Footnote Friday! John 12:24—Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Footnote 2—This much fruit became Christs increase in resurrection. This increase is the glory into which Christ entered through His death and resurrection (Luke 24:26). The portion from v. 23 of this chapter to the end of ch. 17 is a discourse on the mystery of this glory. Christ had the glory with God (17:5). His incarnation caused His divine glory to be concealed in His flesh. Through His death and resurrection His glory was released, producing many grains, which become His increase as the expression of His glory. What was spoken in vv. 23, 28; 13:31-32; 14:13; 15:8; 16:14; and 17:1, 4, 5, 10, 22, 24 is related to this glory. In the Lords last words to the believers in chs. 14-16, there are three concrete, corporate expressions of this glory: the Fathers house (the church) in 14:2, the branches of the vine (the constituents of the Body of Christ) in 15:1-5, and a newborn corporate man (the new man) in 16:21. All three denote the church, showing that the church is the glorious increase produced by the glorious Christ through His death and resurrection. In this glorious increase, Christ, the Son of God, is glorified, causing God the Father also to be glorified in Christs glorification, that is, to be fully expressed through the church (Eph. 3:19-21). This expression needs to be maintained in the oneness of the Triune God. Therefore, the Lord prayed in particular for this matter in His concluding prayer in ch. 17 (17:20-23). This glorious increase of Christ is the peak of the mystery revealed in the Gospel of John, and its ultimate consummation is the New Jerusalem in Revelation, also written by John. The new holy city will be the aggregate of Christs increase throughout the generations, and in it Christs divine glory will be expressed to the uttermost. In the glorifying of God the Son,...
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 00:00:45 +0000
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