Devotional - John 17:9-19

Passage To Study:

John 17:9-19

[9] “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. [10] “And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. [11] “Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. [12] “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. [13] “But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. [14] “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. [15] “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. [16] “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. [17] “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. [18] “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. [19] “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

What are the facts of the passage?:

(Verse 9) - Christ tells us that He is now praying for the ones God gave Him, not for the world.
(Verse 10) - He and the Father share these children and Christ is glorified in them.
(Verse 11) - Christ says that He leaving the world but they are staying. He asks the Father to keep them, through His Name, until they are in heaven.
(Verse 12) - Christ kept them while He was with them, He kept all that God gave Him except Judas so that the Scripture be fulfilled.
(Verse 13) - But Christ is going to the Father and speaks these things that our joy might be fulfilled in ourselves.
(Verse 14) - We have the Word, but the World hates us because we are not of the world, just as Christ was not of the World.
(Verse 15) - Christ does not pray for us to be removed from the world, but kept from Satan.
(Verse 16) - We are reminded that we are not of the world just as Christ was not of the world.
(Verse 17) - Christ prays that God will sanctify us with His Truth, and His Word is Truth.
(Verse 18) - We are sent into the world as Christ is sent into the world.
(Verse 19) - Christ sanctifies Himself far our sakes, that we may be sanctified by the truth.

What do those facts mean?:

(Verse 9) - Of course Christ bears special relationship to His own people. He prays for His own and not for the world. This is one of many things that He does exclusively for those who are His. The root of the difference is the knowledge of God. That knowledge is the result of the prevenient work of God's Spirit. We find nothing objectionable in this favoritism. God is entitled to do as He pleases. Christ prays for them because they are the Father's.

(Verse 10-11) - The point here is that there is a power outside of ourselves that keeps us. We do not and cannot keep ourselves. Christ kept the disciples while on earth and now He asks that the Father keep them while He is gone. This He does in the Person of the Holy Spirit.

By keeping we mean preserving and protecting them. It means that God provides the means and the mechanism by which we live and persist as Christians. Christ provided the disciples with all that was necessary for saving and glorifying the Father. They did not have that capacity in and of themselves. Yet they did persist and they did glorify God. That ability had to come from somewhere outside of them else they could not have persisted as they did.

The oneness spoken of here is not a oneness of essence or being. While Christ shares that kind of oneness with the Father; we can never share that particular kind oneness with Christ or the Father. It is, rather, a oneness of purpose or aim. Christ's prayer is that we be one with the Father in that we are pursuing the same goals and aims as the Father.

A second way of looking at this is to see it as referring to Christians being united in purpose as the Godhead is united. This also would not refer to a oneness of essence, but to one of purpose and aim as Christians pursue the goals of God together.

If, indeed, this second kind of oneness is what is in view then we need to recognize that this kind of unity has its origin outside of us as well. It is a result of the common work of God in the believer, in all believers. That, plus the common factor of the truth contained in the Doctrine of God's Word unites us together. Further, we all possess the same Spirit of God that ties us to that common purpose. Also, we are all kept by the same mechanism for the same reasons. All of this speaks of the oneness of believers.

How do those facts apply to my life?:

In the end, our oneness together is a unity that is rooted in the power and purpose of God. I serve a purpose in that plan and it is imperative that I see that it is God Who sustains and keeps me as a child of God and a useful element in that plan. This is not to imply that I am simply a passive tool being used by a manipulative God. We are obligated to be active in our pursuit of obedience to God. We must also acknowledge that this same obedience springs from God's work in us and not from our own resource.

What should I do in response?:

This must remain at the forefront of my mind. I must continually be aware of the reed for unity with other believers and from where that unity springs.

Day

Oneness