Glory Given to Son in John Seventeen

In John 17, Jesus prays to the Father, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you" (John 17:1). This request for glorification is central to Jesus's high priestly prayer, revealing a profound theological exchange between the Father and the Son. The concept of "glory" (Greek: doxa; Hebrew: kabhod) in biblical thought encompasses abundance, honor, dignity, splendor, and the glorious moral attributes of God ^[3].

Augustine, in his Homilies on John, interprets this glorification of the Son as occurring in His "form of a servant," which the Father raised from the dead and set at His own right hand ^[5]. This glorification began with Jesus's resurrection and continues through His exaltation, as described in Philippians 2:6-11, where Christ "emptied Himself, and took upon Him the form of a servant" and was subsequently "exalted Him" by God ^[12]. The "hour" Jesus refers to is not a matter of fate or astrological compulsion, but a divinely appointed time for His passion and subsequent glorification ^[7].

The prayer "glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son may glorify Thee" highlights a reciprocal relationship ^{[5, 11]}. While the Father's eternal glory cannot be diminished or increased, the Son glorifies the Father by making Him known to "all flesh" ^{[5, 14]}. This is achieved through the Son's mission to give eternal life to those the Father has given Him, which is defined as knowing "the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent" ^[14].

The glory the Father gives to the Son is not the glory of His deity, which is inherent and equal to the Father's, but rather a glory pertaining to His human nature and mediatorial role ^[9]. Augustine suggests this glory is "immortality, which human nature was henceforth to receive in Him" ^[6]. This means that in His resurrected and exalted state, Jesus's human nature is imbued with a glory it did not possess before His passion. This is distinct from the glory Jesus had with the Father "before the world was," which Augustine describes as "altogether different from human inflation" ^[13].

The glorification of the Son is also connected to the disciples. Jesus states, "And the glory which thou gavest me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as we are one" (John 17:22). This implies that the glory given to the Son is, in turn, shared with believers. John Gill clarifies that this is not the glory of Christ's deity or mediatorial glory, but rather a glory that enables the saints to be one, reflecting the unity of the Father and the Son ^[9]. Tyndale House further notes that just as the Son brings glory to the Father, the disciples bring glory to the Son through their love and obedience ^[10]. This shared glory is a manifestation of the inseparable works of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ^[8].

The concept of Christ's glory is multifaceted in scripture. He is glorified as God (John 1:1-5; Philippians 2:6, 9-10), as the Son of God (Matthew 3:17; Hebrews 1:6, 8), and as one with the Father (John 10:30, 38) ^[4]. His glory is also seen in His roles as Creator, Mediator, Prophet, Priest, King, and Judge ^[4]. The transfiguration, where a voice from "the excellent glory" declared, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," is another instance of the Father bestowing honor and glory upon the Son ^{[1, 2]}.

Sources

II Peter “II Peter 1:17 (Darby) — For he received fromGod [the] Father honour and glory, such a voice being uttered to him by the excellent glory: This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight;”
King James Version “[KJV] 2 Peter 1:17 — For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Glory — (Heb. kabhod; Gr. doxa). (1.) Abundance, wealth, treasure, and hence honour (Ps. 49:12); glory (Gen. 31:1; Matt. 4:8; Rev. 21:24, 26). (2.) Honour, dignity (1 Kings 3:13; Heb. 2:7 1 Pet. 1:24); of God (Ps. 19:1; 29:1); of the mind or heart (Gen. 49:6; Ps. 7:5; Acts 2:46). (3.) Splendour, brightness, majesty (Gen. 45:13; Isa. 4:5; Acts 22:11; 2 Cor. 3:7); of Jehovah (Isa. 59:19; 60:1; 2 Thess. 1:9). (4.) The glorious moral attributes, the infinite perfections of God (Isa. 40:5; Acts 7:2; Rom. 1:23; 9:23; Eph. 1:12). Jesus is the "brightness of the Father's glo”
Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Excellency and Glory of Christ, The — As God -- Joh 1:1-5; Php 2:6,9,10. As the Son of God -- Mt 3:17; Heb 1:6,8. As one with the Father -- Joh 10:30,38. As the First-born -- Col 1:15,18. As the First-begotten -- Heb 1:6. As Lord of lords, &c -- Re 17:14. As the image of God -- Col 1:15; Heb 1:3. As creator -- Joh 1:3; Col 1:16; Heb 1:2. As the Blessed of God -- Ps 45:2. As Mediator -- 1Ti 2:5; Heb 8:6. As Prophet -- De 18:15,16; Ac 3:22. As Priest -- Ps 110:4; Heb 4:15. As King -- Isa 6:1-5; Joh 12:41. As Judge -- Mt 16:27; 25:31,33. As Shepherd -- Isa 40:10,11; Joh”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 7: Augustine — Homilies on John — CHAPTER XVII. 1-5. (part 1): 1. THAT the Son was glorified by the Father in His form of a servant, which the Father raised from the dead and set at His own right hand, is indicated by the event itself, and is nowhere doubted by the Christian. But as He not only said, "Father, glorify Thy Son," but likewise added, "that Thy Son may glorify Thee," it is worthy of inquiry how it was that the Son glorified the Father, seeing that the eternal glory of the Father neither suffered diminution in any human form, nor could be increased in respect of its own di”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 7: Augustine — Homilies on John — CHAPTER XVII. 21-23. (part 4): And what was that glory but immortality, which human nature was henceforth to receive in Him? For not even He Himself had as yet received it, but in His own customary way, on account of the absolute fixedness of predestination, He intimates what is future in verbs of the past tense, because being now on the point of being glorified, or in other words, raised up again by the Father, He Himself is going to raise us up to the same glory in the end. What we have here is similar to what He says elsewhere, "As the Father rais”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 7: Augustine — Homilies on John — CHAPTER XVII. 1. (part 3): subject to no time: since those things, which were individually future in point of time, have their efficient causes in the wisdom of God, wherein there are no distinctions of time. Let it not, then, be supposed that this hour came through any urgency of fate, but rather by the divine appointment. It was no necessary law of the heavenly bodies that tied to its time the passion of Christ; for we may well shrink from the thought that the stars should compel their own Maker to die. It was not the time, therefore, that drove Ch”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 7: Augustine — Homilies on John — CHAPTER XVII. 21-23. (part 5): own equality, that we may not suppose Him to be inferior. In this way, then, and in this passage, He neither estranges Himself from the Father's working, although He has said, "The glory which Thou gavest me ;" for He also gave it to Himself: nor does He estrange the Father from His own working, although saying, "I have given to them ;" for the Father also gave it to them. For the works not only of the Father and the Son, but also of the Holy Spirit, are inseparable. But just as, because of His praying the Father in beh”
John (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on John 17:21: And the glory which thou gavest me,.... Not the glory of his deity; this is the same with his Father, what he has in right of nature, and not by gift; nor can it be communicated to creatures; this would be to make them one in the Godhead, as the three are one, which is not the design of the expression in the close of the verse: nor his mediatorial glory, which he had with the Father before the world began; this indeed was given him by the Father, but is not given to the saints: nor the glory, of working miracles; which glory Christ had, and which, as man, he had from t”
John (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on John 17:10: 17:10 Just as the Son brings glory to the Father (17:1, 4-5), the disciples bring the Son glory (17:22). The love and obedience that brought glory to God in Jesus’ life become features of his disciples’ lives.”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 7: Augustine — Homilies on John — CHAPTER XVII. 1-5. (part 5): way it is as plain as when He says, "Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son may glorify Thee:" and this is indeed the whole sentence, save that here we are told also the manner of that same glorification, which there was left unnoticed; as if the former were explained by the latter to those whose hearts it was able to stir, how it was that the Father should glorify the Son, and most of all how the Son also should glorify the Father. For in saying that the Father was glorified by Himself on the earth, but He Himself by the Father w”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 7: Augustine — Homilies on John — CHAPTER XVII. 1. (part 4): Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father." This is the glorification of our Lord Jesus Christ, that took its commencement from His resurrection. His humility accordingly begins in the apostle's discourse with the passage where he says, "He emptied Himself, and took upon Him the form of a servant;" and reaches "even to the death of the cross." But His glory begins with the clause where he says, "Wherefore God also hath exalted Him;" and reaches on to the words, "is in the glory of God the Father."(2) For even the ”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 7: Augustine — Homilies on John — CHAPTER VIII. 48-59. (part 5): distinguishes l between my glory and yours. For ye glory in the spirit of this present world. Not so do I who say to the Father, "Father, glorify Thou me with that glory which I had with Thee before the world was."(4) What is "that glory"? One altogether different from human inflation. Thus doth the Father judge. And so to "judge" is to "discern."(1) And what does He discern? The glory of His Son from the glory of mere men; for to that end is it said, "God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy ”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 7: Augustine — Homilies on John — CHAPTER XVII. 1-5. (part 2): by Himself, and in Him were created all things in heaven and in earth, visible and invisible.(4) "As," then, He says, "Thou hast given Him power over all flesh," so may Thy Son glorify Thee, in other words, make Thee known to all flesh whom Thou hast given Him. For Thou hast so given, "that He should give eternal life to all that Thou hast given Him." 3. "And this," He adds, "is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." The proper order of the words is, "That they ma”

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