Part 24b – John 17
He says in:-
- John 17:9 “my prayer is not for the world but for those you have given me, because they belong to you.”
- John 17:10 “They have been given to me to show my glory.”
- John 17:11 “Protect or Keep them – so they will be united.”
- John 17:13 NKJV “I have told them many things – so they may have my joy fulfilled in them.” Notice here that I am using the NKJV (New King James Version) translation for the word fulfilled and not the NLT (New living Translation) word of filled as there is a sense that this joy that Jesus is talking about is ongoing, continuous filling, not just a once and for all filled. This joy has to be received from the bountiful outpouring of the life giving Spirit of God.
- John 17:14 “I have given them your word and the world hates them because they do not belong to the world.”
This verse (John 17:14) is key in that it says that once we are God’s and we have chosen to live our lives in this different eternal space, a space made possible through Jesus, then our lives will be the polar opposite to those who have chosen another way. What is interesting is that Jesus then prays that they will be kept from evil and in John 17:17 he asks for them “to be made holy by your (God’s) truth.”
What I find compelling about this passage is that Jesus’ prayer up till this point has been for his twelve disciples. He has prayed specifically for them but in John 17:20 He introduces the idea that this prayer transcends time and he says “I am not only praying for these disciples, but for all who will ever believe.” So everything that Jesus has prayed for His disciples at that time He now includes you and me.
So if Jesus is praying for all humanity, then all the things he prayed for his disciples holds true for us now.
So let’s recap and summarise what Jesus prayed:-
- John 17:9 We belong to the Father.
- John 17:10 We belong to the Father in order to bring Glory to Jesus.
- John 17:11 NKJV We are kept (The translation used here in the NLT is not very helpful, a better translation is the NKJV which reads “Holy Father, keep through your name those whom you have given me, that they may be one as we are.” This little word “keep” transcends the expanse of time and is past, present and future) through the NAME of the Father in order that we may be ONE.
- John 17:13 We have joy fulfilled in us, a joy unspeakable, a joy overflowing because Jesus came and showed a different way, a way that leads us into a different space.
- John 17:14 The world will hate us because we are not of the world. We have moved into God’s space, a spiritual place, a place where the almighty power of God by His Spirit works to transform us into His glorious likeness.
So, as we close out this great prayer of Jesus let us ask ourselves the questions:-
- Do we know God?
- Do we know Jesus?
Are we prepared to give God and His Son a chance so we can bring glory to the Father and the Son, knowing with all certainty that we are kept by the Father in order to display and live life in unity so that the world experiences the only true creative being we call God?
Life in God is a creative expression of the uncreated being, kept and sustained by the unity of the Godhead.
Let’s rejoice and be glad for all that God has done through Jesus and all that Jesus is doing through the Spirit in our lives.
// Required code