Church Requel
Jesus is Lord. While on Planet Earth the Lord Jesus prayed many prayers. All were the Lord's prayers. One of them we memorize and recite. Today we consider one of the unmemorized Lord's prayers found in John 17:1-5.
The Unmemorized Lord’s Prayer - John 17:1-5
We have memorized and can recite “The Lord’s Prayer.” But really there are lots of “Lord’s prayers”, right?
Prayer in the desert - Mark 1; Luke 5
Prayer at Jesus’ baptism - Luke 3
Prayer before selecting disciples - Luke 6:12-13
Prayer of Thanksgiving - Matthew 11:25-26, Luke 10:21
Prayer before feeding 5,000 - Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, John 6
Prayer when transfigured - Luke 9:28-29
Prayer at Lazarus’ grave - John 11:31-42
Prayer over the last supper - Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22
Prayer when Jesus was troubled - John 12:27-28
Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane - Matt. 26:36-46; Luke 22:39-46
Prayers from the cross - Luke 23, Matthew 27, Mark 15
We have lots of examples of Jesus praying and each of these could also be called “The Lord’s Prayer” because Jesus is Lord and he prayed these prayers.
What we might think of as “The Lord’s Prayer” is the prayer that Jesus taught us and that we memorized. But it wasn’t just the words that mattered but the principles behind the words. We can also find these same prayer principles behind each of “The Lord’s Prayers”- all principles we can pray ourselves and live out ourselves.
Today we want to look at the beginning of another of “The Lord’s Prayers”, what has become known as “The High Priestly Prayer” of John 17. Today we discover 2 important prayer & life principles in 5 verses…
READ John 17:1-5
There are two themes we see repeated in these 5 verses over and over - the theme of glory and the theme of eternal life.
#1 - The Prayer Theme of GLORY.
“Glorify your Son, that your Son my glorify You… I have brought You glory on earth by finishing the work You gave me to do. And now Father, glorify me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.” John 17:1,4-5
The theme of glory repeats throughout the Bible:
Revealed in creation
Linked to the Exodus - to pillar of fire, to cloud, fills tabernacle
Fills the earth, fills the heavens, fills the temple
Revealed in visions to Isaiah and Ezekiel
Linked to the Incarnation of Christ, birth narratives, miracles
Transfiguration of Christ, resurrection, ascension, His return
Identified with the Holy Spirit, with the church
Hard to define… God’s glory is the magnificence, worth, loveliness and grandeur of God’s many perfections.
Hebrew word is kabod. Means “weight” or “heaviness.” It’s why we sometimes talk about the “weight of God’s glory.” It also explains why we bow. It’s not just about showing honor. A man or woman would be bent over or literally flattened to ground by the glory of God. Every encounter with God’s messengers (angels) is frightening because they carry / reflect / shine God’s glory.
Greek word is doxa. Means “repute,” “praise,” “fame.” Refers to God’s manifestation of His Person, Presence, or works. Where the word doxology comes from.
God’s glory is intrinsic and extrinsic.
Intrinsic because God’s glory is inherent in Who He is and belongs to Him alone as God, independent of His works. He is glorious in his perfection. He is magnificent. He is beautiful.
Extrinsic because His intrinsic glory is partially communicated in the works of His creation.
When God created mankind, we were designed to be God’s image bearers. As image bearers, we reflect / carry the very glory of God. It’s why every human life is so vital and important. Every person you meet is an image bearer, a glory reflection, of the glory and life of God.
It’s why Jesus came to Earth! Man is worth redeeming, not because humans themselves have any inherent value or worth, but because they were created to bear God’s image. They have the potential to show God’s extrinsic glory. It is the “finishing work” Jesus talks about. God began the work of creating man in his glorious image. Jesus finishes the work. We can become the image bearers of the glorious God by allowing Jesus - through the Holy Spirit - to finish God’s work in us!
Imagine the glory of God the Father and the glory of God the Son (John 17:1). And then imagine the love they share for one another - the VERB / ACTION of the Holy Spirit between them. Then imagine - because of the Holy Spirit within you - you are (in the Holy Spirit) right in the middle of God the Father’s glory and God the Son’s glory. When you become the finished work of Jesus, you are exactly in the middle of the Triune God. It’s never ever about your glory. You can’t help but carry (bear the image of… bear the weight of…) God’s glory. You’re created to be an image / glory bearer!
For this reason you as a creation cannot be temporal…
#2 - The Prayer Theme of ETERNAL LIFE.
“For You granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him. Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent.” John 17:2-3
When Jesus finishes the work of the creation of God’s glory / image bearers (humans) He also has the authority over all the potential image bearers (people) to grant eternal life. We learn about this gift of eternal life and Jesus’ connection to eternal life in John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” We quote it all the time. It’s the most famous Bible verse. We use it to convince people to become Christ-followers. We think of eternal life as the greatest benefit of being a Christian.
Here - in John 17:2-3 - we begin to understand eternal life with a slightly different purpose. It’s not just that we get to live forever (oh goody for us!) Rather, it’s that we can complete the work God created us to do in the first place - to be the image bearers, the glory carriers - of God. To fulfill that purpose for an eternal God, we also must be eternal creatures. It’s part of God’s original design for us.
Remember in the Garden of Eden? There were two trees. Not only the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, but also the Tree of Life. Mankind was banished from the Garden of Eden because - in their corrupt, rebellious, sinful state - they might reach out and eat from the Tree of Life and thus live forever (Gen. 3:22). We typically think of this as a punishment - this banishment from the Garden.
Perhaps God was being merciful to His new image bearing creation. Imagine the crushing weight of God’s glory while forever being corrupted by sin. That’s not a picture of Heaven, but of an ultra-Hell. Even Hell, as we understand it, would be better, because God says to those who want nothing to do with God, that He will forever remove Himself from them.
In this prayer, Jesus completes the work - finishes the plan of creation of the image bearers. Now, for those who accept the plan, who receive the gift, who believe in Him… now they/we are given back the Tree of Life (Rev. 22:2). They/we fulfill their calling to bear the weight of God’s glory. They/we can do the work they were created to do. To worship God. To shine God to all His creation. To praise His glorious Name forever!
This is the Unmemorized Lord’s Prayer. Clearly it was the Lord Jesus’ intention that we should know this prayer, live this prayer, even pray this prayer. Notice verse 3: “Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent.” Doesn’t it seem curious to you that this sentence is there? Does God the Son really need to explain to God the Father what is eternal life?
Or is it possible that Jesus - in this prayer - prays this for the benefit of His overhearing disciples… and us! What is eternal life? To know God. To know God the Father as well as God the Son. To know the One and only true triune God. To know Him. To experience Him. To live forever - eternally - in the midst of the love of God the Father for His Son and in the midst of the love of God the Son’s love for God the Father. And to be able to bear up under the weight of so great a glory!
The next time you consider the concept of worship… the next time you sing… the next time you say a kind, encouraging word to someone who needs it… the next time you give to someone generously, more than you can really afford… the next time you turn your cheek in love rather than in anger… the next time you stop an argument with your true forgiveness, even when it’s unreasonable to do so… the next time you choose peace over self-righteousness… know this is why you’ve been created. This is your purpose. You are the image bearer of the glory of God and you’ve been created to do this very thing… for all eternity! Amen!