Part V · Our Future·Week 29 of 30
Glorification
Before you gather
- Read Day 29, Glorification, in The Visual Gospel. Do not reteach the essay.
- Read 1 John 3:2 and Revelation 21:3–5 in your Bible. The excerpt below is only a backup.
- Your people should already have answered the day’s reflection questions. Do not ask those again.
1 · Icebreaker · 7 min
Open the room
What is something ordinary you have seen become beautiful when the light hit it right?
Leader. Light, not a list of hardships they want to escape. That list was the journal question, along with Philippians 3:20. Say that passing is allowed, especially the first few weeks.
2 · The word · 8 min
See it, then say it
If you need the words
Say: Glorification is not our glow-up. It is God finishing what He began, at the resurrection, when He makes His people imperishable, glorious, and like Christ. The diamond does not produce the light. It answers it.
- Definition, from the book
- Glorification is the wonderful moment when Jesus returns and God instantly makes every Christian completely perfect, like Jesus Himself, with no more sin, pain, weakness, or death, so we can live with Him forever in glory.
- In the original language
- Greek doxa — glory, weight, honor, splendor.
- Memory verse · 1 Corinthians 15:42–43
- So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.
Together, open the flashcard for Glorification. Say the word, the definition, and the verse once. Then put the phone away.
3 · Open the Bible · 15 min
1 John 3:2 and Revelation 21:3–5
John aims the hope at seeing Jesus and becoming like Him. Revelation aims it at God dwelling with His people and making all things new. Together they keep glorification from shrinking into “a better body, same old center.”
Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
Have two readers if you can. Bibles open. The excerpt is only here so a forgotten Bible does not stop the night.
From the passage
1.What do we already know, and what has not yet appeared? What does John say we will be, and why?Core
Leader. We are children now. The future form has not appeared. We shall be like Him because we shall see Him. Sight of Christ is what completes the likeness.
2.In Revelation 21, what is the center of the new world — the absence of pain, or the presence of God? What happens to death, mourning, and pain, and who does it?
Leader. God with His people is the center. The wiping of tears is His act. Do not let “no more pain” replace “God himself will be with them,” even though the pain line is the one we want first.
4 · Around the room · 20 min
A conversation this chapter did not assign
3.Romans 8:30 puts glorified in the past tense, in the same chain as called and justified. Why would Paul talk about a future resurrection as if it were already decided?Core
Leader. Because God, who started it, does not drop the last link. Glorification is as certain as justification for those He has called. It is promise, not guess.
4.1 Corinthians 15:42–43 contrasts perishable and imperishable, dishonor and glory, weakness and power. Which of those three contrasts do you feel most in your body or your battle with sin right now?
Leader. Let people answer simply. Then remind them the raising is God’s, sudden, and complete — not a long self-improvement into glory. This is different from sanctification’s slow robe.
5.1 John 3:3 says everyone who hopes this way purifies himself, as He is pure. How does a future likeness produce present cleanliness, instead of the attitude “nothing matters until then”?
Leader. You become, in practice, what you are sure you will be. Hope of glory is fuel for holiness, not a reason to quit. Week 27 and week 29 belong together.
5 · Say it · 5 min
In one sentence
Glorification means that when Jesus appears, God will make every Christian perfectly like Him, body and soul, forever.
Ask for two volunteers, not the whole circle. They may look at the sentence, then try it without looking. Clumsy and true is the goal.
6 · Pray · 8 min
Leave silence between these
- Thank God that what you will be has not appeared yet, and that He already knows.
- Ask Him to make the hope of likeness purify one present habit.
- Pray for someone who is weary in a perishable body.
Before you stumble
Do not describe glory in such exotic detail that you outrun the text. We know more about who we will be with than about the furniture. Do not shame sick or aging people for wanting their pain to end — Revelation includes that, under the greater promise of God with us. Glorification is for those in Christ, not a general upgrade for decent people. Say that kindly if the room widens it to everyone.
With students
Ask what they think “perfect” will feel like, then read “we shall be like him, because we shall see him.” The center is Jesus, not their upgraded self. They need that re-aim.
If you still have time
Philippians 3:20–21, only as a closing reading if you have two minutes. They reflected on it already. Let it be a benediction: He will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body.