Loved Before the World Began

The Glory He Had Before

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Paul says God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4). Jesus Himself prayed about that time before the world began.

The night before the cross. After the Last Supper, Jesus prayed to His Father. He prayed for Himself, for His disciples and for everyone who would believe in Him. John 17 gives us His prayer.

The glory before. “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:5). Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem. As God’s eternal Son, He was with the Father before anything was made.

Always with the Father. Before there were stars, seas or people, the Son was with the Father, sharing His glory. He is God, just as the Father is God.

Who could pray this? No ordinary person could ask God for glory he had before the world existed. Only God’s eternal Son could pray this way.

Coming down. Jesus left that glory to be born as a baby and to live among us. He did it because He loves us.

Still God. Jesus did not stop being God when He came to earth. He came as a real man to live the perfect life we could not live.

Loved before the world. Jesus prayed, “For You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (17:24). The Father has always loved His Son.

With Me where I am. “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me” (17:24). Jesus wants His people with Him forever.

Seeing His glory. One day everyone who trusts Jesus will see Him as He really is, shining with the glory He has always had.

Face to face. Heaven is wonderful most of all because Jesus is there. Being with Him is the greatest joy God has promised.

The way there. To bring us to Himself, Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again on the third day. Everyone who trusts Him will one day see His glory.

What this means for you. The love that the Father has always had for the Son is the love that reached down to save you. Trust Jesus, and you will be with Him where He is.

Paul says God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4). In John 17, on the night before the cross, Jesus speaks of that same time before creation.

The setting. After the Last Supper, Jesus prayed aloud to His Father. He prayed for Himself, for them, and for all who would believe in Him.

Shared glory (17:5). “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” No mere creature could pray this. Jesus claims to have shared the Father’s own glory before creation.

The eternal Son. The Son did not begin at His birth in Bethlehem. He is eternal, one with the Father, and through Him all things were made.

Glory before the world. In this verse glory is the shining honor that belongs to God alone. The Son shared it with the Father before anything was created.

The glory laid aside. For a time the Son veiled that glory. He became a real man, served, suffered and obeyed. In John 17:5 He asks to return to the glory He had before.

Katabole (17:24). “For You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” “Foundation” is katabole (say: kah-tah-boh-LAY), the laying down of a foundation, the first act of building. Before the first stone of creation was laid, the Father loved the Son.

His desire (17:24). “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me.” Jesus’ wish for His people is nearness and sight: to be with Him and to see Him as He is.

A sure hope. Jesus prayed this as the Son who always pleases the Father, and His requests are always in line with the Father’s will. His people can be confident that His desire will be done.

The cost. To make that wish come true, the Son bore our sins on the cross and rose again on the third day. Sinners who trust Him are brought into a love older than the world.

Application. When you feel small or forgotten, remember that the love which saved you did not start with you. It started before time, and in Christ it holds you.

Loved as the Son Is Loved

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Paul says God “made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). In His prayer in John 17, Jesus shows how deeply the Father loves those who belong to His Son.

One family. “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one” (John 17:22). Jesus prayed that His people would be united, like the Father and the Son.

I in them. “I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one” (17:23). Jesus lives in His people by His Spirit, and that joins them together.

Different but one. God’s family includes people from every country, every language and every kind of home. Believers can look and sound very different and still be one family, because they all belong to Jesus.

The world is watching. When Christians love each other, the people around them can see that Jesus really came from the Father.

Loved the same. He asked that the world would know that the Father “loved them as You have loved Me” (17:23). The Father loves those who trust Jesus with the same love He has for His Son.

Too good to be true? It may sound too good to be true, but these are Jesus’ own words. If you trust Him, the Father’s love for you is as sure as His love for Jesus.

Loved, not earned. The Son never had to earn the Father’s love, and you do not have to earn it either. It is a gift you receive by trusting Jesus.

Knowing the Father. “O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You” (17:25). Jesus knows the Father perfectly, and He came to make Him known.

The Father’s name. “And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it” (17:26). To declare God’s name is to show people what He is really like.

That love in them. Jesus prayed “that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (17:26). God does not only love us from far away; He fills His people with His love.

The price of that love. We have all sinned, and sin had separated us from God. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again, so that everyone who trusts Him can be welcomed into the Father’s love.

What this means for you. When you feel unloved, remember Jesus’ prayer. Treat other believers as your family, because the Father loves them as He loves His Son.

Paul says God “made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). In John 17:22-26 Jesus prays that the Father’s love for His beloved Son would rest on His people.

Shared glory (17:22). “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.” The unity of believers is patterned on the unity of the Father and the Son.

Made perfect in one (17:23). “I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one.” Christ lives in believers, and the Father is in Christ. That indwelling is the source of the church’s oneness.

Unity without sameness. Believers come from every nation and background. Their oneness rests on Christ living in them, not on looking or thinking alike.

Loved without earning. The Son never earned the Father’s love; that love is eternal. Believers do not earn it either. They receive it by faith in Christ.

A witness to the world. Jesus prayed “that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me” (17:23). The love among believers points the world to the Father who sent the Son.

As You have loved Me. The measure of the Father’s love for believers is His love for the Son. In Christ they are not loved a little less; they are loved with the same love.

The Father known (17:25). “O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.” Knowing God begins with knowing that the Son was sent.

The name declared (17:26). “And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” In the Bible a name stands for the whole character of a person. Jesus shows who the Father is.

And will declare it. Jesus’ work of making the Father known did not end with His life on earth. By His Spirit He keeps showing His people the Father’s heart.

Love that cost the cross. Every one of us has sinned and deserves to be shut out of that love. The Son died on the cross for our sins and rose on the third day, so that everyone who believes in Him is brought in.

Application. Rest in the Father’s love, and let it shape the way you treat other believers. Every act of kindness to another believer helps answer Jesus’ prayer.

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Read each section and answer the questions correctly.