The redemption of our body is accomplished by the transfiguring of our body of humiliation into the body of Christ's glory (Phil. 3:21). While He was on earth, the Lord Jesus was transfigured in the presence of Peter, James, and John (Matt. 17:1-8). This transfiguration of the Lord Jesus on the mountain was a model of the coming transfiguration of our body. Today our body is a body of humiliation with no glory, honor, or dignity. We are very mean and low, mainly because of our body. However, one day this body of humiliation will be transfigured into the body of Christ's glory. Today our body is like the bud of a flower. But in the day of our transfiguration, our body will be transfigured from a bud to a blossoming flower.
The glorification of God's conformed sons is initiated by the Spirit's sealing unto the day of the redemption of the believers' body (Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30). Today the Spirit is sealing us, and this sealing is not once for all but will continue for our whole life. From the day of our regeneration, the sealing of the Spirit began to saturate and permeate us. This saturation and permeation will continue unto the day of the redemption of our body, until the sealing reaches its fullness. Even at that time the sealing of the Spirit will not cease. The sealing of the Spirit will go on for eternity, sealing us with the divine essence continually.
The sealing of the Spirit is also for the redemption of the believers' body (Eph. 4:30). The more the Spirit seals us, the more we are redeemed. When the redemption reaches its consummation, we will be glorified. That glorification will be the redemption of our body.
The redemption of the believers' body is their full sonship (Rom. 8:23). Full sonship means that we are of full age. In the United States, a person is not considered to be of full legal age until he is eighteen. Being of full age is a matter of maturity. It is always dangerous for people to do certain things when they are under age. Today some of the young people want to get married as teen-agers. But I have seen that those who married as teen-agers always suffered. The reason they suffered is that they lacked maturity. God predestinated us unto sonship (Eph. 1:5). His intention is to make us His sons, but we need to grow until we reach maturity. When we reach maturity, our sonship will become full. Today God cannot glorify us because we are not yet mature. We cannot blossom because we have not yet grown to maturity. Therefore, we must grow.