Things God has prepared for His Son
First Corinthians 2:9 declares: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” This is a lofty promise of unimaginable blessing that God has prepared for His children. In order to accurately gauge the importance of such a prospect, one must consider the experience of the Lord Jesus Christ. The pathway of the incarnate Son of God was determined from eternity past. From His lowly birth to His ascension into the glory, His life was marked out in the counsels of the Godhead (e.g. Mic. 5:2; Isa. 9:6-7; 1 Pet. 1:20); it was a prepared pathway. Before Messiah’s presentation to Israel, John the Baptist was sent to “prepare…the way of the Lord” and “make His paths straight” (Mt. 3:3). Nothing happened to Him accidentally. This assures us of the future things that the Father has prepared for the saints and for His Son, for everything that He determined for Christ in the past took place exactly as He directed.
At His first coming
The things prepared for Christ in the incarnation extended beyond circumstances. Isaiah 50:4 relates that He was given “the tongue of the learned,” thus outfitting Him to comfort the weary. Both His words and works were prepared by His Father (Jn. 5:17-23, 36; 14:10-11). Every statement and action of the Lord Jesus demonstrated the character of God. Because of His deeds and doctrine that were prepared for Him by God, only the Son could say, “he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father” (Jn. 14:9).
His ministry of revealing the Father was not ineffectual, for God gave Him His own children to be His followers (Jn. 17:6; Heb. 2:13). In order to give them the right to be members of God’s family, the Lord Jesus did something else that His Father commanded Him: He died and rose again. As He said: “Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father” (Jn. 10:17-18). He described this action with another well-known biblical metaphor for the wrath of God, rhetorically asking: “the cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?” (Jn. 18:11). He drank the bitter cup of judgment for sin, thus becoming a propitiation (Rom. 3:25). Contrary to what His enemies thought, Calvary was not orchestrated by Jewish machinations or Roman power. Though He was crucified by “wicked hands,” it was the “determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” that designed and accomplished the work that Christ performed at the cross (Acts 2:42). It was a deliberate sacrifice on the Lord Jesus’ part. He voluntarily laid His life down, and just as voluntarily took it up again by resurrection.
At His second coming
Peter affirms that on the Mount of Transfiguration the Father gave the Son “glory and honor” and testified “this is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased” (2 Pet. 1:17). It was a dramatic preview of the glory that Christ received from the Father after the ascension—a glory that He will possess forevermore. He also obtained an excellent name from the Father, as the glorified Son and Lord (Heb. 1:4; Php. 2:9). The resurrection was the beginning of Christ’s attainment of ever-increasing glory. He was raised from the tomb, received into heaven by the ascension forty days later, and, one day, will have every enemy subdued beneath His feet (Ps. 110). As Philippians 2:10 expresses it, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Christ shares with His saints the things that He receives from His Father. Hebrews 1:2 says that the Father has “appointed Him heir of all things.” In addition, Romans 8:17 asserts that believers are co-heirs with Christ. With these promises in mind, Isaiah’s statement that “of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end” (Isa. 9:7) quickens the believer’s pulse with anticipation of the glory that he will share with Him. One day, the saints will help administer the rule over the nations that His Father has given Him (Rev. 2:27).
To benefit the church
The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is one of the most important blessings that Christ has received and shared with His people during the present age (Acts 2:33). In leaving His followers in this world, the Lord did not leave them as orphans (Jn. 14:16-18). The Spirit of truth teaches and empowers the saints to live in a manner that is pleasing to God (Rom. 6-8; Gal. 5:22-25). He comforts (Jn. 14:16), instructs (Jn. 16:13-14), and helps their prayer life (Rom. 8:26). Furthermore, He bears witness to Christ (compare Jn. 16:8-11 with Peter’s sermon and its result in Acts 2).
Christ’s high priestly ministry is another blessing from which the saints currently benefit. Hebrews 5:4-5 details the Father calling the Son to be our great high priest in these words: “And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made an high priest; but He that said unto Him, Thou art My Son, to day have I begotten Thee.” Christians have an intercessor who is merciful and faithful (Heb. 2:17-18), compassionate on their weaknesses (Heb. 4:15), and faithful in prayer for them (Heb. 7:25). It is impossible to overstate the importance of this continuous work of the Lord Jesus Christ, for it provides eternal security, confidence, comfort, and spiritual communion with God to believers. The saints are assured of their individual cases receiving attention from One who ministers in the true holy of holies. Moreover, He never dies, nor fails to do what He undertakes.
What do you give the One who has everything?
Of course the Lord Jesus also receives something from His Father which brings Him much joy: His bride, the Church (2 Cor. 11:1-4; Eph. 5:25-32). The New Jerusalem—the dwelling-place of the church—is described as a bride prepared for the victorious Lord (Rev. 21:2). Spurgeon caught something of the beauty of this imagery in his classic hymn, “Amidst Us Our Beloved Stands”:
“Thou glorious Bridegroom of our hearts,
Thy present smile a heav’n imparts;
O lift the veil, if veil there be,
Let ev’ry saint Thy beauties see!”
In Revelation 21, however, the focus is not on the bride’s enjoyment of His appearance.1 Instead, it is Christ who enjoys the church’s beauty. This is only possible because He first washed and cleansed the Christians; their glory is a reflection of His ineffable loveliness and is the result of God’s work in them. Thus, the things that the Father prepared for His Son intersect with the divinely-ordered destiny of believers. The saints’ exaltation will correspond with His entrance into glory. What a gracious plan that prepares such blessings for Christ and His followers!
1. Doubtless Cousin’s classic lyrics encapsulate what the saints will feel: “The bride eyes not her garment, but her dear Bridegroom’s face. I will not gaze at glory but on my King of Grace.”