Can I Ask That? – What is Glorification?
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%203%3A1-3&version=NLT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2DSTWiKULw
This morning, I want to tell you that God has not given up on this world, and neither should you. He has not given up on us, the human race, nor on you. And I want to persuade you to trust in the God who holds the future.
Glorification – God’s Unfinished Masterpiece: The Hope of Glorification
I want to begin by highlighting a core truth of Christian hope: God will not abandon His creation. From the beginning, God’s purpose has been to heal, restore, and perfect all things.
Glorification—the final step in salvation—is the culmination of God’s plan, when creation is renewed, and we share fully in His glory. John Wesley called it “full redemption,” and N.T. Wright speaks of it as “the life of the age to come.” Both capture the profound truth that God is bringing His creation to perfection, not discarding it.
This morning, we’ll explore glorification through two illustrations: a master gardener tending their garden and a child completing an art project. Both will show us God’s persevering love and the beauty of His ultimate plan.
Romans 8:18-21
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.”
This passage reminds us that glorification is not just about individuals but about the renewal of all creation.
1. The Master Gardener – Imagine a master gardener who envisions a lush, vibrant garden full of life and beauty. She carefully selects the soil, plants seeds, and tends to them daily. But setbacks come: weeds grow, storms destroy, and pests attack. Each time, the gardener does not give up. She pulls the weeds, rebuilds after the storm, and protects the plants because she loves the garden and sees its potential.
Isaiah 61:11
“For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.”
God is the master gardener of creation and of our lives. Despite setbacks—sin, brokenness, and decay—He continues to work. Glorification is the day when the garden of creation will finally bloom as He intended. Are there parts of your life that feel like storms have destroyed them? Trust that God’s hands are still at work.
2. The Child and the Art Project
Picture a young child working on an art project. She has a vision for what she wants to create. She starts enthusiastically, but mistakes happen: paint spills, paper tears, and colors don’t always blend the way she hoped. Yet she doesn’t throw it away. She patiently begins again, fixing mistakes, adding new elements, and adapting her vision. In the end, her persistence produces something beautiful and unique.
Philippians 1:6
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
God’s work in us is like the child’s art project. He is not deterred by our failures or setbacks. His love and vision for us drive Him to continue working until we are perfected in His glory. Glorification is the moment when God’s masterpiece is complete, and we reflect His image perfectly.
3. God’s Vision for Creation
Both illustrations point to the larger truth that glorification is not just about us as individuals. It’s about the restoration of all creation. N.T. Wright reminds us that God’s ultimate goal is not to take us away from the world but to renew it—a “new heavens and a new earth” where righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13).
Revelation 21:1-5
“Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard aloud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’”
Just as the gardener envisions the flourishing garden and the child envisions a completed masterpiece, God envisions a new creation where sin, death, and decay are no more. Glorification is the moment when His vision becomes reality.
4. Perseverance in Hope
Both the gardener and the child persevere because of their love for their project. In the same way, God’s love for us and for His creation drives Him to continue His work until it is finished.
2 Corinthians 4:16-17
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
We are called to persevere as well. Glorification is God’s promise that no matter how broken the world or our lives may seem, He will bring everything to perfection. Hold on to hope, trusting in God’s faithfulness to complete what He has begun.
Conclusion: God’s Unwavering Vision
We close by returning to the images of the gardener and the child. Both remind us of God’s love, patience, and commitment. Glorification is not just a hope—it is a promise. God will not give up on His creation or on us.
Paul writes in Romans 8:
The Future Glory
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers[l]in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together[m] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.
Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love
What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.