Christ\'s Prayer for Us
The Wonder of Christ’s Prayer
John 17:22-26
“So that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
We can only imagine the relationship that the Father and the Son enjoy within the Triune God. From eternity past, they have shared a mutual love for one another that is infinite in its extent and perfect in its expression. The love between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit defines love. It is not the shallow, self-serving love motivated by personal pleasure and fulfillment that characterizes our expression of love. Within the triune Godhead, there is no selfishness, no demanding of one’s personal agenda, and no desire to elevate oneself above the other. Instead, there is a love that seeks to bring glory to the other, to express love in its purest form. It is an eternal love, one so complete that it never grows deeper and never wanes in the slightest. Within the mutual love and unity of the Triune God, we discover the ultimate expression of unity and mutual care. The Father delights in the Son, and the Son desires to glorify the Father, and the Holy Spirit strives to elevate the Son.
Within this mutual love, there is a desire to bring glory to the other. The Father reveals the glory of the Son, and the Son reveals the glory of the Father. Each forever reveals the other in their multi-faceted glory as they share the same divine nature and essence.
To contemplate the love and glory shared within the Trinity is to struggle to express its depths with the shallowness of our words. The ultimate hyperbole falls short, and we can only stand in silent awe as we marvel at the wonder of the unity, love, and mutual glory that marks the Trinity.
In this high priestly prayer, Jesus gives us a glimpse of the relationship between the Triune God and their mutual desire to love and glorify one another in perfect unity. Yet, when we come to the end of this prayer, we are completely stunned by the final request of Jesus. As Jesus highlights the love and unity of the relationship he enjoys with the Father, he then asks that we be given the profound privilege of sharing in that love and glory. In vs. 22, Christ states that the glory that the Father has given the Son, Jesus desires to provide to us. In other words, just as Christ revealed the Father, we now reveal Christ as his character is imprinted upon us. We become image bearers of Christ who reveal and manifest the glory of God in us. This glory does not come from ourselves, for we are not God. Instead, it comes through Christ as he imprints his character upon us. As we live in obedience to him and reveal his character, we become participants in his divine glory.
The second astonishing prayer is that we will become recipients of the same love that the Father has for the Son. The prayer is that we become the objects of God’s love and will be transformed, so His love is revealed through us. God bestows upon us the same depth of love that the Father expresses to the Son. Consequently, we then learn to love God and others with the same love that exists within the Godhead. When we accept Christ as surrender to him, we lose nothing except the guilt of sin, and we gain everything as we become the objects of God’s love so that we are now co-heirs with Christ. We cannot begin to comprehend God’s love for us; all we can do is stand in amazement at the marvel of knowing he loves us with the same passion he has for his Son.
John 17:22-26
“So that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
We can only imagine the relationship that the Father and the Son enjoy within the Triune God. From eternity past, they have shared a mutual love for one another that is infinite in its extent and perfect in its expression. The love between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit defines love. It is not the shallow, self-serving love motivated by personal pleasure and fulfillment that characterizes our expression of love. Within the triune Godhead, there is no selfishness, no demanding of one’s personal agenda, and no desire to elevate oneself above the other. Instead, there is a love that seeks to bring glory to the other, to express love in its purest form. It is an eternal love, one so complete that it never grows deeper and never wanes in the slightest. Within the mutual love and unity of the Triune God, we discover the ultimate expression of unity and mutual care. The Father delights in the Son, and the Son desires to glorify the Father, and the Holy Spirit strives to elevate the Son.
Within this mutual love, there is a desire to bring glory to the other. The Father reveals the glory of the Son, and the Son reveals the glory of the Father. Each forever reveals the other in their multi-faceted glory as they share the same divine nature and essence.
To contemplate the love and glory shared within the Trinity is to struggle to express its depths with the shallowness of our words. The ultimate hyperbole falls short, and we can only stand in silent awe as we marvel at the wonder of the unity, love, and mutual glory that marks the Trinity.
In this high priestly prayer, Jesus gives us a glimpse of the relationship between the Triune God and their mutual desire to love and glorify one another in perfect unity. Yet, when we come to the end of this prayer, we are completely stunned by the final request of Jesus. As Jesus highlights the love and unity of the relationship he enjoys with the Father, he then asks that we be given the profound privilege of sharing in that love and glory. In vs. 22, Christ states that the glory that the Father has given the Son, Jesus desires to provide to us. In other words, just as Christ revealed the Father, we now reveal Christ as his character is imprinted upon us. We become image bearers of Christ who reveal and manifest the glory of God in us. This glory does not come from ourselves, for we are not God. Instead, it comes through Christ as he imprints his character upon us. As we live in obedience to him and reveal his character, we become participants in his divine glory.
The second astonishing prayer is that we will become recipients of the same love that the Father has for the Son. The prayer is that we become the objects of God’s love and will be transformed, so His love is revealed through us. God bestows upon us the same depth of love that the Father expresses to the Son. Consequently, we then learn to love God and others with the same love that exists within the Godhead. When we accept Christ as surrender to him, we lose nothing except the guilt of sin, and we gain everything as we become the objects of God’s love so that we are now co-heirs with Christ. We cannot begin to comprehend God’s love for us; all we can do is stand in amazement at the marvel of knowing he loves us with the same passion he has for his Son.
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