Some Thoughts on John 17 (Part 21) Conclusion

I have a group of brothers who are reading through the gospel of John, one chapter per week. We read the same chapter each day and then email each other something we’ve learned from that chapter. We’ve been in John 17 this week, so I thought I’d share some thoughts I’ve been getting from that incredible high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus.

We now come to the last section of Jesus’ prayer. He begins by addressing the Father as “Righteous Father.” (v. 25). Why that appellation? He has addressed the Father as “Father” four times (vv. 1, 5, 21, 24) and once as “Holy Father” (v. 11) in this prayer.

The Lord’s emphasis in this verse is on knowledge: the world not knowing the Father; Jesus knowing the Father; and the disciples knowing that the Father had sent the Son. Jesus prays, “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me” (v. 25).

Why does “the world” not know the Father? The expression “the world” (as we saw earlier) can refer to the planet, the people of the planet, or the pagan system opposing God and the things of God. What does “the world” mean here? I would suggest it refers to the people of the planet who have not believed in the Son. The world doesn’t know the Father.

Jesus prays, “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known . . .” (v. 26). The Lord Jesus perfectly reflected the Father to the disciples (“He who has seen me has seen the Father,” He said to Philip in John 14:9). And He promises in this verse to continue to do so. Jesus is in the process (in the believer’s life) of continuing to make the Father known.

But why? Why does He continue to make the Father known? Jesus says, “. . . in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them” (v. 26). He is praying that the Father’s love for the Son might be ours! Is there a greater love than that?

His last request is “that I myself may be in them.” Prepositions are not unimportant in language. What are we to understand by “in” here? Many verses take about our being in Christ, such as 1 Peter 5:14 which says, “Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.”

But when the Lord speaks of His being in us — Is this to be understood as spatially — Jesus somehow indwells the believer? Other texts talk about Jesus being “in” the believer:

In Romans 8 we read of both Christ and the Spirit indwelling the believer: “But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” (vv. 10-11).

The Apostle Paul also writes in 2 Corinthians 13- “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (v. 5). In Colossians 1 Paul writes, “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (v. 27).

These words are beyond human understanding. There are no words that are superlative to these. Christian! Jesus is praying that we might experience the same love the Father has for the Son — in our lives! And He is praying that He Himself would be IN us.

Allow me to conclude this study with a short prayer: “Dear Heavenly Father, how amazing this prayer of Your Son is. Open our hearts and minds to all that He prays that He would be honored through our lives. Save us, Lord, from our poor understandings of Your love and our weak perceptions of Your unity with Your Son. Forgive us our tenuous grasp on Your overwhelming concern for us and for the glory of Your well-beloved Son. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some Thoughts on John 17 (Part 20)

I have a group of brothers who are reading through the gospel of John, one chapter per week. We read the same chapter each day and then email each other something we’ve learned from that chapter. We’ve been in John 17 this week, so I thought I’d share some thoughts I’ve been getting from that incredible high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus.

Most of Jesus’ high priestly prayer here in John 17 concerns others — those who have believed in Him, those who will believe in Him, and the witness of His followers in the world.

In our next verse, verse 24, we come to a personal request from the Lord Jesus to the Father. He prays, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am . . .”

Several truths are emphasized here: (1) This is the desire of the Son of God. He prays, “I want . . .” Whenever you or I feel unloved or unappreciated by others, we must remind ourselves of our Savior’s love and His desire that we be with Him! (2) It is again emphasized that we have been given to Christ by the Father. What difference would it make in my daily life if I looked at my life as a gift of the Father to the Son? I am not my own. And I was and am of the highest value that the Father gave me to His beloved Son.

His prayer is that we would be “with me where I am.” It seems most reasonable that He is referring to His being re-established at the right hand of the Father in heaven. And Jesus wants us there. With Him.

One day this will be true. This earthly existence will be done and eternity with Christ will begin. And we will be welcomed to the side of the Lord Jesus. If that doesn’t thrill your soul, check your pulse, you might be dead. (to be continued)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some Thoughts on John 17 (Part 19)

I have a group of brothers who are reading through the gospel of John, one chapter per week. We read the same chapter each day and then email each other something we’ve learned from that chapter. We’ve been in John 17 this week, so I thought I’d share some thoughts I’ve been getting from that incredible high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus.

How critical is the believer’s relationship to the world? We know that we are to a friend of sinners like the Lord Jesus was (Mt. 11). But what about the gathered people of God — the church? Are we to hide in a corner and sing our praise songs to ourselves and be ignored by the world?

In the next part of His prayer, the Lord Jesus directs our attention to our evangelistic duty. He prays that believers will be one “as we are one” (v. 22). He then gives the reason for our oneness: “I in them and you in me — so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (v. 23).

Somehow, in some ways, the world is watching the church. Its “complete unity” provides evidence of the Person and mission of Jesus Christ. Needless disunity among the people of God, one might say, negates such knowledge, causes the world to question Jesus’ mission from the Father, and even doubt His love for His people.

“When Charles V stepped down as the Holy Roman Emperor some 400 years ago, he spent much of his time at his palace in Spain. He had six clocks there, and no matter how he tried, he could never get them to chime together on the hour. In his memoirs, he wrote, “How is it possible for six different clocks to chime all at the same time? How is it even more impossible for the six nations of the Holy Roman Empire to live in harmony? It can’t be done. It’s impossible, even if they call themselves Christians.” Today, we know it’s possible to have clocks in perfect harmony, when all are powered by the same source and all are calibrated to the same standard–Greenwich Mean Time. Likewise, unity in the church is possible, but only when all are calibrated to one standard–Christ.” -(Wayne Brouwer Preaching Today) (to be continued)”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some Thoughts on John 17 (Part 18)

I have a group of brothers who are reading through the gospel of John, one chapter per week. We read the same chapter each day and then email each other something we’ve learned from that chapter. We’ve been in John 17 this week, so I thought I’d share some thoughts I’ve been getting from that incredible high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus.

Jesus then returns to the subject of GLORY. He says in verse 22, “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one . . .” What has the Lord said about GLORY in this prayer?

He asked the Father at the beginning of His prayer that the Father would “glorify your son, that your Son may glorify you” (v. 1). Jesus claims in verse 4 that He has “brought [the Father] glory on earth by finishing the work the Father gave Him to do.” He specifically asks the Father to “glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began” (v. 5). We noted from Isaiah 42:8 that God declared He would not share His GLORY with another. So this is an evidence of Jesus’ deity. The Lord Jesus then amazingly says in verse 10 that “glory has come to me through [the disciples].”

GLORY is a primary theme of Jesus’ high priestly prayer to the Father, isn’t it?

Now the Lord Jesus says “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one . . .” (v. 22). What is that glory that He has given His followers? Glory in verse 4 concerns Jesus’ finishing the work the Father gave Him to do. His glory in verse 5 has to do with His equality with the Father and His deity. We do not become deified when we believe the gospel. But we do receive a righteous standing with God because of Christ. And that’s glory! When Jesus says in verse 10 that glory has come to me through the disciples, we might understand that as honor or obedience.

So what does it mean that He has given them “the glory you gave me” (v. 22). Honor? The privilege to share the gospel with others? The joy of being a co-laborer with Christ in reconciling the world? Your thoughts? (to be continued)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some Thoughts on John 17 (Part 17)

I have a group of brothers who are reading through the gospel of John, one chapter per week. We read the same chapter each day and then email each other something we’ve learned from that chapter. We’ve been in John 17 this week, so I thought I’d share some thoughts I’ve been getting from that incredible high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus.

What if I were to tell you that the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, prayed for you? Wouldn’t that be overwhelming? But He does that in verse 20 where we read: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” Christ’s audience is all who will believe in Him. That’s you and me!

Christ’s request is “that all of them may be one” (v. 21). Let’s think about this oneness for which the Son of God prayed. Should we admit that the many denominations in Christendom are a scandal and a complete embarrassment to the Lord?

Yes and no. Should Presbyterians apologize that they are not Baptists? Should the Methodists repent and become Pentecostals? What place is there — if any — for division among God’s people?

God’s Word is clear that we should separate from false teaching. And here we must make some judgments about what I call “essentials” and “distinctives.” The essentials are the major areas of doctrine clearly taught in the Word of God (such as the truth about the Trinity, the inspiration of the Scriptures, etc.). The distinctives are those areas about which genuine believers may differ, but neither side has fallen into heresy (false teaching). [I deal with this issue more in my books DocTALK and Whatever Happened to Heresy?].

But unfortunately many divisions among believers have to do with power struggles, personality clashes, and insignificant differences of opinion on the distinctives. Unity lost for those reasons is a scandal and should be repented of.

Let’s not miss the connection between new converts and the unity of believers. Jesus prays for all those who will believe . . . and then He prays for our unity. Unnecessary divisions among believers hampers and deadens evangelism. Your thoughts? (to be continued)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some Thoughts on John 17 (Part 16)

I have a group of brothers who are reading through the gospel of John, one chapter per week. We read the same chapter each day and then email each other something we’ve learned from that chapter. We’ve been in John 17 this week, so I thought I’d share some thoughts I’ve been getting from that incredible high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus.

This has been a deep and all-encompassing prayer of the Lord Jesus to the Father. He has covered a number of topics, including glory, the word, protection, the evil one, joy, and the world.

He now moves into a theologian’s favorite topic: sanctification! This fancy term means becoming holy, set apart for the Lord. Jesus prays in verses 16-19: 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

So much is given to us here. One aspect of defining sanctification is that the believer is not “of the world” even as Christ was not of the world. There is a fundamental separation between “the world” and the believer.

Jesus then prays that the Father would “sanctify [His followers] by the truth; your word is truth” (v. 17). The Christian who is not regularly and consistently in the Scriptures will not get sanctified!

He then returns to the subject of the world. Even though the believer is not “of the world”, Jesus makes it clear that he or she is sent “into the world.” He prays, “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world” (v. 18). We have the same commission from the Father as the Lord Jesus had! Such a commission is, indeed, great! (Mt. 28:18-20).

Lastly, on this issue of sanctification, Jesus declares in His prayer, “For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified” (v. 19). How did the Lord Jesus “sanctify” Himself? We read in Hebrews 7:26- “Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.”

Jesus’ self-sanctifying work set Him apart from sinners, but not away from them. How might that apply to us? And how does His example help us become truly sanctified? Your thoughts? (to be continued)

 

 

 

 

 

Some Thoughts on John 17 (Part 15)

I have a group of brothers who are reading through the gospel of John, one chapter per week. We read the same chapter each day and then email each other something we’ve learned from that chapter. We’ve been in John 17 this week, so I thought I’d share some thoughts I’ve been getting from that incredible high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus.

We saw in our last post that the disciples had received “the word” from the Lord Jesus, meaning His purpose of coming into the world. And, as a result, the world “has hated them” (v. 14).

Why has the world hated them? Jesus says, “for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” At this point, “the world” seems to be an incredibly dangerous place for the believer.

But Jesus’ prayer continues. “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (v. 15). Let’s notice two critical points in this request by the Lord Jesus: (1) He tells us what His prayer is NOT. He is not asking the Father for an escape from this world for His followers. (2) His request is not for evacuation, but protection. He asks that the Father protect those who were given to the Son by the Father from “the evil one.”

It is easy to prove that “the evil one” is the devil. Eleven times the devil is referred to as “the evil one.” In Matthew 5 we are told to tell the truth, simply saying “yes” or “no.” Anything beyond this “comes from the evil one” (v. 37). The Lord teaches His disciples to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Mt. 6:13). The Lord also speaks of the evil one coming and snatching away the seed that is sown in the heart of the unbeliever (Mt. 13:19). In fact, He explains in that same text that the “weeds” in that metaphor are “the people of the evil one” (v. 38).

We then have our text about Jesus’ request that the Father protect Jesus’ followers “from the evil one” (Jn. 17:15).

The Apostle Paul challenges believers to “take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Eph. 6:16). Furthermore, Paul reminds Christians that “the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one” (2 Thes. 3:3).

There is much in I John about the devil as “the evil one.” We read of the commendation of the young men “because [they] have overcome the evil one” (2:13). John repeats his praise in the next verse when he says of the young men, “you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one” (2:14). We learn in I John 5 that “anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.” (v. 18). The very next verse says that “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” (5:19).

So we have quite an adversary. The whole world is under his control! He is such an adversary that the Second Person of the Trinity has to ask the Father to protect His followers from him. We Christians need to be delivered from him, for he is an expert archer whose flaming arrows are aimed at the believer. He is quite engaged in snatching away the seeds of the gospel that are sown in the hearts of unbelievers. There are some that are actually called “the people of the evil one.”

There is much more in the Scriptures about our supernatural enemy. But our focus here is on the Son of God interceding for His people. And we fool ourselves if we don’t think we need the Trinity’s full protection! (to be continued)

 

 

 

 

Some Thoughts on John 17 (Part 14)

I have a group of brothers who are reading through the gospel of John, one chapter per week. We read the same chapter each day and then email each other something we’ve learned from that chapter. We’ve been in John 17 this week, so I thought I’d share some thoughts I’ve been getting from that incredible high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus.

In continuing our study of this incredible prayer, we come to verse 14 where Jesus prays, “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” What was the “word” that Jesus gave to the disciples?

In the immediate context, Jesus said that the disciples had “obeyed your word” (v. 6). He then said, “I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them” (v. 8). He then explained that the disciples “knew with certainty” that He had come from the Father on a mission.

So what was that “word”? It was no secret code word that allowed one entrance into God’s clubhouse. The “word,” I believe, stands for all that the Lord Jesus taught about WHY He had come, WHAT He had set out to do, and HOW He had obeyed His Father in carrying out His mission. The disciples had believed — and obeyed — the truth that Jesus gave them.

Receiving the word from Jesus automatically made His disciples the object of hatred by the world. Here “world” must mean the pagan system opposing God and the things of God.

When we receive — and obey — the truth about Jesus Christ, we will be hated. Count on it. And such hatred, in a perverse positive way, reminds us that we are not of the world any more than the Lord Jesus was of the world. And that identification with the Son of God is worth . . . everything! (to be continued)

 

 

 

 

Some Thoughts on John 17 (Part 13)

I have a group of brothers who are reading through the gospel of John, one chapter per week. We read the same chapter each day and then email each other something we’ve learned from that chapter. We’ve been in John 17 this week, so I thought I’d share some thoughts I’ve been getting from that incredible high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus.

Again, beginning with verse 13, we have Jesus saying that He is coming back to the Father: “I am coming to you now,” He says. We have no idea the grief the Incarnation cost the Son of God. He left the Father’s side to become human to pay for man’s sin. So, one might say, there was a rift or changed status in His relationship to the Father. For us.

But the Son’s focus isn’t primarily on the recapturing of His joy with the Father. He says, “I say these things . . . so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them” (v. 13). How does the topic of JOY enter into this incredible prayer?

It might help to think of salvation as the work of the entire Trinity. The Father proposes the work of atonement, the Son completes the work of atonement, and the Spirit applies the work of atonement to all who believe. In a sense only 2/3’s of the work has been done up to this point. There remains the Spirit’s work in regenerating those who believe.

What does it look like to have the “full measure” of His joy? We read of the Lord Jesus saying the following: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (Jn. 15:11). And, “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (Jn. 16:24).

One must ask, what does a Christian look like who does not have “the full measure” of Christ’s joy within them? Your thoughts? (to be continued)

 

 

 

Some Thoughts on John 17 (Part 12)

I have a group of brothers who are reading through the gospel of John, one chapter per week. We read the same chapter each day and then email each other something we’ve learned from that chapter. We’ve been in John 17 this week, so I thought I’d share some thoughts I’ve been getting from that incredible high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus.

In verse 12 we have the Son’s testimony that He protected the ones the Father had given Him “while [He] was with them” (v. 12). In fact, the Lord says “I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me.” How did the Son keep His disciples “safe”?

It may be that He means He kept them in fellowship with Him, for the next part of the verse speaks of Judas! We read, “None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.”

What a sad story we have of Judas “the traitor.” He fulfilled Scripture by his treachery, but he made choices in his time with Jesus to reject Him and to hand Him over to the authorities for execution. Jesus describes him as “lost” and as “doomed to destruction.” What awful words!

If we may assume that Judas died unsaved, lost, unprotected, then his eternal fate is not cessation of existence. Destruction in the Bible doesn’t mean ceasing to exist, but ruination, separation from God and His people.

Do you know of any who have turned away from their Christian faith? Tell them the story of Judas — and invite them to repent! (to be continued)