The great glory to which Christ is now exalted for this ministry awaits the yet further, greater fulness of glory resulting from the ministry. This may at first seem impossible, for He is now glorified with the glory which He had with the Father before the world was; but although this is so, yet further glories are laid up in store for Him. This exceeding great and eternal weight of glory, which shall be upon Him when He comes to be glorified in the saints, will then be seen to be the fruit of His intercession. When the saints are presented in His presence at the throne of His glory what exceeding great and eternal joy will flood all the universe, glory upon glory extending on and on into the ages to come. What will the creatures presently groaning under the bondage of corruption think then? Much that is now thought to be and preached by some as the manifestation of the sons of God may appear far from the truth and utterly irrelevant to their situation; they still have no relief. Yet for their sakes there does need to be a present manifestation of the sons of God, as well as a future one — when Jesus was on earth there was. John was one who saw the earthly manifestation of sonship and said, 'We beheld His glory, the glory as of an only begotten (son) with a father, full of grace and truth'. It was a wonderful manifestation, but it was so limited; the Lord confined Himself to Palestine only. Nevertheless God's creation, in part, saw and felt that manifestation, and men witnessed and attested to that glory, even though at the time few recognized it for what it was and that it meant that He was the Son of God. As it was with Him in His day, so it ought to be with us in measure in our day. Although we may be unrecognized by the world as the sons of God, His creatures ought to be able to see and feel the glory already in us through grace. God has said that He is willing to make His power known, but unless we identify with the agonies of the creatures that fill the whole creation with groans, we shall never get close enough to their heart-need to be able to help. If we wish to help men and women we must feel with their feelings and groan with their groans. When God of old came down at last to deliver Israel from Egypt it was as much because He was moved by their cries and groans as by His determination to keep His promise to their father Abraham. His was a given heart, as well as a given word; He loved the people, and pitied them and came to their rescue. The nature of the ministry demands that the intercessor must be, in himself, a very secure person in Christ. It is essential that he be fully persuaded that nothing and no-one can separate him from the love of God in Christ Jesus his Lord; this assured he is a free man. This freedom from fear concerning his own present and future standing is essential for the intercessor, for intercession can only spring from spiritual identification with a world of afflictions. Intercession must be answered by God on behalf of others, not the intercessor, and it must be successful; for this it must be upon very sure ground. Fixed in that, a heart can be reckless with regard to itself, so that it no longer seeks to retain its own well-being and comfort, but seeks these blessings for others. The assured heart does not desire lightness and happiness, but is willing for heaviness and sorrow. These are very sobering thoughts, for such feelings are not generally wanted, rather they are shunned, perhaps even denied.