Why does Paul use the past tense when he says those justified are glorified?

Explanation:

When Paul writes that those God justified he also glorified, the verb to glorify is in the simple past (aorist) tense. This tense normally indicates a past action, which points to the notion that believers have already been glorified. But the immediate context suggests otherwise, namely, that believers have been glorified to a future glory that has not yet taken place. We can detect this because Paul writes in Romans 8:18 that our present suffering cannot compare to the future glory to be revealed. Then in Romans 8:21 he says that the creation awaits to obtain the glory of the children of God.³ That the glory to be revealed is future, along with the fact that the creation waits to obtain the glory, suggests that glorification is a future event. Of course, anyone God foreknew, he predestined, called, justified, and glorified, so from God’s timeless perspective, glorification was accomplished when God decreed to save. Still, from our human perspective it is future.

Counterargument:

The problem here is that this view assumes there is only one way to conceive of glorification. That is, this view assumes that since there is a future glory to be revealed, and the creation waits for this glory, then if God glorifies us, this must refer to the same future glory. Of course, Paul may use the same term glory to refer to multiple aspects of salvation. In particular, he may use it to refer to resurrection glory, which he clearly has in mind in Romans 8:18 when he refers to the glory to be revealed, but he may also use it to refer to the transformation process that begins to take place when believers convert. This would align with the grammar, which suggests that glorification is a past process. So Paul would be saying that those God foreknew, he also called, justified, and when they were justified by putting their faith in Christ, they were also glorified in the sense that they began the sanctification process.⁴ So glorification is a past action for God and believers.

Response to counterargument:

While it is possible for Paul to use the same term to refer to different meanings, this counterargument gives us no strong reason to think that this is what Paul does in Romans 8:30. In fact, the only argument this view gives is that it makes better sense of the simple past tense, but we have already given an argument to make sense of why Paul uses that tense even though he has future glory in mind. He uses the simple past tense because from God’s timeless perspective, we are glorified. That is, God has decreed since before the foundations of the earth that those justified are also glorified, which means that from God’s perspective, glorification has already taken place, while for believers the event is future.

Explanation:

We can detect that the glorification Paul has in mind in Romans 8:30 is future because he refers to future resurrection glory in other passages. For example, in his second letter to the Corinthians, he explains that our light and momentary afflictions are preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17). That our momentary troubles will result in an eternal weight of glory is similar to what Paul writes in Romans 8:1–39, that those who suffer with Christ will be glorified with him (Romans 8:18), because those God justified he also glorified. Further, in his second letter to the church in Thessalonica, Paul writes that the Thessalonians were called to sanctification so that they may obtain the glory of Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:14).⁵ In other words, the fulfillment of their salvation is future glory akin to the glory Christ already obtains. Similarly, those justified will be glorified at the future resurrection.

Counterargument:

The problem here is that 2 Thessalonians 2:14 suggests that glorification is a process that begins at conversion. There Paul writes that we are saved through sanctification, and to this we were called, to obtain the glory of Jesus Christ. In other words, we are called to be sanctified, and this process of sanctification is the beginning of glorification that finally culminates at the resurrection.⁶ Of course, 2 Corinthians 4:17 does seem to indicate future glory, but since 2 Thessalonians 2:14 indicates present glory culminating in future glory, it is not clear whether Romans 8:20 has to do with future glory or present glory culminating in future glory.

Response to counterargument:

There is reason from the context to say that 2 Corinthians 4:17 is directly relevant to what Paul writes in Romans 8:20. For in 2 Corinthians 4:17 Paul has in mind not being anxious about the momentary troubles, for they do not compare to the future glory. Likewise, after stating that those God justifies he also glorifies, Paul will go on to write that the Romans should not worry about persecution, famine or the like (Romans 8:35). In other words, given their assurance of future glorification, the Romans should not worry about their present troubles. Thus, 2 Corinthians 4:17 is directly relevant to understanding Romans 8:30. Further, this counterargument has not shown that 2 Thessalonians 2:14 is not relevant. For it has not convincingly shown that when Paul says sanctification is related to obtain the glory of Christ, he has in mind present glory. This leaves open that he may have in mind future glory. In this case, Paul is saying that our current sanctification is for the sake of obtaining future glory.

One possible weakness of this view is that when Paul refers to having been glorified in Romans 8:30, this falls outside the immediate context where Paul mentions that we await future glory (Romans 8:18). Further, Paul writes in the immediately preceding verse that God predestines believers to conform to his Son. If we take being conformed to the Son as a present event, then we might take it that being conformed to the Son is to be glorified, which takes place in the present.

Explanation:

When we examine Romans 8:20, we notice that Paul uses the simple past tense to indicate that the glorification is something that begins in the past. Thus, Paul is saying those God foreknew he also predestined, called, justified, and glorified in the sense that glorification is a past event.⁷ Of course, we normally think of glorification as a future resurrection event, but based on the association with justification, we can in fact deduce that Paul has in mind past and ongoing glorification. For we know that justification is something that happens once a believer puts their faith in Christ (Romans 3:23–24). Now Paul is saying that those justified are also glorified. In other words, given the close association between justification and glorification, Paul likely has in mind the hidden process of sanctification that takes place once the Holy Spirit enters believers who put their faith in Christ.⁸

Counterargument:

One problem with this argument is the assumption that if an author uses the simple past tense, they have in mind a past event. The fact is that tense can also be used to denote a future event when it is being vividly presented as having actually occurred.^9,10 Such a usage stresses the certainty of an event that will take place in the future. Of course, once we notice that this tense can be used to denote a certain future event, glorification’s close association with justification no longer implies that glorification is a present event. For when we broaden the immediate context, we notice that Paul is explaining the entire sweep of salvation history from God’s eternal foreknowledge, to his past call, present justification, and future glorification (Romans 8:29–30).

Response to counterargument:

Even if it is true that the simple past tense can be used to denote a future event with certainty, it remains the case that when we are justified by putting our faith in Christ, we begin the process of sanctification. Thus, the argument here does not rest solely on the fact that Paul uses the simple past when he says that we have been glorified, but it rests also on the connection between justification and the process of sanctification, which marks the beginning of the glorification process.

Explanation:

We can detect that glorification is an ongoing process that takes place in the present because Paul refers to our ongoing glorification in his second letter to the Corinthians.¹¹ There Paul writes, And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). In other words, Paul is saying that by beholding the glory of Jesus Christ we too are being glorified as we move from one degree of glory to another. Given that Paul specifically refers to the ongoing glorification process in 2 Corinthians 3:18, likely when he refers to our glorification in Romans 8:30 he has this same process in mind.¹²

Counterargument:

While there is a sense in which believers move from one glory to the next, there is a difference between this type of glory and glorification. Glorification is a specific concept of glory that is reserved for the end of times when we will be raised with Christ from the dead.¹³ The context supports this notion, for Paul mentions here the main aspects of salvation including God’s foreknowledge, predestination, call, justification, and glorification. That glorification is the final aspect of the process of salvation described in Romans 8:30, and that resurrection is the final hope of believers, would suggest that glorification is not likely the process of growing in holiness but our future resurrection from the dead.

Response to counterargument:

This view agrees that our final resurrection state is the culmination of our glorification. Still, it holds that glorification is a process that unfolds throughout the lives of believers. That glorification is a process that unfolds better correlates with the process of salvation that Paul describes, for we know that believers are not simply predestined, called, justified, and then resurrected, but that between justification and resurrection we endure a process of sanctification as we learn to put off our old nature and grow in holiness. Likely, Paul uses the term glorification to capture this process that culminates in the resurrection.

The weakness of this view is that Paul has emphasized the future glory of resurrection in this section (Romans 8:18). He even refers to Jesus as the firstborn among many brothers, which alludes to Jesus being the first one raised from the dead (Romans 8:29). These references to future resurrection glory suggest that glorification is a future event.