Can Jesus Be Glorified in Us?

Tom: We’re continuing with the gospel. We’re in the Gospel of John. Dave, we’ve been at this for a while, but we are in John:17:8For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
See All..., so that’s progress, but from time to time, I think it’s good for us to remind ourselves and our listeners, why are we in the Gospel of John?

Dave: Well, you tell us, Tom. You’re the man that chose this.

Tom: Oh, so you’re throwing this back to me, Dave?

Dave: Mm-hmmm.

Tom: Well, we think—the program is called Search the Scriptures Daily. So we’re encouraging all of our listeners to get into the Word of God. And we know, from letters that we get, there are many people who say, “Yeah, I’ve been a Christian for a while, but I just—I’m not reading the Bible, and I appreciate your encouragement.” And that’s what we want to do. We want to encourage people to read God’s Word. We’re presenting information, but we’re not The Bible Answer Men here. We are just of those who are—just two people who are trying to encourage people to search out the Scriptures and come to their own conclusions about what—check out what we say.

Dave: Mm-hmm. And back to why we’re in John is because you always recommend, and I certainly do, too, that a person start in John. It’s a good place to start if you want to understand the Bible.

Tom: And particularly the gospel. It is presented so clearly.

We’re in John:17:8For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
See All...: “For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me.” And, of course, this is Jesus speaking: “And they have received them…[“they” being His disciples] and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.”

Dave: Well, Tom, this is the real Lord’s Prayer Jesus is praying. Verse 1: “He lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father,” so in all of this, He is talking to His Father. I think He’s looking into the future, actually. This would be one of the reasons why I would say this prayer is for all believers at all times. Because, certainly, those twelve disciples had not received His Word as they should have. They certainly didn’t understand that He came from the Father and was going back.

But He is giving them credit for what they one day will understand. And what we understand today, hopefully. “…and the words which thou gavest me.” Well, Jesus is the Word, the living Word. And we are born again by the Word. It is through the Word that God created this universe. It’s through the Word that He creates new life in sinners who come to Him in faith and receive Him.

Tom: “Man will not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

Dave: “They have received these words, and have known surely that I came out from thee. They have believed that thou didst send me.” Well, they’re in the process of believing Him. “And I pray for them. I pray not for the world but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine.”

Now, the Calvinist says, “You see there? He’s talking about the Elect, and there is an elect group, a limited number, that God has chosen for salvation. The rest of mankind are just left. God could save them, but He didn’t choose to do so.” Okay?
Well, but He is—this is a prayer for His own. He’s praying, for example, “that they may be one as we are one…I’ve called them out of the world, and Father, these are special to you and to me.” So, it wouldn’t be proper for Him to pray for the world, that the world would be one with His own, with the believers. He’s talking about believers: “Whosoever will may come and believe.” But there is a distinction between believers and unbelievers. There’s a distinction between the church and the world. And it doesn’t…it’s not saying that God limits the ones that will come to Him. It’s not saying that He chooses certain ones for salvation and certain ones for damnation. But He’s talking to His Father about those who will believe in Him.

And He says, “For those also who will believe on you through their word.” So, that He doesn’t pray for the world doesn’t mean that He doesn’t love the world, or that He doesn’t want the world to be saved, but in this context…”

Tom: “For God so loved the world…”

Dave: Right. In this context, it wouldn’t fit.

Tom: Right. Verse 10: “And all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them.” Now, Dave, this sounds a little exclusive.

Dave: Well, Christ purchased us with His blood. He paid the penalty for our sins, so He has ransomed us, you could say. He paid the ransom for us. And it’s the Father, however, who accepts Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf as having satisfied His infinite justice. So…and the Father, and the Son, the Holy Spirit are one—the Trinity. “I and my Father are one,” Jesus says. So it’s not remarkable that He says, “Those who are mine are thine, and thine are mine.” And then He says, “And I am glorified in them.”

Well, He wasn’t going to be glorified when they all turned tail and ran to save their lives. Remember Peter said, “Though all should forsake you, not I.” We sometimes overlook—we put too much blame on Peter, and we sometimes overlook the fact that the Scripture says, “And likewise said they all.” They all promised this, and they all forsook Him and fled.

So, is Christ glorified in them at that point? Hardly. But He’s going to be. He is looking forward, and one day, Tom, we will be in heaven, and we will shine, the Scripture says, as the stars, forever and ever. I mean, we will be there in the likeness of Christ. His redeemed ones, and that will certainly glorify Him. We sing that hymn: “Oh that will be glory for me.” But it will be glory for Him to have us there.

Tom: Dave, the verse that says, “Let God be true and every man a liar.” Isn’t that in a sense glorifying God? I’m not saying we all go out and be liars, but no matter what we do, because God is true, He’s always going to be exalted, no matter what we do.

Dave: That is right. Mm-hmm. He will, Tom…He will even be glorified in those separated from Him for eternity, suffering in the Lake of Fire. How could that be? Well, He’s glorified in the fact that He didn’t compromise. He didn’t lower His standards. He loves them. He doesn’t want them to be there. Just like a judge who pronounces the just penalty upon His own son. If he didn’t, he would be partner to his crime. So the judge is glorified in the fact that he doesn’t compromise. He doesn’t bend. He stands true to the law—to his calling—and he prescribes the just penalty, even though it’s someone that he loves who is going to suffer from this.

Tom: Verse 11: “And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee, holy Father…” (And by the way, that’s the only Holy Father there really is.) “Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me that they may be one as we are.”

Dave: Mm-hmm. Well, Tom, you put your finger on something there. What man would dare to be called “Holy Father”? It’s blasphemy. But we have protestant ministers who love to be called “Reverend”; even “Right Reverend,” or “Most Reverend.” No, the scripture says, “Holy and reverend is His name”—God’s name. May that not be true of any of us.

Tom: And these disciples—nearly all of them, all but John went to death to demonstrate the truth of what they were confessing and professing.

Dave: And that certainly glorified Christ.