S2E15 - Glorificaiton: When we shall be like him.

The Christian life includes wonderful truths that are already ours in Christ, but Scripture also points believers toward something still to come. We have eternal life now. We belong to God now. Yet we still struggle with sin, suffer, grow weary, and live in mortal bodies. Our present condition is not our final condition.

In this episode of Written and Read, Dr. Robert Crowder and McKenzie Fleming examine the biblical doctrine of glorification. Beginning with the promise of 1 John 3 that “when he shall appear, we shall be like him,” they consider what Scripture says about the future transformation of everyone who belongs to Christ. Philippians 3 points to Christ changing our present bodies, while Romans 8 places present suffering alongside the glory God has promised.

Glorification is not human self-improvement carried to its highest level. It is God's future work in the believer when Christ comes. The presence of sin will finally be gone, our present mortality will give way to the future God has promised, and we will be fitted for eternal life in His presence. Christian hope therefore looks beyond present weakness and suffering toward Christ Himself and the day when we shall see Him as He is.

Primary Scriptures

1 John 3:2–3; Philippians 3:20–21

Secondary/Supporting Scriptures

Romans 8:18–30; 1 Corinthians 15:49–53; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; Revelation 21:1–5