Commentaries:
<< John 17:4 John 17:6 >>
John 17:5
Whatever this glory is that He asks to be restored, it is something He did not have as a human, but He did have when He truly was fully God. He had it before He was born of Mary, did not have it during His physical life, and had it returned to Him upon His resurrection and ascension.
In the New Testament, glory is used in the sense of anything that brings honor and praise upon a person. It can be one's works, attitude, manner of living, skill, strength, wisdom, power, appearance, or status. Some or all of these could be included within the framework of Christ's request. The Bible does not clarify or expand on what He specifically meant, but whatever it was, it was lacking in Him while He was human. Therefore He could not have been "fully man and fully God."
John W. Ritenbaugh
Fully Man and Fully God? (1994)Related Topics: Docetism | Fully Man and Fully God | Glorification | Glorified Body | Glory | Jesus Christ as a Flesh -and -Blood Human | Jesus Christ as God | Jesus Christ as God Incarnate | Jesus Christ's Humanity
John 17:5
The first thing Christ does in this prayer is establish that He was with the Father. In this case, the word with means "beside" or "alongside of." This agrees with John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word [Christ], and the Word was with [along side of] God, and the Word was God."
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Nature of God: ElohimRelated Topics: Elohim | God's Nature | Godhead | Jesus Christ as God | Jesus Christ as God Incarnate | Logos | Nature of God | Word, TheOther Forerunner Commentary entries containing John 17:5:
<< John 17:4 John 17:6 >>
Join 135,000+ readers
A Verse and a Thought, Every Morning
The Berean delivers one scripture and a short, insightful commentary to your inbox each day — a starting point for reflection and study.
What Does John 17:5 Mean?
He asks to have restored the glory He possessed as fully God before His birth from Mary but lacked during His physical life on earth. This glory, which brings honor and praise through works, attitude, or status, returned upon His resurrection and ascension. Thus He was not fully man and fully God while human. He establishes that He was with the Father, meaning beside or alongside, as in John 1:1 where the Word was with God and was God.