Scripture Reading: John 12:19-29; 13:31; 14:13; 15:8; 17:1-5, 22
In this chapter we will consider further the sign of the divine glorification. As we consider this sign, we need to pay attention to a number of verses in the Gospel of John that speak of glory or glorification.
First, we come to John 12:19-29. According to John 12, when the Lord Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, He received a great welcome. Because the crowd went out to meet Him, the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing anything worthwhile; behold, the world has gone after Him” (v. 19). Then certain Greeks came to Philip and told him that they wanted to see Jesus (vv. 20-21). Philip and Andrew spoke to the Lord concerning this (v. 22). From the human point of view, this seemed to be a golden time for the Lord Jesus.
In 12:23 we have the Lord’s response to the situation: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Here we have the first mention of the glorification concerning which the Lord later prayed in chapter 17. Actually, the matter of glorification begins in 12:23 and continues through the Lord’s prayer for glorification. In verse 23 the Lord told His disciples that the hour had come for the Son of Man to be glorified. As verse 24 indicates, for the Son of Man to be glorified is for Him to have His divine element, His divine life, released from within the shell of His humanity to produce many believers in resurrection, just as a grain of wheat releases its life element by falling into the ground and dying in order to bear much fruit and thereby bring forth many grains. Therefore, in verse 24 the Lord said, “Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” What, then, does it mean for the Lord Jesus to be glorified? For the Lord to be glorified was for Him to die and be resurrected in order to bear much fruit. This means that the bearing of fruit is His glorification.
Verse 23 indicates clearly that the Lord was concerned for His glorification, and verse 24 explains what this glorification is. The Lord was glorified by dying as a grain of wheat and then growing up in resurrection to produce many grains, that is, to bear much fruit. These grains are actually the believers who are constituted into the house, the vine, and the new man. The crucial point, and the point we are now emphasizing, is that the thought of glorification, which is the subject of the Lord’s prayer in chapter 17, begins in 12:23.
In 12:28 the Lord prayed, “Father, glorify Your name.” This is similar to the Lord’s prayer in 17:1: “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You.” These two prayers are both for the same matter — the matter of glorification. Knowing that the Father would be glorified in the Son’s glorification, the Lord prayed first that the Father would glorify His name and then that He would glorify the Son so that the Son might glorify Him.
According to 12:28, after the Lord prayed, a voice came out of heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” The crowd heard the voice. However, they did not understand it. Some said that it had thundered, and others said that an angel had spoken to Him.
In chapter 13 the Lord again spoke regarding glorification. After Judas went out, the Lord said, “Now has the Son of Man been glorified, and God has been glorified in Him. If God has been glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and He will glorify Him immediately” (vv. 31-32). Shortly after speaking these words, the Lord went on to give the lengthy message recorded in chapters 14, 15, and 16. Actually, this message began in 13:31, which speaks of the glorification of the Son. Therefore, the Lord’s message and His prayer are both on the subject of glorification. In His message to His disciples the Lord spoke concerning glorification. Then in His prayer He prayed concerning the divine glorification.
Because chapters 12 through 17 are concerned with the divine glorification, it would not be fitting to change the subject in the middle and bring in the thought of a heavenly mansion. What does a heavenly mansion have to do with the Son’s glorification? The building of a heavenly mansion has nothing to do with divine glorification.
We have seen that when the Lord received a warm welcome and the people were about to exalt Him, He indicated to His disciples that the hour had not come for Him to be exalted. Rather, it was the time for the Son of Man to be glorified through death and resurrection. As 12:24 indicates, glorification is a matter of dying and rising so that many grains may be brought forth. This means that the Lord’s glorification was His multiplication, and His multiplication was His glorification. The Lord is glorified in the producing of many grains, which are for the building up of His Body.
To the Lord, the church is His Body, and to the Father, the church is His house. According to the principle in the New Testament, a person’s body may be considered his house. For example, in 2 Corinthians 5 Paul indicates that his physical body was his earthly house. In keeping with this principle, Christ’s mystical Body is also a house, the house of the Father. Furthermore, the Father’s house is very much related to the divine glorification. However, a so-called mansion in the heavens has nothing to do with the glorification of the Lord.
Recently, the Lord has enlightened us to see that the Father’s house, the vine, the new man, the divine glorification, and the oneness in John 17 all refer to the same thing. If we simply tell others that the Father’s house in 14:2 does not refer to a heavenly mansion but that it refers to God’s dwelling place, the church, they may not be convinced. We need to show them that the portion of the Gospel of John from 12:23 through the end of chapter 17 is a complete section of the Word. This section begins with Philip and Andrew telling the Lord Jesus that the Greeks wanted to see Him, and with the Lord answering them that this was not the time for Him to receive an outward exaltation. The Lord indicated to His disciples that He had come for the purpose of dying as a grain of wheat and then rising up in resurrection to produce much fruit. The Lord seemed to be telling them, “I did not come for outward exaltation. My commission is to die and produce many grains in resurrection. Now the time is at hand for Me to fulfill this commission. The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
For the Son of Man to be glorified is for Him to die and bring forth many grains in resurrection. These grains are for the constitution of the vine. To constitute the vine of many grains is equal to building up the Father’s house. Moreover, the building up of the Father’s house is equal to the planting of the vine, and this is equal to the birth of the new man. If we have this view, we will realize that it would bring in an element that is altogether foreign if we were to teach that 14:2 speaks of a heavenly mansion. This section of the Gospel of John has nothing to say about a mansion in the heavens. Rather, this portion of John’s Gospel reveals that the Lord Jesus was about to die and rise up in order to bring forth many grains for the constitution of His Body, and it reveals that His Body is the Father’s house, the vine, and the new man.
John 15:8 is a verse that strengthens the point concerning glorification that we have been making in this chapter: “In this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so you will become My disciples.” In fruit-bearing, the Father’s life, the divine life, is expressed. Therefore, He is glorified in fruit-bearing. This corresponds to the thought in 12:23 and 24 that glorification is a matter of multiplication.
The basic thought in this section of the Gospel of John is the glorification of the Father in the Son’s glorification. In this section certain verses tell us what this glorification is. In 15:8 we see that glorification is in fruit-bearing. According to 12:24, the one grain fell into the ground and died, rose up, and brought forth many grains. This is multiplication, and this multiplication is glorification. Now we need to see that the many grains in 12:24 are the many branches of the vine in chapter 15. The branches of the vine bear fruit, and this fruit-bearing is the glorification of the Father. Fruit-bearing is a matter of multiplication, propagation, production. This multiplication is the Father’s glorification. Certainly whatever is produced through the Lord’s death and resurrection has nothing to do with a heavenly mansion.
Another verse related to glorification is 14:13: “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” For the Father to be glorified in the Son is to have His element expressed from within the Son. Whatever the Son does is to express the divine element of the Father. This is to have the Father glorified in the Son.
In order to have a fuller understanding of verse 13, we need to consider some of the preceding verses. In verse 10 the Lord said, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak from Myself, but the Father who abides in Me does His works.” Here we see that whatever the Lord speaks is the Father’s work. This means that the Lord’s word is the expression of the Father. The Lord’s speaking expressed the Father, and this expression is a matter of glorification.
In verses 11 and 12 the Lord went on to say, “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; but if not, believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes into Me, the works which I do he shall do also; and greater than these he shall do because I am going to the Father.” When the Lord went to the Father, He brought us into the Father. Hence, where He is, there we are also. Now we can do the same thing the Lord did. And what did the Lord do? He expressed the Father.
The Lord’s word here concerning His disciples doing the same thing as He did in expressing the Father corresponds to His word in 17:22: “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them.” The glory that the Father gave the Son is the sonship with the Father’s life and nature to express the Father in His fullness. This glory the Son has given to His believers that they also may have the sonship with the Father’s life and nature to express the Father in the Son in His fullness. Now we have the divine life and nature to express the Father in the Son. In 14:12 the Lord seemed to be saying, “I am going to the Father, and I am bringing you all with Me into the Father. Where I am, you also will be, and what I have done, you also will do. When I go to the Father, you will be brought into Him. Then you will do the same work as I do to express Him.”
Now we are better able to understand what the Lord said in 14:13 about doing whatever we ask in His name so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. To be in the Lord’s name means to be one with the Lord, to live by the Lord, and to let the Lord live in us. The Lord came and did things in the Father’s name (5:43; 10:25). He was one with the Father (10:30), He lived by the Father (6:57), and the Father worked in Him (14:10). In the Gospels the Lord as the expression of the Father did things in the Father’s name. In the Acts the disciples as the expression of the Lord did even greater things in His name. According to the context, what the disciples should ask in the Lord’s name is related to glorification. Do you think that the Lord was expecting the disciples to ask for material riches when He said that He would do whatever they asked in His name? Certainly not! In the Lord’s name the disciples should ask for the glorification of the Father in the Son.
We need to be impressed with the fact that the whole section from 12:23 through 17:26 is on the glorification of the Son for the glorification of the Father. This is the main subject of this portion of the Gospel of John. First, the Son died and rose up to bear much fruit, to produce many grains. The Lord’s life was imparted to the disciples and made them branches of the vine for the bearing of fruit. The producing of the many grains and the bearing of fruit by the many branches are both matters of glorification. The fruit-bearing of the branches is a continuation of the glorification seen in the multiplication of the one grain into many grains. After the disciples received the life that was in the Son, they prayed. According to chapter 1 of Acts, they prayed for ten days. What do you think they prayed for? A better house? Good health? To be sure, they did not pray for such things. Actually, the Lord told them to stay in Jerusalem until power came upon them from the Father (Luke 24:49). Then they would become life witnesses of the Lord Jesus. As such witnesses, they would live the same life as the Lord lived. This living is a matter of glorification.
When we pray in the Son’s name, we are one with Him. When the Son came in the Father’s name, He was one with the Father. In like manner, to pray in the Son’s name means that we become one with Him in our prayer. Then whatever we pray, the Son will do so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Now we see that whatever we pray in oneness with the Son, the Son will do for the Father’s glorification.
The divine glorification continues today. This glorification began with the Lord’s resurrection, and it is still going on. According to our viewpoint, we may say that the delivery that brought forth the Firstborn and the many brothers covers a long span of time, thus far, more than nineteen hundred years. In the sight of God, this delivery, although lengthy in time, is a matter of resurrection. Through this span of delivery in resurrection, we all have been brought forth to constitute the new man. However, there are yet others being brought forth. It is by this continuing delivery that the Lord’s prophecy in John 2 concerning the raising up of the temple is being fulfilled. The Lord said to the Jews, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (v. 19). This raising up of the temple, which is the bringing forth of the new man, has not yet been completed. Because this delivery, this bringing forth, is still taking place, the divine glorification is also continuing today.
I believe that what the Lord has shown us concerning the divine glorification will help us to know what the church life is. The church life is actually the multiplication, the propagation, of Christ. This kind of church life is the divine glorification. The church has been produced in this glorification, and it continues to grow in the divine glorification. Whatever the church does in the matter of fruit-bearing is a continuation of the divine glorification. As the church spreads, this spreading is the fruit-bearing. For example, fifteen years ago there were only a small number of saints in the Lord’s recovery in Europe. But now this number has increased. This increase is a matter of fruit-bearing, and fruit-bearing is the divine glorification.
In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke we have a clear word concerning gospel preaching. In these Gospels the Lord commanded the disciples to go forth and preach the gospel. But in the Gospel of John the Lord did not tell the disciples to go out to preach. Instead, in this Gospel the Lord indicated that we are branches of the vine to bear fruit. According to the Gospel of John, the bearing of fruit is actually the proper way to preach the gospel.
We may say that Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the synoptic Gospels, are on the human side, whereas the Gospel of John is on the divine side. On the human side, we have gospel preaching. But on the divine side, instead of gospel preaching we have a divine living, a living of fruit-bearing. Consider the branches of a vine. These branches do not preach; they simply grow in order to bear fruit. As branches of Christ, the true vine, we bear fruit that is the multiplication of the glorified Christ. This glorification is continuous. This continuous glorification is also the continuing delivery of the new man. In this fruit-bearing, in this delivery, Christ is glorified, and in His glorification the Father is glorified.
Suppose on earth today there were only a few Christians and these Christians were scattered throughout the world. What kind of glorification would this be? If this were the situation, there would be hardly any glory at all. But the multiplication of the Lord Jesus has spread throughout the earth. This continuous spreading of Christ is His glorification.
The Father’s house, the vine, and the new man are all related to the divine glorification. As we have seen, the house, the vine, and the new man are all one thing. The Lord’s glorification began in 12:24 with the producing of many grains. These grains are the constituents of the Body of Christ, the church, which is the house of God the Father. According to the book of Ephesians, the church is the Body of Christ in Ephesians 1 and the house of God the Father in Ephesians 2. In keeping with a basic principle in the New Testament, the Body is also a house. Furthermore, the house is a family. Even in the Old Testament we have the thought that children are the glory of their father because they are his multiplication. Children may be compared to the many grains that are the multiplication of one grain. A father is the one grain, and his children are the many grains produced out of him. Therefore, as the many grains are the glory of the one grain, so the many children are the glory of the father. This clearly illustrates the concept in this section of the Gospel of John. The Lord revealed the Father to His disciples. The Father gave Him authority over all flesh so that He might give eternal life to His chosen ones and thereby cause them to become God’s children. The children of God are also the many grains. All this is a matter of divine glorification.
It is far off the mark to say that John 14 speaks of the building of a heavenly mansion. This thought cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. What the New Testament reveals is the church life consummating in the New Jerusalem. What some claim is the heavenly mansion in John 14 is actually what we mean by the church life. Eventually, according to the book of Revelation, the New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven (21:2). Therefore, in eternity there will be no such thing as a mansion in the heavens, but the New Jerusalem will be the consummation of the church life on earth.
