Glorify Your Name!

Jesus strove with all his might to assure that God would be glorified through him, even to the point of sacrificing his life. As he prepared for his death on the Cross, Jesus said:

‘... it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!’ Then a voice came from Heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again’ (John 12:27-28).

So Jesus knew that surrendering to God’s will would bring glory to God. It would make God’s name more known. More people would esteem God—and don’t we as Christians glorify God? Don’t we see the death of Christ and give God the thanks? We should.

If we see Christ’s death as God’s doing, then Christ’s death becomes a glory to God. If we don’t see how God was instrumental in Christ’s death, then it’s because we’re forgetting God. God is the One who willed our salvation through Christ’s surrender to the Cross. That’s why Jesus cried out ‘Glorify your name!’ as he surrendered to God’s will.

That Was Then…

When he was in the flesh, Jesus glorified God. Specifically, Jesus glorified God by completing the work God sent him to do. We also glorify God by completing the work he gives each of us to do. When we fulfill God’s will, that glorifies his name.

[Jesus prayed to God] I have brought you glory on Earth by finishing the work you gave me to do (John 17:4).

We’re not talking about a little obedience here and a little there. It’s not enough to just do God’s will some of the time. What matters to God is the completion of his plans. If we finish the work he gives us, that glorifies God.

… This is Now

That was then, this is now. Jesus glorifies God even today. Jesus serves us by doing whatever we ask, and that glorifies his Father!

Jesus makes sure that what we ask for happens. When we pray to God in Jesus’ name, Jesus makes sure that the prayer is answered. We’ll prove it through a Bible verse. Notice how Jesus uses the words so that in the next verse.

... [Jesus speaking to the disciples] I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son (John 14:13).

Read it again.

Read it again, please.

Read one more time, and when you do, say words so that more loudly.

Ask God for things in Jesus’ name. Then when Jesus responds, you need to thank God because God gave Jesus the authority and power to respond to our prayers. Do you see how the Father is glorified in the Son? Some people can’t even tell them apart. We hope that you can.

Not Reciprocal

The Bible does not only talk about how Jesus glorifies God. It also explains how God glorified Jesus. In one verse, it puts the two acts of glorification together. In other words, it explains how God glorifies Jesus and how Jesus glorifies God. Let’s compare these two kinds of glorification.

Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him’ (John 13:31).

So Jesus glorified God and God glorified Jesus. That may sound like some sort of reciprocal treatment between the two—a “tit-for-tat”—but it’s not. It’s not Jesus saying to God “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.” The glorification that Jesus gives to God is not the same kind of glorification that God gives to Jesus.

God glorified Jesus as a result of Christ’s obedience. God glorified Jesus by resurrecting him, but he only resurrected Jesus because Jesus obeyed him. That’s right. It may not sound right to untrained ears, but it is right. It’s biblical.

You need to understand that God’s motivation to glorify Jesus stems from Jesus doing what God wants. That’s not the same motivation that causes Jesus to glorify God. Jesus’ decision to give glory to God is borne out of piety and reverence. The Father, on the other hand, doesn’t need to fulfill any conditions for Jesus to glorify him.

Conditional Glory

Notice the remarkable if in the verse below, the next verse after the one we just saw above about Jesus being glorified by God and God glorifying Jesus.

If God is glorified in him [the Son], God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once (John 13:32; NIV).

Read it again, please.

And again…

The if in this verse is the evidence that there was a condition that had to be met if Jesus was to be glorified by God. Jesus had to glorify God first. After Jesus did what God expected of him and sacrificed his life, God responded by resurrecting Jesus, giving Jesus Kingdom authority—that is, by glorifying him.

God didn’t just resurrect Jesus and place Jesus at his right hand for nothing. Jesus paid the price. He earned it. God gives promotions based on merit! God glorified Jesus for a reason, and that reason is because Jesus glorified God first.

There was a condition Jesus had to meet if he was going to be glorified by God. He met that condition. The Jesus you see exalted to the right hand of God right now was first tested, and found to be worthy.

And you? Will you be found to be worthy? You also have to meet the condition of obedience to be glorified.

But the road to your own glory begins with you glorifying God. Will you do that? Will you finish his work—the tasks that he has given you? Follow Jesus' example and that’s exactly what will happen. Follow Jesus' example, and God will glorify you too.