded for us.
- never abandoned us.
- carried us through every trial.
We will see Him face to face.
Creation Will Also Be Renewed
Glorification is part of something even greater that God is doing.
God intends to renew His creation.
Paul writes that creation itself waits for deliverance from “the bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21).
Revelation shows us the fulfillment:
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth.” — Revelation 21:1
Then comes one of Scripture’s greatest promises:
“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them.” — Revelation 21:3
God does not simply rescue us from creation.
He redeems creation.
The Bible begins with God dwelling with humanity in a perfect creation, and it ends with God dwelling with redeemed humanity in a renewed creation.
God restores what sin destroyed.
No More Tears
Some verses become more precious the longer we live.
Revelation 21:4 is one of them:
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
Why were those tears there?
Some came from:
- grief.
- disappointment.
- sickness.
- loneliness.
- broken relationships.
- watching loved ones suffer.
- from our own failures.
Some came when nobody else knew we were crying.
God knew.
And one day:
“There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.”
Notice that God does not merely promise to help us endure these things forever.
He promises to end them.
Present Suffering Cannot Compare With Future Glory
Paul suffered tremendously for Christ.
He experienced beatings, imprisonment, rejection, hunger, danger, persecution, and eventually martyrdom.
Yet Paul wrote:
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” — Romans 8:18
Paul was not saying suffering doesn’t hurt.
It does.
He was saying that future glory will be so overwhelming that today’s suffering cannot compare with what God has prepared.
The Christian does not deny suffering.
The Christian puts suffering in the light of eternity.
Our pain has an expiration date.
Our glory does not.
Glorification Gives Us Hope Today
Glorification is not merely a doctrine for funerals.
It should change how we live today.
When your body hurts, remember: this body will be changed.
Whenever temptation seems relentless, remember: the battle will end.
When you stand beside the grave of a believer, remember: resurrection is coming.
Whenever the world seems hopeless, remember: Christ is returning.
When you become discouraged by your spiritual failures, remember: God has not finished with you.
Whenever age begins taking things away, remember: God is preparing something better.
The Christian always has a reason for hope.
Future Glory Should Produce Present Holiness
The promise of glorification does not give us permission to live carelessly.
It produces exactly the opposite response.
After telling us that we will be like Christ when He appears, John writes:
“And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” — 1 John 3:3
If Jesus could return at any moment, how should we live?
Faithfully.
Purely.
Prayerfully.
Lovingly.
Expectantly.
We are preparing to meet our King.
God Will Finish What He Started
Sometimes we look at ourselves and wonder whether we will ever become what God wants us to be.
We see weaknesses, failures, and areas where growth seems painfully slow.
But salvation does not depend upon our ability to complete ourselves.
God finishes what He begins.
Paul writes:
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” — Philippians 1:6
God began the work, continues the work, and will complete the work.
That is the hope of glorification.
What’s It Mean?
Glorification is God’s final work of salvation in which He completely transforms believers into the likeness of Christ, gives them immortal and incorruptible bodies, removes every trace of sin, and brings them into everlasting fellowship with Him.
We have been justified, are being sanctified, and will be glorified.
Today we live by faith.
One day we will live by sight.
Today we battle sin.
One day the battle will be over.
Today our bodies grow weak.
One day they will be raised in power.
Today we say goodbye to people we love.
One day God’s people will gather before Christ and never say goodbye again.
Today we sometimes weep.
One day God will wipe away every tear.
The Christian’s best days are not behind him.
They are ahead.
Jesus is coming.
Resurrection is coming.
Glory is coming.
And when God finishes His work, we will finally be what He saved us to become.
Reflection Questions
- What is the difference between justification, sanctification, and glorification?
- How does the promise of a glorified body affect the way you think about aging, sickness, and death?
- Why is seeing Jesus the greatest hope of eternity?
- How should the promise of Christ’s return affect the way we live today?
- What present difficulty looks different when viewed in the light of Romans 8:18?
- How does the certainty of glorification give us assurance about our salvation?
- Who in your life needs to hear the Christian message of resurrection and hope?
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Dr. Alan Holden has served in pastoral ministry for more than 35 years, preaching and teaching the Bible in churches across the United States. He holds a Doctor of Ministry from Luther Rice Seminary and a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Through What’s It Mean?, he seeks to help readers understand the meaning of Scripture and grow in their walk with Christ. He is currently the pastor of Lake Saunders Baptist Church in Tavares, FL.