Jn.17:22,23 – And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
This prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane is a glimpse behind the curtain into the unsearchable riches of glory. The next day Christ would begin His exodus – His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension – all of that would bring Him to the throne of God as a man. He is our forerunner, the first man to enter into the life that has been purchased for us. Jesus has returned to His place of glory that He has enjoyed with His Father from the days of eternity. He has returned as our representative so we can be brought into that fellowship as well. He sent the Spirit of adoption into our hearts, in other words we have become sons and daughters of God. I don’t think there is anything that this can be compared to, this is way beyond our words. Here is a comment from Johnson’s Commentary on John.
“The glory . . thou gavest me I have given them. God gave Christ the glory of Sonship and this resulted in their unity. So Christ gives to his disciples the glory of becoming the sons of God. This glory, the adoption and gift of the Spirit, ought to effect that they be one as we are one, with Christ in them, and God in Christ. With Christ in us and God in Christ, we ought to be “perfectly joined together,” and be so “perfect in one” that the world would see in our peace, love and unity, that God had sent Christ and that he was reigning in our hearts.”
Without spiritual understanding all of this can just sound like a whole lot of words. When the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you and you welcome His revelation of Who Christ is and the blessing of sonship, you will begin the greatest of all adventures. We have been privileged to be brought into the Father’s family, we have been included in the fellowship of the trinity. I don’t think any of us can understand the eternal implications of that. At the end of the day I think that is what eternity is, the unveiling of the riches we have been given as His sons and daughters.