Have you ever thought about God’s glory? We say, “All glory be to God!” And He deserves all of it! In John 17 during Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, He mentions His glory, and how He wants to give it away.

He says:

“The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” (John 17:22-23)

This prayer Jesus prays is radical for us as His Church. And just to give a warning at the beginning of this post, this could be triggering to religious spirits. If this message rubs you the wrong way, pray into it. Ask the Lord to reveal Truth to you.

Jesus Receives Glory from the Father

Jesus receives glory from the Father. And then Jesus gives His glory to us. This process is part of becoming one. Glory is part of your inheritance. Many religious people do not like that statement. They will say, “No, Brett, all glory belongs to God.” Perhaps the rebuttal is half true. All glory does belong to God, and He shares it willingly. Just like peace: Jesus gives us His peace (John 14:27).

Have you ever read what Paul writes about the church in Ephesians 3?

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV)

Here’s an amazing principle. God wants to do way more than you can imagine, “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (NKJV), “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (NIV), “far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams” (MSG). Does this sound too good to be true? It’s not. God wants that for you. He wants to dream with you. And what you’ll find is that the dreams that you dream are actually His desire for you.

God Gets the Glory Through You

Now, as the great things that God has planned for you (Ephesians 2:10) are accomplished, He gets the glory. The glory is to Him in the Church. And His glory is in Christ. How can His glory be both in His Church and in Christ? It’s because Christ is in us, the Church! Christ lives out His glorious life through our lives. Don’t take my word for it; this is what the Bible says.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20 ESV)

“My Glory I Give to No Other”

Some might say to me, “Doesn’t the Bible say that God doesn’t give his glory to another?” Well, good question. Let’s take a look at the references.

“I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.” (Isaiah 42:8 ESV)

“For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.” (Isaiah 48:11 ESV)

In both instances, the Lord is referencing idols. He will not give His glory to idols, or the demons behind them for that matter. Are there idols that attempt to steal God’s glory today? You bet there are. And sometimes we agree with them. We give praise to a doctor, but it’s God who heals. We say, “I have this amazing idea. It just came to me.” And we forget to honor the One from whom the idea came.

We Are Not Considered “Other” to God.

But how does the transfer of His glory to the Church supposed to work? God does not consider us as an “other.” We are not considered “other” to God. You and I are His children (John 1:12). We are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10). He wants to impart His glory to us, so that the world can see what a son or daughter of God is supposed to look like.

God is preparing us to handle His glory. Let’s take a look at 2 Corinthians 4:17-18:

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18 ESV)

For too long we have interpreted this verse as the “light momentary affliction” being our entire earthly experience and the eternal weight of glory being only available when we die. 

I’m here to tell you that this way of thinking about eternal glory and eternal life is only half true. It puts off what the Lord has intended to bring into the present. It eliminates faith for what could be, what can be, what the Lord wants, and sends it all into some unattainable future.

Eternal Life is Now

At the beginning of Jesus’ prayer in John 17, He defines eternal life. I think the Father already knew the definition, so we can be confident that He defined the term for our benefit.

“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3 ESV)

Knowing God and knowing Jesus is eternal life. When does this start? When we die? No, it starts as soon as our relationship with God starts. If you know God, if you’ve received Jesus and believed in Him with your heart, confessing Him as Lord, then you are saved (Romans 10:9-10). Eternal life becomes your experience as you get to know God. He can be known like any other person.

So, you see, eternal life isn’t for some far off time in the future; it’s for right now.

These Promises Are For Us Now

Church, the promises of His glory are for us now, for this time. Jesus also mentions the same thing, back in John 17:24.

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:24 ESV)

Did you catch the phrase, “… that they also may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me…”? Jesus is asking the Father that we may be with Jesus where He is, present tense. He wants us to see His glory, the glory given to Him before the foundation of the world. Do you think the Father answers Jesus’ prayer? You bet! 

How can we be with Jesus where He is right now and see His glory? Ephesians 2:6 says we are seated with Christ in Heavenly places in Christ. This is a current reality, not a future reality. Right now, we are seated with Christ and in Christ. Just because we don’t fully understand this reality doesn’t mean it’s any less true. A young child doesn’t have to understand love to know that it’s real. In the same way, we can operate in the realness or truthfulness of being seated with Christ right now without comprehending the complex spiritual mechanics.

How do we see His glory? For the most part, His glory is seen and felt in the spiritual realm. But you can see the evidence of His glory all around you, in creation, in the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control), in relationships, especially in marriage.

Glory Vessel

You have been built as a “glory vessel,” a spiritual being meant to house God’s glory. He wants to do that in you and through you. He wants to live out the life of Christ in you and through you. You are a spiritual house, and God’s Spirit is meant to dwell in you and fill you up. 

And the Holy Spirit is meant to overflow out of you onto other people. And boom! God’s glory is seen. God gets the glory through you. Everyone can see that God’s power is at work through you, that it’s not you, that it’s Him. He gets the glory while working through the conduit of you, His “glory vessel.”

Caution?

Now, some will caution that the pouring out of God’s glory on a person can lead to that person taking all the glory for themselves and misusing it. Sadly, this does happen. Misusing God’s glory is a heart issue, or you might say it’s a character problem. 

How does this happen in someone’s life? Bad seed is sown in the heart by the enemy, by past hurts and trauma, by the programming of the world (see Luke 8:4-8, 12-15). In the intense revival-type Presence of God, spiritual seeds grow quickly, both good seed and bad seed. These spiritual plants grow up, and if not dealt with correctly, the bad seed can overwhelm and take over. We’ve seen this happen. We’ve seen “spiritual giants” fall from some scandal, and we shake our heads and say, “Too bad. He was a good man,” or, “She was a good woman.” But it’s not a sudden thing. It’s an issue with the heart.

Now here’s a question we must consider: if it’s possible to misuse God’s glory, should we exclude it? Should we exclude ourselves from pursuing His glory just in case we might fizzle out in some public explosion? Well, this is a very personal decision for every person, but I have some thoughts about it. 

Fear of God’s Glory

I believe there is a very real fear of God’s glory. You might think of it as a fear of success. It’s a fear of what might happen if God blesses the socks off of us. Would we turn away from Him? Or would we become closer to Him? You see, most of the time, we only focus on the negative side of what could happen and hardly ever consider the positive side. What if, by embracing the glory of God, we see an entire city come to repentance and believe in Jesus. What if, by embracing the glory of God, we produce content that the entire world needs to see and hear?

Do we sabotage ourselves from receiving the blessings that God wants to pour down upon us from Heaven? And by using the word “blessings,” I’m referring to things like: love, acceptance, fulfillment, peace, spiritual experiences, abundant life, relationships, family, friends, signs, miracles, wonders, hearing the Lord’s voice, starting something new, writing a book, owning a company, enjoying your job, having fun, traveling to unique places, speaking with new people, making new friends, growing in the wisdom and knowledge of the Lord, etc. God’s blessings take many forms. They are not just material things like money, but they are also spiritual things, like friendship and joy.

Forfeiting God’s Glory is Forfeiting Abundant Life

Forfeiting God’s glory is forfeiting living the abundant life. Living in His glory is abundant life.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I [Jesus] came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10 ESV) (words in bracket mine)

The devil and his minions are interested in stealing God’s glory and preventing you from allowing His glory to rest upon you and inside of you. He does this through lies leading to unbelief. He does this through fear. The sad part is that we partner with the lies of the devil instead of the Truth of God! Let’s repent; let’s change our minds and our ways of thinking and start partnering with the Lord.

Instead of punishing ourselves and seeing ourselves as the scum on the bottom of the devil’s shoe, let’s see ourselves as Sons of God (Romans 8:14-17). Let’s see ourselves as Kings and Priests (Revelation 1:6), and More than Conquerors (Romans 8:37). Let’s remember that God will crush Satan underneath our feet (Romans 16:20)!

Connect into God

Fellow Brother or Sister in Christ, hear me out. Press into God. Hide yourself in Him. Make Him your refuge and fortress, and allow Him to pour out His glory upon you and in you. See yourself the way He sees you. Ask Him what He thinks about you, and don’t listen to any accusations if they come. The Lord’s response to your question will be truthful, encouraging and uplifting, empowering even.

God is interested in you becoming the Son of God that He sees and knows already. You get to journey with Him to figure that part out. It’s an amazing journey and so worth it! Trust me, the Lord is so incredible and engaging. He’s an amazing teacher. He wants to share His glory with you, because He is that good!