Glorification

Dragon Ball, what started as a fairly low budget anime in japan in the late 80’s early 90’s has for the last 25 years been a huge global sensation. Spawning 5 separate TV series that reached the US market, and over 100 video games across platforms. The franchise has many problems from a story telling perspective. It’s legitimately difficult to watch some of the old school, dubbed Dragon Ball Z episodes from my childhood. But one of the biggest story problems that they have had over the years is the same issue that Marvel faced in the Infinity Saga, each new bad guy has to be stronger than the last one. And the danger to innocent people has to be greater and greater each installment in of the story. Which is naturally difficult to do convincingly when you start fighting villains with epitaphs like “Destroyer of Worlds” in like season 3.

One of the big bad guys of the DBZ series that first made you wonder how they were gonna kill this guy was an android named Cell. Developed from a cellular bio-technology that allowed him to absorb other living things for their strength, Cell was obviously a tough opponent, but like all cartoon bad guys, they eventually killed him, or so they thought. Cell, had absorbed much of the population of earth whole, and that means taking both the good and the bad when he absorbed someone. When the Z crew finally killed him, it turns out that this was only an opportunity for cell to allow the weaker parts of his being to be burned off and regenerate with only the cellular components that he wanted from the human race.

So while everyone is celebrating the apparent death of Cell, the reality is that the only parts of Cell that died were the weak, fragile, broken, human parts. Instead Cell continued in what he called, his “perfect form”

Tonight we are talking about the biblical concept of Glorification. This is what happens when a believer dies, arrives in the presence of God and is instantly made perfect.

And I know what some of you are thinking. “my mama said I’m perfect just the way I am.” you’re not. Your mama means well, and she just wants you to have some semblance of self worth, but shes wrong. You’re not perfect. Not by any stretch. Honestly you kinda suck. Jesus flat out called you evil.

But you can be perfect someday. and that’s where glorification comes in.

Here’s the main point tonight. If you’re gonna write down anything, let it be this. You are an eternal spiritual being who will live forever somewhere. And you will either live eternally as a perfect glorified human in the presence of God your creator, or you will live forever in a prison that you condemned yourself to through your own sins, separated from God, left to nothing but your own frailty and sin and brokenness but without any of the protection afforded to you in this world by the grace of God. Those are the options. 2 potential outcomes. When your body dies you either become perfect like God and live with Him, or you find out just how evil you are when left to your own devices, completely separated from God.

So with that fun thought. Let’s dive in.

Last week we talked about sanctification. We are in an out of order series, on

The 3 steps of Salvation:

Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification.

So if you are a follower of Jesus, you are saved. You have salvation. all of it. all 3 parts. already yours. So

Read this from Paul’s letter to the Romans:

Romans 8:28–30 CSB

28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

notice the verb tenses there. Everything is past tense. predestined, past tense, already happened. Called past tense, already happened. justified, already happened. and even the last one glorified. past tense, already happened. Jesus has already glorified you.

but you said that glorification happens after we die? That’s when all the bad stuff in me gets burned off and I’m made perfect? Thats when I start to glow like the dude from Sky High.

Yes.

But I’m still alive, and I’m not glowing…so how am I already glorified?

If He saved you, He has already glorified you. It is finished. It is done. It is

Already…but not yet.

and that’s a tough concept and nobody can really explain it well.

But imagine if you will. 2 timelines. on top of one another.

Glorification is already a spiritual reality. It is finished. It is done. There is nothing that can change that. The only thing we are waiting for is the physical conclusion of what is already a spiritual reality. If you have been saved, you are already in the pressence of God at all times, something that is only possible for glorified people…because

Those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

It’s done. It’s finished. Already happened.

Already glorified.

So if that’s already true, spiritually, what are we waiting for?

Well we’re still waiting for the physical reality of glorification. See

Glorification = Perfection

and you should be wondering, am I really spiritually perfect? Because like, I still have a whole lot of crap going on in here? is it really fair to call me perfect?

Yes, but.... although you may be perfect spiritually your whole physical reality is pretty dog crap. and that’s why you feel the way you do.

When I say that you are spiritually glorified, spiritually perfect, I mean that you are guiltless and perfect in a spotless in the eyes of God and welcome fully in the pressence of God. Because of Jesus, you are spiritually already as good in the eyes of God as you are going to get.

But physically, you’re still broken. You’ve got sin problems. Sin problems that you will struggl ewith your whole life. and when you die, you will finally be done with that stuggle and you will reach the physical reality of your spiritual state.

You will physically, bodily, be able to stand in the pressence of God, in heaven. You will no longer feel like dog crap inside. all that will be done.

and yes, you will almost certainly physically glow.

look,

You are an eternal spiritual being who will live forever somewhere.

and if you are in christ you will live forever in the pressence of God, faintly glowing. like this.

SO what do we do with this tonight.

If you don’t know Jesus, you need to fix that. You are not spiritually glorified and you wont be physically glorified when you die until we fix it. If you are in Christ, you are already glorified, just not yet. and that weird but its ok. Here’s what you need to know though. You’re already glorified. Its already ahppened. and nobody can take it away. you cant lose it. no matter how messed up you feel, you cant lose your salvation because its not something you’re waiting on, you already have it.