Tag Archives: forgiveness

The Father of glory

We come now to what must be the clearest and dearest revelation of God as our Father. Jesus not only wants us to know his Father. He wants us to share in the joys of being in his family.[i]

What Jesus shows us here comes from the last week before his death, and particularly from two prayers he prays. Three themes recur: the glory of the Father; fellowship with the Father; and the Father’s home. All of these are important to Jesus, and he shows us why they are important for us too.

First, Jesus speaks about the glory of his Father.

In the first prayer,[ii] Jesus says his soul is greatly troubled. But he knows his calling—his great work. And he prays, ‘Father, glorify your name.’

The Father responds audibly—for the benefit of the apostles, and of us. Yes, he’s been glorifying his name already in what Jesus has been doing, and he will glorify his name again.

In various ways in the Old Testament, God has already shown Israel his glory. He is present, and powerful, and listening, and good, and he matters! Being delivered from slavery in Egypt is a classic example of God revealing his glory.

But now, a new revelation of glory will reveal the Father’s grace and truth.[iii]

If we’re content with ourselves, this will matter as much as a local circus! But if we know we are answerable to God for our life, we’ll really want to know that he is kind and forgiving!

Jesus explains what will happen. The world will be judged. The world—that’s all of us. Satan will be thrown down from his eminence as prince of this world. And, from now on, all authority will belong to Christ.

It will happen by Jesus being lifted up—on a cross, to die. But it’s fruit will be that people of all nations will become his willing subjects.

This is a whole story in itself, but here, we simply note that Jesus knows that if all this is going to happen, it will happen because the Father will be revealing his glory. Think of all that Jesus will endure. Think of his composure. Think of his cry—‘It is finished’, his resurrection, and the announcement of forgiveness of our sins! Where does all this come from? It’s nothing less that the Father glorifying his name—in Jesus.

A little later, Jesus prays again. And, once more, he asks the Father to glorify him so he can glorify his Father.[iv] How will this display of glory work out?

Jesus has just washed the feet of his apostles. He’s shown them that his Father’s glory works out by serving others. And he’s also talked about his disciples being clean—not just because their feet are washed but because they have received his word.

There’s no lowlier job than washing dirty feet. It’s not done by anyone important. But what the Father wants done is to wash away humanity’s filth. That’s what he’s sent his Son to do. It’s the dirtiest job ever. So, as we hear the story of Christ’s death, we are watching the greatest display of the Father’s glory—ever!

The world doesn’t need a dictator, a tactician, an influencer or benevolent provider. It doesn’t need something impressive to divert its attention from reality. It needs a God who becomes our servant—a display of who he really is. It needs a Son of God who bloodies himself to wash us clean.

Only this will reveal the Father’s patience with our self-interest, his intolerance of our pollution, and the love to bear a load we cannot carry.[v] And only such a deed will convey to us the glory of the Father!

Jesus is indifferent to the world’s glory. To him, it carries no weight. He wants the world to see God—being Father. And this display of glory will lead, not to judgement for us, but to eternal life.[vi] As he says, ‘the glory you have given me I have given to them….’[vii]

Second, Jesus reveals how we may havefellowship with the Father.

Intimacy is not easily gained! But Jesus has regularly reached into the lives of people—with love, and with great insight. He’s understood them, and they’ve understood that they have been received as persons.

And now, Jesus lets us see inside the astonishing relationship he has with his Father.[viii] He says that they are ‘in’ each other.

For us, the idea of another person being ‘in’ us may sound like an unwanted intrusion. But, for God, it’s love language.

Jesus hasn’t been doing his ‘own thing’. Neither has the Father. The Father is entrusting everything to his Son. And the Son is giving himself up to do his Father’s bidding. The disciples have been physically seeing the Son, but they’ve been watching the unseen Father—in action.

Another amazing disclosure follows. Jesus says his disciples already know the Holy Spirit. He’s been with them for three years—in Jesus. But he will ask the Father to send this same Spirit to be in the apostles.

The Father, Son and Spirit live in fellowship with each other, and Jesus is displaying this. But now, the apostles, and then, all of us, are going to be encompassed in this relationship.

Jesus will be in us. And we will be in him.[ix] Again, this is relationship language. We will love Christ and obey him. The Father will love us, and the Father and Son will make their home with us.

If we try to understand this conceptually, or emotionally, we will tie ourselves in knots—and miss the reality. The truth is that we tend to avoid the input of others into our lives. And we resist giving freely to others. Our relationships can be like billiard balls bouncing off each other.

But let’s ask ourselves this question. Do we long for more than this?

If the Father has given his Son to us, and his Spirit to be in us, are we going to remain ‘our own person’? Or rather, will we open ourselves to receive the grace and truth of the Father reflected in his Son? Will we allow this to be our new life?

Jesus wants this oneness—this ‘in-ness’ he has been talking about—to be shared by all who hear the gospel from the apostles. He wants us to be in the Father and himself—in the same way that he and the Father are in each other—by love that gives preference to the other.

It’s this very real personal relationship with the Father through Christ that will demonstrate to the watching world that Jesus really has been sent by the Father.[x] They will be looking at people who are secure in the Father’s love—in the same way that Jesus is.

Is this how we take the gospel to the world?[xi] It needs to be so, because it’s what Jesus asks his Father to make happen.[xii] We are to go to family, friends and neighbors, or even to people far away, full of the love we discover in the Father’s gift of Christ. Our coming is simple, and joyful. They encounter us and our words, but also, the presence of the unseen Father and Son who are loving us—and living in us.

Third,Jesus promises us a place in his Father’s home.

On several occasions, Jesus says he has come from the Father, and that he will return to the Father.[xiii] And, as with the Father’s glory and the Father’s fellowship, he wants us to be included in his return to the Father.

Just how important this is for us is illustrated by Peter.[xiv] Jesus is not impressed with his self-confident declaration of loyalty. In fact, he predicts his betrayal. But, in the next breath, Jesus says he should not be troubled! Rather, he should trust in God and in Jesus.

And Jesus tells him and all the apostles that the Father has a home large enough to accommodate all who follow him. Jesus will be the way to get there. And he will secure a place for each of his disciples. And he will come again to usher us into our new accommodation.

Peter’s very personhood will seem to collapse in the next few hours, and Jesus knows he will need a place to call home—just like the prodigal son in the story Jesus has already told. Here’s a truth larger than our uncertain attempts to be worthy of our Saviour. Just ask Peter!

The story of the Father’s home continues.

Jesus has not just been lifted up on a cross. He’s been lifted up in resurrection. And now, he’s lifted up to sit beside his Father in heaven[xv]—with all authority to finish what he began.

Jesus says we should be glad he’s going to the Father. It’s not just better for him. It’s better for us![xvi] And it’s better for persuading the unbelieving world of his victory.[xvii]

And, as we’ve seen, Jesus wants us to be with him where he is.[xviii] We must not cling to an earthly Jesus—as Mary Magdalene sought to do, but rejoice in his going to the Father.[xix]

We can’t afford to be content with the glory, or the intimacy, or the home we have in this world. The Father has sent his Son so that we may be filled full, as was his Son, with the glory of the Father. We’ll see more of this in the way the apostles follow up this revelation in a final article.

[i] John 17:26

[ii] John 12:27-30

[iii] John 1:17

[iv] John 17:1-26

[v] John 3:16

[vi] John 12:49-50; also 10:17-18; 12:27-28

[vii] John 17:22

[viii] John 14:15-23

[ix] John 15:4-16

[x] John 17:23

[xi] Throughout this prayer, Jesus has been very concerned with the world. He’s mentioned it 13 times in 26 verses.

[xii] John 17:23

[xiii] John 13:1, 3; 14:2-6; 14:28; 16:17, 28; 17:24; 20:17

[xiv] John 13:36—14:6. Note that this passage is all one narrative.

[xv] John 13:1, 3; 16:28; 17:5

[xvi] John 14:28

[xvii] John 16:10, 17

[xviii] John 17:24

[xix] John 20:17

[i] John 17:26

[ii] John 12:27-30

[iii] John 1:17

[iv] John 17:1-26

[v] John 3:16

[vi] John 12:49-50; also 10:17-18; 12:27-28

[vii] John 17:22

[viii] John 14:15-23

[ix] John 15:4-16

[x] John 17:23

[xi] Throughout this prayer, Jesus has been very concerned with the world. He’s mentioned it 13 times in 26 verses.

[xii] John 13:1, 3; 14:2-6; 14:28; 16:17, 28; 17:24; 20:17

[xiii] John 13:36—14:6. Note that this passage is all one narrative.

[xiv] John 13:1, 3; 16:28; 17:5

[xv] John 14:28

[xvi] John 16:10, 17

[xvii] John 17:24

[xviii] John 20:17

[xvii] John 17:24

[xviii] John 20:17

Don’t be fooled. Stay in the light!

Everyone knows that stumbling around in the dark can be dangerous. Things seem to be different from what they are. There are no reference points. And we don’t like being confused.

The same is true about being ‘in the dark’ about God. It is impossible to know where we are unless God himself is the light.

We not only need this light, we need to be walking in it. But there are false stories around that may keep us walking in the dark. So, John tells us what the light is, and explains how certain lies keep us in the dark (1 John 1:5—2:2).

What’s happening here is like a child who’s done something wrong and is lying to his or her parents about it. There’s no relationship happening! But then, the whole matter comes out into the light, and is dealt with. True fellowship is restored—often to the delight of the child as well as the parents.

So, here is what Jesus came to tell us.

God is light, with no darkness anywhere.  In other words, God is always true, and wholly good. There is nothing in him that isn’t. Jesus is telling us about God as only he can.

And Jesus doesn’t just teach this. He demonstrates it. He is this light for everyone (John 9:5), showing that God is true and good. And he also reveals what is not true and good.

Many avoid what Jesus reveals, or they oppose it, because they live in their own bubble of being religiously correct and don’t like this exposure.

Here’s where the false claims begin. We may say that how we live doesn’t matter. We only need to have an ‘experience’ of God, or feel that he is near. If this is what we think, we are in the dark.

Or, we may say we are basically good—a few failures perhaps, but nothing that should be added up against us. Again, we fool ourselves.

Again, we may say we don’t do anything wrong. In this case, we’re saying God is wrong, not us. There won’t be any fellowship here.

These claims, or something like them, can keep us from seeking a Saviour. Or, they can keep us from seeing anything special about having fellowship with God.

John gives us a very different way to walk—in the light of God revealed by Jesus. God himself walks in his own light. He has total integrity. And he calls us to join him. Here’s how it works.

First, if we let Jesus show us who God is, and walk in that, and admit the mess it shows we are in, we have fellowship with each other. Self-deception keeps us from God and also from being real with other people. But confession brings us to God (Revelation 3:20).

Second, we are forgiven. Our sins are washed clean—all of them. It’s not our blood that is spilled to make up for what we’ve done wrong. The blood of Jesus washes them away.

Think of Peter getting his feet washed (John 14:3-10). He wanted to be in charge but Jesus must wash his feet. Only Jesus can make Peter clean. This is what we all need to hear.

When God brings us into his light, he’s not wanting to make us squirm but to gain our company. We think exposure will damage our self-respect and confidence—that we’ll be condemned.

The opposite is true. Jesus says that whoever does what is true comes to the light, and is not condemned. What we do of ourselves is false. What we do in God—including confessing our sins—is real (John 3:19-21).

Third, we are forgiven so we won’t sin again (John 8:11). But then, we do. And the faithful and just God has this covered. This walking in the light is not something we do alone.

Jesus is our Advocate—and he is utterly righteous in who he is and in what he does.

He has deflected the wrath that was falling on us by becoming our sin, and then receiving in his body all that should have happened to us. That’s what propitiation means. It was not comfortable for Jesus to walk in the light of God’s righteousness. But he’s made it a welcome place for us.

So, this is the message we have heard from Jesus. God is light—the most wonderful light we could ever know. Here, confusion about God, about ourselves, and where we fit, are all resolved.

This is the Father who wants our company. And he has created a family in which we have fellowship with one another.