And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

– John 17:5, NIV-uk –

Q What does this verse mean?

A Here Jesus alludes to His pre-human existence as the Word (logos; John 1:1). As the Word of God, He was second only to Jehovah Himself, having been granted a near-almighty power to administer the plans and purposes of God, even to the extent of creating the universe (Heb. 1:10). Compare these verses with those of Col. 1:15-20.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

19 For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him,

20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Jesus was content to be reinstated in the Father’s presence. But because of His faithfulness unto death God promoted Him to an even greater office, as shown in Phil. 2:9-11:

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11. and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Were Jesus in the flesh God incarnate He could not have been ‘exalted’ to the ‘highest place’ that is, ‘above God’.

Such a declaration would be illogical and non-understandable, defeating the effort of the Apostle Paul in the Philippians passage to convey information. Rather, the plain meaning of Phil. 2:9-11 is that Jesus after His resurrection was elevated to an even higher degree of power and authority than He had before, but still subordinate to His Father.

God the Father and Jesus the Son are separate and distinct. Jehovah is by reason of His omnipotent nature unique and above all.

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June 2017

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