“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17)

The time for Jesus’ death had arrived. Jesus now prays for those who are following Him and those who will believe His message. In this prayer Jesus looks at the time before the creation of the world and to the hope of eternity.  Jesus remembers, “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (John 17:5) In this dark time in the life of Jesus, He looks back and remembers the glory which He and the Father shared before everything else came into existence in creation. “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17)

The Creator had come to earth. This is the foundation of the hope which we have in salvation. John begins his Gospel by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:1-3) “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) The glory which Jesus had with the Father was now shown to those who had come to faith in Him. They had come to know that the God of all eternity had returned to His creation. As one of them, He could bring them into a renewed relationship.

“Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” (John 1:16-18)

As we come to know God through Jesus Christ, we are given the promise of eternal life. Jesus confirmed this promise to the Disciples as He prepared to go to the cross. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” (John 14:1-4)

Jesus is now looking forward to eternity for the future, which will include His creation. He has come to redeem and give them hope. Peter, who heard this promise would write, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.” (1 Peter 1:3-4)

Jesus had prayed about the glory which He had shared with the Father before the world began. It was this glory which the Disciples had seen. And it is now the glory which all will experience for all eternity. As God showed John the future, he would write, “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.” (Revelation 21:10-11) “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” (Revelation 21:23)

In the Love of Jesus,

Michael Block