I am preaching John 17:1-5 in Nottingham this evening. These verses can lay claim to being the most full of glory out of any in the Bible. They describe the sharing of glory between the Father and Son in the Godhead. What an astonishing mystery to be let in on.

One tangential observation I have from the verses is that they are fantastic for helping Christians be secure in God. The flow goes like this:

God is ultimately concerned for his own glory
He displays it most clearly in Jesus Christ, God the Son, rescuing sinners through the cross
Therefore the security in God of people who belong to Jesus is as secure as God's concern for his own glory. If he were to lose anyone who belongs to him it would be to the detriment of his glory. He would be seen to be less than almighty and to have less than all authority to bring about his purposes

This means that we can take whatever the world can throw at us for glorifying Christ. It means we can die for glorifying Christ. Whether we live or die our eternal destiny is as unshakeable as God's concern for his own glory. Whom then shall we fear?