John 17:4-5 (NLT) I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

While here on earth, taking our place, Jesus had to make the "connection" of the full circle back to His place with the Father. This, too, was as much for our benefit as heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. But after His death and resurrection and ascension, Jesus would have another ministry for us as our High Priest and would no longer be to mankind as the disciples had known Him. They knew Him "after the flesh" but they had a different revelation of Him after His resurrection and an even more different viewpoint after they had been filled with the Holy Spirit. I am going to give you two translations of a verse that means much to me and often comes to my mind. II Corinthians 5:16 (NASB) Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. (and) II Corinthians 5:16 (NLT) So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!

We have two viewpoints. One is natural, "after the flesh" or a "human view", and the other comes to us by the Holy Spirit and allows us to see with our spirit. Paul says we "see through a glass darkly" as we look at spiritual things, but one day we will see face to face. Our human nature and this water realm in which we live have a distorting factor. Even when we receive a revelation and see momentarily, we have to guard it from being distorted by our own interpretation or circumstances around us. Our High Priest knows what it is to live in this water realm. He knows and understands our "dust" and how limited we are in understanding.

It was in this time, before the horrendous undertaking of providing our entrance into the House of God, that Jesus had to pray as a man to God, nailing down for us by claiming it for us, the glorification of the completed circle. This, too, was included in His declaration on the cross, "it is finished!" Our salvation is completed all the way to the glory of sharing in God's eternity in His completed purpose, man in the image of God.