And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. - John 17:5
John chapter 17 records Jesus praying to the Father on behalf of his beloved people just before his arrest and crucifixion. Jesus begins by asking God the Father to glorify him so that he might return that glory to the Father by bringing eternal life to all those he has given him through his atoning sacrifice. He wanted to honor the Father through his work on the cross. Then he prays that he would be glorified with the glory that he had as the eternal Son of God with God the Father before the world existed (John 17:4-5).
This verse points out something very important about Jesus: he was with the Father before the world was made. Before creation, nothing material existed. But God existed eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus, as the eternal Son of God made flesh, can restore us into the presence of God because he’s already been there. Not only that, he returned there. After his resurrection, Jesus ascended bodily to the right hand of the Father.
Jesus came in the flesh, but he also left in the flesh. And he took our human nature with him. Where is our assurance that we can be reconciled to God and restored to his presence with great joy? Read Acts 1:6-11. Christ has dignified our human nature by returning to God’s presence to intercede for us as our sympathetic high priest. Repent and believe. And when he returns, he will take you to himself, that where he is, you also may be.