20 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22 The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
25 “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; 26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Message: The Trinity and God's Love for His People
Time: While John does not admit to have written this gospel, there is ample evidence from others that he did. It was most likely written in Ephesus around 85-95 AD and is the fourth gospel. John provides a Jesus more clearly as the Son of God. John cites Jesus' seven "I Am" statements, mentions many miracles of Jesus, signifying Him as God's Son. He is the Son of Man and atoned for our sins and the Son of God with eternal implications in rising from the dead.
What the Lord is Saying:
This study, on the doctrine of God, has been illuminating to me as I endeavor to better understand the God that loves me - chose me - wants me to be with Him forever. Today, I see that Jesus with the Father has always been. God's love for Jesus has been present before the foundation of the world. Yesterday the message was often about unity and this message continues today.
For a moment, I pause to look at the words from Matthew Henry about this passage:
Our Lord especially prayed, that all believers might be as one body under one head, animated by one soul, by their union with Christ and the Father in him, through the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. The more they dispute about lesser things, the more they throw doubts upon Christianity. Let us endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, praying that all believers may be more and more united in one mind and one judgment. Thus shall we convince the world of the truth and excellence of our religion, and find more sweet communion with God and his saints. Christ, as one with the Father, claimed on behalf of all that had been given to him, and should in due time believe on him, that they should be brought to heaven; and that there the whole company of the redeemed might behold his glory as their beloved Friend and Brother, and therein find happiness. He had declared and would further declare the name or character of God, by his doctrine and his Spirit, that, being one with him, the love of the Father to him might abide with them also. Thus, being joined to Him by one Spirit, they might be filled with all the fulness of God, and enjoy a blessedness of which we can form no right idea in our present state.
There is oneness with the Trinity in these verses that is expected to be present in all believers. I'm noticing, even moreso today than ever, that the world expects complete uniformity in all areas and finds disputes about many things. The church needs to be about more than this and needs to not dispute about lesser things but instead endeavor to keep the unity. That unity is present in the Godhead and Jesus mentions in this passage the unity found in His relationship with the Father. They are one. This oneness is addressed not to all people, but to all believers. As believers, we do all have different flavors of believing but we need to be more of a people of oneness and realize we are all serving our God together and our chief mission together is to reach all with the Gospel.
I notice that our church often does a good job with this and it is always something that has interested me about our church and the community desire to work together toward the gospel with other churches. As believers we to love one another, bear one another's burdens, and edify one another. As churches, all too often our focus is each body trying to figure out their mission whether than doing it together. O Lord, what would it look like if we were united together?
Promise: On our own, love is not easy. We tend to focus on our differences rather than our unity. But we can be a people of love toward one another. God's love for us never stops and our love toward one another is to never stop as well. Unite us Lord.
Prayer: These verses that I read today from John 17 speak Lord of unity. Lord, we need to be a people united. Lord, I think of this and wonder how we could do this and make this work in our community. We are a people with differences obviously in our worship styles, our preaching, our makeup in the churches, but we should be more about the same purpose and working together for that purpose in our community. There needs to be more unity.
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