As the hymnist suggests, “For the joy of human love/ Brother, sister, parent, child/ Friends on earth, and friends above/ For all gentle thoughts and mild. Lord of all, to Thee we raise/ This our hymn of grateful praise.” As wonderful as human relationships can be, they pale
in comparison to the joy of knowing Christ!
It’s why
Christians sing praise songs like:
-To be continued
“Knowing you, Jesus
Knowing you, there is no greater thing
You're my all, you're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love you, Lord!”
Knowing you, there is no greater thing
You're my all, you're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love you, Lord!”
In John 17 as the Lord poured out his soul in prayer the
Savior clearly understood that by going to the cross He was opening the gates
of heaven that His people might experience personal
fellowship with the Godhead. Yes, biblical Christianity involves sound doctrine
and orthodox theology but it’s also paramount that we appreciate the experiential component of our so great a
salvation.
I sometimes wonder if in all our theological studies
and sentence diagramming we have forgotten this- the essence of eternal life is
‘Knowing God!’
In his classic work, Knowing
God, J. I. Packer noted that there’s a world of difference between “knowing
about God and truly knowing God.”
The Master put it like this in John 17:3, "And this is
eternal life, that they may know Thee,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom Thou hast sent."
This single verse of Scripture ought to inflame our religious affections, fuel our worship, and reignite our zeal for evangelism!
But before diving headfirst into verse three let me
back up and establish the broader context of John. The simplest way to break down this “prayer
of prayers” is to follow three overarching prayer requests: 1) In
vv 1-5 Jesus prays for His glorification that the Father might be all in all. 2) In
vv 6-19 Jesus prays for His present disciples to be sanctified and to be
Divinely kept. 3) Finally, in vv. 20-26,
Jesus asks that His future disciples (the church) might enjoy spiritual unity
in Him.
The first thing Jesus requests is for
His glorification.
I like to refer to John 17:1, 5 as the Soli Christo Gloria Petition. John 17:1, 5; These things Jesus
spoke; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has
come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee; "And now, glorify Thou Me together with
Thyself, Father, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.
Exactly what is Jesus asking for here? “Father, give me grace to finish the mission
and so prove my Sonship!” “Magnify Me in
life and in death that I might glorify You.”
It was more than acceptable for Jesus to make this
request, in part, because He’s simply asking the Father for what was promised
to Him in eternity past. Notice the three
fold use of the verb “give” in John 17:2.
"Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may
glorify Thee, even as Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind, that
to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life.”
The basis of Jesus first petition is connected to the
Father’s Three-Pronged Love Gift.
In
eternity past, A) The exalted Son was given full
authority to act as final judge. “Glorify Thy Son…. even as Thou gavest Him authority over all
mankind” (John 17:1a, 2a).
The promise of supreme authority harkens backs to an
eternal covenant between the Father and Son which has been progressively revealed
throughout history. For example, 600 years earlier in
Daniel’s night vision we read of this. Daniel 7:13-14, “And the Son of Man came
up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a
kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language Might serve
Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away…”
The Son of Man is “given” (there’s that word again), dominion
over all flesh. I don’t know about you
but this sounds a lot like John 17:2 to me.
In eternity past, A) The exalted Son was given full
authority to act as final judge (John 17:2a)
After His humiliation absolute
sovereign authority is handed over to Christ- the exalted Lord (see also Matt
28:18; Phil. 2:9-11).
Earlier in his ministry Jesus declared, “22 "For not even the Father judges anyone,
but He has given all judgment to the Son, in order that all may honor the Son,
even as they honor the Father. And He
gave Him authority to execute judgment,
because He is the Son of Man (John 5:22-23a, 27).
The glorification of the Son lies in His sovereign
authority (as Lord over all)! Those who welcome Him as Savior need not fear Him at the final judgment
(note Psalm 2:11-12).
But that’s not it! There’s a
second prong to this gift, B) The obedient Messiah was also given a special
love gift (John 17:2b). In eternity past, the Bridegroom was promised a Bride (Eph. 1:3-14). The King was given citizens! The Lamb “slain before the foundation
of the world” received a countless throng of (future) worshipers!
To use the verbiage of Christ in John 17:2b,
“All whom Thou hast given to Me.” Who is
Jesus thinking of here? The Master is
clearly referencing the elect of God (note John 17:9-10).
“Ye chosen seed of Israel's
race,
ye ransomed from the Fall,
hail Him who saves you by His grace,
and crown Him Lord of all.”
ye ransomed from the Fall,
hail Him who saves you by His grace,
and crown Him Lord of all.”
The famed Baptist preacher Charles
Spurgeon was spot when he said, “What is
often forgotten is that the ultimate end of gospel is not the conversion of men
but the glory of God!”
The final prong of this special gift
is mentioned at the tail end of John 17:2.
C) The glorified
Savior is given the right to bestow eternal life. “…that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may
give eternal life” (John 17:2c)...
