Beauty We Will Share

This is Part 3 of 3 from a sermon on Beauty, the third in "The Transcendentals" series preached at Summit Church (Naples) in January 2026. It has been lightly edited for publishing. Click here to listen to the audio.

Did you know that Christians are destined for beauty? 

This idea has bolstered the strength of Christians for ages. It was on Job’s mind during his sufferings, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:25-26, NIV). And Scripture's conclusion reveals the same reality. In the heavenly city, “No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face…” (Rev. 22:3-4).

But it gets even better than seeing God’s beauty. How? C.S. Lewis explains it this way:

“What more, you may ask, do we want? Ah, but we want so much more—something the books on aesthetics take little notice of. But the poets and the mythologies know all about it. We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words—to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it… At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendours we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumour that it will not always be so. Some day, God willing, we shall get in.”[1]

Sharing Christ’s Beauty

Lewis is right. One day, we will share Christ’s beauty. 

This isn’t mere speculation—the apostles certainly clung to this heavenly promise. John spoke of our destiny, saying, “… we know that when [Jesus] appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). And Paul encouraged a church in an antagonistic culture with this reminder: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Philippians 3:20-21). 

His beautifying work is both physical and spiritual. When Jesus returns, we will be given new bodies. But the heavenly hope is more than physical transformation; we look forward to a perfectly beautiful heart too. 

Real Beauty for the Whole Person

For people well-acquainted with a sin-stained reality, this is an exciting hope. We will become beautiful as the flesh residue that still tangles us up will finally and fully burn away. As Philip Ryken writes, “The basis for this miraculous change is the beauty of Jesus Christ, who is ‘the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature’ (Heb 1:3)… When we see our Savior’s divine glory with our own two eyes, its resplendence will so illuminate us that we will radiate with the glory of God. In short, seeing is becoming! To see Jesus is to become beautiful—as he is.”[2]

Are there areas of sin in your life that you are asking God to burn away from you? He is, by the Holy Spirit, doing a beautifying (sanctifying) work today. And one day, that process will be complete. Dishonesty, financial impropriety, lustful thoughts, and evil deeds—they’ll all be burned away in the light of his consuming beauty.

Reading the prophet Isaiah’s call with that in mind makes it all the more powerful. 

Isaiah 33:13-17a 

13 Hear, you who are far off, what I have done;
    and you who are near, acknowledge my might.
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
    trembling has seized the godless:
“Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire?
    Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”
15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
    who despises the gain of oppressions,
who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe,
    who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed
    and shuts his eyes from looking on evil,
16 he will dwell on the heights;
    his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks;
    his bread will be given him; his water will be sure.

17 Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty… 

Works Cited:

[1] C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory: And Other Addresses (New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 2001), 42-43.

[2] Philip Ryken, Beauty is Your Destiny (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2023), 12.