“THE GLORY THAT UNITES US”

22 "The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,"

John 17:22

The pursuit of glory in our modern world is almost always a deeply selfish endeavor. People naturally hoard praise, seek elevated statuses, and build monuments to their own personal achievements. We live in a society that measures greatness by how far one can rise above everyone else, often leaving fractured relationships in the wake of ambition. In the kingdom of God, however, glory is meant to be shared rather than hoarded. Jesus completely flips the human concept of glory, using it not to elevate one person above the rest, but to bind His people together in an unbreakable spiritual bond.

John chapter 17 is a heartfelt prayer known as Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer.” After delivering His Farewell Discourse, Jesus now prays for Himself, the disciples, and future believers. This moment is also the start of Jesus’ “time.” In this series, we will see several important truths relating to our calling, sanctification, and witnessing. 

In today's verse, Jesus speaks to the Father with a profound declaration regarding His followers, revealing that the glory that He has imparted to His followers is the very foundation that binds them together in perfect, divine unity.

Jesus speaks of giving them "glory," translating the Greek noun doxa, which refers to the highest degree of divine majesty and the perfect manifestation of God's character. Throughout this High Priestly Prayer, this concept of glory is closely tied to the cross, the Resurrection, and the revelation of the Father’s perfect nature. 

Jesus is not handing His disciples a platform for earthly fame or a reason for spiritual pride. Instead, He is imparting to them the reality of His own divine sonship and the breathtaking privilege of participating in God's redemptive work. He gives them this glory for a highly specific purpose: so that they may be completely unified, perfectly mirroring the eternal harmony that exists between the Father and the Son. This means that true Christian unity is not manufactured through human effort, administrative compromises, or simply agreeing to get along. It is a supernatural reality forged because every believer shares in the exact same divine glory given by Christ.

Because we share in this imparted glory, we have no reason to compete with one another. The challenge for us is to actively look for a way to deflect praise from ourselves and intentionally use our spiritual gifts to elevate another believer and unify the church. We must stop viewing our brothers and sisters as competitors and start treating them as co-heirs of the exact same spiritual riches.

What personal ambition or hidden desire for recognition do you need to lay down today so that you can foster genuine, Christ-centered unity within your community?

Pursue the Savior today!

Photo by Vishal Chokkala on Unsplash