To shine in heaven
...but I discipline my body and keep it under control lest after preaching to others I
myself should be disqualified." (1 Cor. 9:27)
There is the radiance of glory, and there is a reward for obedience, for serving the Lord, for faithfulness, and for the fruits borne. If we look at how Jesus is described in the Epistle to the Hebrews, we will see a difference between the radiance of glory and the reward:
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs” (Heb. 1:3–4).
The image of the Father’s essence makes Jesus radiant with His glory. In other words, Jesus is the radiance of the glory of the Father’s essence. As for the reward, He received it when the Father seated Him on the throne of majesty at His right hand and gave Him a new and glorious name, to which everything submits. He inherited the name from the Father, as mentioned in the Revelation of John:
“The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from My God out of heaven, and My own new name” (Rev. 3:12).
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me’” (Matt. 28:18).
These are all His rewards: the authority given to Him, the new name, the place at the right hand of the Father, the throne, the kingdom, the universe—these are His rewards:
“And again, when He brings the firstborn into the world, He says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship Him’” (Heb. 1:6).
“For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, ‘What is man, that You are mindful of him, or the son of man, that You care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under His feet.’ Now in putting everything in subjection to Him, He left nothing outside His control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him. But we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:5–9).
The radiance of glory, however, is the image of the Father. The Father’s essence is reflected in Jesus, which is why He said that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father. The term “essence” (Greek: hypostasis, literally meaning “that which stands under”) translates in Latin as “substance.” This word means person, essence, or one of the three Persons of the Triune God. The radiance of glory depends on the image you reflect or embody. We are offered the opportunity to become like the image of the Son of God:
“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).
God the Father has predestined us to become conformed to the image of His Son and to share in His glory: “...those He predestined, He also glorified.”Thus, we see that the radiance of glory depends on whether we have become like the image of Jesus Christ and fulfilled our destiny. This is our primary purpose—what God has determined for us to become. Regarding works and fruits, the Scriptures say that God has prepared good works for us to accomplish while abiding in the glory of the image of Jesus Christ:
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).So, shining with glory in heaven and receiving a reward for good deeds are not the same thing. We will shine with glory not because of how many good deeds we have done or how much fruit we have borne. These are worthy of rewards, honors, crowns, places, and thrones. Depending on the fruits of faith a person presents before God, so will be their reward. It could also happen that one’s works are burned up, yet the person themselves is saved:
“Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:12–15).
What is this about? About the reward, not the radiance of glory, which comes from becoming like the image of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the likeness of the glory of the essence of God the Father. Think about what God has predestined us for and how He has drawn us near. This is what it means to become His children, with Jesus as the Firstborn and us as His brothers.
Thus, the radiance of our glory does not depend on good deeds, as it may seem, but on how we have matured and fulfilled our calling as children of God, on how much we have worked on ourselves and sanctified ourselves. The radiance depends on the holiness of our spirit, the presence of God’s love within us, our filling with His essence and personality, and reflecting His face within us—that is, our closeness and unity with Him. In His final prayer, Jesus pointed out that His unity with the Father was His glory, and He prayed for the same for us:
“...that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. The glory that You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as We are one, I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me” (John 17:21–23).
This is the radiance of glory for those who have reached perfection—unity with the Triune God: “...that they may be one in Us.” What is more important, higher, or more glorious than this unity? Jesus prayed for us in His final prayer, not for great works but for unity. This is glory, this is radiance, and it manifests not only in heaven but even here on earth. And everyone, by their sowing, becomes like the stars: as one star differs from another in glory, so do we. Daniel wrote:
“And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” (Dan. 12:3).
Good deeds will naturally be accomplished by those who have attained unity with God. This will be a consequence of unity, and the deeds will be such that they will reflect living in this world as He did:
“By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is so also are we in this world” (1 John 4:17).
If one focuses only on deeds and neglects striving for perfection, for Christ to be formed in them, they may end up, as Paul said, unworthy of God’s glory. Therefore, Paul, even while preaching truth, first and foremost worked on himself:
“...but I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27).
This should be the goal of every believer. Paul, even while enduring the birth pangs for God’s people, did not forget to work on himself:
My little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” (Gal. 4:19).
Until Christ is formed in us, the radiance of the glory of God’s children.
Thus, one can labor much for the building of the church, preach truth, bring many to salvation, and draw them closer to Christ, yet still remain unworthy of the radiance of glory. Everything will seem good, but there is one “but”: Christ was not formed, was not reflected in the person. Despite all this, one remains unsanctified, full of passions and desires, because the focus was on deeds, on service, rather than on Christ.
This is illustrated by the story of Martha and Mary:
“But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her’” (Luke 10:41–42).
You cared about many things—well done—but you forgot the main thing, the one thing necessary: the state of your spirit, which inherits eternity.
Do not underestimate the path proposed by Jesus:
“...If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Matt. 19:21).
If you want to be perfect, start by renouncing yourself and begin the path of working on yourself, not on others. As Jesus prayed for His own:
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17).
This is how sanctification occurs—through the Word that convicts and directs. By constantly examining ourselves and the teaching, we will be sanctified and transformed into the image of the Son of God. The Word is our guide not only to Christ but also to the Father. The Word of Jesus sanctifies us, leading us to glory and radiance, transforming us into the likeness of Jesus, the essence of God the Father, and uniting us with Him in one image and the radiance of His glory.
So, if we want to have the radiance of God’s children, we must ensure that the Son of God is formed in us. This will be our glory in heaven, while the deeds that follow us will be our reward.
Pastor Taysa Kotov
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