Coming to know God is a journey of stages. His ultimate purpose is to make us one with Himself in at-one-ment. It is one of becoming, being brought from where we are to where He dwells. It is in degrees of glory leading to transformation.
"We all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another."
"Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him." -MSG