By Andrew Williams – November 11, 2021
Definition of glorify:
1a: to make glorious by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration
b: to elevate to celestial glory
Scripture : When Jesus had spoken these things, He raised His eyes to heaven [in prayer] and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, so that Your Son may glorify You. Just as You have given Him power and authority over all mankind, [now glorify Him] so that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him [to be His-permanently and forever]. Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true [supreme and sovereign] God, and [in the same manner know] Jesus [as the] Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You [down here] on the earth by completing the work that You gave Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory and majesty that I had with You before the world existed.
John 17:1-5 AMP
Observation: The thing that stands out for me in this passage is the word glorify. What does glorify mean? The definition states that it is to elevate to celestial glory or, to make glorious by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration.
As Jesus is about to offer himself up for all mankind He asks God the Father to elevate him to celestial glory or to make him glorious by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration on him. Jesus goes on to say that he has glorified God (here on Earth) by doing the work that God had sent him to do here on Earth.
However ,now, he wants to be glorified in the manner that he was before he came to Earth. From this I see that here on Earth we can glorify the Father, and Jesus by being obedient to the will of God.
The part that caught my attention was in verse 2 where Jesus asks to be glorified by God first so that in response he can glorify the Father. I was wondering why this was so. To me it seems that the honor and the praise that can be given to God on Earth is much different than that which can be given in heaven. As a man the level to which Jesus could glorify and honor his Father is less than what he could do when he also was in a glorified state.
This is akin to a sinner trying to praise God versus a devoted disciple praising God .The two can use the same words and the same practices, but it is the one who is in the right relationship with God that can truly give Him honor, praise, and glory.
Application: In order to truly glorify God, we need to be in right relationship with Him. As of today I will ensure that my life will be one of obedience to the words and to the will of God, so that I can truly glorify my Father and my Lord who is in heaven.
Prayer: Father God I truly want to glorify Your Name in everything that I do and say, so Father God help me to be obedient to Your every word and to Your every direction by Your Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.