Soteriology (Doctrine of Salvation): Glorification
1. The Beginning of Glorification in This Life
Paul writes, “Whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Rom 8:30). This reminds us that glorification is not confined to the future. Even now, believers taste its first fruits. The Spirit assures the children of God with peace and joy in Christ, strengthens them by spiritual gifts, and sanctifies them in holiness. This present glorification is partial and imperfect, but it is real. Justification and sanctification are inseparable from the forward pull of glory, so that the believer already experiences the dawn of eternal life (John 17:3). In the church’s worship, in the communion of the saints, and in the fruit of the Spirit, God gives his people a foretaste of the glory to be revealed.
2. The State of the Soul After Death
When the soul and body are separated at death, the body is laid in the grave awaiting resurrection, but the soul returns to God who gave it (Eccl 12:7). Scripture teaches that the believer’s soul does not perish or sleep, but enjoys conscious fellowship with Christ. Stephen, at the hour of his martyrdom, cried, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). Peter exhorts believers to entrust their souls “to a faithful Creator” (1 Pet 4:19). Jesus promised the repentant thief, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). Paul longed “to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Phil 1:23). The faithful dead are called blessed, for “they rest from their labors, and their deeds follow them” (Rev 14:13).
The ungodly also continue in consciousness, but in judgment. Jesus speaks of “outer darkness” where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt 22:13), and of the fire that never goes out (Mark 9:43). In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, one is comforted in Abraham’s bosom, while the other is tormented (Luke 16:22–28). Scripture knows nothing of purgatory or limbus, but only the blessedness of the redeemed and the punishment of the wicked.
3. Glorification Completed at the Resurrection
Though the soul enjoys glory immediately after death, glorification reaches its climax in the resurrection of the body. Believers are not destined to remain disembodied spirits, but to be raised immortal and incorruptible. Paul declares, “If the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor 5:1). The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to our mortal bodies also (Rom 8:11).
At Christ’s return, “the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor 15:52). The body sown in dishonor will be raised in glory; sown in weakness, it will be raised in power; sown a natural body, it will be raised a spiritual body (1 Cor 15:42–44). This is the moment when Christ “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Phil 3:21).
4. The Believer’s Participation in Glory
Glorification is not merely a private experience; it is entry into the eternal kingdom of God. The redeemed will see God’s face (Rev 22:4), dwell in his presence, and reign with Christ (2 Tim 2:12; Rev 5:10). The language of adoption reaches its fulfillment when sons and daughters are revealed in glory (Rom 8:19). The promise given from the beginning—that humanity was created to image God and rule with him—will be consummated. Believers will join the holy ones in God’s council, judging angels (1 Cor 6:3) and sharing in Christ’s dominion.
The ungodly, by contrast, are raised to judgment (John 5:29). Their destiny is everlasting exclusion from the presence of the Lord (2 Thess 1:9). Thus glorification is bound to the Gospel: those who belong to Christ by faith will be glorified with him; those who reject him will face eternal loss.
5. Glorification and the Gospel of Hope
The glory to come is secured in Christ’s death and resurrection. Because he is risen, those united to him will also rise. The Spirit within believers is the down payment of their inheritance (Eph 1:13–14), guaranteeing their final glory. This hope strengthens perseverance in suffering, for “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed” (Rom 8:18).
Glorification is the final link in the golden chain of salvation: predestination, calling, justification, sanctification, and then glory (Rom 8:30). It is certain because it rests on God’s eternal purpose and Christ’s finished work. Believers, then, can live with confidence, pressing forward in holiness and mission, knowing that glory is their appointed end.
Bible Verses about Glorification
Romans 8:30 – “And those whom he justified he also glorified.”
Philippians 1:23 – “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”
2 Corinthians 5:1 – “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
Revelation 14:13 – “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on… that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
Luke 23:43 – “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
1 Corinthians 15:52–53 – “The trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.”
Philippians 3:21 – “[Christ] will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”
2 Thessalonians 1:9–10 – “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord… when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints.”
Revelation 22:4–5 – “They will see his face… and they will reign forever and ever.”
Romans 8:18 – “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
