We become glorious by beholding glory.
The apostle Paul seems to delight in repeatedly expressing the glory of God as the ultimate purpose of all God does. From predestination to incarnation to sanctification to consummation — the ultimate purpose is the same: that God in Christ be magnified as supremely glorious.1 Not only does Paul regularly overflow with doxologies that ascribe all glory to God (Romans 11:36; 16:27; Ephesians 3:21; Philippians 4:20; 2 Timothy 4:18), but he also includes many explicit statements of purpose to show, for example, that God’s glory is the end of predestination (Ephesians 1:4–6), providence (Ephesians 1:11), the sealing of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13–14), Paul’s apostolic ministry (2 Corinthians 4:15), Christian welcome (Romans 15:7), the worldwide confession of Christ as Lord (Philippians 2:11), and the second coming (2 Thessalonians 1:10). Paul leaves us with little doubt that our sanctification also fits with this purpose — that God glorifies his people (incrementally now, fully later) for t...