Scripture is clear that everyone in the body of Christ – whether dead or alive – is going to be vivified together at the same moment, and that our inclusion in this glorious future event will be irrespective of our conduct/actions in this life. In Romans 8:29-30 we read the following:
”…whom He foreknew, He designates beforehand, also, to be conformed to the image of His Son, for Him to be Firstborn among many brethren. Now whom He designates beforehand, these He calls also, and whom He calls, these He justifies also; now whom He justifies, these He glorifies also.”
Notice that the same individuals who are called by God are also justified and glorified by God. Just as our justification occurs apart from anything we do (or don’t do) before being called by God, so our glorification will occur apart from anything we do (or don’t do) after being justified. That is, since everyone who has been justified will be glorified, it follows that the glorification of everyone in the body of Christ has nothing whatsoever to do with our conduct (or the progress toward spiritual maturity that we make or fail to make) after being called and justified by God.
Moreover, it’s also evident that the glorification that Paul had in view in Rom. 8:29-30 is something will occur for every member of the body of Christ at the same time, and will involve being vivified and made fit for an eonian allotment that will be enjoyed for more than a thousand years before the rest of humanity is resurrected at the time of the great white throne judgment. This is evident from the following verses (notice especially Paul’s use of inclusive terminology – such as “us,” “we,” “all” and “together” – when referring to the expectation of the body of Christ):
Romans 8
18 For I am reckoning that the sufferings of the current era do not deserve the glory about to be revealed for us. 19 For the premonition of the creation is awaiting the unveiling of the sons of God. 20 For to vanity was the creation subjected, not voluntarily, but because of Him Who subjects it, in expectation 21 that the creation itself, also, shall be freed from the slavery of corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 For we are aware that the entire creation is groaning and travailing together until now. 23 Yet not only so, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruit of the spirit, we ourselves also, are groaning in ourselves, awaiting the sonship, the deliverance of our body.
1 Corinthians 15
50 Now this I am averring, brethren, that flesh and blood is not able to enjoy an allotment in the kingdom of God, neither is corruption enjoying the allotment of incorruption. 51 Lo! a secret to you am I telling! We all, indeed, shall not be put to repose, yet we all shall be changed, 52 in an instant, in the twinkle of an eye, at the last trump. For He will be trumpeting, and the dead will be roused incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality.
The “change” to which Paul referred in this passage – and which will occur “at the last trump” – is one that will be undergone by “all” in the body of Christ (and not by just a select few believers who, by their righteous conduct and spiritual maturity, qualified for it).
2 Corinthians 4
13 Now having the same spirit of faith, in accord with what is written, "I believe, wherefore I speak also," we also are believing, wherefore we are speaking also, 14 being aware that He Who rouses the Lord Jesus will be rousing us also, through Jesus, and will be presenting us together with you.
Paul clearly expected to be together with all of the saints to whom he was writing after being roused by God through Jesus.
Philippians 3
20 For our realm is inherent in the heavens, out of which we are awaiting a Saviour also, the Lord, Jesus Christ, 21 Who will transfigure the body of our humiliation, to conform it to the body of His glory, in accord with the operation which enables Him even to subject all to Himself.
Here, again, we find that Paul seemed to believe that both his own body and the body of everyone to whom he wrote would be transfigured at the same time (i.e., when the Savior whom we’re awaiting descends from the heavens).
Colossians 3
1 If, then, you were roused together with Christ, be seeking that which is above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Be disposed to that which is above, not to that on the earth, 3 for you died, and your life is hid together with Christ in God. 4 Whenever Christ, our Life, should be manifested, then you also shall be manifested together with Him in glory.
Those whom Paul said had “died” and whose “life was hid together with Christ in God” was everyone to whom Paul wrote this letter. And Paul clearly expected everyone to whom he wrote to be “manifested together with [Christ] in glory” whenever “Christ, our Life, should be manifested.”
1 Thessalonians 4
13 Now we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are reposing, lest you may sorrow according as the rest, also, who have no expectation. 14 For, if we are believing that Jesus died and rose, thus also, those who are put to repose, will God, through Jesus, lead forth together with Him. 15 For this we are saying to you by the word of the Lord, that we, the living, who are surviving to the presence of the Lord, should by no means outstrip those who are put to repose, 16 for the Lord Himself will be descending from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the Chief Messenger, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall be rising first. 17 Thereupon we, the living who are surviving, shall at the same time be snatched away together with them in clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And thus shall we always be together with the Lord. 18 So that, console one another with these words.
Paul’s words of consolation in this passage wouldn’t be words of consolation at all if it weren’t true that every saint in the body of Christ who is “put to repose” shall be among the “dead in Christ” who “shall be rising first” when “the Lord Himself will be descending from heaven.” And what Paul wrote concerning “the living who are surviving” should be understood as similarly inclusive in meaning. Paul gave no indication that only certain surviving saints who were “qualified” would be snatched away together with the dead in Christ to meet the Lord in the air. Instead, Paul’s words imply the same truth found in 1 Cor. 15:50-53 (i.e., that ”we all, indeed, shall not be put to repose, yet we all shall be changed, in an instant, in the twinkle of an eye, at the last trump”).
This understanding of who shall be snatched away to meet the Lord in the air is further confirmed from what Paul went on to write in 1 Thess. 5:9-11:
”For God did not appoint us to indignation, but to the procuring of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for our sakes, that, whether we may be watching or drowsing, we should be living at the same time together with Him. Wherefore, console one another and edify one the other, according as you are doing also.”
The “salvation” to which Paul was referring is that which will involve every living member of the body of Christ being rescued by “our Rescuer out of the coming indignation” (1 Thess. 1:10), and this rescue will involve being snatched away from the earth and meeting Christ in the air. It is not just those saints who are more spiritually mature (and who have more consistently righteous conduct) to whom God did not appoint to indignation; rather, it is every member of the body of Christ (Rom. 5:9). And since we haven’t been appointed to indignation (but rather “to the procuring of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ”), it follows that every member of the body of Christ (past, present and future) will be snatched away to meet the Lord in the air.
Thus, the future glorification of all who have been justified through faith in the evangel of the grace of God is not an event that’s going to take place at different times (with some members of the body of Christ being glorified before the rest of humanity and others being glorified later). Rather, every member of the body of Christ is going to be delivered from mortality/death and glorified together at the same time. And for those members of the body of Christ who will be dead at the time that the event described in these verses occurs, their glorification will necessarily involve being resurrected (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
The salvation of every member of the body of Christ before the rest of humanity is just as certain to take place as our justification was certain to occur when we were called by God. Although Paul’s letters are filled with exhortations for believers regarding how we should live and conduct ourselves, Paul is clear that the salvation of those in the body of Christ before the rest of humanity is not something that in any way depends on anything we must do, obey or live out during this lifetime. Because God’s grace “reigns” over every member of the body of Christ, we cannot “out-sin” God’s grace; the more that we sin, the more God’s grace “superexceeds” for us, resulting in life eonian (Rom. 5:20-21). For – as we’re told in Romans 6:23 – the life eonian that every member of the body of Christ is destined to enjoy is “the gracious gift of God…in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” In accord with this truth, we’re told in 2 Thess. 2:16 that “God, our Father, Who loves us” is “giving us an eonian consolation and a good expectation in grace.”
The measure of divine grace that’s being given to those called to be members of the body of Christ is referred to in Eph. 1:7 as “the riches of [God’s] grace, which He lavishes on us,” and is such that works/acts have no part whatsoever in our salvation (Rom. 3:22; 4:4-5; 2 Tim. 1:8-11; Titus 3:3-7). According to what we read in Eph. 2:4-9, the salvation that every believer in the body of Christ will be enjoying (and which will involve God’s “displaying the transcendent riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus”) is not “out of” us. It is in no way dependent on or conditioned upon our will or effort. Rather, this salvation is “in grace.” It is “God’s approach present” (or “gift”), and is thus “not of works, lest anyone should be boasting.”
Upon being given the faith to believe “the word of truth, the evangel of [our] salvation,” those called by God are then “sealed with the holy spirit of promise,” which is “an earnest of the enjoyment of our allotment, to the deliverance of that which has been procured” (Eph. 1:13-14). No precept-keeping obedience/ works/godly living is required for any member of the body of Christ to receive the “deliverance” of which Paul wrote in the above verses (which, according to Eph. 2:4-7, will involve being vivified together and seated together “among the celestials in Christ Jesus”). This salvation – which will occur for all who have been justified by faith in Paul’s evangel – is as certain to occur as anything else God has promised to do. There is, therefore, nothing that anyone in the body of Christ must do in order to receive immortality before the rest of humanity, and there is nothing we could do (or fail to do) that could possibly result in our failing to receive this eonian salvation. Although Paul exhorted believers to “walk worthily of the calling with which [we] were called,” a failure to do so will not jeopardize our eonian salvation. Our having been spiritually baptized into the body of Christ (and thus “sealed with the holy spirit of promise”) guarantees our inclusion in the future event to which Paul referred in the above passages.
The prize of God’s calling above in Christ Jesus
But if the resurrection of every deceased member of the body of Christ at the time of the event referred to in 1 Thess. 4:15-16 is not based on anything that is done (or not done) in this life, then what did Paul mean in Phil. 3:8-15? In this passage we read the following:
8 But, to be sure, I am also deeming all to be a forfeit because of the superiority of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, because of Whom I forfeited all, and am deeming it to be refuse, that I should be gaining Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having my righteousness, which is of law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is from God for faith: 10 to know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, conforming to His death, 11 if somehow I should be attaining to the resurrection that is out from among the dead. 12 Not that I already obtained, or am already perfected. Yet I am pursuing, if I may be grasping also that for which I was grasped also by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, not as yet am I reckoning myself to have grasped, yet one thing -- forgetting, indeed, those things which are behind, yet stretching out to those in front -- 14 toward the goal am I pursuing for the prize of God's calling above in Christ Jesus. 15 Whoever, then, are mature, may be disposed to this, and if in anything you are differently disposed, this also shall God reveal to you.
We know that Paul could not have been striving to be among those who will be resurrected before the rest of humanity, for – as has been already demonstrated – every member of the body of Christ who has died (no matter how much or how little one progresses in their “walk” during this mortal lifetime) will be raised incorruptible when Christ descends from heaven and the “last trump” sounds. And it would be quite odd for Paul to have expressed his desire to secure for himself a blessing that is not at all dependent on anything we do during this lifetime. But what, then did Paul have in mind when he referred to ”attaining to the resurrection that is out from among the dead?”
I believe that Paul’s use of the term “prize” in this passage provides us with a clue as to what he had in mind here. In verses 13-14 we read, ”Brethren, not as yet am I reckoning myself to have grasped, yet one thing -- forgetting, indeed, those things which are behind, yet stretching out to those in front -- toward the goal am I pursuing for the prize of God's calling above in Christ Jesus.”
The only other time that Paul used the term translated “prize” in his letters is in 1 Cor. 9:24-27. In these verses, Paul wrote the following concerning a certain “prize” that he hoped to obtain:
Are you not aware that those racing in a stadium are, indeed, all racing, yet one is obtaining the prize? Thus be racing that you may be grasping it. Now every contender is controlling himself in all things; they, indeed, then, that they may be obtaining a corruptible wreath, yet we an incorruptible. Now then, thus am I racing, not as dubious, thus am I boxing, not as punching the air, but I am belaboring my body and leading it into slavery, lest somehow, when heralding to others, I myself may become disqualified.
Concerning the analogy Paul was using in these verses (and his reference to a “corruptible wreath”), A.E. Knoch remarked as follows in his commentary:
Contestants in the Grecian games had to take an oath that they had been ten months in training, and that they would violate none of the regulations. They lived on a prescribed diet and exercised severe self-restraint. The wreath or "crown" was made of the leaves of the pine. Groves of these trees surrounded the stadium near Corinth. Other leaves were used in other cities. For some time parsley was substituted for pine, but it seems that, in the time of the apostle, they used the pine wreaths.
Knoch went on to write the following concerning Paul’s reference to becoming “disqualified”:
The subject before the apostle is not salvation, but service and reward. The apostle is not concerned lest he should be a "castaway", but whether he should win the prize. Two things are necessary, self-control and obedience to the rules of the game. Both are essential in order to win a wreath. In these days, when "success" is measured by human standards, it is of the utmost importance to press the fact that a violation of the rules absolutely bars the contestant from all hope of a prize. Service at the expense of truth or of conscience, to gain a livelihood or win popularity, no matter how strenuous, wins no prize. God looks on the motive and method, not on the apparent results. May we all so strive that He will be able to bestow the amaranthine wreath upon us!
I agree with Knoch here. When Paul referred to the possibility of becoming “disqualified,” he wasn’t referring to being disqualified from the blessing of being made immortal/incorruptible before the rest of humanity to enjoy life eonian in the kingdom of God. Rather, he was referring to being disqualified from obtaining the “prize” referred to in v. 24 (and which he referred to as an “incorruptible wreath” in v. 25).
In accord with this understanding of the “prize” that Paul was striving to obtain, we read in 2 Cor. 5:10 that everyone in the body of Christ will “be manifested in front of the dais of Christ” to be “requited for that which he puts into practice through the body, whether good or bad.” Concerning what Paul meant by the expression “dais of Christ,” Knoch commented on this verse as follows:
The dais, or raised platform from which games were judged and awards given, must not be confused with a judicial bench. The quality of our acts may determine the award to which we are entitled, but the question of condemnation is entirely foreign to such a tribunal. We are absolutely absolved from all condemnation, but we are eligible to an award for meritorious service. These awards will be distributed at the dais of Christ, according to our acts in "the" body, that is, our present soulish bodies.
In accord with the fact that everyone in the body of Christ is going to be manifested in front of the dais of Christ, Paul had previously written the following to the saints in Corinth:
Now if anyone is building on this foundation gold and silver, precious stones, wood, grass, straw, each one's work will become apparent, for the day will make it evident, for it is being revealed by fire. And the fire, it will be testing each one's work -- what kind it is. If anyone's work will be remaining which he builds on it, he will get wages. If anyone's work shall be burned up, he will forfeit it, yet he shall be saved, yet thus, as through fire. (1 Cor. 3:12-15)
In other words, some saints in the body of Christ – based on the kind/quality of their work – will be receiving “wages,” while others will be forfeiting the “wages” they could’ve had. However, everyone whose work is going to be tested at this time (i.e., everyone in the body of Christ) will be saved regardless of whether they receive wages or not. That is, everyone in the body of Christ is going to enjoy life eonian in the kingdom of God during the eons of Christ’s reign.
But what, exactly, is the nature of what Paul referred to as “the prize of God’s calling above in Christ Jesus?” I believe Paul had this prize in mind when, in 2 Tim. 2:11-13, he wrote the following:
“Faithful is the saying: “For if we died together, we shall be living together also; if we are enduring, we shall be reigning together also; if we are disowning, He also will be disowning us; if we are disbelieving, He is remaining faithful -- He cannot disown Himself.”
In this passage, “living together” refers to the blessing of life eonian that every member of the body of Christ will be enjoying during the eons of Christ’s reign (which is what Paul had in view when, in 1 Thess. 5:9-10, he wrote the following: “…for God did not appoint us to indignation, but to the procuring of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for our sakes, that, whether we may be watching or drowsing, we should be living at the same time together with Him.”). In contrast, “reigning together” refers to the additional blessing and privilege of reigning with Christ during these eons.
In accord with what we read in 2 Tim. 2:11-13, Paul wrote the following in Romans 8:16-17:
“The spirit itself is testifying together with our spirit that we are children of God. Yet if children, enjoyers also of an allotment, enjoyers, indeed, of an allotment from God, yet joint enjoyers of Christ’s allotment, if so be that we are suffering together, that we should be glorified together also.”
What Paul referred to as “an allotment from God” is the “common allotment” of every member of the body of Christ (i.e., life eonian; cf. Titus 3:7), and corresponds with the words “living together” in 2 Tim. 2:11. In contrast with the allotment from God that all members of the body of Christ will enjoy, the expression “joint enjoyers of Christ’s allotment” refers to the privilege of reigning with Christ during the eons to come (and corresponds with the words “reigning together also” in 2 Tim. 2:12).
Based on these verses, we can conclude that only some members of the body of Christ will be reigning together with Christ during the eons to come. However, all members of the body of Christ will be vivified together, and will enjoy the allotment of life eonian “in the heavens” and “among the celestials” during the eons of Christ’s reign. Now let’s compare Paul’s words in Phil. 3:10-11 with the above verses in which Paul referred to the additional blessing of reigning with Christ:
Phil. 3:10-11
“…to know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, conforming to His death, if somehow I should be attaining to the resurrection that is out from among the dead.”
Rom. 8:17
“…enjoyers, indeed, of an allotment from God, yet joint enjoyers of Christ’s allotment, if so be that we are suffering together, that we should be glorified together also.”
2 Tim. 2:11-13
“…if we are enduring, we shall be reigning together also; if we are disowning, He also will be disowning us; if we are disbelieving, He is remaining faithful -- He cannot disown Himself.”
The words I’ve placed in red refer to the way in which a believer qualifies for (or is disqualified from obtaining) the prize of reigning with Christ, while the words in blue refer to the prize itself. But if Paul had in mind the prize of reigning together with Christ in Phil. 3:11, then why did he refer to it as “attaining to the resurrection that is out from among the dead?” Answer: we know that the “death” to which Paul was referring in v. 10 is Christ’s own death. In accord with this fact, the “resurrection that is out from among the dead” should, I believe, be understood as a reference to Christ’s own resurrection (which was when Christ was glorified; see Luke 24:26; cf. John 7:39; 12:16, 23). Thus, just as the qualifying condition referred to in Rom. 8:17 as “suffering together [with Christ]” is referred to in Phil. 3:10 as “conforming to [Christ’s] death,” so the prize that’s referred to in Rom. 8:17 as being “glorified together also [with Christ]” is referred to in Phil. 3:11 as “attaining to the resurrection that is out from among the dead” (since Christ’s resurrection was when he was glorified).
That is, “conforming to [Christ’s] death” is equivalent in meaning to “suffering together,” while “attaining to the resurrection that is out from among the dead” (i.e., Christ’s resurrection) is equivalent in meaning to being “glorified together also” (which refers to “reigning together” with Christ). This is, I believe, the “prize of God’s calling above in Christ Jesus” to which Paul was disposed, and which he was laboring to obtain.
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