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February 20, 2013 by Gerald Hiestand

“Fall Short” or “Lack” the Glory of God?

“For all have sinned and ‘fall short/lack’ (ὑστεροῦνται) the glory of God, and are justified by the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” Romans 3:23-24.

ὑστεροῦνται can mean fall short, but is frequently used in Paul to denote lack; c.f. 1 Cor 12:27, 1:24, etc.

On this latter reading, we do not necessarily “fall short” of God’s glory in the sense that we fail to achieve a divine moral standard, but rather we lack something God possesses–namely his glory. Glory in Paul is often linked to immortality and participation in God’s own divine life; e.g., those who are rewarded with eternal life “seek after the glory honor and immortality” (2:7) and are subsequently rewarded with “glory (2:10); the children of God are set free from corruption via glory (8:21).

Thus to be glorified is, in some measure, to be brought to participate in the immortality of God; to be freed from the deconstructive power of sin and death. Thus we can read Paul in Romans 3:23-24 to be saying that because of sin, we lack the immortality of God — we no longer participate in his glory. Thus, in the context of Romans 3:24, to be justified is to be made a possessor of God’s glory. This reading pushes Paul’s soteriology in an ontological/regenerative direction. The real work of salvation is not the mere balancing of the divine scales; it includes this, to be sure. But beyond this, and more importantly, it is the overcoming of the curse (death) that came about as a result of sin. This reading is also suggestive that for Paul δικαιόω has more than a strictly legal and forensic range of meaning.

Categories: General | Gerald Hiestand | justification | sin
Recent Comments
- Joe Rigney said...
  
  And of course, the reason that we lack this glory is because we traded it away for images (Rom 1:21-26). We lack glory because we exchanged it.
  
  02/20/13 12:47 PM | Comment Link
- Gerald Hiestand said...
  
  Nice, Joe. Very nice.
  
  02/20/13 2:15 PM | Comment Link
- Jason Barbieri said...
  
  Hmmm… I agree with ya, Gerry. But I’m not sure I’m convinced that “lack” would be a better translation that “fall short”, given how I’m reading the overall context of Romans 1-3.
  
  Are you in fact arguing that “lack” is better than “fall short”? Or are you just kicking an idea out there?
  
  Have enjoyed chewing on this for the last hour and doing some studying on it. Appreciate the fact that you brought this up. I had never before taken the time to look into “hystereo” before.
  
  02/21/13 2:03 PM | Comment Link
- Joan Gibbons said...
  
  Hi Gerald,
  
  What came to mind is that I can either feed my flesh, or I can feed my spirit. Therefore, the side I feed is the one that controls me. Falling short and/or lacking the holy spirit will certainly occur when I feed my flesh.
  I always appreciated when friends put me in check when necessary.
  This morning I heard a song by David Crowder on the way to work called “Wholly Yours.” It’s wonderful.
  He sings about how God is holy and that he (David Crowder) is finally, wholly devoted to God.
  
  From the song:
  “I want to be holy, like you are.
  But the harder I try the more clearly can I,
  Feel the depth of our fall and the weight of it all.
  And so this might could be, the most impossible thing
  Your grandness in me, making me clean.
  Glory, Hallelujah, glory, glory, Hallelujah”
  
  I love those last two lines!
  Oh the glory of ‘His grandness in me, making me clean!’
  
  Check out the song.
  Joan
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLxC_tYhFxs
  
  02/21/13 9:27 PM | Comment Link
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About the SAET Blog

Welcome to the SAET blog. Herein you will find the theological/pastoral ramblings of the Rev. Matthew Mason, the good Doctor Jason Hood, and Pastor Gerald Hiestand. All three write under the premise that theology and the pastorate belong together, and that (at least some) pastors must once again function as writing theologians for the wider church, for the ecclesial renewal of theology and the theological renewal of the church.

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Gerald Hiestand
Gerald has served as the SAET board president since 2006. He has been in pastoral ministry since 1999, and serves currently as the Senior Associate Pastor of Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, IL. He is pursuing a PhD in Classical Studies from the University of Kent, Canterbury.

Jason Hood
Jason is a graduate of Rhodes College, Reformed Theological Seminary, Highland Theological College and the Univ. of Aberdeen. Jason works as Scholar-in-Residence and director of Christ College Residency Program at Christ UMC. He's trying to figure out the twitter thing, @jasonbhood, and sometimes writes for ChristianityToday.com.

Matthew Mason
Matthew earned an MTh at Oak Hill College, London. He is an Assistant Pastor at Church of the Resurrection, Washington D. C. (Anglican Province of Rwanda).

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