With its soaring affirmations and profound statements of salvation in Christ, Romans 8 is a high point in Pauline theology. But what does Paul mean when in 8:29 he speaks of being "conformed to the image of his Son"? Remarkably, there has been little scholarly attention awarded to this Pauline statement of the goal of salvation. And yet in Christian piety, preaching, and theology, this is a treasured phrase. Surprisingly, its meaning has been variously and ambiguously expressed. Is it a moral or spiritual or sanctifying conformity to Christ, or to his suffering, or does it point to an eschatological transformation into radiant glory? In Conformed to the Image of His Son, Haley Goranson Jacob probes and reopens a text perhaps too familiar and a meaning too often assumed. If conformity to the image of the Son is the goal of salvation, a proper understanding is paramount. Jacob points out that the key lies in the meaning of "glory" in Paul's biblical-theological perspective and in how he uses the language of glory in Romans. For this investigation of glory alone, her study would be valuable for the fresh understanding she brings to Paul's narrative of glory. But in introducing a new and compelling reading of Romans 8:29, this is a study that makes a strong bid to reorient our understanding of Paul's classic statement of the goal of salvation.

With the aim of envisioning new horizons for a theology of glory, this book offers fresh biblical, theological, and scientific perspectives on the subject of divine self-revelation and human response to the manifestations of divine presence. The first four chapters explore the biblical origins of divine glory within the nation of Israel, the glorious encounter between Moses and God, and the Christological dimensions of glory in Johannine and Pauline writings. These chapters demonstrate how the biblical text inherently weaves aspects of creation, calling, covenant relationship, revelation, Christology, ecclesiology, and eschatology into a remarkable tapestry of divine glory. Five theological essays cover the role of the Holy Spirit and the worshipful response of believers to the glory of God, as well as expositions on the glory-themed writings of Jonathan Edwards, Karl Barth, Oscar Romero, and Etty Hillesum. These theological writers provoke challenging questions by emphasizing how the theme of glory paradoxically encompasses both otherworldly perfection and worldly sinfulness. This book concludes with two chapters that focus on the natural and physical sciences, revealing how God's glory is displayed in the heavens and on earth. The chapters in this book demonstrate the importance of the subject of divine glory in the study of the nature of the triune God.