John 17:1-5

You’re exactly right—and thank you for catching that. John 17 demands a disciplined, text-driven order, and you’re right to insist on it. What follows is a cleanly reordered, fully robust manuscript that:

Follows John 17:1–5 sequentially

Keeps every theological development anchored to the verse at hand

Integrates your glory material only where the text introduces it

Maintains the same exegetical density and pastoral gravity as your Luke 2 and Hebrews 12 sermons

Aligns explicitly with your mission:Building lives to know and live for Jesus Christ

No jumping ahead. No thematic drifting. The text leads; theology follows.

Knowing Christ: The Life We Are Being Built For

John 17:1–5 (NASB95)

OPENING HOOK — KNOWING WITHOUT RELATIONSHIP

Most people understand the difference between knowing about someone and actually knowing them.

You can know a person’s background, accomplishments, even their beliefs—without ever sharing life with them. That kind of knowledge may be accurate, but it is not relational.

Jesus makes that same distinction central to the Christian faith.

On the night before the cross, Jesus does not give His disciples another command. He prays. And in this prayer, He defines what eternal life is, what glory means, and why knowing Him is the foundation of faithful living.

This prayer forces a question on every believer and every church.

Unifying Question

What does it truly mean to know Christ—and how does that knowledge shape the way we live?

MAIN POINT

Growth in Christ begins with knowing Him and glorifying Him above all else.

I. THE HOUR OF GLORY HAS ARRIVED

John 17:1

“Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You.’”

John begins by locating us at a decisive moment.

Jesus has finished His public teaching. Betrayal is imminent. The cross is hours away. And yet, Jesus does not speak in panic or uncertainty. He speaks with confidence and purpose.

“The hour has come.”

In John’s Gospel, “the hour” is not merely a reference to time—it is a theological marker. Earlier, Jesus repeatedly said His hour had not yet come. Now, He declares that the divinely appointed moment has arrived.

This hour is not an interruption. It is not a failure. It is the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan.

And notice Jesus’ request:

“Glorify Your Son…”

This request only makes sense if we are clear about who Jesus is. Jesus has every right to ask for glory because He is fully and eternally divine. Though He has taken the form of a servant, He remains one with the Father and worthy of worship, affection, and allegiance.

But this raises an immediate question: What does Jesus mean by glory?

II. WHAT “GLORY” MEANS IN THIS PRAYER

John 17:1 (continued)

In Scripture, glory functions in two closely related ways.

Glory (noun) refers to God’s intrinsic worth—His majesty, splendor, and display of divine goodness. God’s glory is who He is, made visible.

To glorify (verb) means the proper response to that goodness—seeing it, celebrating it, and worshiping God for it.

So:

The glory of God is His goodness displayed

Glorifying God is His goodness celebrated

God is glorious whether anyone recognizes it or not. But God is glorified when His goodness is seen and responded to rightly.

So when Jesus prays, “Glorify Your Son,” He is asking that His true identity and mission be fully revealed and rightly celebrated.

And here is the tension the text creates.

Jesus is about to be cursed.

The cross is not only an instrument of torture; Scripture identifies it as a sign of divine curse. So how can glory come through such humiliation?

The answer is embedded in Jesus’ purpose clause:

“that the Son may glorify You.”

Jesus’ glory is not separate from the Father’s glory. The Son will reveal the Father’s goodness precisely through obedient suffering. What looks like disgrace will become the greatest display of divine goodness the world has ever seen.

III. AUTHORITY GIVEN FOR LIFE

John 17:2

“Even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.”

Jesus now grounds His prayer in the Father’s action.

The Father has given the Son authority over all flesh—every human life without exception. This is comprehensive authority.

But notice how Jesus uses that authority.

He gives eternal life.

Authority here is not exercised through coercion or domination, but through gracious giving. The Father gives people to the Son; the Son gives eternal life to those people.

Eternal life is not achieved. It is not discovered. It is granted.

This verse establishes the divine coordination of salvation. Redemption is not human initiative—it is divine generosity from beginning to end.

Pastoral Implication

Knowing Christ produces assurance. If eternal life is something Christ gives, then confidence rests not in our performance, but in His authority and faithfulness.

IV. ETERNAL LIFE DEFINED: KNOWING GOD THROUGH CHRIST

John 17:3

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

Here Jesus defines eternal life—not by length, but by relationship.

Eternal life is not merely endless existence. It is relational knowledge of God.

The verb know refers to personal, covenantal, experiential knowledge—not intellectual awareness alone. Eternal life includes faith, love, worship, and obedience, all centered on the proper objects of knowledge: God the Father and Jesus Christ.

By placing Himself alongside the Father as the object of saving knowledge, Jesus unmistakably affirms His divine identity. There is no eternal life apart from knowing God through the Son.

This definition also clarifies timing.

Eternal life operates on two levels:

It includes immortality

But it is primarily about quality of life, not quantity

For John, eternal life is a present possession. It begins now and stretches into eternity. It is living in such a way that God in Christ becomes a true possession of the soul—shaping heart, will, and daily life.

Illustration

You can know facts about a place without ever living there. But once you move in, everything changes. Eternal life is not visiting God occasionally—it is living in His presence now.

V. THE WORK COMPLETED FOR GOD’S GLORY

John 17:4

“I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.”

Jesus now speaks with stunning certainty.

He describes His work as already accomplished, even though the cross has not yet occurred. Why?

Because His obedience is settled. The mission is secure. The outcome is certain.

Jesus does not ask for strength to finish the work. He asks for restoration because the work is complete in purpose and resolve.

The Father is glorified because the Son has perfectly obeyed.

Pastoral Implication

Knowing Christ frees us from performance-driven faith. We do not live to earn God’s approval; we live because Christ has already secured it.

VI. GLORY RESTORED AND VINDICATED

John 17:5

“Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

Jesus closes by lifting our eyes beyond time.

The One who will suffer is the eternal Son who shared glory with the Father before creation. The Father will glorify the Son by restoring Him to that eternal position—vindicated through resurrection, displayed through exaltation, and celebrated forever.

The cross will not diminish Christ’s glory. It will reveal it.

SINGLE LIFE LESSON

You grow in Christ not by doing more for Him, but by knowing Him more deeply—and letting God’s goodness in Christ be seen and celebrated through your life.

FINAL EXHORTATION — OUR MISSION ROOTED IN THE TEXT

This is why our mission is not a slogan, but a biblical calling:

Building lives to know and live for Jesus Christ

We know Christ because eternal life is knowing Him

We live for Christ because His glory reshapes everything

As we begin this year, do not start with activity. Start with knowing. Let relationship shape obedience. Let God’s glory define what matters.

Because growth in Christ begins with knowing Him—and glorifying Him above all else.