A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
by Steve West
Table of Contents
Introduction
1 Glorification: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?
2 Created for Glory
3 The Fall from Glory
4 Restored to the Hope of Glory
5 The Promise of Glory
6 The Sanctifying Work of the Hope of Glory
7 The Hope of the Future that Brings Hope Today
Summary
Chapter 1: Glorification: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?
Irenaeus taught that in the incarnation Jesus became what we are so that we might become as he is. The Son of God became incarnate, lived a perfectly righteous life, died to provide atonement for sin, was raised to life in power and glory, and now reigns at the Father’s right hand. Those who are justified in Christ are also glorified by him. The tension of the already and not yet applies at this point: we are saved and being conformed to the image of Christ, but we have not yet experienced the full transformation into glory that awaits us. Glorification is part of the golden chain of our salvation. A working definition of glorification is that, “Glorification is the final stage of the triune God’s overarching work of salvation in believers in which He fully conforms them to the glorified human nature of the Son and by which they will be totally free from sin and its effects.”
Justification, sanctification, and glorification are inseparably bound together, and glorification is the final stage that completes our salvation. When Christ returns, our bodies will be transformed to be like his, as will our minds and hearts. Christ is fully God and fully man; we participate in his divine life by union through the Spirit who conforms us to Christ’s image. In his incarnate state, Christ was perfect in both active and passive obedience to God. He did all that he should, and he also suffered without sinning. In dying as the sinless, spotless substitute, Jesus provided atonement for sin. In his resurrection, Jesus defeated death and was raised in a glorified body. It is the glorified body of Jesus that is the pattern for the glorified bodies we will receive.
Scripture does not provide great detail about our glorification, but we know that our bodies will be made immortal and incorruptible, so that we will never die. Sin, and all of sin’s effects, will be removed from us forever. Our personal transformation is an essential part of our hope, but it is not the fullness of it. The heart of our hope is focused on God. When we are glorified, we will be blessed beyond measure with the experience of the beatific vision. In this vision, we will behold the glory of God, and we will see it without any sin or evil blurring our sight. All of glorified humanity will see the face of the glorified Christ. In the West, many believers do not think of the future, heaven, and glorification as much as they ought to. Knowing that these things await us should change our priorities and how we live today. . . .
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