John 17

What a divinely beautiful prayer from our Lord in this chapter. None of us will ever pray with such a lovely heart toward Holy Father God, but we must try to attain the same purposes.

John 17 is a righteous prayer in the will of God, evidence of a life dedicated to the mission that Christ Jesus completed in service of the Father to bring glory to Him as His Son. There’s no better example than Jesus of obedience for a young man today toward his father or for a disciple toward his heavenly Father; the latter will be addressed.

Some of the things Jesus speaks to the Father about in this chapter are unique to Him and their specific relationship. But we’re also heirs, left with this prayer that we might know Christ, His purposes, and His mind toward us; we can draw many direct applications for us today and should.

Jesus, in verses one and two, knows His purpose, so He starts in prayer to the Father, seeking to fulfill that purpose in the will of the Father, asking above all for Father to be glorified, that He would receive glory in the Son. Through Christ’s example, we ought to pray both in the will of the Father and to fulfill the will of the Father. You can pray for your own choices and be perpetually unhappy for your lack of worldly goods. Or, you can pray for the Father’s will above all and be blessed with the measure of fullness just by knowing Him.

“As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.” – John 17:2

Jesus came to give eternal life to as many as the Father has given Him, but for an express purpose; to bring glory to the Almighty. This is an unspeakable gift. We oughtn’t to be puffed up as though any deserve it; selfish-mindedness about this purpose of Christ is misplaced. Jesus came to make for Himself the inheritance that Holy Father God promised Him before eternity began. “…ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Jesus did all things well so that His heavenly Father might be sufficiently pleased with Him, receiving glory and honor and blessings.

“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” – Romans 8:17

“Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” – Isaiah 43:7

Having been formed by God from the dust of the earth, raised to an age of understanding, and if you would by faith in Christ, reformed by a new birth through the Holy Spirit, in Christ, called by His name, God has made you for His own glory.

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” – John 17:3

There is no more a submissive act than to hand your life and will to God and ask that He do with you what He desires. For He made you from the start and remade you anew, and His Son bought you with a terrible price in blood to be His own; you are not your own, therefore bring glory to God through faithful doing of the word.

If the thought scares you some, good, you know there is a will of God for you and that you have already accepted His station far above you, but coming to grips with our place in the Kingdom of God is a lofty height of thin air indeed. It’s an unknown, unpredictable, and that’s why it’s called walking by faith.

And the greatest of unknowns could be your end, for you could be martyred, or destitute, or lead a congregation to which you’re wholly unfit (hint: none are), or called before the courts of magistrates to account for your faith having been charged as a criminal. God could bring you into dangerous and remote territory, the name of which you can’t pronounce. You might have to push yourself forward, Bible in hand, to confront your enemies with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Or, although entirely within your rights not to, reconcile your broken family.

It’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God; being Christian, and living in the Kingdom of God, serving our King to bring Him all honor and glory isn’t for the weak of faith. Jesus said, concluding a short parable of a servant and his master: “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” – Luke 17:10

Pitiful are the churches today that don’t lay out the mission of a disciple plainly by showing Christ’s commands, pointing to no other purpose but the duty to our Master, and declaring, go ye now and do it! Jesus, in John 17, shows singleness of mind to fulfill His mission to the Master, and He prays that His disciples meet their duty likewise.

Today there is one problem in the Kingdom, and it is just one fundamental problem at the root of all; the modern American church simply will not do what the Bible says. There are many reasons for this, some of which we’ve lamented over these pages, but they are all excuses at the individual level in the sight of God. To say nobody else was serving will not pass muster on the great and notable day of the Lord. To say nobody told you will not fly, for He left us His holy word with thorough instructions.

One cannot be Christian and a herd follower; it’s, as plainly as we can say, not possible. You must turn and confront the King on your knees and be anointed for the fight in righteousness, equipped also with a sword, helmet, shoes, and shield, and sent into battle against impossible odds. Christians, genuine converts, are outnumbered what, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty to one on this planet? Yet, there is no service that is not reasonable to accomplish for our Lord.

God will put you out there, hanging by one thin thread to test your faith, and regardless of the results, He’ll get the glory; look to Christ. But you see, if you won’t serve in faith, there’s nothing to test. And I’ll tell you, brethren, a little secret of those who seek the will of God, He’ll find your point where you turn back, He’ll see your limit, and you will know, in that day, He is God, and you are but sinful man, weak in the flesh. But, perhaps this is wrong; just maybe, you would go all the way to an actual cross.

A wise man once related something so simple yet profound God often brings it to mind. A worker of wickedness was testing college students at gunpoint, letting those go who denied Christ. I was discussing the faith of those young men and women who wouldn’t deny Christ and died for Him, taking a bullet to the head in front of their classmates. But this gentleman asked me, sure, you may be prepared to die for Christ in the moment, but are you willing to live your life for Him now?

Selected Notes.

“3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”

What better thing in all of history for any man than that you might have occasion to eternal life and to know the one true God through Jesus Christ? There is no rational explanation that God would speak out of eternity, His Spirit moving upon the face of darkness surrounding your sin-stained mortal soul, pointing you to His Son. There is no answer but the love of God that He shined the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ into your heart, for no man ever deserved anything but the torment of hell. And sadly, if you do nothing of usefulness, you perpetuate the dead condition in which God found you, visiting a profound injustice upon Jesus; having received the truth, accepted it, and called upon Christ unto life and life eternal, not man ought to remain idle. Bring glory, therefore, to God.

What did Christ do? He did the will of the Father always, finishing the work that God gave Him to accomplish (John 6:38). No disciple is like his master except He does as his Master instructs (Luke 6:40). Finish the work ever keeping your eye on the One who is prized above all (Philippians 3:14). And if you haven’t started, well, begin today or begin anew, as Christ our Saviour has shown, in prayer, laying up before the throne your hunger to do as the Father would have, forsaking your life and the desires of the flesh for no other reason than to bring to Him the glory that is His. It’s His glory; why do you withhold it, robbing God through sloth or disobedience?

“10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.”

Christ did that which satisfied God’s purposes. We see men who took the ministry given to them and followed after Christ to the glory of God the Father (2 Timothy 4:7, 2 Peter 1:14-15); faithful servants to the end, knowing their time had come, they did not boast, but knew they had done what their Master had asked. In faith, steadfast, by the will of the Father, they, belonging to no man, didn’t follow the herd. All belonging to Christ are the Fathers, and we are one in Christ Jesus to the glory of God.

Eternal life is a gift. Men ought not to shrink from the war for His Kingdom. If you knew the half of some men’s story, tried seven times, purified through fire, made a suitable vessel, sanctified by the Spirit; spiritual tests and earthly battles and battles against the lust-filled flesh, contesting with evil spirits, constantly warring that they might fulfill the call. Having endured many a hardship of every nature, for the express purpose of pleasing our Lord and in humility still, offering no other explanation but that they remain unprofitable servants. You can be humble or uselessly unprofitable, but you can’t be both.

What need has the Captain of our salvation for soldiers who will not fight? The more challenging the battle, the more we need His command, lending yet more glory to Him from us through our dependence upon Him alone; the more satisfying will be the final day of approaching union in Him.

“17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.”

All those in Christ are His. God has sanctified you in the faith by His word; read it, study it, learn the truth, and do it. You ought to approach this with fear and sound purpose of heart, for you were made for God and are given to Christ for carrying out the will of God, having been rebirthed and sent into the world to bring glory to the Father as did Christ.

The young must be instructed daily, and the young in Christ must be trained with the express intent to grow them all in the confidence, fear, and admonition of the Lord Jesus Christ to trust and obey Him. His word, as a sword, is the tool for this self-same purpose to bring all men to trust Christ, setting them apart for God, training and encouraging them to be sent by God also into the field, some near and some far, some unto significant burdens lifted, some unto splendid duties added, but all to bring honor publicly to our Father God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

“20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.”

Jesus prayed to do that which He was commanded. That’s plain to say, sometimes tough for us to do, but what of Christ? He gave Himself to the cross with the express purpose of doing the will of the Father. Where has any Christian man found an excuse that doesn’t point directly to Calvary’s hill, leaving him bereft of options but to follow Christ?

Jesus saw His seed on the cross (Isaiah 53:10), those who would be born again, and having endured unto the end, He glimpsed His faithful bride-to-be, knowing He alone could pay the redemption price upon your head. He prayed for you, knowing you would be His own into eternity. Through the ages, disciples have shared the Gospel, doing as Christ did, to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10) so you might believe through the word and be saved. And you owe them also, your forebearers in the faith.

We should never leave Jesus as a type of widower by our faithlessness to follow after. Thousands of years ago, Jesus prayed for you that you would receive and accept the report given by the word of his disciples. Read John 17, understand it, pray, believe, and follow after Christ in faith.