The Heart of God: Introduction (5)

And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24.27

Read and meditate on John 17.
In Jesus Christ, all the diversity of Scripture comes together in One. Jesus gathers up all the rich diversity of Scripture and threads it into a tapestry featuring Himself as the primary Subject. In John 17, as Jesus prayed on the night before His crucifixion, we observe Him pouring out His heart to God concerning the matters which were of most importance to Them both. What is revealed about the heart of God in this passage should provide guidance for discerning the heart of God – the unifying threads of Scripture – in every other place in the Bible as well. Let’s look more closely at what Jesus reveals here.

For reflection
1.  Foremost among the concerns of Jesus Christ as He talks with His Father in this passage is the glory of God. Read through John 17 carefully. In which verses does the theme of the glory of Godappear? Summarize what these passages, taken together, tell us about the glory of God. What does Jesus want to see happen with respect to the glory of God?

2.  But what is the glory of God? What does this idea mean? The following passages suggest how the writers of the Old Testament understood the glory of God. In each passage, what can you learn about this important unifying thread of Scripture?

            Exodus 24.16, 17:

            Exodus 40.34, 35:

            2 Chronicles 7.1-3:
           
            Psalm 19.1-4:

3.  Look at Habakkuk 2.14. What seems to be the heart of God in Scripture with respect to His glory? According to 2 Corinthians 4.6, where does that glory seem to shine brightest (cf. Rev. 1.12-17)? How does this help us to understand God’s plan for His glory?

4.  A second primary concern that comes out in Jesus’ prayer is that of the people God has given to Him. What do we learn about these in each of the following verses from John 17?

            v. 3:

            vv. 6-8:

            v. 10:

            v. 13:

            vv. 14-19:

            vv. 20-23:

            v. 26:

In Jesus’ mind, how do the people of God relate to the glory of God?

5.  The final unifying thread of Scripture that appears in John 17, relates to what Jesus refers to as His “hour.” Jesus was anticipating the completion of His work, at least, this phase of it. His focus was on bringing to completion that work of redemption whereby God will be glorified in and through His people. In which of the verses in John 17 do you see this concern expressed? Summarize what you find there:

Summary
In John 17 Jesus bears His heart to God. In His prayer we may discern the heart of God – His determination to be glorified, His care for His people, and the work of redemption which Jesus fulfilled, so that God’s people might know and glorify Him. We may expect to find these same ideas recurring and threading together throughout the whole of Scripture. Review 2 Corinthians 3.12-18. Based on what we’ve seen in this lesson, how might you be able to know when you were entering the glory of God during your time in His Word? What makes this possible? How should seeing God in His glory affect the way you live as one of His people?

Closing Prayer
All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the LORD,
And all the families of the nations
Shall worship before You.
For the kingdom is the LORD’s,
And He rules over the nations.
All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
All those who go down to the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the LORD to the next generation,
They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,
That He has done this.

Psalm 22.27-31

Next steps – Conversation: Ask a pastor or church leader how you can become more effective at discerning the Lord Jesus in all your reading and study of Scripture.

T. M. Moore

Two books can help you gain a fuller understanding of the terrain we will be covering in this series. Kingdom Documentsprovides a concise overview of the primary teaching of the Old and New Testaments, and shows, through early Church creeds, how our forebears understand the primary teachings of God’s Word. (click here to order). I Will Be Your Goddevelops more fully the idea of God’s covenant and leads us to consider the practical implications of our covenant relationship with God (click here).

Visit The Ailbe Seminary, where our course, Introduction to Biblical Theology, offers a parallel study of our theme in this series, using brief video presentations and the workbook God’s Covenant: An Introduction. All courses at The Ailbe Seminary are available without charge.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.