“And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was,” John 17:5.
I want to pick out another element o the Saviour’s prayer before His Father. Note what He says in verse 4 as a prelude to the request He makes in verse 5. “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”
1. There can be no glory for us until we have finished what the Lord gave us to do!
Remember what Romans 8:17 states. “If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” The ‘suffering’ here comes from ‘serving’ the Lord. Service is what marks true conversion. “For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,” 1 Thessalonians 1:9.
With service will come suffering to some measure at least! But without ‘service’, a finishing of the ‘work’ given us, there can be no glory. So it was with the Lord Jesus.
2. The Saviour was claiming that glory which was His from all eternity. The old hymn states it well.
1 O sweet is the story of Jesus,
The wonderful Saviour of men,
Who suffered and died for the sinner,--
I'll tell it again and again!
O wonderful, wonderful story,
The dearest that ever was told;
I'll repeat it in glory,
The wonderful story,
Where I shall His beauty behold.
2 He came from the brightest of glory;
His blood as a ransom He gave,
To purchase eternal redemption;
And, O He is mighty to save!
Yes, the Saviour did indeed come from the ‘brightest of glory’ to redeem sinners. Never forget what John said of the Saviour. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made,” John 1:1-3. The Lord Jesus has donned again that glory He laid aside in order to redeem sinners.
3. He will be wearing that glory when He returns to this world. The world will see One Whose glory was concealed when He was here 2000 years ago. “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself,” Rev 19:11-12.
4. We will share in His glory! “Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ,” 2 Thess 2:14. “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy,” 1 Peter 4:13. “But we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is,” 1 John 3:2.
This is the glorious hope of the Christian. Is it your hope today?