Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (1)
Message Ten
Glory and Glorification as Revealed in the Gospel of John
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
John 17:1 …Jesus…said, Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You.
John 17:5 And now, glorify Me along with Yourself, Father, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
22…The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one.
Word of Appetizer
What is glory and glorification?
Glory is an attribute of God; glory is the expression of God, God expressed in splendor.
As the embodiment of the Triune God, Christ the Son is the Father’s glorification. Glorification means manifestation; to be glorified is to be manifested. Christ was glorified by the Father with the divine glory in His resurrection. Glorified stands for resurrected, for the Lord was glorified when He was resurrected; His resurrection brought Him into glory.
Spiritual Burden
The Lord Jesus prayed that we would enter into the highest stage of oneness—the oneness in the divine glory for the corporate expression of the Triune God: “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one”. This is the believers’ deepest oneness, the oneness in the divine glory for the corporate expression of God. In this aspect of oneness the believers, their self having been fully denied, enjoy the glory of the Father as the factor of their perfected oneness and thus express God in a corporate, built-up way.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Glory is an attribute of God; glory is the expression of God, God expressed in splendor.
The glory of God is intrinsically related to the economy of God.
The glory of God is involved with Christ’s incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and coming again and His being the lamp in the New Jerusalem.
In the Gospel of John we can see the glory and glorification of the Lord Jesus.
As the embodiment of the Triune God, Christ the Son is the Father’s glorification.
The Experience of Life
To sin is to fall short of God’s glory and thus to express sin and the sinful self and to love the glory of men more than the glory of God; through the gospel of the glory of Christ, God has called us by and into His eternal glory.
The all-inclusive Christ dwells in us as the hope of glory; As we behold and reflect the glory of the Lord, we are being transformed into the Lord’s image from glory to glory.
Practice and Application
The Lord Jesus prayed that we would enter into the highest stage of oneness—the oneness in the divine glory for the corporate expression of the Triune God: “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one”; on this side of this oneness, believers have completely denied themselves, enjoying the glory of the Father as the element of their perfected oneness, to be built up and corporately manifest God.
The more we live by the divine life and divine nature, the more divine glory there will be in the church; when we are one, Christ is glorified, and the Father also is glorified.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23-25, Acts 7:2)
(Please illustrate that Christ as the Lamb of God taking away the sin that caused man to have a problem with God, thus satisfying all the requirements of God’s holiness, righteousness, and glory and appeasing the relationship between man and God.)
T2 God’s glory was a great encouragement and strength, enabling Abraham to follow God (Gen. 12:1, 4, 2 Pet. 1:3)
(Please illustrate that in the same principle, God calls the New Testament believers by His invisible glory.)
Day 2
T1 When Christ comes, we shall be glorified in Him, and He will be glorified in us (Col. 1:27, Heb. 2:10)
(Please illustrate that as believers, we are being transformed into [God’s] glory and shall be brought into it. Eventually, we shall be glorified with Christ to bear the glory of God for God’s expression in the New Jerusalem.)
T2 The last step of God’s great salvation is to bring many sons into glory (Rom. 8:29-30, Heb. 6:20)
(Please illustrate that Jesus, as the Pioneer and the Forerunner, took the lead to enter into glory, and we, His followers, are taking the same way to be brought into the same glory, which was ordained by God for us.)
Day 3
T1 The Lord did not seek His own glory, in that He did not speak from Himself. Rather, He sought the glory of the One who sent Him (John 7:16-18)
(Please illustrate that as One who lived a restricted life, a life restricted from doing things for self, the Lord sought the glory of God for God’s satisfaction.)
T2 The resurrection of Christ was His glorification (Luke 24:26, Acts 3:13a)
(Please illustrate that Christ was glorified in His resurrection.)
Day 4
T1 In Christ’s transfiguration on the mountain, the glory of His divinity was manifested for a glimpse to His disciples (Matt. 17:1-2, 2 Pet. 1:17-18)
(Please illustrate that on the mount of transfiguration, the divine element of Christ was released from His flesh and expressed in glory, being seen by the three disciples.)
T2 The Father is glorified in the Son’s glorification (John 1:14, 12:23)
(Please illustrate that in what three stages will the Lord Jesus’ prayer for glorification in John 17 be fulfilled.)
Day 5
T1 The glorification of the Father in the glorification of the Son (John 17:1, 22-23)
(Please illustrate that what three grounds the believers have for their oneness. )
T2 Being perfected into one (John 17:22-23)
(Please illustrate that what the ultimate oneness of the believers is.)
Day 6
T1 The Son of God will be glorified in the oneness of the church (John 17:5, 22)
(How does the Son get glorified today, so that the Father is in the Son, and through the Son, is glorified?)
T2 With the Divine Trinity there is such a wonderful coinhering oneness (John 17:22, Eph. 3:21)
(Please illustrate that this coinhering oneness has been duplicated by Christ with His believers.)
