X. IN THE GLORIFICATION
OF THE CONFORMED BELIEVERS
In the foregoing messages we have seen that the divine dispensing was prophesied in God’s promises to us, was typified in the types of the Old Testament, and is carried out in the accomplishment of God’s full redemption and salvation in Christ. In the remainder of this message we will cover the concluding point in the accomplishment of God’s full redemption and salvation in Christ—the glorification of the conformed believers.
Romans 8:30 says, "And those whom He predestinated, these He also called; and those whom He called, these He also justified; and those whom He justified, these He also glorified." First, God called us; then He justified us, regenerated us, sanctified us, renewed us, transformed us, and conformed us to the image of the firstborn Son of God. Ultimately, He will glorify us. On the side of redemption, God’s salvation consists of forgiveness of sins, the washing away of sins, justification, and reconciliation, whereas on the side of life, God’s salvation consists of regeneration, sanctification, renewing, transformation, conformation, and glorification. Glorification is the final step of God’s full salvation in Christ.
A. The Destiny of God’s Predestinated Sonship
Being Glorification
Ephesians 1:5 says that God predestinated us unto sonship, that is, to be His sons. The destiny of God’s predestination is the glorification of His sons (Rom. 8:29-30).
1. The Goal of the Calling
of the God of All Grace Being His Eternal Glory
First Peter 5:10a says that the God of all grace has called us into His eternal glory in Christ. Thus, the goal of the calling of the God of all grace is His eternal glory. God has called us into His eternal glory. This glory involves not just one kind of grace but the "all grace" of God.
John 1:14 and 16 say that Christ as the Word became a man of flesh, full of grace and reality, and of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. The grace that we have received has many different aspects. In 1 Peter 4:10 this grace is called "the varied grace of God." First Peter 3:7 speaks of the grace of life, and Ephesians 1:7 speaks of the grace of forgiveness. These are only two examples of the many kinds of grace in God’s salvation. Eventually, God’s salvation in its totality is by grace (Eph. 2:8). Everything we enjoy of God is an aspect of grace. God’s presence is a grace, His strengthening is a grace, His empowering is a grace, and His sanctifying is a grace. The totality of grace is just God Himself (1 Cor. 15:10; cf. Gal. 2:20). This God of many kinds of grace has called us into His eternal glory.
(The Central Line of the Divine Revelation, Chapter 27, by Witness Lee)
