Eternal life

 

The glory of His mission      2) “As thou hast given Him power over all flesh that He should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given Him.”    

The glory of God, thus accomplished, will result in the blessing of humanity.  He saw the crucifixion and the death and the burial, leading to resurrection and all the rest as glorification!  Through His death on the cross God grants Him authority over all flesh, to give to all His own people eternal life.  These are a specific and privileged people, who are granted eternal life by the word of the Father and the work of the Son.  They are separated in the prayer from the world-v6 and v25, indeed they have been taken out of the world spiritually, though still living in it physically.  The world in rejection of Christ, and rebellion against God, knows nothing of this, but these have been brought into communion with God through the granting of eternal life.  It is not for us to pry into the sovereign workings of the Godhead, enough to know there are those granted eternal life and others not yet, and there we must rest.  It is entirely the gift of God and nothing of any merit in us. This eternal life, is a never ending life of bliss.  The word eternal is the Greek aionas which means ages, life that shall never end.  It is not merely the length of life, it is the quality of life, for it will be a life ultimately free from sin and its consequences.   

3)   “And this is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.”  The essence of this eternal life is knowing God.  The world has a saying, and it is true, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”!  The knowledge of God, who passes all knowledge, who is beyond the understanding of the greatest minds, is superior to all else.  “Canst thou by searching find out God?-Job11v7; “…how unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out”-Romans 11v33.  Knowing God will take forever, for there is no end to His perfections, and real life is in getting to know, step by glorious step, the wonders and riches of God.  He is “the only true God”; men have made themselves gods of lesser things.  It is astonishing how many creatures, whether animate or inanimate, have been made gods by human beings; we are the highest of God’s creation, and we should not be making gods of people and things less than the Supreme object of worship.  We worship only one higher and there is none higher than God-even Satan knows that for he called Him the Most High-Isaiah 14v14 The word “true” is in the sense of real as against false, and spiritual and eternal as against material and temporal.  He is the only true God, the only one worthy of our homage. Everything else is false!  Why would human beings, made in the image of God, lower themselves to worship lesser things, or even to worship people on the same level?  What God is offering, and Christ has made possible is life as it was meant to be.  It is much more than head knowledge which puffs up people with false pride; it is intimate knowledge which sets us on the pathway to the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, which will never be exhausted in all the ages to come.  The way to this is through Christ who is the exclusive way to God, both now and forever. 

4)   “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”  He came into the world on a very specific mission, to glorify God, and complete His work.  This He did, and in sovereign anticipation of victory and accomplishment of His mission, He declares the outcome before it happened.  We trace a life lived to God’s glory in contrast to every man who had brought only shame.  Consider what glory He brought in His short time on the earth:

·      At His birth “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace goodwill toward men”-Luke 2v14.

·      At a wedding feast “…manifested forth His glory”-John 2v10.

·      By His public miracles among the Gentiles “…and they glorified the God of Israel”-Matthew 15v31.

·      By His teaching which caused amazement and opposition-Luke 4

·      By miracles and good works in many situations and influencing others for good, all to the honour and praise of God-Mark 2v12; Luke 5v25; 7v14, 17v15, 18v43, 34v47; John 11v3, 12v28, 13v31, 14v13, 15v8.

For the first time on earth there was one who glorified God and who finished the mission to perfection.  This is expounded in the remainder of the New Testament. 

5)   “And now O Father glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” In anticipation of the finished work, Jesus requests what is the inherent right of Deity, to be glorified.  Only one in equality with God could ask for this.  This is the highest honour of all, to be glorified with God Himself, the same glory He had from all eternity-John 1v1 “The word was with God…”, face to face with Him, in perfect harmony, and in perfect companionship with Him.  Now He is asking this as a man, who has lived on earth and glorified God on the earth, and finished His work.  This is a prayer for Himself, as man, to be in dominion, to be enthroned to the highest pinnacle of glory.  This is what He had before, now He is entitled to it as man, when all things are put under His feet as predicted.  In Christ, humanity has been exalted, and all who are His will also be exalted.  The chapter will not end until He has asked for their glorification, thus fulfilling the declaration in Genesis 1v26 “Let them have dominion…”-the man with the woman, over all God’s creation.  Chapter 16 has revealed the suffering associated with Christ; chapter 17 indicates the glory-the suffering first and glory that shall follow.  He will now return to heaven to the Father’s side in glory, awaiting the day of manifestation.