Glory
Before We Gather by Zach Hicks
| Scripture
Read John 17:1-5,20-23
| Devotion
Glory is a worship word. In Greek, it reads doxa, from which we get our word doxology, which for us is a song of praise but literally means “a word of glory.” If you wanted to develop a biblical under- standing of worship from the ground up, a great place to start would simply be a word study of doxa from Genesis to Revelation.
One of the most potent glory passages in the Bible is John 17, what has been called Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. This prayer is important for many reasons. First, it shows us what lies at the center of Jesus’ heart, because it’s the last recorded lengthy prayer Jesus offers in the gospel of John before his crucifixion. Second, it gives us one of the best glimpses into the mysterious depth of intimacy between the persons of the Trinity. Jesus is talking tenderly to the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit.
And what do we find when we peer into Jesus’ heart and into the mystery of Trinitarian love? Glory is all over the place.
Glory is hard to describe and define. It’s almost better under- stood not by its definition but by its effects. The Hebrew word for glory is kavod, which carries the idea of heaviness or weightiness. The effect of glory is to press down on us, overwhelm us, envelop us.
In Jesus’ prayer, we learn that glory is what makes the Trinitarian relationship tick. “Father,… glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you…. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed,” Jesus prays (John 17:1, 5). From eternity past, the Trinity has been busy passing glory around. Father, Son, and Spirit constantly pour out glory to one another.
Then, Jesus surprises us. This amazing God-glory is some- thing so beautiful, so joyful, so desirous, so overwhelming that our good God would never wish to keep it to himself. Jesus reveals his mission why he came to earth and why he is headed to the cross. Jesus prays specifically for you and me, “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us…. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one” (vv. 21-22). The goal of salvation is to share the spoils of God’s glory, to enjoy the rapture of union, of oneness, with God in Christ.
If sharing in the rapture of glory is the goal of salvation, it is certainly the goal of worship for you and me. When you read Jesus’ prayer, you get the sense that it wasn’t some ritual. It was an over- whelming experience, saturated with intimacy, depth, beauty, and power. Likewise, worship at its best can do the same thing. Cod’s goal for worship, through Jesus and in the power of the Spirit, is to envelop us in his glorious presence. Yes, worship should be an experience of glory.
Twice in the prayer, Jesus says that he is the gateway to this glory. He claims boldly both at the beginning and the end of his prayer, “I have manifested your name to the people,” and “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known” (vv. 6, 26). This shows us clearly that if we want access to glory, we need to go through Jesus. Even more, Scripture testifies that Jesus is the gate- way to God’s glory because he is God’s glory (Heb. 1:3). Do you want to experience glory? Look at Jesus. Our worship must therefore make much of Jesus and walk us through the story of his gospel. Christ- centered worship is Spirit-filled worship, which is glory-filled worship. If you want the glory, you need Jesus. So let’s pray for just that as we ask the Lord to prepare our hearts for worship.
| Prayer
Aim your prayers in this direction:
- Pray that the people of God would be overwhelmed by God’s glory when you gather.
- Pray that the Holy Spirit makes Jesus more beautiful and believable to the hearts of all who come.
- Ask God to tear down the barriers and remove the distractions that often inhibit a rich experience of the glory of God.