The Restoration of His Glory

Larry Siegle
02/04/24 - Sun AM

Link to sermon video: The Restoration of His Glory - L Siegle

The Restoration of His Glory

(John 17:1-5)

Thesis:  The Son of God was ‘made flesh’ and the time came for His sacrificial death, and glorification in the heavens.

INTRODUCTION

1.   The title of this message is, “Restoration of His Glory”

2.  This is the beginning of a short series…as we wade out into the ‘deeper 

      waters’ of what God’s Word reveals to us about who God is and what God

      has done.

      a.  The Bible is not arranged in ‘topical’ form, by subject.

      b.  The Bible, beginning in the book of Genesis, beginnings, is a ‘narrative’—

            “a spoken or written account of connected events, a story”

      c.   The Bible is the ‘progressive revelation’ of ‘redemptive history’—

            1)  Think about the word “history”—Two words together with reference to

                  the Bible, it is HIS STORY – God’s ‘story’—

            2)  We tend to think the Bible is about US, (and most certainly we are

                  involved).  The reality is that the Bible is all about HIM – who God is,

                  and what God has done over the course of those events from all that is

                  recorded from Genesis to Revelation.

3.  There is a vast difference between Systematic theology, and Biblical

      theology—I am a ‘fan’ more of the one and less of the other.

      a.  Systematic theology—divides the Bible into four basic ‘topical’ categories:

            1)  Bibliology -- study of the Bible

            2)  Hamartiology - The study of sin. 

            3)  Christology – The study of Christ. 

            4)  Ecclesiology – The study of the church.

      b.  Biblical theology--Biblical theology synthesizes the teachings of the Scriptures through the course of the narrative.

            1)  Biblical theology looks into the text and begins looking at what God is 

                  doing.

            2)  Biblical theology asks, Who?  What?  When?  Where? Why? and 

                  How?

     c.  There are two distinct methods of Bible study, the inductive method and 

            the deductive method—both are related, and both are essential.

            1)  (Inductive Method)—Narrative==? Faith? Response

            2)  (Deductive Method)—Statement?Elements? Response

                  a)  A + B = C is a deduction.  

                  b) Induction wants to know where “A” and “B” came from, how they 

                        are related, and why they are being added together to come up with

                         “C”

                  c)  The Bible provides the details and then from those details, we can

                        draw certain conclusions that are either true or false.

THE PRAYER OF JESUS

1.   The context recorded by John (13:1) provides the occasion of what will be

      said in John 13-17.

2.  Jesus is giving to His apostles His ‘final words’ of instruction to prepare them

      for what is about to happen—Jesus is going to the Cross.

      a.  Jesus wants to comfort them and to let them know He is not going to ‘abandon’ them—but rather will send the Holy Spirit to lead them, guide them, and equip them for the rest of their journey (John 16:5-15).

      b.  Jesus tells them that ‘trouble’ is coming (John 16:31-33).

3.  This is what happens before Jesus prays (John 17:1-26).

      a.  The “our Father who art in heaven” is the model prayer.

      b.  John 17, in reality is the Lord’s Prayer.

THE HOUR HAS COME

1.   Jesus begins His prayer with “the hour has come” (17:1).

2.  This expression is found 27 x, 18 of which are in the gospel account of John.

      a.  The events described in this section of John began with what we read

            (13:1)

      b.  Jesus begins His prayer with this recognition.

RETURN TO GLORY

1.   What we know about the ‘narrative’ (Genesis to Revelation) is:

      a.  God initiated ‘redemptive history’—the purpose of God began to unfold.

      b.  Christ, the Son of God, entered into ‘redemptive history’ (Gal. 4:4) to

            carry forward the means of reconciliation with God (death, burial,

            resurrection).

      c.  The Holy Spirit was sent to consummate and to restore all that had

            been lost from the time of Adam and Even onward.

2.  Remember the Bible is HIS STORY (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)—GOD

      a.  It all began with creation (Genesis 1-2) and it all ended with redemption,

            reconciliation, and restoration.

      b.  Baptism is into “the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy

            Spirit” (Matt. 28-18-20)—The Greek word eis means “into” relationship

            with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

      c.  In the book of Acts baptism is “in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38)-- 

            Why?

      d.  Until the time of the cross everyone was being baptized into the “baptism

            of John” (Matt. 3)--but after the cross, beginning on the Day of Pentecost,

            baptism was now “in the name of” (by the authority of) what had been

            accomplished on the cross through the redemptive work of Christ.

            1)  It is the ‘narrative’ (story) that provides the answers to the why

                  questions in many instances.

3.  Jesus asks His Father to “glorify” Him--“to invest with dignity, majesty,

       honor, and excellence”

      a.  To die on a cross was ‘public humiliation’ (not a shiny piece of jewelry we 

            wear around our neck)

      b.  Jesus as “the Word” (John 1:1, 14) had left behind the “glory” He had in

            heaven, entered into the human family, and died a horrible kind of death

            in sacrifice for us.

      c.  But just a few days later, Jesus would be resurrected from the death, and after 40 days, ascend into the heavens to be “glorified” with the same “glory” that He shared with the Father “before the world began” (John 17:5).

ALL AUTHORITY

1.   After the resurrection, Jesus proclaims that “all authority in heaven and on

      earth” (Matt. 28:18) had been given to Him.  God was giving to Jesus

      “authority over all flesh” (John 17:2) and thus the ability to “give eternal life”

      those who place their faith, trust, and allegiance in Him (John 3:16).

2.  In the beginning of HIS STORY remember that Adam and Eve were given 

      “dominion” at the time of their creation (Gen. 1:26-28).

      a.  This was ‘Federal Headship’ for Adam and Eve to have “dominion” over all

            of God’s creation and future “generations” to come.

      b.  The entrance of the sin and the death (Rom. 5:12) meant that all of 

            humanity from that time forward would suffer the “consequences” of what 

            had alienated them from living and thriving in the very presence of 

            Almighty God.

      c.  Jesus was sent into the “world” of Adam to defeat sin and death and the

             “consequences” of the past--Jesus came as the “last Adam” (I Cor. 15:45).

      d.  In the place of Adam, Christ was resurrected to sit at the right hand of the Father and to become the ‘Federal Head’ of all humanity.

            1)  His ‘headship’ does not imply that everyone is automatically ‘saved’

                  (universalim), but rather that all of humanity was being given a fresh 

              start to enter into the very presence of God and to live forever with 

                  Him--“eternal life”

            2)  Sin, disobedience, and alienation from God today has nothing

                  whatsoever with Adam and Eve, but rather God holds each of us

                  accountable for our own thoughts, words, and actions.

CONCLUSION

1.   I hope today each of us caught a glimpse of God’s majesty

2.  I hope today each of us has felt the extent of His love, grace, and mercy in

      providing deliverance (salvation) through Christ Jesus.

3.  Next week we are going to explore how Christ who was in the “form of God”

      left the glories of heaven to become a man.

4.  This prayer of Jesus is also discussed in the context of Philippians 2, and I

      hope you will take some time to read what Paul writes there and think about 

      how all of this came about.