“And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

— John 17:5

Did the Father glorify Christ in His pre-existence?

In his article, “In His Image”, Review and Herald – March 2, 1922; Allen Moon stated:

“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… So God created man in His own image.” Gen. 1:26, 27. God used a more comprehensive word even than “image.” He said “after our likeness,” signifying not only image of person, but likeness in attributes and character…

“…GOD IMPARTED TO THE SON A GLORY EQUAL TO HIS OWN. Jesus declared, ” Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:24. But the Father was not content to bestow all His love upon the Son, for ” God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”…Here, then, is the secret: The Father loved the Son, and glorified Him with a glory equal to His own. The Father loves the believer as He loves the Son; the Son, in turn, glorifies the believer with Himself. THE GLORY WHICH THE SON RECEIVED WAS LIKENESS TO HIS FATHER…”

Now we know why:

“…when God said to His Son, Let us make man in our image, Satan was JEALOUS of Jesus.” {Ellen White, 1SG 17.1}

In addition to this matter of creation, R. Hare wrote in The Bible Echo – October 1, 1893 (The Sabbath in the Gospel Age.—No. 5. With the Disciples):

”…why should that chief of the fallen angels hold such hatred toward the Sabbath? This will be easily answered when we remember that Christ was the Creator the one to whom God said, “Let us make man,” and of whom it is written, ” And Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thy hands.” Heb. 1:10. The Sabbath thus becomes the memorial of Christ’s creative power. Since the rebellion in heaven, it has been Satan’s studied plan to hide Christ from the eyes of humanity, and, whether by having it forgotten, despised, or exchanged for a rival, he would have that ever-returning memorial of THE GLORY AND POWER WITH WHICH GOD HAS INVESTED THE SON, ERASED FROM THE MEMORY AND HISTORY OF MAN…”

You see, it is evident that:

”…Christ had a pre-existence before the world was; that he had a glory with the Father, and was equal in power with the Father, and with him created the earth.” — S. N. Haskell, Present Truth – October 6, 1887; “Thoughts on John 17:5”

And that Lucifer:

“indulged a desire for self-exaltation, and instead of seeking to enjoin upon all to give their affections and allegiance to their Creator, it was his endeavor to secure their loyalty to himself. He coveted THE GLORY WHICH THE INFINITE FATHER HAD INVESTED IN HIS SON. He gloried in his brightness and exaltation, and ASPIRED TO BE EQUAL WITH GOD. ONLY THE SON OF GOD WAS EXALTED ABOVE HIM, AS ONE IN POWER AND AUTHORITY WITH THE FATHER. CHRIST SHARED HIS FATHER’S COUNSELS, while Lucifer did not thus enter into the purposes of God…” — S. N. HASKELL, Bible Training School – October 1908 p.89; “Battle of the Bible – Origin of Battles”

Lucifer therefore was

“…not content with his position, though honored above the heavenly host, he began to covet THE GLORY with which the FATHER HAD INVESTED IN THE SON… {Ellen White, ST June 10, 1903, par. 1}

And so we see that even from the days of eternity, before the world was that Christ was

“…the EXPRESS IMAGE OF HIS FATHER’S PERSON, and the angels could see in the Son a perfect representation of God. Lucifer coveted the HONOR AND GLORY GIVEN TO CHRIST. He became so self-exalted that he supposed that he could do anything he desired to do because of his high position as covering cherub, and he tried to obtain for himself the POSITION GIVEN TO CHRIST…” {Ellen White, Lt55-1903.15}

The one God and Father of all, glorified His Son, a glory that He invested in and gave to His Son, a glory equal to His own. This is exactly Who Christ was, even then:

“…A SON BEGOTTEN IN THE EXPRESS IMAGE of the Father’s person, and in all the brightness of his majesty and glory, one equal with God in authority, dignity, and divine perfection. In him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” {Ellen White, ST May 30, 1895, par. 3}

You see,

“Heavenly angels had SEEN THE GLORY which the Son of God shared with the Father before the world was…” {Ellen White, 4SP 197.3}”

And that same glory was what Lucifer wanted. But the glory that Christ had received from His Father… Lucifer couldn’t have.

The Father

“…WOULD NOT CONCEDE to Satan’s claim to a place above HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON… {Lt132-1910.4}” and “…INFORMED Satan THIS COULD NOT BE POSSIBLE. Christ WAS HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON…” {Ellen White, Lt157-1910.7}”

These events led to the fall of mankind here on earth and the Son of God needing to come as the Son of man.

“…Had He appeared with the glory that was His with the Father before the world was, we could not have endured the light of His presence. {Ellen White, DA 23.1}

“…He could not have saved fallen man. He could not have made the sacrifice of His life, that He might in His death pay the penalty of sin… [Hebrews 12:2.] {Ellen White, Lt17-1899.6}

This, Christ accomplished by the life He lived and His death.

And so it was once again,

“By raising Christ from the dead, the Father glorified His Son…” {Ellen White, ST May 10, 1899, par. 14}

“…Christ was indeed glorified, even with the glory which He had from all eternity with the Father.” {Ellen White, ST May 17, 1899, par. 3}

Proving to all that He was God’s only begotten Son.

“…the exaltation of the Son to that place of glory he had with the Father “before the world was” only adds “to the glory of God the Father.” Phil. 2:11. THE SON EVER RECOGNIZED THAT ALL THE GLORY AND POWER HE HAD, CAME FROM THE FATHER. Rev. 3:14 ; John 5:26. Even “when all things shall be subdued unto him [Christ], then shall the Son also himself be subject unto Him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.’” [1 Cor. 15:28.] — Eld. R. A. Underwood, Review and Herald – November 3, 1885; “ST. PAUL’S FAITH.—NO. 3.”

And so it was, the prayer of Christ was answered:

“And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” — John 17:5