Glorification E-Book

Graham A. Cole

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Short Studies in Systematic Theology
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

How Sanctification Transforms Christians Into Glorified Beings Facing sin, suffering, and an uncertain future, it's easy to become pessimistic, but believers in Christ know the best is yet to come. God promises that one day he will redeem his image bearers and renew the earth. Few books are written on the doctrine of glorification, but its promise of restoration brings urgent hope for Christ followers. In this addition to the Short Studies in Systematic Theology series, Graham A. Cole examines the concept of divine glory as well as God's plan for redeeming individual believers, the church, and the universe. Identifying two phases of glorification—one in this life and a final transformation into Christlikeness—Cole defines the role of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the sanctification process. Through careful study of Scripture, he shows Christians how their future identity as glorified beings should impact their perspective today. - Thoughtful and Theological: Walks through the plotline of Scripture to explain redemptive history, the Trinitarian work of glorification, and the future of unbelievers - Thorough Introduction: Studies the Old and New Testaments to explain God's divine glory, including the stories of Moses, Isaiah, and Ezekiel, as well as the topics of creation, the incarnation, transfiguration of Jesus, and the picture of the new earth in Revelation - Great for Theologians, Pastors, and Students: This concise study dives deep into an overlooked area of eschatology and includes suggested resources for further reading

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“Glorification marries brevity and breadth in a solidly biblical, theologically astute, highly accessible, and sharply focused treatise. Graham Cole both broadens a young student’s theological horizon and reignites the preaching imagination of the veteran pastor. A true pastor-theologian, Cole is humbly dependent on God’s word, graciously conversant with biblical and theological scholarship, and vitally concerned that we know the glory of God.”

Douglas Webster, Professor of Pastoral Theology, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

“This valuable series aims to be simple but not simplistic. Graham Cole’s volume Glorification certainly achieves this. The relevant issues are convincingly discussed within a perceptive outline of the traditional doctrine, and the glorification of believers is viewed in the wider contexts of God’s glory, creation glory, and future cosmic glory. Highly recommended.”

Peter Adam, Vicar Emeritus, St. Jude’s Carlton; Former Principal, Ridley College, Melbourne

“Graham Cole has given us a brilliant introduction to the doctrine of glorification. Each chapter is grounded in Scripture and informed by key thinkers, ancient and modern. Readers will find serious engagement with the individual, corporate, and cosmic aspects of glorification as Cole offers encouragement in God’s wise and glorious plan for his people.”

David S. Dockery, Distinguished Professor of Theology, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; President, International Alliance for Christian Education

“An old saw claims that some people are so heavenly minded they are of no earthly good. But today most Christians seem to be so earthly minded they are of no heavenly good. In this delightful volume, Graham Cole overcomes this eclipse of heaven by masterfully rehearsing God’s grand plan to glorify himself and pastorally reminding us that our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”

C. Ben Mitchell, Graves Professor Emeritus of Moral Philosophy, Union University

“The Bible’s storyline can be considered from many angles. In this resplendent volume, Graham Cole traces the neglected theme of the glory of God. Remarkably comprehensive, Glorification ties together many central doctrines, including the Trinity, humanity, salvation, sanctification, and eschatology. The God of the Bible is glorious, and he shares his glory with us, both now and in the future. An enlightening, edifying, and encouraging read.”

Brian S. Rosner, Principal, Ridley College, Melbourne

“Graham Cole guides us through the neglected but precious biblical theme of glorification. The glorious God who created us to bear his image saves us, uniting us to Christ, conforming us into his image, and even sharing his glory with us. Reading Glorification not only deepens our theology; it compels us to rejoice in our glorious God and his gifts to us, especially our glorious purpose, our glorious identity, and our glorious future.”

Christopher W. Morgan, Dean of the School of Christian Ministries and Professor of Theology, California Baptist University

“Glorification is not merely one of many biblical themes. As Graham Cole compellingly argues, it is a one-word summary of the whole biblical story. The Creator God has in Christ begun—and is through the Spirit continuing—to complete a building project drawn up before the foundation of the world: the creation of a cosmos and a human community that would reflect God’s own glory. Why is there something rather than nothing? To communicate God’s greatness. This is the Christlike vocation in which the redeemed already participate and for which they continue to hope. Glorious!”

Kevin Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

“Graham Cole is a superb theologian, and he has given us here a much-needed overview, at once succinct and profound, of the biblical doctrine of glorification. I gladly recommend this volume to God’s people everywhere.”

Timothy George, Distinguished Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

“There has been a gap among evangelicals in writing about the wonderful and beautiful truth of glorification. This excellent book fills that gap. Grounding this doctrine in the divine glory of God, Cole keeps his finger in the text of Scripture and his eye on the edification of the believer. For believers, sanctification is glorification begun, while glorification is sanctification complete. In this exceptional book, we are reminded that God’s promises for glorification are sure and certain—the Lord who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in God’s glorious presence!”

Gregory C. Strand, Executive Director of Theology and Credentialing, Evangelical Free Church of America; Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Glorification

Short Studies in Systematic Theology

Edited by Graham A. Cole and Oren R. Martin

The Attributes of God: An Introduction, Gerald Bray (2021)

The Church: An Introduction, Gregg R. Allison (2021)

The Doctrine of Scripture: An Introduction, Mark D. Thompson (2022)

Faithful Theology: An Introduction, Graham A. Cole (2020)

Glorification: An Introduction, Graham A. Cole (2022)

The Person of Christ: An Introduction, Stephen J. Wellum (2021)

The Trinity: An Introduction, Scott R. Swain (2020)

Glorification

An Introduction

Graham A. Cole

Glorification: An Introduction

Copyright © 2022 by Graham A. Cole

Published by Crossway1300 Crescent StreetWheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Cover design: Jordan Singer

First printing 2022

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, the author’s Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-6955-5 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-6958-6 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-6956-2 Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-6957-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Cole, Graham A. (Graham Arthur), 1949– author. | Martin, Oren R., editor.

Title: Glorification : an introduction / Graham A. Cole.

Description: Wheaton, Illinois : Crossway, 2022. | Series: Short studies in systematic theology | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021044916 (print) | LCCN 2021044917 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433569555 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781433569562 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433569579 (mobipocket) | ISBN 9781433569586 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Glory of God—Christianity.

Classification: LCC BT180.G6 C65 2022 (print) | LCC BT180.G6 (ebook) | DDC 242/.2—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021044916

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021044917

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2022-02-11 02:11:40 PM

Contents

Series Preface

Introduction

1  Our Glorious God

2  The Glorious Divine Project

3  The Pathway to Glory

4  Glorification, the Prospect

5  Who Will Be Glorified? Who Will Be Excluded?

Conclusion

Further Reading

General Index

Scripture Index

Series Preface

The ancient Greek thinker Heraclitus reputedly said that the thinker has to listen to the essence of things. A series of theological studies dealing with the traditional topics that make up systematic theology needs to do just that. Accordingly, in each of these studies, a theologian addresses the essence of a doctrine. This series thus aims to present short studies in theology that are attuned to both the Christian tradition and contemporary theology in order to equip the church to faithfully understand, love, teach, and apply what God has revealed in Scripture about a variety of topics. What may be lost in comprehensiveness can be gained through what John Calvin, in the dedicatory epistle of his commentary on Romans, called “lucid brevity.”

Of course, a thorough study of any doctrine will be longer rather than shorter, as there are two millennia of confession, discussion, and debate with which to interact. As a result, a short study needs to be more selective but deftly so. Thankfully, the contributors to this series have the ability to be brief yet accurate. The key aim is that the simpler is not to morph into the simplistic. The test is whether the topic of a short study, when further studied in depth, requires some unlearning to take place. The simple can be amplified. The simplistic needs to be corrected. As editors, we believe that the volumes in this series pass that test.

While the specific focus varies, each volume (1) introduces the doctrine, (2) sets it in context, (3) develops it from Scripture, (4) draws the various threads together, and (5) brings it to bear on the Christian life. It is our prayer, then, that this series will assist the church to delight in her triune God by thinking his thoughts—which he has graciously revealed in his written word, which testifies to his living Word, Jesus Christ—after him in the powerful working of his Spirit.

Graham A. Cole and Oren R. Martin

Introduction

Thinking about the future can be daunting for many people. This is true when thinking of oneself. Will I marry? Will I have children? Will I have good health? Will I find satisfying work? Is the best ahead of me or have I passed it already? Is there life after death? If so, what does it look like?

Not long ago, I received a late-night phone call from a man who had recently turned forty. A friend of his a little older than him had just died suddenly from a heart attack. The caller was in tears. This was his first friend of around his age who had died. Now he was not only grieving but also confronting his own mortality.

Thoughts about one’s future can be influenced by the society in which one lives. I have lived in three countries: Australia, the United States, and England. I found optimism about the future in both Australia and the United States, but pessimism in England. The English people I lived among seemed to have a sense of a great empire now lost and never to be recovered. In other words, a glorious past was gone forever.

Those interested in scientific scenarios about the future of the universe can also find the latest theories demoralizing. Is a coming generation going to face the heat death of the universe or the big crunch or the big chill? In any of these contemporary scientific scenarios, humankind won’t survive. Over a century ago, when the heat death of the universe was commonly held as the best science, philosopher Bertrand Russell argued that in that light, “Only within the scaffolding of these truths [as claimed by the science of his day], only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can the soul’s habitation henceforth be safely built.”1

However, for the Christian, the best is yet to be. To rework the Russell quote: “Only within the scaffolding of these truths [as revealed in Scripture about the future], only on the firm foundation of unyielding hope, can the soul’s habitation henceforth be safely built.” The scriptural testimony addresses questions about the future at three levels. It speaks of the future for the individual, the future for the church, and the future of the universe.

In systematic theology, matters of the future—our hope—are covered by eschatology (Greek, eschata, “last things”). Traditionally this coverage has canvased two subtopics. Individual eschatology looks at the future for the individual in terms of death, judgment, and heaven or hell (“the four last things”).2Cosmic eschatology examines ideas about the future of the universe. I suggested above that a third element needs to be considered in the light of the biblical witness: the church as the bride of Christ has a glorious future, and so there is a corporate aspect.

The purpose of this work is to examine one of the aspects of individual eschatology in the light of Scripture:3 the doctrine of glorification.4 In biblical perspective, we shall be glorified beings.5I was surprised to find that when I explored this doctrine, the last evangelical monograph to address glorification specifically was that by Bernard Ramm, Them He Glorified: A Systematic Study of the Doctrine of Glorification, published in 1963. Back then, he lamented, “I found no book which systematically explored the doctrine.”6 Here is a lacuna or gap I hope to fill by this brief study. In so doing, some aspects of both corporate and cosmic eschatology will also make their appearance.

In chapter 1, we examine the doctrine of God in terms of the divine glory. In so doing, the chapter follows the biblical plotline and its testimony to the glorious nature of God as rendered in the Old and New Testaments. Several landmarks will figure prominently in the discussion: the theophany which Moses experienced on Mount Sinai (Ex. 33–34), the prophet Isaiah’s vision of the temple (Isa. 6), the prophet Ezekiel’s vision of the divine chariot while in exile in Babylon (Ezek. 1), the incarnation of the Word (John 1), the transfiguration of Jesus (Mark 9), Paul’s encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), and the end-time picture of the glory of God and the Lamb in the new earth (Rev. 21).

The God of biblical revelation is glorious. Eric L. Mascall appreciates this revelation when he writes, “Only if we recognize that the God of Christianity is a God of utter glory and splendor can we understand the intensity and concentration with which, down the ages, men and women have sought union with him.”7 The startling biblical truth is that this God shares his glory with us.

The glorious God of biblical revelation has a project. Chapter 2 explores this divine project, which includes bringing God’s children to glory (Heb. 2:10). In the light of the great rupture delineated in Genesis 3, God has a plan to reclaim and restore his divine image bearers to himself. Divine love motivates the plan. Divine glory is the ultimate goal of the plan. To be restored to the divine image is to become a glorious being.

Understanding Romans 8:30 constitutes an important part of the chapter. The apostle wrote, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Rom. 8:29–30). Traditionally, this so-called golden chain of redemption is all about soteriology, as the phrase implies. However, recently New Testament scholar Haley Goranson Jacob has argued that Paul is writing not about salvation but about our restoration to the glorious role of being co-regents with Christ here and now. Being glorified, according to her, is about vocation, not salvation. We participate in this vocation through our union with Christ. Is she right? We will consider her argument.

Chapter 3 addresses the matter of the glorification experienced in this life. Paul is our guide. He wrote to the Corinthians about how the Spirit transforms us from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor. 3:18). Is this a passive process where God does all the work, or do we share in the process? How does this process relate to our sanctification? These questions and others are dealt with in this chapter.

Chapter 4 explores the prospect of glory. Hope is vital to the Christian life. Our eschatological horizon is so very different to that of the secularist. The prospect is of nothing less than a new heaven and a new earth, for which the groaning creation is longing, and with it the revealing of the glorious liberty of the children of God (Rom. 8:18–25). The sphere of glory to come requires the transformation of our bodies (1 Cor. 15:44). Our bodies need to become like that of Christ’s own glorified body (Phil. 3:20–21). The nature of the glorified body will be explored, as will the question of when that body is received. Aspects of both corporate and cosmic eschatology will also figure in the discussion.

Chapter 5 deals with the question Who will be glorified? C. S. Lewis saw the implications of the hope of glory when he wrote:

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendours.8

Will these “everlasting splendours” only be those who trust in Christ? Such a notion suggests an exclusivity that would make secularists bristle.

But what about those whom Lewis describes as “immortal horrors”? We will explore the traditional view of what that means as well as the speculative suggestions of Lewis and N. T. Wright. What would embodied existence look like when excluded from the divine presence? is an interesting question. However, we need to distinguish carefully between biblically anchored convictions, opinions that are less so, and speculations that have little anchorage in the biblical testimony. Even so, in the end, some may turn out to be true.

A brief summarizing conclusion rounds out this study, together with some further reading suggestions for those readers who want to go deeper.

1. Bertrand Russell, “A Free Man’s Worship,” The Independent Review 1 (Dec. 1903): 416, Bertrand Russell Society (website), https://users.drew.edu/~jlenz/brs.html, accessed June 6, 2019.

2. Anthony C. Thiselton offers the valuable observation that the New Testament writers’ greatest interest in last things pertains not to the four last things from the perspective of the individual “but to the great last acts of God, namely, the Return of Christ in glory, the resurrection of the dead, and the Last Judgment.” Life after Death: A New Approach to the Last Things (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2012), xii, original emphasis. He also observes, though, that the individual’s future is of “pressing concern” (xii).

3. In a work of evangelical systematic theology, Scripture as the normative word of God provides the source of the idea of glorification and the testing instrument of claims about glorification. Hence, there will be much appeal to passages of Scripture in this work. It follows an evidence-based method, and Scripture provides the evidence.

4. For a full-orbed discussion of the Bible’s teaching on the afterlife that interacts not only with the Old and New Testaments but also with intertestamental literature, see the fine work of Paul R. Williamson, Death and the Afterlife: Biblical Perspectives on Ultimate Questions (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2018).

5. Michael Horton writes, “This future hope is what theology identifies as glorification.” The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 688, original emphasis.

6. Bernard Ramm, Them He Glorified: A Systematic Study of the Doctrine of Glorification (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1963), 5.

7. E. L. Mascall, The Christian Universe (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1966), 57.

8. C. S. Lewis, Screwtape Proposes a Toast and Other Pieces (London and Glasgow: Fontana, 1969), 109, original emphasis.

1

Our Glorious God

In this chapter, we explore the concept of the divine glory. To do so, we examine the biblical testimony to the glorious nature of God as revealed in the Old and New Testaments. To drill deeper, we then focus on selected biblical passages dealing with glory before turning our attention to an intriguing question of divine glory and the divine attributes. Considering the divine glory is germane to this study of glorification because, according to 2 Corinthians 3:18, we are to reflect the divine glory as we are transformed from one degree of glory to the next.1

The Concept of Glory

We access concepts through words and how they are used. According to Leslie C. Allen, “In secular usage, the Hebrew word for glory [kabod] . . . primarily means ‘weight,’ referring to something substantial as in Isaiah 22:24.” There Isaiah writes of how God will honor Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, as the new royal steward: “And they will hang on him the whole honor [kabod] of his father’s house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons.” L. C. Allen rightly suggests that in this Isaianic context, “the term connotes honor and fame as coming from a social status that includes greatness, wealth, or power, and the acknowledgment of others.”2 Interestingly, the first use of kabod in the Old Testament has a very human context. Jacob hears what the sons of Laban are accusing him of doing. In Genesis 31:1 we read, “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has gained all his wealth [kabod].” When used of God, as in the phrase “the glory of the Lord,” it becomes almost a technical expression of the majesty, weightiness, even beauty of God.3 In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, or LXX), the word used to translate the Hebrew term for glory (doxa) accented the ideas of honor, reputation, and praise.4Glory and divine kingship are connected, as Haley Goranson Jacob argues in light of the Septuagint: “God’s glory is commonly associated with his status or identity as king.”5 In the biblical writings, various phenomena are associated with the divine glory: shining light (Num. 6:25); thunder, brightness, fire, and beauty (Ex. 24:16–17; Ps. 29:3); and clouds (Mark 14:62).6 The New Testament writers also commonly used doxa when referring to the divine glory.7In both the Old and the New Testaments, this glory is “visible splendor,” as Richard Bauckham points out.8