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Glory Revealed To The Saints

John 13:31-32
When he was gone, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. (NIVUK)

Judas had gone (John 13:26-30).  Only those disciples who would become the apostles of the early Church remained with Jesus.  His ‘last words before death’ (found in John chapters 13-17) would be etched into the apostles’ minds and hearts by the Holy Spirit (John 16:12-15) and would be incorporated into their teaching to the church after Pentecost (Acts 2:42).  

Then Jesus started talking about glory.  The glory of God is the ultimate effect of God in all He does.  It is the goal of His nature and the pleasure of all that He has created.  In these verses Jesus said that the glory of God is clearly seen in His glorious atonement on the cross and at the resurrection.  Although Jesus had laid aside His eternal glory to be God’s Suffering Servant, in order to be crucified (Philippians 2:7-8), He was still God; and that would be seen on the third day after His death.
 
Although we may think of Jesus dying for our benefit, His ultimate reason was to glorify the Father: so that every person and all of creation might see how great God is (Romans 8:19-21).  It is no accident that Jesus uses the word ‘glory’, in its various forms, five times in these two verses.  He wanted the apostles to start their task as church planters with the confidence that He is forever the glorious God, and that the gospel most clearly displays His glorious nature.  Without the certain prospect of sharing the Father’s glory, Jesus could not have endured the cross (Hebrews 12:1-3).  And without the hope of glory to come, the church could never have sustained persecution nor would its message be any better than pagan ideologies or obsolete religion (1 Peter 1:3-9).  It is the prospect of the glory of God which gives us confidence and a totally non-self-centred goal for our living and dying. The realisation of the glory of God is the goal of the church.
 
Our Christian lives cannot function properly when we forget that God’s great plan is centred on the revelation of His glory and not on meeting our needs.  The apostles would understand that as time went on (1 Peter 5:1-4).  Probably, only two of them died a natural death; the Apostle Paul was spurred on in his ministry by knowing “that I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18).  Whatever your present joys or sorrows, God’s ultimate purpose is to display His glory so that everybody will be able to see how great God is.

Prayer 
Glorious God. Thank You that You are so wonderful and do all things well. I am sorry when I focus on my own triumphs and tragedies and encourage people to look at me. Help me to see that what people think of You matters. Help me to turn away from my sinful goal of being the centre of attention. Instead, help me to live in such a way that people see what a wonderful Saviour Jesus is. In His Name. Amen.
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© Dr Paul Adams