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Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory.—John 17:24
‘One of the greatest privileges the believer has, both in this world and for eternity, is to behold the glory of Christ. So, Christ prays that “they may behold my glory.” But this glorious privilege is not to be limited to the heavenly state only. It includes the state of believers in this world as I shall show.
Unbelievers see no glory in Christ. They see nothing attractive about Him. They despise Him in their hearts. Outwardly they cry, like Judas, “Hail, master” (Mat 26:49); but in their hearts they crucify Him. Thus, they strip Him of His glory, deny the only “Lord that bought them” (2Pe 2:1), and substitute a false Christ. Others think little of Christ and His glory and see no use for His person in Christianity—as though there were anything in our religion that has any truth or reality apart from Christ!
In the early days of the church, there were swarms of brain-sick persons who vomited out many foolish ideas, culminating at length in Arianism,1 in whose ruins they now lie buried. The gates of hell in them did not prevail against the rock on which the church is built…[Yet,] many still oppose the person and glory of Christ under the pretense that nothing can be believed except that which reason can understand and accept. Indeed, unbelief in the Trinity and the incarnation of the Son of God, the sole foundation of Christianity, is so spread about in the world that it has almost demolished the life and power of true Christianity. And not a few, who dare not let people know what they really believe, lead people to think they love Jesus, when all the time they scorn, despise, and persecute those who truly desire to know nothing but “Christ, and him crucified” (1Co 2:2).
But God, in His appointed time, will vindicate His honor and glory from the foolish attempts of sinful men who attempt to strip Him of both. Meanwhile, it is the duty of all those who “love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity” (Eph 6:24) to testify to His divine person and glory according to the ability God has given to each of us; and this I have chosen to do, not in a controversial way, but in order to strengthen the faith of true believers, to build them up in the knowledge of Christ and His glory, and to help them experience that which they have, or may have, of the power and reality of these things.
That which I intend to show is that beholding the glory of Christ is one of the greatest privileges that believers are capable of in this world or even in that which is to come. Indeed, it is by beholding the glory of Christ that believers are first gradually transformed into His image and then brought into the eternal enjoyment of it because they shall be forever “like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1Jo3:2; 2Co 3:18). Our present comforts and future blessedness depend on this. This is the life and reward of our souls (Joh 14:9; 2Co4:6).
Scripture shows us two ways by which we may behold the glory of Christ. We may behold it by faith in this world, faith being “the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1), and we may behold it by sight in the next (2Co 5:7-8; 1Co 13:12).
When Christ prayed “that they may behold my glory,” He meant by actual sight in the light of eternal glory. But the Lord Jesus does not exclude that sight of His glory that we may have by faith in this world; rather He prays for the perfection of it in heaven. So, we can learn the following lessons:
No man shall ever behold the glory of Christ by sight in heaven who does not, in some measure, behold it by faith in this world. Grace is a necessary preparation for glory and faith for sight. The soul unprepared by grace and faith is not capable of seeing the glory of Christ in heaven. Many will say with confidence that they desire to be with Christ and to behold His glory. But then they can give no reason for this desire, except that it would be better than going to hell. If a man claims to love and desire that which he never even saw, he is deceiving himself…
John writes not only of himself but of his fellow apostles also: “We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (Joh1:14). Now, what was this glory of Christ that they saw, and how did they see it? It was not the glory of Christ’s outward condition for He had no earthly glory or grandeur. He kept no court, nor did He entertain people to parties in a
great house. He had nowhere to lay His head, even though He created all things. There was nothing about His outward appearance that would attract the eyes of the world (Isa52:14; 53:2-3). He appeared to others as a “man of sorrows” (Isa 53:3). Neither was it the eternal essential glory of His divine nature that is meant, for this no man can see while in this world. What we shall see in heaven, we cannot conceive.
What the apostles witnessed was the glory of “grace and truth” (Joh 1:14). They saw the glory of Christ’s person and office in the administration of grace and truth. And how did they see this glory? It was by faith and in no other way, for this privilege was given only to those who “received him” and “believe on his name” (Joh 1:12). This was the glory that the Baptist saw when he pointed to Christ and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (Joh 1:29).
So, let no one deceive himself. He that has no sight of Christ’s glory here shall never see it hereafter. The beholding of Christ in glory is too high, glorious, and marvelous for us in our present condition. The splendor of Christ’s glory is too much for our physical eyes just as is the sun shining in all its strength. So, while we are here on earth, we can behold His glory only by faith.
Many learned men have written of this future state of eternal glory. Some of their writings are filled with excellent things that cannot but stir the minds and hearts of all who read them. But many complain that such writings do nothing for them. They are like a man who beholds his natural face in a mirror and immediately forgets what he saw (Jam1:23-24)…But why do these writings make no impression on them? Is it not because their idea of future things has not arisen out of an experience of them that faith alone gives?
In fact, a soul will be troubled rather than edified when it thinks of future glory, if it has had no foretaste, sense, experience, or evidence of these things by faith. No man ought to look for anything in heaven if he has not by faith first had some experience of it in this life. If men were convinced of this, they would spend more time in the exercise of faith and love about heavenly things than they usually do. At present they do not know what they enjoy, so they do not know what to expect. This is why men who are complete strangers to seeing the person and glory of Christ by faith have turned to images, pictures, and music to help them in their worship.
So, it is only as we behold the glory of Christ by faith here in this world that our hearts will be drawn more and more to Christ and to the full enjoyment of the sight of His glory hereafter. It is by beholding the glory of Christ by faith that we are spiritually edified and built up in this world; for as we behold His glory, the life and power of faith grow stronger and stronger. It is by faith that we grow to love Christ. So, if we desire strong faith and powerful love, which give us rest, peace, and satisfaction, we must seek them by diligently beholding the glory of Christ by faith. In this duty, I desire to live and to die. On Christ’s glory I would fix all my thoughts and desires; and the more I see of the glory of Christ, the more the painted beauties of this world will wither in my eyes, and I will be more and more crucified to this world. It will become to me like something dead and putrid, impossible for me to enjoy…
By beholding the glory of Christ, we shall be made fit and ready for heaven. Not all who want to go to heaven are fit and ready for it. Some are not only unworthy of it and excluded from it because of unforgiven sin, they are not prepared for it. Should they be admitted, they would never enjoy it. All of us naturally regard ourselves as fit for eternal glory. But few of us have any idea of how unfit we really are because we have had no experience of that glory of Christ that is in heaven. Men shall not be clothed with glory, as it were, whether they want to be or not. It is to be received only by faith. But fallen man is incapable of believing. Music cannot please a deaf man, nor can beautiful colors impress a blind man. A fish would not thank you for taking it out of the sea and putting it on dry land under the blazing sun! Neither would an unregenerate sinner welcome the thought of living for ever in the blazing glory of Christ.
So, Paul gives “thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col1:12). Indeed, the first touches of glory here and the fullness of glory hereafter are communicated to believers by an almighty act of the will and the grace of God. Nevertheless, He has ordained ways and means by which they may be made fit to receive that fullness of glory that still awaits them, and this way and means is by beholding the glory of Christ by faith, as we shall see. Knowing this should stir us up to our duty, for all our present glory lies in preparing for future glory.
By beholding the glory of Christ, we shall be transformed “into the same image” (2Co 3:18). How this is done and how we become like Christ by beholding His glory will become clear as our study progresses.
By beholding the glory of Christ by faith we shall find rest to our souls. Our minds are apt to be filled with troubles, fears, cares, dangers, distresses, ungoverned passions, and lusts. By these our thoughts are filled with chaos, darkness, and confusion. But where the soul is fixed on the glory of Christ, then the mind finds rest and peace; for “to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Rom8:6).
By beholding the glory of Christ, we shall begin to experience what it means to be everlastingly blessed. “So shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Th 4:17). We shall “be with Christ” (Phi 1:23), which is best of all. For there we shall behold His glory (Joh17:24). And by seeing Him as He is, we shall be made like Him (1Jo3:2). This is our everlasting blessedness.
The enjoyment of God by sight is commonly called the “Beatific Vision,” and it is the only motive for everything we do in that state of blessedness. What the sight of God is and how we will react to it, we cannot imagine. Nevertheless, we do know this: God in His immense essence is invisible to our physical eyes and will be in eternity, just as He will always be incomprehensible to our minds. So, the sight that we shall have of God will be always “in the face of Jesus Christ” (2Co 4:6). In Christ’s face, we shall see the glory of God in His infinite perfections. These things will shine into our souls filling us forever with peace, rest, and glory.
We can rejoice in these things even though we cannot understand them. We can talk of them but never fully comprehend them. In fact, true believers experience a foresight and foretaste of this glorious condition. Sometimes, when reading and meditating on the Bible, our hearts are filled with such a sense of the uncreated glory of God shining through Jesus Christ that we experience unspeakable joy. [Thus] arises that “peace of God, which passeth all understanding, [which] shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ” (Phi 4:7). “Christ in you [believers], the hope of glory” (Col 1:27) gives them a foretaste of that future glory. And where any have no acquaintance with these things, they are blind and dead to spiritual things. It is because believers are lazy and ignorant that we do not experience more and more in our souls the visits of grace and the dawnings of eternal glory.’https://www.chapellibrary.org/read/gochfg
John Owen (1616-1683): English Congregational pastor, author, and theologian; born in Stadhampton, Oxfordshire, UK.
This is a sermon by the Jewish Christian Preacher Hyman J. Appelman.
‘In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink (John 7:37).
We are told in our American histories that De Soto, the Spanish explorer, in the early days of the discovery and colonization of our glorious land, landed on the shores of Florida with the idea of finding the legendary Fountain of Youth. Of course, he never found it. He is buried somewhere beneath the waters of the Mississippi. Others have followed in the searchings of De Soto. Beauty culture, medical science, gland transplantation—those of monkeys into human beings, as though the poor apes were not already suffering enough from the base accusation that they are responsible by evolutionary descent or ascent (depending on whether you are looking up from
man, or down from the anthropoids) for men’s vagaries—and many other things have been tried to insure the longevity, the vitality, the youth of the human family.
All have successfully and successively failed.
Here, however, there is proposed by God, there is proffered by the Lord Jesus Christ, there is presented by the Holy Spirit a real fountain, not only of the passing youth, but of life, of eternal life, of eternal youth, vigor and joy.
The setting of the story is simple. The feast to which reference is made herein is the Feast of the Tabernacles. This feast continued for eight days, and the first and last days were of primary importance, particularly the latter. On that day, the priests were wont to bring water from the
pool of Siloam, to offer it to the Lord, while they sang—“With joy shall ye draw water from the wells of salvation.”
Our Lord improved the occasion by inviting the people of His day and time, and of all the succeeding ages and generations, to partake of the water of life. “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.”
This is a thirsty world.
- There is physical thirst, mental thirst, moral thirst, spiritual thirst.
- There is the thirst of the artist for beauty.
- There is the thirst of the scientist for knowledge.
- There is the thirst of the toiler for ease.
- There is the thirst for wealth.
- There is the thirst for peace.
- There is the thirst for pleasure.
- There is the burning, blighting, destroying thirst of gambling.
- There is the thirst for freedom.
- There is the thirst for financial assurance.
- There is the thirst for safety here and hereafter.
This entire world is just one vast, dry desert, with the generations of men, lost travelers, following some will-o’-the-wisp or other—philosophical, psychological, philanthropic, political, educational, reformational, even religious suggestion—only to find them to be deluding mirages that rob them of what little hope self, sin and Satan may have left them. The rise of all sorts of cults, of off brand religions, of palm readers, of spiritualists, or clairvoyants, are but some of the
signs of this thirst assailing mankind. No one has ever been able to find entire satisfaction for that burning longing save in the Lord Jesus Christ.
May we then analyze His glorious invitation in this way. First, to what are we invited? Second, who is invited? Third, why should we accept the invitation?
Firstly, Jesus Cries, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink”
This is, of course, figurative, metaphorical. Jesus also speaks of Himself as the bread of life, “the meat which endureth to everlasting life.” Our coming to Christ to drink means that we are to receive from Him all those spiritual blessings, all those eternal mercies that He has to bestow
upon us. But, to be more specific, let us consider the benefits to which Christ invites us, of which we may freely and abundantly drink and partake at this fountain of life: There is the receiving of pardon from all of our sins.
You will never, never, never have quietness of min, peace of heart, soul satisfaction, until you know your sins are forgiven. The haunting remorse, the biting days, the sleepless nights, will be your constant heritage until you come under the blood. You may lose yourself for a time in the whirl of some pleasure, in the stupefaction of some sin, but you will come to yourself again and again to find that you have been grasping the wind, with the taste of gall and bitter wormwood
on your tongue. The forgiveness of sins is your primal need. It is only through Christ that you can obtain the blessing. He obtained it for you by His death. Only the water and the blood which flowed from Immanuel’s side can cleanse you from all sin.
Then there is the knowledge of the truth.
Without Christ we wander in doubts and uncertainties and are subject to innumerable mistakes. If we would walk surely, we must follow Jesus. He Himself said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
He says again, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.”
Also, there is spiritual consolation.
In Him we have the grace and the power for complete sanctification, to walk unspotted in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation. He gives rest to the weary soul bowed down by the vicissitudes of life. One of His very mightiest invitations is couched in the familiar words,
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He keeps constantly before our minds the promises of His Holy Word, the presence of His blessed Spirit, the certain prospects of future glory.
Last of all, we are invited to eternal happiness.
Nowhere on earth can we find this save in the Lord. No one in all creation can bestow it save the Christ of God. He has it in His power and at His bestowal. It is all the fruit of his sufferings and
death. He, and He alone, can give us the sight and enjoyment of God. He, and He alone, can lead us to Living Fountains. Of what use is all the world if we miss eternal bliss?
Secondly, let us consider to whom this urgent invitation is presented
The text specifically tells us that it is given to every man who thirsts. This invitation is not limited. Formerly the Jews claimed the exclusive privilege of being God’s people; but now both Jews and Gentiles are invited to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not only is this invitation given to all nations, but to every kind of sinner; however great, numerous, or longstanding your sins may be. While Jesus was here upon the earth, He healed bodily diseases that had continued many years. The same Physician can cure spiritual diseases of the longest standing. His blood cleanses from all sin. - He came to save the chief of sinners.
- He saved a persecuting Saul.
- He saved the thief on the cross.
- He prayed for His murderers, and God forgave three thousand of them on the day of
Pentecost—perhaps many others later. - He made the first offers of mercy to those who despised and crucified Him.
He will cast none out. “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh
to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).
But what is this thirsting after Christ? Surely it means the thirst of the soul.
There must be a sense of the want of Christ.
Oh, brother! Oh, sister! - You want Him for justification.
- You want Him for comfort.
- You want Him for peace.
- You want Him for power.
- You want Him in sorrow.
- You want Him in the hour of death.
- You want Him to represent you at the judgment.
- You want Him to keep you out of hell.
- You want Him to take you into heaven.
- You want Him.
- You need Him.
- You will perish without Him.
Then there must be a sense of the worth of Christ.
He is most excellent in every one of His mighty attributes. He is our only Saviour. He is our sole physician. He is able to supply every want. He is able to heal every disease. He is able to save to the uttermost depths of depravity, to the uttermost degree of temptation, to the uttermost duration of time. There is no soul too steeped in iniquity for His mighty power to release. There is no sin too deeply ingrained for His matchless merits to remit. There is no sinner so far in the wilderness of transgression that Christ cannot bring Him back, safe-cradled in His bosom.
Finally, there must be an ardent, passionate desire after Him
Thirst is the word. You must thirst after Him, thirst for Him. You must long, and tell me, do you not long to taste the sweetness of His pardon, the warmth of His grace, the depths of His love, the breadth of His comfort, the length of His eternal salvation? Tell me, if you think I am too
vehement, too insistent. What have you without Jesus? Tell me, what will you take in exchange for your soul’s salvation and satisfaction in Christ? Tell me, what is the devil giving you that will pay you for unhappiness here and torture hereafter?
The last question is: why should we accept this invitation?
There are numberless reasons. I have time for just a very few of them, a limited few.
First, there is the consideration of the Person who invites us.
It is not some prophet, some preacher, some priest, not even some church, or churches. It is Jesus, the beloved Son of God, the King of kings, the Lord of lords. - How would you treat an invitation from the President of the United States?
- How would you treat an invitation from the King of England?
- How would you treat an invitation from the governor of this state?
- How would you treat an invitation from one whom you held in high esteem?
- How will you treat this invitation from the Sovereign of the Universe?
There is the consideration of our wants.
How desperately bad is our state out of Christ. We are in bondage to sin. We are liable to all sorts of afflictions, to pain, to death. There is the uneasiness and horror of the soul in view of the inevitable wrath of God that is sure to be visited upon our sins. We cannot help ourselves. I cannot say that often enough. We are without strength, without hope, without God. But let us come to Christ and all will be well here and hereafter.
Then, there is the welcome that others have found in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has made them the sons of God. He has showered them with the abundance, aye, the superabundance of His mercies.
I have met too many people, both young and old, men and women, in the upper classes and in the lowest strata of society, who were desperately sorry for every minute they had spent in the service of Satan. I have yet to meet a single Christian, and I have met millions of them under all
sorts of circumstances and conditions, who was sorry for having accepted Jesus Christ as his or her personal Saviour. The unanimous testimony of the satisfied generations of Christians is
another great proof that your own life would be best in the hands of the Redeemer.
There is, also, the mighty plea that these benefits to which we are invited, these benefits that I have attempted to portray before you, can be obtained nowhere else in all this vast, wide world.
Christ is the only fountain which sends forth these streams of salvation to lost mankind. There is no other mediator between God and man but Christ. - There is no other sacrifice for sin.
- There is no other High Priest to intercede for us.
Life, light, love, “and the peace of God which passeth all understanding” are to be found only in Him.
Oh, may the Holy Spirit of God press these wondrous truths upon your thirsty souls. Let us together admire, thank God for, and rejoice in the matchless kindness, the munificent grace of
the Redeemer in surrounding us with tokens of His favor and goodness, in ever inviting us to this providential fountain of life and bliss, in seeking us instead of waiting until we sought Him.
Oh, my friends, if you thirst, if these words have stirred up that dormant longing, that yearning of soul which you have been striving to cover by indifference, or even by sinful pursuits, come to Christ and drink. Drink your fill! Keep on drinking !
Oh, I beseech you, do not stay away and perish in the desert of your transgressions. Obey the call, heed the invitation. Go to Christ. Apply to Him by faith. Cast yourselves upon His great mercies. Know that He would never invite you if He were unwilling to receive you. Go now!
Drink now! Why should you go on until the very marrow of your bones is dried out? Why should you be content with the rotgut drinks of the world when the wine of God, the milk of Heaven, the water of life is pressed to your lips?
Stoop down, brother! Stoop down, sister! Stoop down and drink!
Right now, right where you are, see the hand of Jesus pierced for your sins, holding the cup of salvation out to you! - By faith take it from His hand.
- By faith press it to your lips.
- By faith drink, and drink, and drink.
You will know such joy that your heart will overflow with it. You will know such thanksgiving that your soul will be flooded with it. You will know such praise that you will want to shout it from the housetops.’http://baptistbiblebelievers.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=nsD-yc1wh8k%3d&tabid=455&mid=1431
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