GLORIFICATION The
expression of God’s glory and splendor. The Hebrew word for “glory”
originally meant “weighty, heavy, or important.” From there it moved to the
idea of an influential, rich, or prominent person. In ancient cultures the
wealthy and the powerful were marked by the finery of their dress and
jewels. Hence, a person’s glory meant the ostentatious signs of wealth and
power. Glory also suggested beauty, since fine clothes and jewels were items
of beauty. The concept was then extended to God.
Glory of God In the OT
the glory of God means something obvious about God. The book of Exodus is
rich with references to God’s glory. There was the fiery pillar and the
glory that entered into the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle (cf. 40:34–38).
In the making of the tabernacle (Ex 25–27), the concepts
of glory and beauty are joined. There is evidence that the “goodness” of the
Lord that Moses saw (Ex 33:19) could also be translated as “beauty.” Hence,
God’s glory is his beauty.
The NT continues the thought of the OT that God is a God
of glory (cf. the vision of God in his glory in Rv 4). But the primary
message in the NT centers on the glory of Christ. The transfiguration of
Christ was a breaking out into the open of his glory (Mt 17:1–8). The
apostle Paul called Jesus the Lord of glory (1 Cor 2:8) and wrote that the
glory of God radiated from his face (2 Cor 3:18). John’s Gospel is uniquely
the Gospel of glory. In the Incarnation, the Son of God showed the glory
that was his as the only begotten of the Father (Jn 1:14). The raising of
Lazarus was a manifestation of the glory of God in Christ (11:40). Jesus’
prayer in John 17 is filled with comments on the glory of Christ, including
the affirmation that the disciples of the Lord would share in that glory.
Glorification of the Believer
In 2 Corinthians 3:18 spiritual transformation is described as a changing
from glory to glory. Glorification is implied as the last event in the
change from glory to glory. In the process of salvation Paul lists
glorification as the last and final event (Rom 8:28–30). The verb used in
verse 30 is in the past tense, which some have taken to mean the certainty
and finality of glorification. Glorification is the completion, the
consummation, the perfection, the full realization of salvation.
Glorification is the perfection of sanctification as it
pertains to one’s inner character. No one passage treats this theme
extensively, but Ephesians 5:27 may be taken for all. In that passage Paul
wrote of presenting the church to Christ, but what he says of the church is
true of each Christian. Jesus will present the church to himself in
“splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she [the church]
might be holy and without blemish.” Or in the language of 2 Timothy 2:10,
“Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may
obtain salvation in Christ Jesus with its eternal glory” (rsv).
Just as the inner person undergoes glorification, so does
the believer’s body. Paul calls the resurrection of the body the redemption
of the body (Rom 8:23). In Philippians 3:21 Paul speaks of the
transformation of bodies of humiliation (i.e., humiliated by sin and
mortality) into bodies of glory identical to that of Christ. The power that
shall do this is the power of God by which he subjects all things to his
reign.
The most extensive treatment on the glorification of the
body is found in 1 Corinthians 15, with some additional details in 2
Corinthians 5. Paul’s theme in 1 Corinthians 15 is that as Christians have
borne the image of the mortal clay of Adam, they shall bear the image of the
immortal Son of God. Paul contrasts the two bodies. The present body is
perishable; the resurrection body will be imperishable. This body is one of
dishonor; the resurrection body will be one of glory. This body is one of
weakness; the resurrection body is one of power. This body is of the current
physical order; the resurrection body will be of the future, spiritual,
eternal order.
Salvation involves justification, regeneration, and
sanctification in this life. In the life to come it means the glorification
of the inner person and the resurrection of the body in glory. But such a
glorified person must live in a glorified environment. Hence, Scripture must
logically end the course of salvation with a glorious new heaven, new earth,
and a new Jerusalem.
See also Glory;
Resurrection.
GLORY The singular
splendor of God and the consequences for humanity.
The Glory of God The
glory of God can be described in two senses: (1) as a general category or
attribute, and (2) as a specific category referring to particular historical
manifestations of his presence.
As an Attribute
God’s glory refers primarily to his majestic beauty and splendor; it also
refers to the expression of God’s character (Rom 3:23). The Scriptures
record praise to his glorious name (Neh 9:5), describe him as the glorious
Father (Eph 1:17) and the King of glory (Ps 24); he is exalted above the
heavens, and his glory is over all the earth (Pss 57:5, 11; 108:5; 113:4).
He is the God of glory who appeared to the patriarchs of the OT (Acts 7:2).
He is jealous to maintain his glory and unwilling that it be given to
another (Is 42:8); he acts to bring glory to himself (Ps 79:9; Is 48:11).
The glory of God is proclaimed by the Creation (Pss 19:1;
97:6; Rom 1:20). It is revealed by his mighty acts of salvation and
deliverance (1 Chr 16:24; Pss 72:18–19; 96:3; 145:10–12; Jn 11:4, 40). His
glory is the theme of the praise (1 Chr 16:24–29; Pss 29:1–2, 9; 66:1–2;
96:7–8; 115:1; Is 42:12; Rom 4:20; Phil 2:9–11).
As His Presence
References to the glory of the Lord are often to particular historical
manifestations of his presence; images of light and fire are prominently
associated with these occurrences. The foremost example is what is known in
rabbinical literature as the shekinah glory, a phrase meaning the “dwelling
glory.” It refers primarily to the presence of God in the pillar of cloud
and fire in the OT.
The first explicit reference to the glory cloud is found
in Exodus 13:21–22. At the time of the exodus, the glory of God appeared in
the pillar of cloud and fire to lead the people through the sea and
wilderness (Neh 9:11–12, 19). At Sinai, with Israel encamped around the
mountain, the glory of God comes in the cloud and fire to speak with Moses
in the sight of the people (Ex 19:9, 16–18; 24:15–18; Dt 5:5, 22–24). When
Moses is given a glimpse of that glory unconcealed by the cloud and fire,
his own face becomes radiant and must be veiled because of the people’s fear
(Ex 33:18–23; 34:29–35; 2 Cor 3:7–18).
The picture of Israel encamped around the glory of God on
Sinai portrays God dwelling in the midst of his people. When the tabernacle
is completed and the people set out on their march, the glory cloud of God’s
presence dwells above them throughout their journey (Ex 40:34–38; Nm
10:11–12). When they encamp, the tribes encircle the tabernacle (Nm
1:50–2:2), and the cloud reminds them of his presence in their midst. Later,
the same glory filled the new temple that Solomon builds (2 Chr 5:13–6:1;
7:1–3). The psalmists celebrated Jerusalem and the temple as the place where
his glory dwelt (Pss 26:8; 63:2; 85:9); God was in their midst.
Later in Israel’s history they denied God’s glorious
presence (Is 3:8) and exchanged the glory of the Lord for idols made by
human hands (Ps 106:20; Jer 2:10–11; cf. Rom 1:23). Because of their
disobedience, judgment came against Jerusalem; the penalties of covenant
violation were enforced. God would no longer be the God of a disobedient
people (Hos 1:9). God’s presence in the glory cloud left the temple (Ez
10:4, 18–19; 11:22), and Israel went into exile (12:1–15).
Yet out of this judgment God determined to bring a
remnant to rebuild the city and the temple. In his visions Ezekiel saw the
glory of the Lord return to dwell in the temple again (Ez 43:2–9), a time
when the glory would return to a purified people and dwell among them
forever. When the exile was over and the second temple was under
construction, Haggai and Zechariah urged the people on with the promise of
the return of the glory of God to fill the temple as it had done in the
first temple and to “be glory in their midst” (Hg 2:3–9; Zec 2:5, 10–11)...
rsv
Revised Standard Version
Elwell, Walter A. ; Comfort, Philip
Wesley: Tyndale Bible Dictionary. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale
House Publishers, 2001 (Tyndale Reference Library), S. 533