The Happiness Of Being With Christ

Adapted From A Sermon By

George Burder

Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

John 17:24

In Verse 24 of John 17 our Lord’s prays: Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

This morning, with George Burder as our guide, we will consider The Happiness Of Being With Christ

The discourse of our blessed Savior to his disciples, and his prayer for them just before his passion, have always been precious to the Church of Christ. Melancthon, the reformer, rightly said, “There never was heard in heaven or earth voice more excellent, more holy, more fruitful, more pathetic, than what we have in this prayer.” And it can be viewed as a specimen of that gracious intercession, which the Redeemer ever lives to make for us above.

There was a superstitious custom among some Christians in ancient times, which Chrysostom severely reproved, of wearing this or some other part of the Gospel of John around their necks as an amulet or preservative from evil; we, however, may make a more rational and effectual use of it, by storing it in our memories, especially if the Holy Spirit condescends to write it upon our hearts.

Much notice is usually taken of the dying words of a great and a good man, especially of a dear friend: these are the words of a dying Savior, the friend of sinners; whose expressions of affection towards the apostles seemed to become stronger and stronger as he drew nearer to the close of life. This portion of Scripture therefore deserves our most earnest attention. Let us study it with the greatest diligence, that we may be edified and encouraged; and, by treasuring it up in our hearts, experience its powerful support (as thousands before us have found it) on a death-bed; then may we be filled with supreme delight, in the expectation of knowing by experience, what it is to be with Jesus, and to behold his glory!

Earlier in this chapter, our Lord prayed for the preservation—the sanctification—and the union of his people; and here follows his prayer for their glorification. Observe this order. The disciples had obtained that knowledge of the Father and of the Son, which is connected with eternal life; ver. 3. 6 .8. He then petitions for their security against the dangers of this evil world; he proceeds to ask for their sanctification through his truth, their separation from wicked men; and here, to crown the whole, he expresses his desire, that when they leave the world, they may be “with him”, “where he is’—and with him there, for the purpose of “beholding” and sharing his glory in the heavenly state.

Our discourse on these words will consist in a few practical observations.

I. It is useful in all our prayers, to remember that we are addressing a Father.

Our great Intercessor gives us this rule both by his precept and his example. “Pray then like this,” said our Lord, “Our Father in heaven;” and in this chapter he himself uses the touching address no less than six times; the Holy Spirit is also promised to believers, for the purpose of enabling them to pray in this way.—“Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba! Father.” Through the blood of Jesus, a new and a living way is opened to the throne of grace; so that we are warranted in coming with boldness into the presence of God our heavenly Father, who knows our various needs, and whose parental affection disposes him to supply them. This is to pray “in faith:” and, as one has observed, “How different are the cries of a malefactor to a judge from the request of a child to a parent! This kind of prayer will prevail; while unbelief makes our prayers like a messenger deprived of his hands and feet.”

II. The remarkable way in which this petition of our Lord is expressed. “Father, I desire.”

This way of praying is peculiar to Christ, when pleading as the advocate of his people; and we never find him using this phrase at any other time. Even his most earnest prayers for himself, in the hour of extremity, were in a different style—“Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

Here, when Christ is pleading for the eternal happiness of his people; pleading on the ground of that perfect satisfaction he was about to make by his death, he claims, as it were, the happiness which he had even now virtually purchased for them. This is the conception we are to have of his constant intercession in heaven, as founded in the covenant engagements of his Father, and his own meritorious obedience and atonement: for “if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 2:1 This manner of Christ's praying (“I desire”) should confirm our faith and increase our confidence in his intercession. The prayer that he makes cannot but be answered, for “the Father always hears him.” The inheritance that Christ willed to us cannot fail to be paid. God is faithful to fulfill all his engagements made with his Son. And though every branch of salvation is a free gift to us, yet, to Jesus Christ our great surety, it is a matter of justice and equity.

III. Believers belong to Christ; they are his by the gift of the Father.

Our Lord speaks of them several times in this chapter as given to him; “yours they were, and you gave them to me,” ver. 6, and this is not to be confined to the apostles, for he says, ver. 20, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.” These are his peculiar people; “chosen in him before the foundation of the world, that they should be holy,” Eph. 1: 4; they were given to him in the eternal purpose of God; in the covenant of redemption made with Christ; and they are given to him also, when, by the effectual calling of the Holy Spirit by the word, they are drawn to him, as it is elsewhere expressed, John 6. 44. They are given to him “out of the world,” ver. 6. they are committed into his hands as the great shepherd of the sheep; are brought into his fold, fed in his pasture, and preserved by him that they may not perish, but have everlasting life.

IV. Jesus Christ resides in heaven, and that on behalf of his people.

“That they ... may be with me,” he says “where I am;” and where that is, their can be no doubt. It is remarkable that he speaks of himself as there already—“where I am;” indeed, in his divine nature, he was there and everywhere, while speaking these words (John 3:13.) but he speaks in this way because he was just about to leave this wretched earth—“I am no more in the world; ”now I am coming to you,” ver. 11. 13. “I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” All this was fulfilled soon after; and the disciples saw him ascend to heaven, Acts 1: 9. There “he appears in the presence of God on our behalf;” he appears in the heavenly temple, the true sanctuary, as our high-priest, as our great representative, to transact our affairs, to prepare places for us, and at the time appointed, “to receive us to himself; and to present us faultless before the throne of his glory, with exceeding joy.”

V. it is the will of Christ that all his people shall be with him in heaven.

He has a perfect knowledge of every individual—His heart is set upon their happiness—He knows they cannot be completely happy on earth,—and he designs their perfect happiness in heaven.

He knows each individual perfectly; as the good shepherd, “he calls his own sheep by name”—“he knows his sheep” John 10:3,14. Even before their conversion his eye is upon them, as he said of many in Corinth before the Gospel was preached to them: “I have many in this city who are my people.” As he said of us poor Gentiles, as yet uncalled: “I have other sheep that are not of this fold; (that is, not of the Jewish fold) I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.” When Saul of Tarsus was called by grace, he ordered his servant Ananias to visit him, directing him to the particular street, and to the very house by name, where he lodged. In the same way he pointed out to Peter, who was his missionary to Cornelius, his residence with Simon, a tanner, whose house was by the sea-side. Acts 9:11. and 10:5. And so, every individual of his people, however poor or obscure, is perfectly known to the Savior, whose “firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: The Lord knows those who are his.”

The heart of Jesus is set upon the happiness of his people: he has a real, personal, intense love towards each of them; and this is the source of all he has said, and done, and suffered for them. Love brought him down from the throne of glory to the stable, to the workshop; to poverty, to contempt; to the cross, to the grave. His people are “his bride,” indeed, “his body;” and he loves them more than the most affectionate husband loves his beloved bride; indeed, more than anyone loves his own flesh. How sweetly did he manifest his affection to his disciples when on earth; poor, ignorant, and sometimes mistaken men, as they were; nor is his love diminished since his glorious exaltation; he has taken a human heart with him to heaven, he is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and intends to wipe away all tears from our eyes.

Jesus Christ well knows that believers cannot be completely happy in the present evil world. He knows this world well; for he lived in it himself: he bore the contradiction of sinners in it; and he knows that his followers must expect a similar treatment. The experience of men in all ages proves that all here is “vanity and a striving after wind.” Complete happiness here is the dream of fools or madmen. The softest nest we can find is not without a thorn. This is not our rest. We have no continuing city here. We are exposed to a thousand temptations. We are liable to a thousand misfortunes; and whatever our outward lot may be, the inward cross, the law of sin in our members, will always embitter our condition. We are just in our embryonic state, as the baby in the womb, the bird in the egg, the butterfly in the chrysalis; it is by death that we burst into life; we die to live. And so here is highlighted the folly of clinging to life, or shrinking from death!

VI. Complete and unceasing happiness will be obtained when we are “with Christ.”

The heavenly state is frequently described by negatives—for “what we will be has not yet appeared;” And we are so well acquainted with the troubles of life, that deliverance from them is highly desirable; and so it is written, God “will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore.” What is more: “Blessed,” on these accounts, “are the dead who die in the Lord—for they rest from their labors:” but we are not to think of heaven only, or chiefly, as a state of exemption from misery; we have here a positive idea of the celestial world, given us by him who came from it; by him who prepares it; by him in whose presence and glory it consists—“that they may be with me, where I am.”

But how will we form a proper idea of this happiness! Let us reflect on the happiness which the disciples of our Lord enjoyed in his company on earth, of which we may judge by their sorrow on his leaving them. Grace flowed in all his speech. He spoke as no man ever did. Their hearts burned within them when he expounded the Scriptures. How happy was Mary sitting at his feet! How blessed the penitents who heard him say—“Your sins are forgiven you!” How elated the sick, and the crippled, whose health was suddenly restored at his word! How grateful the relatives of Lazarus and others brought back from the dead! How happy the apostles, in daily communion with him on their journeys and at their meals, and in receiving countless tokens of his condescending and captivating friendship!

Even now, though Jesus is in heaven, we, who believe, enjoy his spiritual presence. “The grace of our Lord Jesus be with your spirit,” is an apostolic prayer, constantly fulfilled to his people. It was what he promised—“Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Have we not known the pleasure of communion with him? When we have read his word, when we have heard his gospel, when we have attended his table, when we have poured out our hearts at his feet, when we have lifted up our souls in his praise, have we not been constrained to say, “It is good that we are here?” and why good? but because Jesus himself was with us.

This is sweet; but to be with Christ must be far better. This was the apostle Paul’s judgment. “For me,” said he, “to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” “I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” The apostle was a happy man, for Christ lived in him; he was a contented man, having learned in every state to be satisfied with it; and he was a exceptionally useful man, for his labors were abundantly blessed.

And yet, such were his views of the superior happiness of being “present with the Lord,” that he longed to be “absent from the body.” What Paul wished for himself, Christ wills for all his people, “that they may be with me,” he said. Where I am, that is, in heaven; a state of rest, of peace, of holiness, of pleasure, of glory. We have said, that we may form an idea of the happiness of being with Christ in heaven, by knowing something of Christ’s being with us on earth; and yet this gives us only a very imperfect knowledge of the matter. The following reasons, however, gives us grounds to conclude that the presence of Christ will be infinitely satisfying and delightful.

There we will perfectly understand the dignity of his character. On earth his disciples had a very inadequate idea of this, and sometimes, perhaps, had their doubts and fears concerning him. We too have very imperfect conceptions of his glory: but there we will see “the king in his beauty,” and commune with him upon his throne.—Our happiness will be uninterrupted. When below, even his apostles were frequently deprived of his company. Many days was he absent from most of them, and spent whole nights in prayer alone. And, sadly! how seldom do we enjoy his gracious presence, and how fleeting are those happy times! but there our enjoyments of his presence will be perpetual and uninterrupted. No persecuting Pharisee, no hypocritical Judas, no tyrant lust, no ensnaring world, no tempting devil, will deprive us of his presence for a moment.

Another important branch of our happiness will consist in being like our Lord. Nothing so much cements friendship as a similar disposition. To enjoy communion with our divine Redeemer, we must be like him, and the more we are so, the more we will enjoy his divine presence. In heaven we will see him as he is, and be perfectly conformed to his image.—The company of our earthly friends, whom we esteem as great, and wise, and good, is highly gratifying; but the pleasure of being with Christ must be wonderfully enhanced by the consideration of our infinite obligations to him, for his eternal, immense, and unparalleled love and goodness to us. If an unseen Christ is precious to us, we have reason to think that a sight of his lovely and glorious person will fill us with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Lastly, This joy will be eternal. When our Lord was on earth, he often dropped hints of leaving them, “a little while, and you will see me no longer,”—which sometimes made them exceedingly sad. But in heaven their will be no more parting, nor even the possibility of it—“we will always be with the Lord.”

VII. We observe the great end which Christ has in view, in having his people with him—that they may see his glory.

To “behold” is in Scripture language to enjoy, to participate in: “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God:” that is, he cannot participate in or enjoy it. In this we may take note, that mutual happiness is the great object of our Redeemer. It was promised as the reward of his sufferings, that he should “see his offspring;” and “prolong his days”—that “out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied.” Is. 53:10, 11. So that Christ himself has a great interest in the happiness of his people, and indeed cannot himself be happy without their being with him, and enjoying the same happiness: “I desire,” I will, I delight, as the word is sometimes used, ‘that they may see my glory.”

Jesus Christ was infinitely glorious from all eternity. We read, ver. 5, of “the glory which he had with the Father, before the world was;” but for our sake he made himself of no reputation (emptied himself of all his glory) and assumed human nature in a lowly form, submitting to a life of deep humiliation, and to a shameful death. Yet, even before his incarnation, he was pleased, occasionally, to reveal some resplendent glimpses of his glory. Abraham was indulged with a view of it, for “he saw Christ’s day, and he rejoiced.” Moses, the man of God, earnestly prayed, saying, “Please show me your glory” and he was gratified; and we are expressly told, that “Isaiah saw his glory,” when he had a vision of “the Lord of hosts” in the temple.

When our Savior dwelt among men, and appeared in the form of a servant; when carnal eyes, dazzled with worldly splendor, saw no form nor majesty in him; when, as a man of sorrows, he was despised and rejected by men; even then, the lustre of his glory broke through all the clouds of his humiliation; and believers, whose eyes the Lord had opened, beheld “his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The beauty of holiness displayed in his whole character, the divine light that shone in his gracious teachings, the heavenly love that glowed in all his benevolent miracles, “manifested his glory.” John 2:11 He appeared divinely glorious at Jordan; on the mount of transfiguration; and when rising from the tomb. And Stephen, and Paul, and John, were favored with a glance of his glory on extraordinary occasions.

The state of our Lord, after he had finished his sufferings on earth, and ascended to heaven, became infinitely glorious. It was according to the plan of redemption that “the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory;” Luke 24:26 and the Spirit of Christ in the ancient prophets “predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.” 1 Peter 1:11

But in what more particularly does this glory consist?

1. His human nature is most glorious: that sacred countenance, which once was marred more than any man’s, that sacred body which was bruised, broken, and crucified for us, is now brighter and more glorious than the sun; and has become the pattern of what his redeemed will one day be; for he “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” Philippians 3:21 His glorious body is now too brilliant for mortal eyes; for when Jesus presented himself in his glorified state to Saul at his conversion, he was utterly overpowered with the vision; and when the beloved John beheld his glorious appearance in Patmos, “he fell at his feet as though dead.” Revelation 1:17

2. Jesus Christ will appear infinitely glorious in the exercise of his office as mediator, for he continues to exercise this office in heaven, and will continue to do so until all the ransomed have come to glory.

As a prophet, he still teaches the whole church by his holy word and holy Spirit. We are by no means to confine his teaching to the few years he travelled in Judea: millions of humble scholars have been sitting at his feet in all ages; and millions more will do so, until the whole body of the elect has become wise to salvation.

Inexpressibly great is the glory of Jesus as the great High-Priest of our Christian profession. We are to conceive of heaven as the true temple, of which the one at Jerusalem was merely the type, where our glorious Lord is constantly active. By the one sacrifice he offered on the cross he has made a full and complete atonement for sin; and now he appears in the most holy place, in the presence of God, to present the merit of his blood, and to secure its application to every one of his people. Here he oversees the cares of the whole church. He raises up, sends out, and gives success to the ministers of the Gospel; by their instrumentality, he still seeks and saves his lost sheep; he exercises compassion and care toward “the ignorant and wayward.” Hebrews 5:2 He feeds his flock like a shepherd, and guards them in his almighty hands, that they may never perish, but have everlasting life.

In heaven, Jesus reigns, the king of Zion; he possesses universal authority; angels, men, and devils being subject to his control. The affairs of the whole universe are under his direction, and overruled to the purposes of his glory. He reigns, and “must reign, until he will have put down all rule, and all authority, and all power—until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” 1 Corinthians 15:25

This, then, is that glory of Christ, which he prays that his people may see. This is a mere glimpse of it, imperfectly caught by a weak eye, through that mirror in which the keenest believer sees but obscurely. Yet this very poor and obscure glance of the glory of Christ may be sufficient to convince us, that to behold it, face to face, must be inconceivably happy; and to make us adopt the Psalmist’s pious words, “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness” Psalm 17:15—the likeness of God in Christ—the brightness of the Father’s glory, and the express image of his person: this indeed will satisfy the unbounded desire of the human heart, and nothing less than this can suffice.

IMPROVEMENT.

From what has been said, we may learn how to form the best idea of heaven of which we are capable in our present state. To be with Christ, and to behold his glory, is a just idea of heaven; this has to be the case since it is the idea which Christ himself gives us of it. Let us not then be content to think of heaven as a state of mere exemption from trouble, much less as a place of sensual delight, as the Muslims teach; but as a condition of perfect holiness and supreme happiness in the presence of the Lamb, and in the vision of his glory.

And this may also serve to enable us to form some judgment of our state towards God, and whether we are likely to go to heaven when we die. The serious Christian has many an anxious thought on this matter; while the presumptuous sinner and the cold formalist seldom have any doubts. This subject may be useful to both. Does the former love to hear, and read, and think of Christ? Does he love the place where his honor dwells? Is Jesus high in his esteem? Does he delight in beholding the glory of Jesus in the mirror of his word! Does he long to behold more and more of it! and does the glance he obtains transform him in some degree into the same glory? Then he has reason to hope that he is involved in this prayer; and if so, will certainly be with him where he is, and behold his glory without a veil.

But, on the other hand, there is nothing here to support the vain hope of a carnal man. He who sees no glory in Jesus here, is not on the path to behold it in the afterlife; and it is certain, that the person who neglects his Gospel, disregards his word, is wilfully ignorant of his truth, dislikes his people, shuns his ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, has never once discerned the glory of the Redeemer. He who loves the sin that Christ abhors, and hates the holiness that Jesus loves, cannot, in this state, hold on to any scriptural hope of heaven. No, he must be washed; he must be justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus; he must be sanctified by the Spirit of our God; or he can never enter into the kingdom of glory. The persons described in this chapter as those for whom Christ prays, and wishes to be with him, are such as know him—to whom God's name and nature are manifested—who are not of the world—who are sanctified by the truth. Is this then our character? If not, our hope of glory is mere presumption.

We may infer from this prayer of Christ the safely of all those who live in him. It appears that the heart of Christ is fully set upon the happiness of his people. “I desire,” he said, “that they may be with me.” Now, does Jesus, who has almighty power, desire this? Who then will prevent it. Who will resist him! Is there any power in heaven, or earth, or hell, superior to his? If this is his desire, it will be accomplished; for what can prevent it? His love is unchangeable; his purpose unalterable; his engagements must be fulfilled. Let believers then be ashamed of their doubts and fears. Let them rely upon his promises; let them confide in his faithfulness; let them gladly join the apostle Paul, and say, “I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able (and we may add, determined also) to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.” 2 Timothy 1:12 NASB

This representation of the love of Christ is well calculated to excite our love to him. After having laid down his life for us, after ascending into heaven for us, after having called us by his grace, he pleads for our company, and will not be satisfied without having us with him. Consider what marvellous love this is! and surely demands a return of affection to him. Can we do anything for him on earth? Let us do it gladly. Can we suffer anything for him below? Let us bear it joyfully. And let us not cleave to the earth too much. If he wills that we should be with him, is it not fit that we should be willing, indeed, longing to leave everything for that purpose?

Finally, this subject throws a wonderful glow over the gloom of death and the grave. Dark as they are in themselves, and dreadful to nature, the sun of righteousness, rising, dispels the threatening clouds, and brightens the gloomy scene. With that perspective of the matter, to which the Lord of life directs us in our text, what is death? Not a horrid monster, the cruel executioner of the broken law, threatening to throw our reluctant spirits into the prison of hell; but the mild and gentle messenger of our Savior who says, "The prayer of Jesus is fulfilled: My Master has long wished for your company, and the time appointed is arrived: shut your eyes on the fading glories of the world, and open them upon the glory of the incarnate God, your beloved Savior above, who waits to receive you to himself, that where he is, you may be also.”

And this should moderate our desire of life, and prevent our fear of death; so should it make us sober and resigned, when we pray for the recovery of the pious sick. It is lawful, with submission to God’s providence, to entreat the continuance of desirable and useful lives: but we should not be too anxious, lest our petitions should clash with those of our Savior, who prays that they may be with him, while we are so earnest that they may be with us. This too, should keep us from sorrowing as those without hope on account of departed believers. They are with the Lord, where he wished them to be, and where they are infinitely happy. They are far happier than ourselves. We live by faith; they by sight. We see through a mirror darkly; they see face to face. We catch a glance of the glory of Christ; they see it steadily, openly, unceasingly. We are transformed in some measure (and sadly in what a small measure!) they are perfectly like him, for they “see him as he is." 1 John 3:2

May divine mercy fulfill this prayer of Christ for each of us, that “we may be with him, where he is, and behold his glory.”