Exploring the Meaning of Sundoxazo in Greek

συνδοξάζω expresses the idea of being “glorified with,” sharing glory in company with another. It appears in the context of Paul’s description of heirship with Christ and the path that leads through shared suffering to shared glorification.

Root and Related Words

συνδοξάζω is built from σύν (syn), “with” (Strong’s G4862), and δοξάζω (doxazo), “to glorify” (Strong’s G1392). The compound form presents glorification as something participated in together, rather than experienced in isolation.

Occurrences

“and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:17)

In Romans 8:17, συνδοξάζω stands at the end of a chain of relationships and conditions: children → heirs → “heirs of God” and “joint heirs with Christ.” The verse then frames the heirs’ future in two parallel “with him” clauses. First, “if indeed we suffer with him,” and second, “that we may also be glorified with him.” Within this sentence, συνδοξάζω functions as the climactic counterpart to shared suffering: the same companionship expressed in suffering (“with him”) is carried forward into glorification (“with him”).

The word contributes a relational shape to the hope being described. The heirs’ destiny is not merely that they will be glorified, but that this glorification is explicitly shared—joined to Christ as the one with whom they are already described as “joint heirs.” The sentence therefore speaks of an inheritance defined by participation: shared status (“joint heirs with Christ”), shared experience (“we suffer with him”), and shared outcome (“be glorified with him”). In this setting, συνδοξάζω reinforces the way the verse ties the believers’ future to Christ’s own path and honor, presenting glorification as something entered together with him.

Sense and Usage

The definition “to glory with” fits Romans 8:17 as a compact expression of shared glory—glory that is not solitary, private, or self-derived, but experienced in fellowship “with him.” The surrounding language makes that fellowship concrete by placing it alongside two other “with” realities in the verse: being “joint heirs with Christ” and “suffer[ing] with him.” In this usage, the “with” element does more than add a minor nuance; it specifies the manner in which the glorification is conceived. The promised glorification is pictured as co-participation: the heirs’ glory is bound up with Christ’s, in keeping with their identity as co-heirs.

Because συνδοξάζω appears here as the purpose or result clause (“that we may also be glorified with him”), it carries a forward-looking force. It points to a hoped-for consummation of the relationship already described. The verse does not treat glory as an abstract status detached from lived experience; it places suffering and glorification in parallel, both defined by accompanying Christ. In that literary structure, the verb helps present glorification as the corresponding outcome to faithful companionship in suffering. The word thus serves Paul’s larger sentence-level logic: heirship entails a shared path, and the shared path has a shared end.

Within the single attested context, the compound’s two recognizable components (syn, “with,” and doxazo, “to glorify”) work together to keep agency and association in view. δοξάζω contributes the notion of glorifying, while σύν specifies the partnership. The resulting sense is not simply that glorification occurs at the same time as another’s, but that it is experienced in association with him—the one explicitly named at the end of the verse. The immediate co-text repeatedly anchors this “withness” in Christ (“with Christ,” “with him,” “with him”), so the verb’s force is tightly focused: the shared glory is shared with Christ, matching the shared inheritance and shared suffering already stated.

Imagery

Romans 8:17 sets up a stark but coherent pair of images: suffering in company with Christ and, beyond it, glorification in company with Christ. By placing συνδοξάζω as the sentence’s final movement, the verse portrays glory as the heir’s destination—yet a destination defined by fellowship rather than independence, the kind of honor that belongs to those whose inheritance and life are joined “with him.”

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).