In 2 Corinthians 3:18 Paul also tells us that we are being transformed into the same image “from glory to glory.” This means that we are being transformed from one degree of glory to another degree. This indicates an ongoing process of life in resurrection. Transformation does not happen once for all; rather, it is gradual, from one degree of glory to another. In the pathway of transformation, we proceed progressively from one level of glory to another level of glory. Transformation is a pathway of glory; it increases from one degree of glory to another degree of glory until we are transformed into the image of the firstborn Son of God.
We need to see that the glory is Christ blossoming in resurrection. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He was God incarnate. God was concealed within the physical body of the Lord Jesus. Inwardly there was God; outwardly there was the flesh, and with this flesh there was no glory. In John 17:1 the Lord Jesus prayed, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You.” When the Lord Jesus prayed that the Father would glorify Him, He actually prayed that He would enter into glory through death and resurrection. In Luke 24:26 He asked the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and enter into His glory?” When the Lord Jesus spoke these words, He was already in resurrection. Thus, for Him to enter into His glory was for Him to be in resurrection. This verse reveals clearly that Christ’s resurrection was His glorification.
We may use the blossoming of a carnation flower as an illustration of the glory in 2 Corinthians 3:18 being Christ’s blossoming in resurrection. After a carnation seed is sown into the earth, the seed dies and then begins to grow up. It sprouts, grows into a plant, and eventually blossoms. This blossoming is the glorification of the carnation seed. Because a carnation seed dies when it is sown into the soil, we may say that its blossoming is its resurrection. Glorification, therefore, is equal to resurrection. Christ’s resurrection was His blossoming. This blossoming Christ, the resurrected Christ, is glory.
Furthermore, the resurrected Christ as the glory is the life-giving Spirit. Therefore, we may go on to say that the glory in 3:18 is actually the life-giving Spirit. As previously mentioned, from glory to glory in verse 18 means from the Lord Spirit to the Lord Spirit, because in this verse the glory and the Spirit are synonyms. Therefore, to be transformed from glory to glory is to be transformed from the Spirit to the Spirit. Now we are in the process of being transformed from glory to glory. The more we live and walk in the life-giving Spirit, the more glory is added into our being, and the more we are transformed into the same image from glory to glory. To be transformed from glory to glory far surpasses a mere outward improvement of behavior according to religious or ethical teachings.
Today the glory is the resurrected Christ, and this Christ is the Spirit. This means that the Lord as the glory is the Spirit living in us and dwelling in our spirit. Now that we have the Spirit indwelling our spirit, we need to exercise our spirit more and more by praying, reading the Word, and calling on the name of the Lord. The more we exercise our spirit with an unveiled face, the more we will behold the Lord. As we are gazing on Him, we will also reflect Him. While we are beholding and reflecting Him in this way, His element will be added into our being. This new element will replace and discharge the element of our old, natural life, and we will experience transformation, a metabolic change.