In his high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus prayed for his disciples.  He prayed, “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one” (17:22).  What is this glory which we have received from Jesus?  I believe that this can be understood by going back to the beginning of John.  In the prologue of the Gospel, John informs us, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  Some translations render ‘one and only’ as ‘only Son’.  This is because the word being translated – monogenous – is used to designate the only child of the parents.  Jesus is the only Son of the Father.  His relationship with the Father is utterly unique.  He is the one who was with God in the beginning and who is God (John 1:1).  This is the glory which Jesus has from the Father, the glory of Sonship.  His glory is the glory of the one who is at the Father’s side, who is the only Son, who alone knows the Father (John 1:18).

In his incarnate life Jesus expressed the glory of Sonship by always seeking the glory of his Father.  “The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood” (John 7:18 ESV).  He did not seek glory from people since this would obstruct receiving glory from God (John 5:41, 44).  The goal of Jesus’ life on earth was to go to the cross as the ultimate act of glorifying the Father.  “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you’ (John 17:1).  This was the path of his return to the glory which he had before his incarnation (17:5).

What, then, does it mean for us that Jesus has given us the glory which the Father gave to him?  Adam was made as the son of God (Luke 3:38) but he lost the glory of sonship through sin (Rom 3:23).  Jesus has restored that glory to those who follow him.  The glory of sonship is an uncompromising desire to glorify the Father through obedience, through doing the work the Father gives us to do as his sons (John 17:4).  This glory is compromised by seeking the glory/approval of people (John 12:42-43).  For those who seek the glory of sonship the Father will give them whatever they ask in the name of Jesus (John 14:13-14).

The glory of sonship is the key to unity.  “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me” (17:22-23a).  If I have understood this correctly, then, the path to unity in the body of Christ is through uncompromisingly seeking the glory of the Father through obedience to him.  This interpretation of the glory which Jesus gives to believers is backed up by considering another place where Jesus speaks about the Father being in him and he in the Father.  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  …  In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.  Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.  And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (John 14:15, 20-21).  In other words, as we obey the commands of Jesus we will understand more of the unity of the Father and the Son, and therefore we will experience more unity in the Body of Christ.