In John 17 we have Jesus, nearing the end in of His three-and- a-half-year ministry on earth, engaging in that which He engaged in most while in this world, namely prayer, prayer to His Father in Heaven, to whom He also taught us to pray (Matthew 6:8-13). Jesus typically removed Himself from the crowds to pray Mark 1:35) (Luke 6:12). However, when He did pray in public, He typically did so to reveal aspects of His person and purposes to those within range of His voice (Matthew 11:25-26).
This is most true here in John 17 where Jesus breaks into prayer during what is typically referred to as the Last Supper, where He is celebrating His final Passover Feast with His twelve Apostles, one of whom who, despite Jesus’ love for Him, will betray Him to the Jewish authorities, setting in motion all the activities that will occur in the next 24 hours that will lead to His saving work on the cross.
In this prayer, Jesus first speaks to the Father regarding the fulfillment of His earthly mission, namely the glory of the Father displayed in the granting of eternal life to sinners the Father has given Him to save. Jesus prays to be restored to the immediate presence of the Father, in the fulness of His own divine glory that had been hidden in the weakness of human flesh while in this world.
Jesus then proceeds to intercede for His present disciples, those whom God the Father had revealed to their hearts Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and who thus were entrusting their life to Him, and finding great joy in doing so (Matthew 16:13-17). He prays for their safety while in this world, for their continued sanctification – their increasing conformity to the image of Jesus in their nature and character, and for their effectiveness in continuing the work He has begun of calling men and women to repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:14-15).
Jesus then prays for all who will, throughout the ages, come to believe in Him through the word the Apostles would preach regarding Him, and would be captured in the writings that would become the New Testament. He follows this by praying for unity among all believers, both among themselves and with God, a unity through which the world would come to know that all believers were loved by the Father as He loves His eternally begotten Son.
Jesus concludes His prayer with the glorious petition that all who the Father has given Him will one day be with Him and see Him in all of His glory; in the beauty, the excellence, the magnificence and splendor of the God/Man, who perfectly glorified God in His person and actions as a man (Hebrews 1:3). And if we truly love the unseen Christ, this is our petition to the Father also.
And it is a prayer we know will be answered because we have the assurance from Jesus that the Father always hears/answers Jesus’ prayers (John 11:42). And if that is not assurance enough, we have it assured in scripture, where we find in 1 John 3:2-3 that not only will we one day see Him in all of His glory but be conformed perfectly in our nature and character to His, ultimately manifesting His beauty and excellence in all aspects of our being, including our physical bodies (Philippians 3:20-21).
Thus, Heaven will be the place where those who strived in this world to know and love God in Christ with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength, though imperfectly, will finally come to know and love Him perfectly, and know and experience His love for them perfectly. It is the place where those who longed, like the saints of old, for intimate communion with God in all of His glory, will finally see His face and be satisfied in Him throughout eternity (1 Peter 1:3-9) (Job 19:25-27) (Psalm 27:4) (Psalm 63:1-2) (Psalm 65:4) (Exodus 33:17-18) (Philippians 3:12-14).
Thus, what ultimately makes Heaven, Heaven is the unveiled presence of God revealed in the person of the glorified risen Christ. He is both the supreme ruler of creation and darling of Heaven, the object of the deepest affections and desires of angels and saints as well as the delight of God the Father and the Holy Spirit; the One who through His sinless life and shed blood on the cross purchased the eternal joy, pleasure and delight of His people who have and will be with Him there.
Jonathan Edwards, who pondered and wrote much on what He had gleaned from the scriptures regarding Heaven writes: “They (those in heaven) shall see everything in God that tends to excite and inflame love i,e. everything that is truly lovely – everything that will exalt their esteem and admiration of Him – that will warm and endear their hearts to Him. The effect of this vision is that the soul is inflamed with love for and satisfied in the pleasure of the infinite perfections of His being.”
In Heaven, Jesus will appear in all of His greatness, magnificence, beauty and splendor, in the infinite perfections of His being, which He will communicate and display for the eternal and ever-increasing joy, pleasure and satisfaction of His people in Him. We will know Him intimately and personally as both our Lord and our closest friend, while sharing in His glorious existence and enjoying His abundant goodness. Every righteous desire, every noble longing we have ever had in this world and will ever have throughout eternity will be perfectly satisfied, perfectly fulfilled in Him, by Him and through Him.
How, therefore, are we to live as we await that glorious day when we, either upon death or at His second coming, will see Him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12)?
In Jude 20-21, we are instructed to keep ourselves in the love of God, building ourselves up in our most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit (Romans 10:17). In 1 Peter 3:15 we are called to sanctify the Lord in our heart, meaning that we are to set Him apart from all profane thoughts and competing affections, continually purifying and deepening our knowledge and understanding of His greatness, His goodness and the glory of His grace.
Finally, Colossians 3:1-5 encourages us to set our minds on things above, where our Lord is, and not on the confusing voices and mindless entertainments that fill our time on this earth, that we may, by faith, see Him more clearly and love Him more dearly day by day. Verses 3-4 remind us; For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory (Galatians 2:20). O How I long for that day.
I invite you to listen to a joyous song regarding our one day seeing our precious Lord, face to face. We Shall Behold Him
If interested, you can find previous posts regarding Heaven in the blog achieves for June 2021.
Grace and Peace x
Hallelujah ❣️