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Scripture Reading: Heb. 2:10a; 1 Pet. 5:10a; 2 Cor. 3:18b; Rom. 8:30
I. The definition of glorification:
А. Objectively, glorification being that the redeemed believers will be brought into the glory of God to participate in the glory of God — Heb. 2:10a; 1 Pet. 5:10a.
B. Subjectively, glorification being that the matured believers will manifest from within them, by their maturity in life, the glory of God as the element of their maturity in life — Rom. 8:17-18, 21; 2 Cor. 4:17.
C. Regeneration being accomplished in our spirit, transformation being through our soul, and glorification being consummated in our body — John 3:6b; Rom. 12:2b; 8:23, 30.
II. The real significance of the glory of God:
А. The glory of God being God Himself — Jer. 2:11.
B. The manifestation of God being the glory of God — Acts 7:2.
III. The reality of the believers’ glorification:
А. The believers’ glorification being their gaining of God Himself.
B. The believers’ entering into the glory of God to participate in the glory of God being their entering into God Himself to enjoy God Himself.
C. The believers’ transformation in the divine life today being God expressed in the believers as glory; hence, this daily transformation being from glory to glory — 2 Cor. 3:18b.
D. The consummation of glory into which the believers will enter by their transformation in life being that the believers will be glorified — their body being redeemed and thereby entering into the glory of God to fully enjoy God as glory — Rom. 8:21, 23, 30.
IV. Glorification being the ultimate consummation of God’s salvation in life:
А. The believers’ arriving at glorification being the climax of their maturity in the life of God.
B. The believers’ reaching the peak of glorification being their reaching the climax of God’s salvation in life.
V. The believers’ glorification being the accomplishment of God’s economy for the satisfaction of God’s desire:
А. The full expression of the believers’ glorification being the New Jerusalem, which will be manifested in glory — Rev. 21:10-11.
B. This being the full expression in eternity of God’s becoming a man in humanity and man’s being conformed to God in divinity.
C. This being what God desires, His heart’s delight, and also what God is waiting for in His good pleasure.
Hymns, #948, #949, and #972 are all on Christ as our hope of glory. Stanza 1 of Hymns, #948 says, “Myst’ry hid from ages now revealed to me, / ’Tis the Christ of God’s reality. / He embodies God, and He is life to me, / And the glory of my hope He’ll be.” The chorus reads, “Glory, glory, Christ is life in me! / Glory, glory, what a hope is He! / Now within my spirit He’s the mystery! / Then the glory He will be to me.” Stanza 2 says, “In my spirit He regenerated me, / In my soul He’s now transforming me. / He will change my body like unto His own, / Wholly making me the same as He.” Stanza 3 says, “Now in life and nature He is one with me; / Then in Him, the glory, I will be; / I’ll enjoy His presence for eternity / With Him in complete conformity.”
Hymns, #972 is on the central thought of God. Stanza 1 says, “Lo, the central thought of God / Is that He be one with man; / He to man is everything / That He might fulfill His plan.” Stanza 9 says, “God in man and man in God / Mutual dwelling thus possess; / God the content is to man, / And the man doth God express.” Today God is in man, and man is in God. God and man thus possess a mutual dwelling. God is man’s content, and man is God’s expression.
Now we know that God’s desire and His intention are to be man’s life. The central thought of God is that He be one with man; He wants to be everything to man so that He might fulfill His plan. Therefore, He Himself became a man through incarnation to accomplish redemption. Then He entered into resurrection and released His divine life. In His resurrection He became a life-giving Spirit. This life-giving Spirit comes into us and regenerates us. After He regenerates us, He dwells in our spirit, and from that time on He wants to spread out daily from our spirit. He wants to permeate all the parts of our soul, including our mind, emotion, and will, and thus transform our whole being into God: our mind transformed into God’s mind, our emotion transformed into God’s emotion, and our will transformed into God’s will. Thus, we become God-men. But there remains a part of us that is still not transformed — our body. After we are saved, the part that is the most troublesome to us is our body, and this is the part that is the most difficult to deal with.
However, the Lord has given us a promise, and this promise is that He will come to transfigure our body. This is the third part of transformation, which is to bring our body into glory. Glory is God expressed. Therefore, to be brought into glory is to be brought into God Himself so that we may fully enjoy God. This is the peak, the consummation, of transformation, in which we are transformed to such a degree that we are the same as God. Except for the fact that we have no part in God’s person, that is, the Godhead, we are exactly the same as God in His life, His nature, and His outward expression, His glory. This is clearly revealed in God’s holy Word.
Today God is a mystery in us, and in the future this mystery will be the glory. God is in our spirit, and our spirit is full of God. The God who is in our spirit is permeating our soul daily, spreading out from our spirit day by day. He does not reason with us. When we agree, He comes; even when we disagree, He comes. He is not only permeating our whole being but is also spreading outward from our spirit. The God who indwells us does not reason with us. He is the only One who is; we are not. We must decrease, and He must increase. Not only so, after He comes, He would not let us go; He wants us to stay with Him. God is in our spirit, and every day He also works to occupy our mind, our emotion, and our will. He is within every part of our being. Therefore, we have a hymn that says, “Thy Spirit, Lord, in mine, I pray, / O’erflow my being as a flood, / That every part with glory shine / And everywhere be Thee and God” (Hymns, #489, stanza 8). This means that we have God in our spirit, and our entire soul is also occupied by God. Hence, we are God-men. What we still lack today is the transfiguration of our body. However, we have a glorious hope, that is, that one day He will come to transfigure our body so that we may enter into God fully. Then from the inside to the outside we will have the life of God, the nature of God, and the glorious expression of God. Moreover, we will be in God. This is the central revelation of the Holy Scriptures.
In this series of messages my only burden is to show you God’s salvation in life. The first step of God’s salvation in life is to regenerate us. The second step is to transform us in our soul. The third step is that He will conform us from within to the image of God’s firstborn Son. This firstborn Son of God is mysterious. He was God, who came into humanity, put on humanity, and died on the cross to terminate everything negative and release His life. Then He resurrected and became a life-giving Spirit. This life-giving Spirit now comes into us. He is the firstborn Son of God, and God is conforming us to the image of this firstborn Son of God. In God’s firstborn Son there is God, and there is also man; there is death, and there is also the effectiveness of death; there is resurrection, and there is also the power of resurrection. He has everything in Him. This all-inclusive One now lives in us. Do we want God? He is here. Do we want uplifted humanity? It is also here. We who have God and allow God to transform us within are truly the men above all men. Not only do we have God, but we also have the uplifted humanity. Every believer is a Christ-man, and a Christ-man is a God-man. In our spirit is God, and in our soul — our mind, emotion, and will — is God. Our whole being is God. Now we are waiting for the fourth step of God’s salvation in life, that is, the transfiguration and glorification of our body.
Objectively, glorification is that the redeemed believers will be brought into the glory of God to participate in the glory of God (Heb. 2:10a; 1 Pet. 5:10a). This is the objective definition of glorification. It seems that today the glory of God is far away in the heavens, and we, the redeemed ones, are here on the earth; there is a great distance separating the two. Sometimes we feel that we are very far away from the glory of God, but this kind of feeling is only partially accurate.
Subjectively, glorification is that the matured believers will manifest from within them, by their maturity in life, the glory of God as the element of their maturity in life (Rom. 8:17-18, 21; 2 Cor. 4:17). This is the subjective definition of glorification. We may use an example to illustrate subjective glorification. When a flower in the garden begins to grow, it is just a little green tender sprout. The more it grows, however, the more mature it becomes. Gradually, flower buds begin to appear. If you continue to water the plant, it will grow more. After a while the plant will blossom. When the flowers are in full bloom, that is the glorification. The glory of the flowers does not come from without; rather, it grows out from within. Therefore, on the one hand, we have a hope of glory in that Christ is coming to glorify us. This is objective. On the other hand, we are being transformed into the image of the Lord, with glory upon glory, that is, from glory to glory (3:18). This is not glory descending on us; rather, it is glory growing out from within us. In springtime when all kinds of flowers are blooming, none of these beautiful flowers descend on the stems from the outside. Rather, they grow out from within the plant itself. If you are a lover of the Lord, and if you let the Lord live in you and you live by the Lord, then when people observe you, they will see the glory of God upon you. This glory is subjective and not objective.
Our entering into glory consists of these two aspects of glorification. Suppose you do not live by the Lord, and you do not live Christ. You simply do whatever you like, and in whatever you do, although big sins are rare, small sins are frequent. If you are such a Christian, you can freely lose your temper or give others an angry stare at home, and no one in the church is able to deal with you. If you are such a person, there is no glory of the Lord upon you, and there is no glory of God at all to be seen in you. Yet you say that when Christ comes, you will be glorified, and you will enter into glory. Let me tell you this: Yes, you will enter into glory when Christ returns, but that glory will be only a tiny bit of glory. Therefore, in 1 Corinthians 15:41 the apostle Paul says, “There is another glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.” How can the glory of the star be compared with the glory of the sun or of the moon? I am afraid that at the Lord’s coming, Paul’s glory will be great, and you will be just a tiny star that can hardly be seen. Will you be glorious there? You will not be glorious there in glory.
Today if you love the Lord, and you live out the Lord’s glory from within you, then at the Lord’s coming, He will place you in a glory of the highest degree. But if you still behave in your old way — staring at others angrily, gossiping, criticizing at will, and though rarely committing big sins, you are frequently committing small sins — do you think that you will be as glorious as the apostle Paul when the Lord comes back? Glory is given by the Lord, but the degree of glory must be established by you. There is also a class of people who are defeated and will not enter into glory. They will go into a darkness where they will be gnashing their teeth.
Today the Lord has given us gifts, and He wants us to apply the gifts and minister them to others. Nevertheless, many of us live carelessly on the earth and do not use our gifts. The Lord said that when He comes back, we will have to give an account before Him. At that time He may say to us, “Evil and slothful slave, be cast into the outer darkness” (Matt. 25:26-30). Therefore, there are two sides to this matter. Today pitiful Christianity teaches people only one side, telling people that once you believe in Jesus, His precious blood bears the full responsibility, and you are forgiven of all your sins. This is not wrong. However, the Lord Jesus forgives your sins in order that you may live in His life. If you do not live in His life, He will still need to deal with you, even though He has already forgiven you. He will settle the account with you at His coming back. This is clearly taught in the Holy Scriptures.
Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 4:17 tells us that the momentary lightness of affliction that we suffer now for the Lord is working out for us, more and more surpassingly, an eternal weight of glory. Today if we endure sufferings for the Lord, this will increase the weight of glory that we will receive from the Lord. Romans 8:17 also says that if we suffer with the Lord, we will also be glorified with Him. These all prove that the degree of glory we are to receive in the future is built up by us today.
We thank the Lord that we have been regenerated. We have Him in us as our life and our supply. We daily receive from Him the supply for us to be metabolically transformed. Our being transformed in this way every day is our growth in life, and our growth in life is the building up of the degree of our glorification. If we have not been living out the glory of the Lord on the earth, how can we expect that He will suddenly put His glory upon us at His coming back? Therefore, today if we are living out God on the earth, God becomes the glory upon us. When the Lord comes back, He will say, “Well done, good and faithful slave...Enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:23). This is to enter into glory.
I also am human like you. I often have weaknesses and failures, but I am always in fear and trembling. Often when a certain matter comes to me, I consider before the Lord whether this is what the Lord wants. What the Lord wants is for us to live Him out. He wants us to live Him out in difficult situations, and He wants us to live Him out also in smooth situations. The apostle Paul says, “To me, to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21a). He also says, “According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I will be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, even now Christ will be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death” (v. 20). This magnification is the glory.
Regeneration is accomplished in our spirit, transformation is through our soul, and glorification is consummated in our body (John 3:6b; Rom. 12:2b; 8:23, 30).
What is the glory of God? The glory of God is God Himself (Jer. 2:11), and the manifestation of God is the glory of God (Acts 7:2). When you live out God, that is the glory of God. That is the glory that grows out from the growth in life. The blooming of beautiful flowers does not come from above. Instead, it grows metabolically out from the elements of life within.
The reality of the believers’ glorification is their gaining of God Himself. Without God, we do not have glory. When we gain God, we are glorified. The measure of God that we have determines the measure of our glory.
The believers’ entering into the glory of God to participate in the glory of God is their entering into God Himself to enjoy God Himself. God does not give us great glory objectively merely for us to make a display. God manifests Himself in us so that we may enjoy Him. The more we enjoy God and the more God we have in us, the more we have His glory. The more we enjoy God, the more we are full of glory. Regardless of whether you are young or old, rich or poor, as long as you enjoy God and experience God, you are glorious in the eyes of others. To you, you are simply enjoying God. To others, however, you are manifesting the glory of God. You are glorifying God, and God is expressed through you.
The believers’ being transformed in the divine life today is God expressed in the believers as glory; hence, this daily transformation is from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18b). The practical, subjective glory of God in us is a glory that progresses from one degree to another degree. This expressing of God is progressive and advancing; hence, it is from glory to glory.
The consummation of glory into which the believers will enter by transformation in life is that they will be glorified — their body will be redeemed, and they will thereby enter into the glory of God to fully enjoy God as glory (Rom. 8:21, 23, 30). The ultimate result of the believers’ transformation in life is that they gain God and enjoy God. This is the principle today, and it will be the same principle in the future.
Glorification is the ultimate consummation of God’s salvation in life. It is God’s salvation in life saving us to the uttermost through regeneration, transformation, conformation, and glorification. The believers’ arriving at glorification is the climax of their maturity in the life of God.
The believers’ reaching the peak of glorification is their reaching the climax of God’s salvation in life.
With regard to God, the believers’ glorification is the accomplishment of God’s economy for the satisfaction of God’s desire.
The full expression of the believers’ glorification is the New Jerusalem, which will be manifested in glory (Rev. 21:10-11). The New Jerusalem is the ultimate glory. The New Jerusalem will be constituted with the glory of God to be the expression of God.
This is the full expression in eternity of God’s becoming a man in humanity and man’s being conformed to God in divinity. God is expressed in humanity, and man is expressed in divinity. The greatest corporate expression of God’s becoming man and man’s being conformed to God is the New Jerusalem.
This is what God desires and is His heart’s delight, and this is also what God is waiting for in His good pleasure. We hope for this, and God also hopes for this.
