John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
And this is the subject matter of what the Lord Christ here desires in the behalf of those given Him by the Father, namely, that they may behold His glory…This alone, which is here prayed for, will give them such satisfaction, and nothing else. The hearts of believers are like the needle touched by the loadstone [magnetic]m which cannot rest until it comes to the point where it is directed. For being once touched by the love of Christ, receiving therein an impression of secret ineffable virtue, they will ever be in motion and restless until they come to Him and behold His glory. That soul which can be satisfied without it, that cannot be eternally satisfied with it, is not partaker of the efficacy of His intercession. John Owen
If Christ desired and prayed to the Father for His children to see or behold His glory, then this is a greater thing than possessing the whole world. We can see this by taking Matthew 16:26 and showing the connection of one word (used twice) with what is best for that soul. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul [beholding the glory of Christ]? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul [beholding the glory of Christ]? If heaven essentially consists in beholding the glory of Christ, then those who do not go there and behold His glory are lost. What an infinite loss if a person trades away beholding the glory of Christ for the entire world! Yet we can clearly see how many people trade the glory of Christ for sin.
The Gospel itself is all about the glory of God in the face of Christ and the believer desires and longs to see that glory that s/he would be transformed more and more into that image (II Cor 3:18). It is also true that the Lord Jesus spoke stern word (John 5:44) when He said: “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?” How can a person truly believe in the true God and have the glory of God shining in the face of Christ in his or her heart and not seek the glory of God? How can a person truly see the glory of God in Christ and still seek the honor of men? How can a person truly see the glory of God in Christ and still love the things of the world?
The beauty of Christ is so beautiful and desirable that the whole world is nothing in comparison of Him or what He has done in life and at the cross. The beauty of the Person of Christ is glorious in His divine nature and then how He was united to a human body. The beauty of the Person of Christ is seen in His emptying Himself to take human flesh, but even more taking that human flesh to the cross and there suffering the wrath of the Father for all the sins of all the elect. This Lord Jesus is better than silver and gold. This Lord Jesus is far better than all the honors of the world. This Lord Jesus is far more glorious than the most beautiful and valuable treasures of the richest of men and of entire nations.
How can it be that Christ would pray for a person to see His glory and then that person not be able to see it? It cannot be. We must behold the glory of Christ if we are to be converted. We must behold the glory of Christ if we are to be sanctified with the sanctification that is from Christ. We must long for and seek this glory because Christ has prayed for His people to see it. There is nothing else we should seek but to see His glory and then for His glory to be manifested in and through us. When the beauty and glory of Christ dwells in and shines through a person, that person is beautified by the beauty of Christ. That is a far greater beauty than all the things that people try to make themselves look good with.
God Loves... Himself 
Leave a comment