The Glory of God In the Redemption of Man
Notes
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1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Setting the Stage
Setting the Stage
When Jesus had spoken these words is taking us back to what He’s been teaching the disciples about His departure to the Father…
His giving and sending of the Holy Spirit.
—> The cross is imminent.
At the end of Chapter 14 they leave the room where they were having a meal…
They are now traveling to the garden where Jesus will be betrayed by Judas and arrested.
In the first half of v.1 we read…
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said,
It seems that we are to understand, as they were traveling and Jesus is teaching, that Jesus stopped and prayed.
So Jesus looks up, and calls out to His Father.
Looking up signifies a calling upon the One who is higher, more supreme, whom we depend upon…
—> This was a common posture of prayer.
There are other postures: bowing ones head, kneeling, falling face down on the ground, standing and looking up, and also, looking up in general.
And, so we’re told that Jesus lifts His eyes to heaven and speaks.
—> So, this is an act of prayer by Christ.
We are being given the privilege of hearing a prayer of Christ.
This is the longest recorded prayer of our Lord.
We’re hearing the mind of Christ in relation to His imminent death.
The disciples are close enough to hear His prayer.
It’s possible that they were praying with Him.
But, we know they heard Him pray.
And, many times we see Christ pray out loud for the benefit of the hearers.
Not only do the disciples benefit from the prayers of Christ…
But, so do we, as readers of John’s gospel.
We will observe deep theological truths in this prayer of Jesus to His Father.
So, let’s start this morning in a pursuit to understand what Jesus is teaching us through His prayer.
1 …“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,
In this first request, there are a few truths to key in on…
The Mission is the Glory of God
The Mission is the Glory of God
When Jesus says…
“Father, the hour has come;
He’s saying:
the time to atone for the sins of His people
the time for Him to drink the cup of wrath for all the sins of His bride
the time for Him to die a cruel death at the hands of His image bearers is upon Him
the time for His righteous life to prepare Him to be the spotless lamb of God
the time for Him to accomplish redemption for His sheep
This hour, the climax of History, the climax of the gospel, the pivotal moment of man’s history...
It has come.
It is imminent.
There have been multiple times in this gospel in which His time, the hour, was not yet.
But, now, the hour has come…
And, Jesus doesn’t resort to fatalistic resign…
But, He enters into prayer with His Father.
And, in this prayer we see from the very words of the Eternal Son of God, incarnate…
The God-Man…that this entire mission is ultimately and primarily for the glory of God.
The request…
glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,
Here we see a few truths about glory:
#1 – We see a deep, abiding concern for all the Jesus is and all that Jesus does to be for the glory of the Father.
#1 – We see a deep, abiding concern for all the Jesus is and all that Jesus does to be for the glory of the Father.
We’ve witnessed this throughout the gospel of John.
Jesus has stated numerous times that He does nothing of His ow accord…
That everything He does is what the Father desires Him to do.
That everything He does it to point to the Father and glorify the Father.
#2 – We know that glory is something that God does not share with anyone else but Himself.
#2 – We know that glory is something that God does not share with anyone else but Himself.
8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other…
11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned?
—> My glory I will not give to another.
So when we hear Jesus request for His Father to glorify Himself so that He can glorify His Father…
This is a request that they both be glorified, equally.
How can Christ make such a request to be equally glorified with the Father if He is not equal with the Father?!
How can the Father grant such a request if the Son is not equal to the Father?!
If God does not share His glory, then Christ must be God in order for Him to be glorified.
So, just this request of Christ points to His deity.
Which John has been teaching from the very beginning of his gospel…
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Glory belongs to God alone.
Now, one may ask…
What about the glorification of the saints?
What about the glorification of the saints?
Are we to not be glorified as saints?
Well, we are to be clothed with glorified bodies.
But, the body that we are to inherit is a body that can live in the fulness of the glory of God and not be consumed.
The glorification of the saints is a glorification that is not that we are glorified with our own glory…
But a glorification in which we can bask in the pleasure and enjoyment of the glory of God.
We have no glory.
We are not glorious.
We have no claim on personal glory.
The glorification we will inherit is to enjoy the glory of God through the redemption we have in JC.
To bask in His eternal glory as children of the most High God…
—> In unmeasurable bliss.
We have been created to be Moons.
We need to stop acting like the Suns.
Which brings us to…
#3 – Christ’s glory is inherent as the Eternal Son of God.
#3 – Christ’s glory is inherent as the Eternal Son of God.
He laid it aside in His condescension and incarnation.
But, listen to what He says…
5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
The glory that Christ is asking for is not a new glory, but a glory that has been veiled in the incarnational mission of redemption…
Which has as it’s primary goal…the glory of God.
This is an inherent glory of the Eternal Son of God.
Listen to what Paul says to Titus…
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.
This is the Godhead; Father, Son and Holy Spirit existing in the fulness of glory before the world existed.
—> Before anything existed other than the eternal God.
Who else existed before anything was created other than the eternal Godhead?!
—> Nothing and no one other than God.
This is speaking of the Covenant of Redemption in which the eternal Son of God volunteered to incarnate and redeem a people from the condemnation of sin…
And, the Son’s fulfillment of this Covenant…
And the Father, Son, and HS being glorified through this covenant…
And, the Holy Spirit’s application of this covenant upon the elect of God…
Is offered to us in the Covenant of Grace.
Christ offering His accomplishment to us who accomplished nothing.
It is a covenant of grace, not works.
It is a covenant that we are brought into, not because we deserve it, or earned it…
But, strictly because of Christ’s keeping the Covenant of Redemption…
And, bringing us into His standing by faith.
Christ agreed to leave the throne room of God at a point in time…
And, actually living a perfect life
Actually/physically and innocently die on the cross
Actually/physically rise from the dead, and ascend back to the throne room of God.
The eternal Son of God has always been and always will be.
And, His glory is eternal, though veiled for His mission of redemption…
—> Cloaked in humanity.
But, as Paul puts it in…
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
The incarnation cloaked His deity.
The resurrection broke open the radiant glory of His deity.
The incarnation concealed the fulness of His personhood.
The resurrection tore the veil away to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
There is no question of who Christ is…
He is the eternal Son of God, who took upon Himself a human nature…
—> To redeem a people unto Himself.
And, His work of redemption will shine…
—> and be rejoiced in
—> and celebrated with ecstatic bliss for all
eternity...
With the angels and saints singing Worthy is the Lamb!
Now we come to…
#4 – Glorify here means to clothe in splendour
#4 – Glorify here means to clothe in splendour
So, when we read…
1 …“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,
Along with…
5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
What Jesus is praying for is this…
The veil of humanity that has cloaked His deity be proven to be the work of the Eternal Son incarnate.
The resurrection and ascension will prove this.
The humbling of Himself through taking the form of a servant.
The humbling of Himself in taking upon Himself the shame and condemnation that His bride deserves.
The being clothed with our sin in order to atone for our sin and have it paid for in full.
If our righteousness is like filthy rags, think of what our unrighteousness must be to God.
Yet, Jesus is about to clothe Himself with our sinful, filthy garments.
And, Jesus is praying for the end result…
And, that is the glory and splendor of the Eternal Son of God be proven and vindicated in His life, death, and resurrection.
That all may know that Christ is Lord.
That all will bow and confess that JC is Lord…
to the glory of the Father.
All of this so that one day all the elect angels and all the Bride of Christ will sing…
9 …“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
Through the finished work of Christ, the veiled glory of the God-Man has been changed into a radiant blinding light of glory that cannot be denied, nor will it be.
Now, I want to close with this thought for us…
#5 – If Christ lived His life to glorify God, then His image-bearers should certainly live their life to glorify God in all things, as well.
#5 – If Christ lived His life to glorify God, then His image-bearers should certainly live their life to glorify God in all things, as well.
The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.
20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
We are to bask in the goodness of God in keeping all of His promises in and through the work of Christ…
—> And rejoice in His truth to His glory.
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Even our welcoming one another is to be out of gratitude for Christ bringing us into the covenant of grace…
And that for the glory of God.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
What’s going on in your life right now?
How can you look at it differently, more deeply, more prayerfully and ask the Lord how you can glorify Him through your circumstances?
Everything we do is to be for the glory of God.
Everything Christ did, He did for the glory of the Father.
And, dear friends, in Christ, His record is our record.
All the more reason, for the joy that has been graciously and lavishly poured out upon us in Christ,…
To imitate our Savior.
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
