The Two Glories

And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son may also glorify thee: John 17:1

The concept of Glory is a main theme in the gospel of John. Some version of the Greek term doxa is used in 15 verses throughout the book. As we have seen above, the majestic opening monologue regarding the incarnation of Christ culminates in the statement, we beheld his glory. As we have also seen, Jesus, in some of his last words before facing the cross, prayed for a future glory.

So there was a glory associated with the incarnation. Jesus was the only begotten of the Father. The fact that John would use such a term in 1:14 is significant, since he had previously stated that all who received him received authority to become sons of God.

But to as many as received him, to them gave he power to become sons [Gr. teknon = children] of God, even as many as believed on his name. John 1:12

All believers are therefore given the opportunity to be God's children, but the apostle stated that there was a particular glory associated with the fact that Christ was the only begotten Son of the Father. John said that he and the other apostles had seen this glory, and that it was full of grace and truth. This statement, full of grace and truth, hearkens back to Exodus 34:6-7 where God revealed the Divine Name to Moses.

The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. Exodus 34:6

Jesus, in his earthly glory was the embodiment of the Divine Name of God, which speaks of grace and truth. He perfectly reflected and revealed the nature of the Father which is inherent in the Divine Name. Therefore John could say,

No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son,...he hath declared him. John 1:18

And Jesus himself would also speak of how he revealed the Father.

...he that hath seen me hath seen the Father. John 14:9

I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. John 17:6

The revelation of the name (i.e. the character) of God through the life of Christ is the glory of the incarnation.

But what then is the glory that Christ sought in his prayer in the garden? I repeat the verse again here.

Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son may also glorify thee: John 17:1

Jesus, knowing that his time on earth was short, and that he would soon be returning to heaven, prayed for glory. To be sure, Jesus looked forward to returning to the glory he had left when he came to earth from heaven. But the context of John 17 is deeper than that. The prayer recorded in that chapter was for the success of the Church that would remain in the world until he returns.

Remember that John had spoken of Christ as the only begotten Son, but also of we believers as a larger group of God's children. The second glory that Christ prayed for is for his own life to be embodied within a corporate body of believers in the world. The Church, as it is faithful to the teachings and life of Christ, brings him this second glory.

And all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. John 17:10

As Jesus glorified the Father by faithfully doing the work the Father had sent him to do (Jn 17:4), so does the Church, by the power of the Spirit glorify Christ as we faithfully do the work he has sent us to do (Jn. 16:14, 17:10).

The glory of Christ in heaven is therefore intimately related to the success of his Church on the earth. So our prayer begins to make practical sense...

Let your kingdom come, let your will be done in earth as it is in heaven...For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.