Salvation Part 3: Glorification

Glorification
“Free from the presence of sin.”
"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
- 1 Cor.2:9

When I was a kid I thought Bruce Lee was the most amazing man on the planet. He could move faster, hit harder, and kick higher than anyone else who would dare challenge him, and what was truly awe inspiring was the cool attitude he had while doing the seemingly impossible. I wanted to be like him so badly I could almost taste it. I took martial arts training. I practiced. I stretched. I practiced. I did push-ups. And yes, I practiced some more. I got to where I could move kind of fast, hit pretty hard and kick reasonably high. In fact, I could do those things better than many of my peers . . . but I was no Bruce Lee. No matter how hard I tried, that was out of my reach. Perhaps if I had trained for years and dedicated myself to that one goal maybe, just maybe, I could have achieved it, but I doubt it. There was only one Bruce Lee . . . and I’m not him.

These days I find myself striving to be like someone else and if you think Bruce Lee’s moves were lofty goals, my current goal is even more elusive. Now, I want to be like Jesus. I want to walk in his perfection, unaffected by the world and its cares. I want to be holy as He is holy. I want to love as He loves. I want to fulfill all that it means to be a man of righteousness. I’ve been striving for that goal for eighteen years. It has been an obsession with me virtually everyday of those eighteen years. Am I better? Yes. Have I achieved that goal? No. I’m not even close. I still struggle with fleshly attitudes and sinful behaviors. Why? Because I still live in my earthly body with all of it’s frailties and faults. Paul addressed this in Romans 7:18 where he writes, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.” (NKJV) The entire chapter from which this verse is drawn is a discussion of the struggle of a believer to live and do right while the flesh is still alive and well. This what makes glorification so glorious.

Glorification is the perfect conformity of the believer to the image of Jesus Christ at the final resurrection. In other words it is the completion of the work of God in the believer. Simply put, I will one day achieve my goal of being just like Jesus. As we’ve already discussed in previous articles, we were justified; we are being sanctified; but one day we will be glorified. One commentator said this, “Glorification is the ultimate salvation of the whole person. This occurs when we are face to face with our Savior in His coming kingdom. At that time, God will completely mold us into the image of Christ (Ro.8:29, 30; Phil. 3:21). Then we will be able to enjoy complete fellowship with God, singing His praises forever.”

Glorification will take place at the resurrection. At that time those who are dead in Christ will be reunited with their bodies, which be a glorified version of the old man. Our glorified bodies will enable us to be just like Jesus. There will be no more battles with sin. There will be no more struggles with temptation. We will be finally free to serve God and love Him without hindrance or hesitation. Paul writes of this in anticipation in Romans 8:23, “we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”

Hymn writer, Jim Hill, sums up the satisfaction of this much anticipated ‘redemption of our body’ in the hymn What a Day That Will Be:

There is coming a day when no heartaches shall come
No more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye.
All is peace forevermore on that happy golden shore,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

Chorus
What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
There'll be no sorrow there, no more burdens to bear,
No more sickness, no pain, no more parting over there;
And forever I will be with the One who died for me,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

Chorus
What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
What a day, glorious day that will be!

Until the day of our ultimate glorification may our hearts echo the words of another Christian song writer who penned the words:
In my life, Lord, be glorified, be glorified.
In my life, Lord, be glorified today.

Pastor Kenny Ballard
http://www.freedomfellowship.info
Psalm 22 Ministries
http://www.psalm22.net