SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/25/2017
9:37 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The
Reverence He Deserves
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: John 17:5
Message of the
verse: “5 “Now, Father, glorify Me
together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world
was.
I think that it is best if we first go back to John 1:1-2
“1 In the beginning was the Word,[Jesus} and the Word [Jesus] was with God, and
the Word [Jesus] was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.”
The reason we need to look at these verses is because in them we can see
what it was like before the world was created, what it was like for Jesus and
the Father, and what it was like is described in verse five “the glory which I
had with You before the world was.”
Jesus was looking forward to this as He was praying this prayer to the
Father.
Now by no means was this request a selfish request of
Jesus as He asks the Father to return to the glory that He had before the world
was, for Jesus had fulfilled the plan that God had for Him to fulfill, which
certainly He deserves glory, not to mention that Jesus is the second person of
the godhead, and for that alone He deserves glory. John MacArthur writes the following in a
recent sermon on this section dealing with whether or not Jesus was selfish in
praying this to the Father: This isn’t a
selfish request. ‘Glorify Me, that You
may be glorified. Glorify Me with
Yourself.’’ Namely, ‘Give Me back the
glory I had with You before the world was’ –the eternal glory that belonged to
Him as God, the second person.”
Now we cannot look at this passage without looking at the
cross as Jesus knows that it is on the cross that He will be the One who will
die for those who will receive Him, and those who had already received the
forgiveness in the Old Testament time.
Jesus knew what was before Him, and yet He is actually looking past that
as if it had already happened as He prays this prayer to the Father. The cross is the most significant event to
have ever happened on planet earth, and yet many people today think little if
anything about it, and yet the cross and what happened there, if not accepted
will be what condemns those who receive to accept what Jesus did on that cross
for them. Remember what John wrote as he
quoted John the Baptist in John 3:35-36 “35 “The Father loves the Son and has
given all things into His hand. 36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son
will not see life,
but the wrath of God
abides on him."” There will be no excuse accepted at the white
throne judgment where all who have not accepted Christ offer of forgiveness
will be one day as described in the Revelation 20: 11 Then I saw a great white
throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away,
and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the
small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was
opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the
books, according to
their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death
and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one
of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death,
the lake of fire. 15 And
if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of
fire.” (No excuses will be tolerated
here.)
Now I want to go back to talk a bit more about the glory
of Christ that is spoken in this verse and quote from the apostle Paul in
Philippians 2:9-11
“9 For this
reason also, God highly
exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so
that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and
on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
In the preceding verses in Philippians we see that Jesus
was looking beyond the humiliation and suffering in obedience to what would
take place at the cross
“5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in
Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed
in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but
emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the
likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by
becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philip 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was
also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He
existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be
grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking
the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He
humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a
cross (Phil.2:5-8).”
John MacArthur writes “AS those on the other side of the
cross, removed from it by nearly two thousand years, believers must never lose
sight of the glory and honor Christ deserves because of His redemptive
work. What He endured on the cross is
now the anthem of Christians praise and worship. And it will be for all of eternity, as
believers forever praise the Lamb who was slain (Rev. 5:9). Though the Gospels record His earthly life
and ministry—including the agony and suffering of His passion—it must always be
remembered that He is no longer on the cross or in the tomb. He is even now the glorified Son of God,
seated at His Father’s right hand in power and glory (Rev. 1:13-20; cf. Dan.
7:13-14). The joy of seeing and praising
Him in triumph awaits all those who love Him, while all who reject Him will be
rejected by Him (Matt. 7:23; 25:41).”
As we pounder these wonderful truths of what Christ has
done for us on the cross and also what He is doing for us at this time, which
is interceding for us at the right hand of the Father, which this prayer is
actually an example of, we should praise the Lord for what He has done for us,
loving us enough to do what the Father sent Him to do.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Christ in them” (Colossians
1:27).
Today’s Bible
question: Who betrayed Jesus?”
Answer in our next SD.
2/25/2017 10:25 AM
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