2025-04-13 John 17: Be As One

Well, we are finishing up our journey through the Farewell Discourse, John 14-17.

As David was speaking last week I realized just how instrumental these chapters are that we’ve been going through. There has been a / / theme growing through the last three weeks. Watch this theme develop.

Anyone remember what / / John 14 had a major emphasis on? … / / God the Father, right?

Jesus mentions the Father, or a joint mention, “us” or “we” 29 times in John 14. The whole chapter is pointing to His Father. Jesus makes key statements:

/ / (2) In my Father’s house are many rooms…I go to prepare a place for you…

/ / (6) I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

/ / (9) Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.

/ / (10) I am in the Father and the Father is in me.

/ / (18) I will not leave you as orphans…

/ / (26) the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name…

That’s just a few, but you see the overwhelming theme there.

Then in John 15, two weeks ago, we really looked at the first half of that chapter, Jesus saying of himself, / / “I am the true vine.” the last of seven “I Am” statements.

So, what did we see / / John 15 really being about?

/ / Jesus: The Son of God.

Key Verses:

/ / (4) Abide in me, and I in you.

/ / (5) I am the vine, you are the branches.

/ / (7) If you abide in me, and my words abide in you…

/ / (10) If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.

Again, there’s more, but in that first half of this chapter Jesus uses the word abide 11 times.

There’s this obvious theme of abiding. But it is abiding IN the SON. Abiding IN Jesus.

SO, / / Chapter 14, all about the Father.

/ / Chapter 15, all about the Son.

/ / John 16… what did David talk about last week?

The promised gift of the / / Holy Spirit, the Helper.

Some key verses here:

/ / (7) I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

/ / (8) When he comes…

/ / (13) When the Spirit of truth comes…

/ / (14) He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

So the promise is, if I go away, I will send the Holy Spirit, He WILL come to you.

From that point on he says 6 times in different ways that he’s leaving. He’s trying to get this point across. I AM leaving, but don’t worry, the Helper will come and trust me, it’s gonna be worth it!

Why? Because he will guide us, teach us, reveal the heart of the Father to us, share the words ofJesus with us, He is comforter, counselor, helper, advocate and so much more…

So, here’s your / / theme:

John 14, all about the Father.

John 15, all about the Son.

John 16, all about the Spirit.

Now, the bible does not use the word Trinity, but you don’t need to look so hard to see that God defines himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And in the last three weeks we’ve been through Jesus’ master class on the Trinity.

A clear theme running through these chapters. Of course Jesus covers more than that, but I wanted to make sure you see that.

Now we come to chapter 17, the last chapter of this Farewell Discourse, except, there’s no conversation. Jesus turns from his disciples, and turns his head upward and begins to pray. And this has been called by a few different names, but the most common is the / / High Priestly Prayer: And there’s good reason for that.

So, through this farewell discourse He’s given direction, he’s given instruction, he’s given commands, promises, reassurance, and now he turns away from those he’s been talking to and directs his attention to the Father he’s just been talking about.

Hebrews by far makes the biggest connection between the Old Testament office of the High Priest, and Jesus. And when we see Jesus as high priest, we see this prayer in John 17 as truly special.

So, Hebrews 5 describes it perfectly. This first part almost reads like a job description. Let’s read from the NLT.

/ / (1) Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins.

So, if you know the Old Testament model, there were lots of Levites and lots of priests, but only one High Priest and he stood between God and humanity to advocate for and offer sacrifice to God on behalf of the people for their sin. This was his role.

/ / (2-4) And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses. That is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as theirs. And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work…

/ / (8-10) Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. And God designated him to be a High Priest…

Jump over to Hebrews 7:26-27, / / He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.

One more, Hebrews 10:12, 14, / / …our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time… For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.

Why is Jesus / / the perfect High Priest?

Because he did what no human could do.

He offered a sacrifice that took care of sin once and for all.

And he did that by offering his own pure, spotless, sinless, perfect life.

So, / / why is John 17 called the High Priestly Prayer?

Because just like Hebrews 5 describes, He is our High Priest standing before God the Father, making petitions on our behalf.

So, the last thing he does here, with his disciples, and I think we are on good ground if we think this is being prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, although we can’t be positive, it certainly lends itself to being that way.

We are going to break this prayer up into three sections.

/ / 1. The Glory of The Father and the Son

John 17:1-5, / / When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is life, that they know you, the only True God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”

This is an interesting prayer. The other gospels all show Jesus in agony over the coming of the Cross, BUT, with a clear indication of submission and obedience. There’s really that Hebrews 5:8, learned obedience from the things he suffered, kind of idea. The synoptic gospels, that is Matthew, Mark, and Luke, all say Jesus laid down his own will for the sake of the Fathers.

Matthew 26:39, / / “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Mark 14:36, / / “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Luke 22:42, / / “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

/ / Matthew / Mark thēlo - will, desire]

Luke - thelēma - what one wishes or has determined shall be done…

All of this indicates Jesus did have a desire to not have to go through the cross. Right? If he has to say “NOT” my will, then there’s a will, a desire, that he is actively putting down. He learned, or another word can be used is understood obedience through his suffering.

It makes sense. No one wants to suffer, even if you have all the reason in the world, like saving all of humanity, he still had to suffer and die. And there are these moments in the life of Jesus throughout Scripture that show his divinity, and moments that show his humanity. Here, Jesus wrestles his flesh into obedience, his humanity into obedience, by leaning into the love he has for His Father.

But what about John?

Essentially Jesus says the same thing, but with different words.

/ / (1) Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you…

There are actually / / four different glories in these first few verses.

I don’t mean they are different words. It’s the same greek word every time. But Jesus prays through different aspects of glory here.

/ / A. The Son is Glorified

The first is the Son being glorified. Just a few days before all of this, in John 12:23-24, 32, Jesus says, / / “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit… And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

In John 3 when Jesus is talking to Nicodemus, he had made a connection to the Old Testament story from the book of Numbers when the people of Israel were in the wilderness. Venomous snakes were killing people and God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole and if someone was bit by a snake, if they looked up at the serpent on the pole they would be saved.

Jesus said in John 3:14, / / “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

So, what’s this first glory, the glory of Jesus?

/ / To be lifted up so that all of humanity will see, and turn to him, and be saved.

/ / B. The Father is Glorified

The Second glory Jesus prays for is the glory given to the Father through the glorification of the Son. He prays, / / “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You.” what’s he talking about?

What is the glory of the Father?

/ / by the obedience of the Son to the Father, the Father is glorified.

This is what Jesus was talking about in John 14:6, that no one could come to the Father except through him. It is His glorification, his sacrifice on the cross, that raises our eyes to see the Father.

/ / The obedience of Jesus Christ glorifies the Father.

It brings glory to the Father.

The end result, for us, and for God, is His children come home!

Philippians 2:8-10 says, / / And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

When we see Christ lifted up, and confess that He is Lord, all Glory is given to the Father, who sent the Son and invites us home. So, this glorification is through Christ’s sacrifice that leads to our eternal salvation.

/ / C. The Father is Glorified

Wait, wasn’t that the last point? Yes, but Jesus clarifies as he prays. (4) / / “I glorified you on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.”

In John 8:12, which is one of the seven I AM statements of Jesus, he says, / / “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life…” and the end of that passage, in vs 28-29 he says, / / “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”

So, we have to see how this connects to the glory given to the Father.

In Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus says, / / “YOU are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

So, Jesus says to the Father - “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work which You have given me to do… for I always do the things that are pleasing to the Father… likewise, YOU, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

/ / The Father receives glory through his children representing His heart on the earth.

Think of it this way. I love this analogy. I think it might be my favorite as far as the Christian life is concerned. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:20 that we are ambassadors for Christ. We call out to those who are far away, “Come back to God,” on behalf of Christ.

And I really like that term. Ambassador. An ambassador represents another nation in a nation that is not their own.

Jesus said in John 18:36 his Kingdom is NOT of this world. We represent His kingdom in this world by living as His followers, and when we do that we give glory, not to ourselves, but to the kingdom we represent, the king we represent… To the Father.

God receives glory when we represent His heart well.

“Why are you like that?” …. “I just want to be like my Father… I just want to be like Jesus… I just want to live with the Holy Spirit working in and through me…”

/ / D. The Eternal Glory of God’s Presence

The last glory that Jesus prays into here in these first few verses, he says, / / “Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”

Anyone remember the song, “Shekinah glory come, Shekinah glory come… Release the fullness of your Spirit…”

The Shekinah glory of God, / / shekinah means that which dwells. This is what we would might call / / the visible sign of God’s presence… It’s what surrounds his throne. It’s what we maybe experience when we feel and sense his presence in the room as we worship and pray.

Another word is / / kabod, which means weight (in a good sense), abundance, spelndor or copiousness.

We sang it this morning, let the Weight of Your Presence fill this place…

The heavy, weighty, thick presence of God existing in heaven for all of eternity, past, present, future!

2 Chronicles 7:1-2 / / As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house.”

Reading about the incarnate Jesus, Jesus in the flesh, we might not readily think of the glory that he came from. The Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit do not split their glory, they are the cause of, the source of the glory, as the One True God.

So, when Jesus says in John 17:5, / / “…glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed…” this is what he’s talking about. Do you realize what Jesus coming in the flesh meant? Do you see what he was willing to lay aside for this sacrifice?

Four glories:

/ / The glorification of the Son, as he is lifted up, Savior of the world.

/ / The glorified Father, because of the obedient sacrifice of the Son.

/ / The glorified Father, because of the obedient work of the Son and those who would follow Him.

/ / The glory of God, the weight of His presence!

/ / 2. Protection, Safe Keeping, Guidance & Sanctification

In a long section of Scripture, Jesus really prays for his disciples here. He’s concerned for them. He loves them. He’s been walking with them and teaching them, but now they are about to be without him. Imagine, you’ve been working with someone for 3 years and they’re great, but you’re not 100% that they are ready, but also, you have to leave.

This is an impassioned plea from Jesus, for His disciples, to His Father. Let’s read it together.

(6-9) / / “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours…”

This first part, / / “I have manifested your name…”

Paul says in Colossians 1:5, / / [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God…

Hebrews 1:1-3 says, / / Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

the exact imprint of his nature. the NASB says / / the exact representation of His nature.

The NLT says, / / [he] expresses the very character of God.

Listen to the Amplified, / / The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God [reflecting God’s Shekinah glory, the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine], and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence…

Remember what Jesus came to do -He came to show us the Father. If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.

That means what Jesus does, the Father does, because he learned it from Him

What Jesus says, the Father says, Because He’s heard him say it.

How he acts, the Father acts, because that’s how he acts towards Jesus.

Everything Jesus does you can go, “That’s how the Father would do it…”

Going back to John 17

(10) / / All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

Ok, some more glorification. You see this word over and over. Why? This is worship. We are meant to bring Glory to God. And when we abide in Christ, living as his disciples, as ambassadors in this world, we bring Him AND His Father glory.

(11-12) / / And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.”

Again, we see this idea of the name of God. The Father’s name, which he gave the Son.

Keep them in your name… We’ve talked about this many times before, when we see Scripture talk about the name of God, it carries this weight of his character, his essence… What happens when God shows up? The Amplified version adds this idea of the Shekinah glory when talking about Jesus representing God.

Keep them in your name, your power, all that happens when you draw near…

He really starts to pray for his disciples here. I have guarded them…

One of the commentaries I was reading points out that in this prayer / / the word “world” is used nine times, pointing to the ministry of the disciples after Jesus’ ascension.

This prayer is to sustain the work of the ministry ON the earth after Jesus is gone. That’s why he’s praying, that’s why he’s been having this conversation with them through this Farewell Discourse.

Ch 14, You need to know my Father.

Ch 15, You need to abide in me.

Ch 16, You need the Holy Spirit.

Ch 17, Father, I’m coming home, please protect them, guard them, make them one with us…

Even the use of the title “Holy Father” is unique to this passage. The NIV Study Bible says, / / “The name suggests both remoteness and nearness; God is both awe-inspiring and loving.” Remember what we’ve talked through in how Jesus teaches us to pray, “Abba, Father”. And in the garden, in Mark’s version of Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane, how does he pray? “Abba, Father…” Daddy… yes, but Almighty God, Creator of the Universe, as well!

(13-16) / / “But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 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. I do not ask you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”

This is very Lord’s prayer sounding, isn’t it?

Matthew 6:13, / / And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Also, John 16:33, / / “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Father, I’ve done all I can in this world to protect them, now I am asking, as I leave, do not leave them!

And again we have that ambassadorial, other kingdom language. We are not of this world. My kingdom is not of this world. Remember that. Remember you are not only a citizen of earth, but you are an ambassador, a chosen one of God’s Kingdom.

We have to always be aware that / / Jesus does not call us out of the world. He says it specifically here. / / “I do not ask you take them out of the world.”

Why? / / Because our mission IS the world!

There are a couple different things to pay attention to that the church has kind of fallen into at times through the last two thousand years.

In our desire to avoid darkness.

Or our desire to live in holiness.

Or even just our desire to be with God, to be in His presence.

We can end up isolating from the world, seeing separation from the world as the key to holiness in God. But Jesus clearly does not pray this. He doesn’t say, “Let them hunker down in their churches, develop inclusive cliques of holy Christianity…” No, he says, I’m NOT asking you to take them out. BUT, in this world, as they witness, as they reach those who are still lost, as they proclaim the good news of the gospel, KEEP THEM from the evil one.

So, although we are not of this world, just as Jesus said he was not of this world, yet, He came to this world, and we are still in this world. The mission of the church, although it involves worship, and prayer, and glorification of God through right living and obedience to His way, is primarily and fundamentally about preaching the gospel to a dying world that desperately needs the ONLY Savior there is, Jesus Christ.

The mission of the church is and forever will be Matthew 28, Go and make disciples…

So, Jesus prays, protect them on their mission that you gave me, that I now give to them.

(17-19) / / “Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

Here might be the key to what we just read. / / How are we in the world but not of the world? How do we accomplish the mission without being overcome by the mission field?

It’s more and more difficult for Christians to live in holiness. There is more acceptance of evil, more access to it it seems. We have a window into the most wildly depraved things in our pocket at all times.

Even if all it is is the comparison and desire for more than we need that comes with constantly seeing other people’s “reels” where they only show the good things in their lives causing jealously and malcontent.

The Holman NT Commentary says, / / “Perhaps the contrast to separation by isolation is separation by infiltration. The disciples were able to go into the world BECAUSE they were not of the world. Some interpreters suggest that the reason Jesus said, “I am not praying for the world” in verse 9 was because the battle plan which he would suggest in his prayer just a few minutes later would be the ministry of his disciples in the world: “In order that I may reach the world, I am not for the moment praying for the world, but for those through whom I am going to reach the world.”

So Jesus prays earnestly to the Father, / / “Sanctify them in the truth, your word is the truth…that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

/ / sanctify means to make holy, to be separated.

/ / We are separated because of the truth we bear.

We are separated because of the Word of God.

I’ve said this before, but the early church’s greatest evangelistic tool was simply that they lived the way of Scripture. Their lives were shaped and marked by holiness and dedication to God’s truth.

So the world around them that was wild and unruly, full of evil and corruption, saw these Christians living a different way.

What do you mean you don’t sleep around?

What do you mean you don’t have abortions?

What do you mean you don’t go out and get drunk?

What do you mean you don’t cheat on your spouse?

What do you mean you don’t curse, cheat, take bribes, cut corners…

You do what?

You give generously?

You actively love your kids?

You deal with your emotional hurts and wounds?

You wait til marriage for sex?

You pay your taxes?

You pray?

You read your bible?

You love your wife, your husband, your children, your friends.

You go to Church?!?!?!…

Their way of life was so countercultural that it stuck out. And they weren’t weird or standoffish about it. They were genuine and true. They didn’t isolate to be holy, they were holy in spite of the world around them. They didn’t hide so they wouldn’t fail, they believed together, pursued the Christian community, dedicated themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the prayers, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, generosity… WITHIN their current culture.

Some gave their life for it.

But, that is what opened the door.

Sanctification, holiness, separation, through the truth, which is the word of God lived!

John would later take up this message again in 1 John 2:4-6, / / Whoever says, “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

/ / 3. Being Made Perfectly One

So we come to the last few verses of chapter 17, and the end of the Farewell Discourse.

(20) / / “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word…”

/ / A. This is for YOU too!

We’ve read it a few times through this series, but this is the big one for us. Not only for the disciples that Jesus is in front of and praying for in the moment, but THOSE WHO WILL BELIEVE…

That’s you. That’s me. That’s those who do not yet believe. Maybe you’re sitting here this morning, and you don’t actually believe yet. You come to church, and you like what you hear, but you’re not “all in” on this Jesus thing. You just have been kind of sitting back, taking the temperature of the room.

That’s ok. But the invitation is here. As real as it was when Jesus first prayed.

Jesus was a real person. History proves that without doubt. There’s no serious historian that denies the existence of Jesus. There’s no serious historian that denies he was hung on a cross and died. And there are a world of people who believe in the testimony of the faithful eye witnesses who proclaimed that they saw him alive and well even AFTER he had been dead and buried.

He truly did raise back to life, proving that he was not JUST a man, but that He was God, the creator of the universe, your creator, the one who made you, and he came to this world, took on human flesh, SO THAT he could give his life as a sacrifice because he knew full well that you and I would never be perfect, which means we would be susceptible to the hurt and pain and evil of this world.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like living with hurt and pain. I don’t like living with anger and resentment, bitterness. I don’t like the feeling. I want to be free. And I go to a therapist, and she’s awesome, but guess who she points me to? Jesus. She even knows that all the therapy in the world will only do so much, but it’s the light and life of Jesus Christ that brings true freedom.

And each of us is only a decision away from experiencing that freedom. The bible says when we choose to believe in Jesus, God seals us with the Holy Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is true and lasting freedom.

If you’re here, or online with us this morning, and you feel that you maybe haven’t really made that decision to trust Jesus as the one who IS really Lord of all, Creator of the Universe, the One and Only God, then that’s a decision I really encourage you to make.

See, what we’re reading here, John 17…Jesus is praying for you, and me. For those who will believe because of the testimony of the disciples…

And he then asks God for something really unique and special. That we would experience the same kind of relationship that they have.

One of the most difficult things to understand about God is the concept of the Trinity. One God, Three Persons. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, but Scripture says in Deuteronomy 6:4, / / “The Lord our God, the Lord is ONE…” And we clearly see, especially as we’ve looked here at this Farewell Discourse, the three persons of the Trinity, yet they are ONE.

Now look at what Jesus begins to pray…

(21-23) / / …that they may all be one, just 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 have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me…”

/ / B. Perfectly One: You & Us

Jesus prays for two types of “oneness”.

/ / Oneness means the fact of being unified or whole, though comprised of two or more parts.

First, he prays for us to be / / one with Him, “…that they also may be in us… that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me…”

Second, he prays for us as his body, to be / / one together in unity.

/ / i. What does it mean to become one with God like Jesus is praying?

Well, here’s what it’s not. You do not become God. You do not become a demi-god, or a semi-god, or a lower case g god…

Here’s what it is. / / You become one who is connected to the vine.

Let me ask you a question out of John 15 that we read a couple weeks ago.

Can a vine exist without branches? YES

Can a branch exist without the vine? NO

Jesus says in John 15:6, / / “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers;”

You are one with the vine as long as you abide in the vine.

Hear that… Jesus wants us to be so connected to him that it is literally like a branch connected to a vine where there is no gap of separation, but all the nutrients, the fibers, all of it flowing back and forth without barrier.

/ / ii. What does it mean to become one with each other?

Paul really gets into this when he talks about the church. He calls us a body.

There’s lots of good verses to connect to here, but 1 Corinthians 12:12, 14, / / For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ… For the body does not consist of one member but of many…

One body… / / Jesus wants His body to be so connected to each other that it is like the Father, Son and Holy Spirit’s divine unity. That’s deep, isn’t it?

This is the unity Jesus is praying for. That we would feel connected to Him like a vine and branch, and that we would feel that same type of connection to each other.

When was the last time you felt as connected to a fellow believer as you do to Jesus?

So here we are, at the last few verses of John 17.

(24-26) / / “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

/ / C. The Continued Work

This is an interesting one. There’s almost this childlike request of God that doesn’t actually have an answer. So, in the other three gospels Jesus prays, “If there is any way for this cup to pass from me…” but he knows there isn’t. He has known since before the creation of the world. He would create humanity, humanity would rebel, and he would give his life in human form. He’s known all that. The question is rhetorical.

In a different way, because this isn’t connected to his suffering, so it is a bit lighter, but he says, / / “I desire that they also may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”

Remember the glories we talked about earlier? Which glory is this? What’s he talking about?

He’s God. This is how I read this. He wants to show his disciples his divinity in it’s fullness. This is the same idea of the message of the kingdom, now and not yet. We are representatives of the kingdom of God, we experience the kingdom of God, and yet, there is a day coming when Jesus will establish the kingdom of God in his return. Doctrinally we would say it is inaugurated now, but is to be consummated, or made full, when he returns.

Jesus kind of lived in the same tension. We believe that while Jesus was in human flesh, before his crucifixion, Scripture tells us that Jesus emptied himself. That doesn’t mean he stopped being God, it means he intentionally lived with a God-implemented limiter on himself by taking on flesh so fully that he would feel what we feel, experience what we experience, hunger like we hunger, thirst like we thirst, cry like we cry, weep, mourn, and lament like we do.

In the same way he talks about the glory he will partake of after the cross, the glory that he has as God the Son, eternally existent before the foundations of the world, he’s like, “man, if I could just show these guys that…better yet, if I could take them with me…”

But, the question is almost rhetorical, isn’t it? He won’t do that because he’s already prayed, / / “I’m not asking you take them out of the world…”

So, what does that mean for us? I would say there are measures of the presence of God. We were talking about this on Thursday in our group, that in heaven we will experience an unfiltered experience of God, but on this earth, I think in His grace God doesn’t overwhelm us. Maybe you’ve heard of the prayer meeting that Smith Wigglesworth held in New Zealand in the 1920s where everyone other than him ended up leaving the room because of the weight of God’s presence. We experience in levels of our ability to contain God’s glory.

But I find hope in this rhetorical question of Jesus, because I think it shows the desire of God’s heart for us. Read it closely.

“Father, I desire…” So, although he doesn’t say, Father, give this to them, it shows his desire for us to experience the height of what we could experience in any given moment. What he desires is that we would experience the eternal glory with him beyond the grave without filter… BUT, it’s not that time yet.

Remember, this is all part of this encouragement for the mission ahead. The disciples are being left behind to carry out the mission. Jesus knows they need the Holy Spirit. He knows they need the presence of God. He wishes he could just take them with him straight to the eternal glory. But he’s not asking that, and he’s not asking for God to take them out of the world…. because there’s a mission.

And today, we still live in that mission. With the same promise because Jesus said, / / “Not only do I pray for these, but for all who will believe because of them.” That means in the midst of what we experience in the Holy Spirit, the presence of God, there is a mission ahead of us.

Jesus finishes with, / / “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

This is the / / mission. Two things…. make His name known… and love as he loves…

We make his name known by being like him. By living for Him. By being with Jesus and becoming like Jesus, because that name is his character, his essence, his power. Go make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit, in all that they are. And a new commandment I give you, love each other, just as I have loved you, you must love each other.

To accomplish the mission, of loving God, loving people, and making disciples we MUST become one with God and one with each other. Abiding in the vine, and the unity of the body of Christ.

We have experienced the presence of God, and I know we will experience more. But Jesus doesn’t want us to lose sight of the mission. Wigglesworth said in the middle of that revival that although he was seeing amazing miracles, he would desire just one soul coming to Christ rather than 10,000 people healed. Why? Because Jesus, although we experience his glory here also points to an eternal glory to come that he desires ALL to experience, and there are many who right now would not experience his eternal glory because they have not been invited to follow Him in this life.

So, the Farewell Discourse is a preparation for the mission to come… And John 17 is Jesus praying for us as we learn to walk in it…

Jesus prays for his glorification on the cross, so he can glorify the Father, knowing he will return to His eternal glory, so that he can send the Holy Spirit who carries that glory and will lead and guide us toward good works, which give glory to the Father. And because life following Jesus is difficult, he asks the Father for protection, safe keeping, guidance and continued sanctification, which will happen as we are made one with Him, abiding in the vine, so that we can be one together and fulfill the mission: Love God, Love People, Make Disciples…until one day when we are all in His eternal glory.

Let’s pray this morning.