“He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.” (John 7:18)
Paul once had much to boast about. But when Christ came into his life, he no longer lived, he was a dead man. Who glories in a corpse? The old man is buried with Christ; the new man has been raised to walk in newness of life. This new life has nothing to boast about – it did not create itself, it is the new creation of God. If there is anything different about it, it is God who has made the difference. There is no glorying in its uniqueness from other men; there is only glorying in its likeness to the unique man, Christ Jesus.
Jesus prayed that the glory that the Father gave Him might be displayed in us, so that we would represent and glorify Him. He would be seen in us, even as the Father was seen in Him. To act and speak of our own selves is to seek our own glory. It is to be no different than vainglorious Lucifer who craved the honor and praise God alone deserves. For the creature to be true and without unrighteousness he must glorify his Creator.
The Word that was with God in the beginning, and who was God, became flesh and dwelt among us. We beheld His glory, the glory not of one who demanded to be worshipped as God when He walked among men, but the glory of One who worshipped God as a man. He became the Perfect Man because He was the perfect Worshipper. He has given us His glory that we might walk even as He walked.
The true worshipper gives God what God is worthy of. All that he gives God is only what God has first given him. What does he have that he has not received, and if he has received it from another, how can he boast of it? Jesus did nothing of Himself. “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.” (John 3:35) The Father gave to the Son so the Son could give back to the Father. He gave Him a mission and the power to perform it, so the Son should fulfill and finish it as sweet-smelling sacrifice to God.
Jesus was uninterested in making a name for Himself; He came in His Father’s Name to represent and glorify the Father. Even as the Son sought the glory of the Father who sent Him, those who Christ has sent into the world seek the glory of their Master. They would be as He is in the world. All that they do and say would be of Him and not of themselves. They have no desire to be worshipped of men; they would live before the eyes of men as true worshippers of the Father and the Son.
Christ did not lift Himself up. The Father ordained that He should be lifted up on the cross. May it be enough that the glory of Christ and His cross should be displayed through our lives. May our obedience to our Lord take us only to those places which will glorify Him.