To watch this service, please click on the link to our YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/ybRwZ_lIQdo?si=DiQTu46EonUjtH6m
John 17:20-26 Unified by God’s Glory
This morning, we looked at the unity that exists through prayer, in the preaching of God’s Word, and in fellowship. Pray underpins all we do for our Saviour. You cannot function without prayer. People may not speak loudly in prayer meetings, but may be great prayer warriors. This scripture in John chapter 17 tells us that Jesus prayed for you and for me. One of the results of this prayer is that we may be unified, “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.” (John 17:22). Christ stresses the importance of oneness.
I see sadness when I see division – sometimes because of little things, sometimes because of big things. Division may occur when someone says, ‘This is my work, you’ve taken over my work.’ This is God’s work. The gospel is God’s work. Paul would preach and teach that the gospel is the power and unto salvation. Jesus prays we may be one with Him and His father. It is His work, for His glory and His praise. When Jonah was vomited out of the belly of the whale, he declared, “Salvation is of the Lord.” When we read the Bible, serve the Lord with the children, whatever we do, it’s God’s work. We join in the work, wherever that work is, and we can partner the work through prayer.
Lord Jesus Christ says, ‘The glory you have given me, I have given them.’ The Lord Jesus Christ speaks of the present, but also the future. The future is the result of the present. We can enjoy God’s glory, being in His presence and being like Him now. Jesus is now looking forward to the glory that awaits him, “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” (John 17:5). He came here, laid aside His glory, and now He was looking forward to being back at the right hand of the Majesty, looking forward to the glory that was His.
He looks forward to bringing us into His glory. ““And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.” (John 17:22). What an honour! He has already imparted that glory to us, “As You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.” (John 17:2). That thrills my soul! The greatness is He longs for us to be there much more than we long to be with Him. His love is so deep, His love is so strong, His love is so protective that He will never let us go, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6). This is the assurance He gives to you and me. He has already completed it. It is ours to enjoy. The glory which His disciples experienced when He was with them, grew with them.
We see something of this amazing glory when we look in the first few chapters of the book of Acts, which speaks of the early church. We have gone so far away from that experience. We can do so many things that they could not do, but we have gone so far away, “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.” (Acts 4:32).
I don’t know how you look upon another believer, but every believer who has repented of their sins to God and confessed the Lord Jesus Christ as their saviour, is one with every believer in Christ, wherever that believer is. The Lord Jesus Christ prays that they may be one with them, and for us to be one with each other, bringing unity. This unity comes from being unified with Christ. During those 40 days Jesus lived on this earth after He rose from the dead, he told His disciples they would be scattered. They didn’t believe him. Jesus was seen by at least 500, who were expecting the Lord Jesus Christ to be proclaimed king. In those 40 days, I believe Jesus used this time to draw the disciples back to Himself and He did this by showing them His glory.
In John 20 Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene. When Mary spoke to the risen Lord Jesus He said, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” (John 20:17). She saw the glory of God, the risen Lord. On the first day of the week, after the crucifixion, the Lord Jesus appeared through shut doors and the Lord appeared and stood in the midst of the disciples. They had never seen that before; they had seen the healing of men and women, miracles such as the water turned into wine, the multiplication of the bread and the fish, but here the doors were shut and Jesus appeared. 8 days later, the doors were shut again, and He appeared again. He told Thomas, who was not there previously, to put his fingers into His scars.
In John 21, several of His disciples with fishing. They did not catch anything. One of them recognised the Lord. What was He doing? Jesus was cooking breakfast. He had bread and He had fish. John writes, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”(John 1:14). Peter writes, “We were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16). This is often referred to as the transfiguration, but was it also part of the glory of God that they had seen?
The glory empowered the disciples. It’s energised and unified them. They had seen something different in those 40 days which brought them together. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). When they saw Jesus go back into heaven, they were empowered.
At Pentecost we see Peter preaching. In chapters 2 to 4 they were unified as one because they had seen something of the glory of God, something they had never seen before. This motivated them, so they continued daily with one accord. They ate their food with gladness and simplicity. They were united, fellowshipping together. They were being renewed with power. Peter and John went to pray. The glory of God brought them together. When they were forbidden to speak and were arrested, they were brought to the high priest. They were released but then preached again! They defied the high priest. This word is powerful.
There is something missing today in my life and maybe yours – the glory of God and the appreciation of it. When Moses asked, ‘Show me your glory,’ oh, that we would ask that. Do we stop praying because the Lord has prayed for us? No! We reach the word and pray, ‘Lord, open my eyes, show me your ways, teach me your path to lead me into your truth.’ The glory of God which empowered and energised the early church is needed today. We need to focus on him. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Do we enter into the presence of God? Do we have a desire to seek him, to see all the things he would display? Is it a reality that way two or three are gathered, He is in the midst?
If that is a reality, how should we act? “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6). If the Lord Jesus Christ is my saviour and I value the work of Calvary, then surely I would want to keep looking into His face. We can’t do the work if we haven’t seen His glory. When we have lost sight of His glory, we are a disunited bunch. We should long to see more of the Saviour’s glory. This is something we should pray for and long for.
When we studied the book of Job we spoke about the inconsistency of grief in Job’s life. He was more down in the dumps than he was up. But there were times in Job’s life when God would so encourage him. One example is Job 19:25, where Job would rise up above his boils, rise above the dust, the worms that were crawling out of his wounds and sores, and says “For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth.”
This is such an encouragement. Job would rise above. Even in his suffering God would bless him and open his eyes to see something of His glory. Job says,
“Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!
(Job 19:27)
‘My heart years within me!’ Is your heart yearning to be with my Saviour, as He longs for us to be with him? Do we appreciate him and long for him? Is he your desire? “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:24). We see this deep, deep love Jesus has for us. We see the depth of love when He went to Calvary’s cross and died for us, as He prays for us and longs for us to be with Him. The apostle Paul writes may this be our desire, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12).
Peter writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” (1 Peter 1:3-4).
Penuel Baptist Chapel, Roch 