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THEME: FOUNDATIONS FOR SPIRITUAL RENEWAL
By Rt. Rev Emmanuel Egbunu
Topic 6. Glorifying God - Life's Greatest Purpose
Reading: John 12: 20-33
As we go through the Passion with the Lord Jesus – that thorny road to the cross, and the victory of the resurrection, and ascension to heavenly glory, we cannot but meditate on the inner workings of His glorious life – the motives, the focus, the struggles, and the peace that were all part of that last week of His earthly ministry. There is much inspiration as we explore the foundations for spiritual renewal.
The glory of God is the chief purpose of all creation. The Psalmist says in Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. We also read in Revelation 4:11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." The Pleasure of God is the consummation of all creation.
In the Westminster Confessional Standards the important question is asked: What is the chief end of man? The response comes: “Man's chief end is to glorify God(1) and to enjoy him forever.(2)”
In John 12:28, the Lord Jesus makes a request that is so simple yet most profound: “Father, glorify your name!" This is the greatest prayer any man can present before the throne of God. And the response was immediate: “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” Why so prompt a response? It must be that this is one prayer that heaven waits for all the time. When pray, ‘Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’, we also conclude, ‘For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory for ever”. The prayer for God’s glory should never be prayed casually, for is it never answered casually. It is a prayer of intimacy. What it says in essence is, “Lord, whatever gives You greatest pleasure is my highest goal,” and as the title of Oswald Chambers’s classic devotional goes, ‘My Utmost for His Highest’.
This had been the uncompromising focus and goal of Christ’s life. Even as early as the age of twelve, His response to His bewildered earthly parents who asked, “Son, why have you treated us like this?” was, “…didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:48-49). We are also reminded at this point of His response to His disciples who were worried that He was not eating the food He had sent them to buy in the Samaritan town of Sychar, “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34).
At the beginning of His public ministry, Christ’s response was apparent by His humble submission to the baptism of John as a form of identification with the sinners returning to God. The heavenly voice we hear in John 12:28, and on the Mount of Transfiguration, was first heard on that occasion of His baptism: “And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17).
How are we to understand this prayer made by Christ? For sure, the context is not at all romantic. Some Greeks had come seeking audience with Him (vv20, 21). Prior to this time, He kept saying, “My hour has not come” (see John 2:4; 4:21,23; 7:30; 8:20), now He said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (12:23). He saw the coming of those Greeks as a signal for His atoning sacrifice for the salvation of the world to be made. He had been available only to the Jewish nation as the covenant community. They enjoyed His teachings, experienced His miracles, and witnessed His incredible life. But that was not the ultimate purpose of His life. At best, He had been only a single seed. The wonderful blessings of His life had to go round the world. But there was a process – the sacrificial death on the cross. It was a process that could not be skipped. He said, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:24-25).
The looming crucifixion was scary. The Lord never underestimated the struggle in His soul: “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again" (John 12:27-28). The Lord Jesus was determined to go ahead with the goal of His life – He was ready to glorify God at any cost. What an example!
The Apostle Peter who was told early enough that he too would glorify God by a certain kind of death (John 21:18-22), came to the point when he wrote to the early Christians in his epistle, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21).
The writer of Hebrews cites the example of Christ, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).
When one thinks of someone else who made the glory of God the focus of his life and ministry, the Apostle Paul comes readily to mind. He tells the Ephesian elders in his famous farewell speech, "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-- the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace (Acts 20:22-24). Soon after, he says to another set of disciples at Ceasarea, “I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 21:13). If anyone doubts whether or not Paul meant it, then read 2 Cor 4:8-10; 11:22-28. His admonition was “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31).
In our pleasure-seeking generation in which God’s servants wish desperately for Him to glorify them, though they have no heart to glorify Him, we must take to heart these words from the Prophet Isaiah: "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols” (Isaiah 42:8).
Seeking God’s glory involves being committed to seeing the will of God done on earth as it is purposed in heaven. In the week of Christ’s passion, we see hostility by religious leaders; praise by the Jerusalem crowds shouting empty Hosannas; we see betrayal by Judas; denial by Peter; and desertion by all the other disciples. For Christ, the zeal for the Father’s house is the consuming passion as He weeps over Jerusalem and cleanses the defiled Temple. We see Him in total submission to the Father’s will at Gethsemane; and we see Him persevere to the very end as He prays, ”Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).
The words of F. Pott (1832-1909) in His hymn, ‘Angel voices ever singing’ are helpful here:
Yea we know that thou rejoicest
O’er each work of Thine
Thou didst ears and hands and voices
For Thy praise design;
Craftsman’s art and music’s measure
For Thy pleasure
All combine
Collect for Lent V
Loving Father,
you delivered and saved us all by the cross and passion of your Son Jesus Christ:
grant that by steadfast faith in the merits of his sacrifice
we may find help and salvation,
and may triumph in the power of his victory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.