LESSON ON FAITH ( PART 12) | THE THREE STAGES OF SANCTIFICATION: (PART 5)
Pastor Christopher Choo
Lesson 3206
LESSON ON FAITH ( PART 12)
THE THREE STAGES OF SANCTIFICATION: (PART 5)
GLORIFICATION
Some say Glorification is Final Sanctification. Others say it comes after Final Sanctification. But one thing is certain: Final Sanctification works in tandem with Glorification.
But what is the definition of Glorification?
The short answer is that “Glorification” is God's final removal of sin from the life of the saints (i.e., everyone who is saved) in their eternal state (Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17).
The process of Glorification is where God removes all spiritual defects of the redeemed. It thus works with the believer's Final Sanctification.
The theological doctrine of Glorification goes on to describe how believers will be resurrected after death and be given new bodies that have a degree of continuity with their mortal selves.
As pointed out earlier, it first involves the believer's Progressive Sanctification, where they are made and are being made holy. Sanctification is a continual process where the Holy Spirit works to mould believers to the image of Christ.
Glorification is thus the end goal of every Christian's life journey.
This does not refer to our final Glorification but to an aspect of Sanctification by which the Spirit is transfiguring us right now. To Him be the praise for His work in sanctifying us in the Spirit and in truth (Jude 24-25; John 17:17; 4:23).
Final glorification must await the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13; 1 Timothy 6:14). Until He returns, we are burdened with sin, and our spiritual vision is distorted because of the curse. “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
ABBA FATHER,
considering Glorification, we should focus on Christ, for He is every Christian’s “blessed hope”.
Let us understand that Glorification is the culmination of all three stages of Sanctification.
Yet 2 Corinthians 3:18 clearly indicates that, in a mysterious sense, “we all,” in the present, “with unveiled face” are “beholding the glory of the Lord” and are being transformed into His image “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
So help us, Dear Lord, to comprehend the dual aspects of Glorification in the present and the future to come.
Every day, enable us to be diligent by the Holy Spirit to put to death what is “fleshly” (sinful) in us (Romans 8:13) in Progressive Sanctification.
Every day empower us to serve You in faithful anticipation of the Return of our Lord. For faith and patience do inherit Your Promises, one of which is our Glorification in Christ when He returns in glory for us.
1 John 3:2 ( New Living Translation )
"Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like Him, for we will see Him as he really is".
