Glorification
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” Romans 8:28-30 (NKJV)
The destiny of God’s adopted sons and daughters is to follow Christ into the fullness of His victory over the forces of sin and death. This is what is meant throughout the Scriptures by the glorification of mankind. Glorification is not the exaltation of man above God so that we may become our own “gods,” but the manifestation of the divine life and power of Christ through the human condition. God’s goal is new humans whose earthly weakness gives way for God’s power and strength. God must become all in all - in mind, body, and spirit. A new heaven and a new earth are in the process of becoming.
The Spirit of God is in the process of conforming the Body of Christ into the image of Jesus Christ, who is the firstfruits of the new humanity. This process of conforming to the image of Christ is far beyond the merely intellectual - learning facts about the Scriptures or memorizing Bible verses doesn’t transform the human condition. What truly changes us is sharing in the sufferings of the Messiah. These sufferings are the cost of living in a world where humanity actively rejects the love and life of God in favor of idols and lies. The life of heaven costs us something - but there is so much life!
There is the pattern of the age that is passing away and there is the pattern of Jesus Christ. We live between these two ages. We are not called to live in the old, since we are now children of the Spirit and the sons and daughters of God. We are not in the flesh (the old order), but the Spirit (the new way). Christ is the force who is pulling our entire humanity into the new way. The old parts of us are getting left behind and will soon disappear. This is the process of becoming “born again.” Every part of us is changing and transforming to match the glory of life in the age of the Spirit.
Suffering means discomfort, tension and conflict, both within and without. Living as God’s Spirit people means conflict with the spiritual powers and authorities of our present age, who influence us and those around us. There is no way around suffering on the path to true and mature spirituality. There are no shortcuts into the fullness of the kingdom of heaven. New creation means re-creation of the human condition. Re-creation means process. Process means pain but also divine assistance (intercession). When a woman gives birth to a new child, there is pain. But there are those beside her to help and in the end she forgets the pain she went through because she is filled with the wonder of the new life she holds in her hands.
Humans hate pain, understandably, but perhaps there is a greater way where we can reorient ourselves and learn that pain may be one of the greatest teachers for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Pain has purpose and if we invite God into our various challenges and sufferings, we will sooner or later see how it is helping to manifest the divine image in and through us. The reward outweighs the cost. Our present sufferings are nothing compared with the glory that will be revealed to, in, and through us.
A hard truth is that our desire for more of the divine life will inevitably lead to hardships - in mind, body, and spirit. We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of heaven, to put on the mind of Christ. Christ leads us into these hardships gently - His yoke is easy and His burden is light - and empowers us with His aid. These trials and temptations are the only way the human heart can truly learn the closeness and love of God. I may have great knowledge of someone who could become a best friend, but unless I walk through a circumstance in which this friend reveals His true nature and character to me, the depths of our friendship is very limited. We learn God as a loving Father and Christ as our true friend when we walk through valleys with tangible help from heaven. In the experience, I learn the true nature and character of God that moves beyond what I can learn from a textbook.
Glorifying God means putting on the divine image so that Christ may manifest through us in all of His fullness. It means putting on the divine design and following the pattern of Christ into whatever may come. Our sufferings are our miniature deaths on the cross. But, remember, Christianity isn’t about death, but life. We have a heavenly Father who promises to vindicate us when all seems hopeless or dark. In three days, after a period of stillness and silence in our figurative graves, we will rise again with new life and power.
Sons and daughters we are, but we learn obedience through what we suffer. Perhaps this is also learning the obedience of God - how faithful He is to us in our process. When we are faithless, He remains faithful. We also learn discipline for the path of Christ. What true sons and daughters are not disciplined by their father? Discipline leads to a harvest of righteousness.
And we can’t forget the glorious reward for steadfastness in the trials. The reward is eternal life - the tangible presence of God! This is the power and energy of God that fills our current human existence with the graces, gifts, and fullness of the heavenly realm - this is resurrection! This great power is what energizes our existence as God’s called, those destined to radiate the glory and wonder of the resurrected Christ into the earth.
“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” Romans 8:16-17 (NKJV)
