If you are a Christian and you are wanting to know who God is, who Jesus Christ is, reading John 17, when Jesus, the Son, prays to His Father, will give you an idea of the relationship between God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and you. The Holy Spirit is not mentioned specifically but is implied in this passage. For now, it helps to know that Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, is connected to the soul of a believer.
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, that He may be with you forever; – John 14:16 (LSB).
With this direct and intimate connection with God, your salvation is secure, there is no barrier that separates you from the grace of God. God does not fail to secure His chosen flock.
However, a fruitful relationship requires a desire to know your Lord and Savior and to seek becoming obedient to His will and engaging in the process of what is known as Sanctification (to become more holy).
John 17 will help the reader get a better idea what roles Jesus Christ personifies, not only as Lord and Savior, but also a teacher, protector, and High Priest, for both Jews adnd Gentiles, providing for our needs and ensuring communication to the Father.
I will be interjecting my comments, primarily to paraphrase the passage to emphasize some relevant points.
JOHN 17
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. – John 17:1-5
The Son has authority over all people.
All the people who have eternal life were given to the Son from the Father.
Eternal life is to know the one and only true God through Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ existed with God the Father since before time began.
Jesus Prays for His Disciples
6 “I have revealed you[a] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me,for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of[b] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by[c] that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. – John 17:6-12
Jesus has revealed the Father to those whom He has been given by His Father.
Jesus speaks the words from God himself.
Jesus Christ prays for us, therefore your prayers must be directed towards Him.
Believers help glorify Christ, Christ glorifies God through believers.
Jesus came to earth truly a man and has returned to the Father, however, believers remain on earth and received protection by the world through the power of God.
Despite any and all suffering, none of God’s chosen will be lost.
These promises have been prophesied in several passages of Scripture.
13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 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. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by[d] 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. – John 17:13-19
Believers receive the Words of Christ that they may have a full measure of joy. Beleivers are no longer of the world. Their citizenship is in heaven though they live in the world until their physical death.
Jesus Christ sanctifies all believers that they may become more holy.
Jesus Prays for All Believers
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 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. – John 17:20-23
Jesus Christ prays for all who believer or who will believer, Jews and Gentiles, everyone.
Believers witness to the truth of Christ sent by the Father.
There is a oneness among the Father, the Son (Christ), and all believers. Love is an underlying nature that binds God and all believers.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. – John 17:24
Love existed between God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit since before time began.
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you[e] known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” – John 17:25 (NIV).
Believers are filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit, it is the will of Christ our high priest who speaks directly with God the Father that they receive the “Advocate.”
The unrighteous world does not know God. They are incapable of discerning the truth of God from Scripture or from nature unless they are called by God.
Beleivers (those who are conscious of their saving faith in God) and those who will believe (those who are not yet aware of their faith in the salvation through God’s Grace) will be influenced by the hope made possible through God’s love that leads to eternal life.
As a Christian, the Lord Jesus Christ is your high priest. Through the Holy Spirit you have a direct relationship and a direct connection with the Son of God.
Get to know your Lord and Savior, read the Bible daily and receive the living bread and water to sustain you spiritually.
I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my portion of food.– Job 23:12 (LSB)
Footnotes
- a. John 17:6 Greek your name
- b. John 17:11 Or Father, keep them faithful to
- c. John 17:12 Or kept them faithful to
- d. John 17:17 Or them to live in accordance with
- e. John 17:26 Greek your name
For a one minute explanation of the Gospel from the late Pastor John MacArthur, watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCP9UcC7BzE
For a review of the Ten Commandments: https://www.challenyee.com/the-ten-commandments/
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