We'll read to the end of the
chapter, that would be 26. All right, John 17 and verse
24 through verse 26. Father, I will that they also,
whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may
behold my glory, which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me
before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the
world hath not known Thee, but I have known Thee, and these
have known that Thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto
them Thy name, and will declare. that the love wherewith thou
hast loved me may be in them and I in me. Now again in verse
24. Father, I will that they also
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold
my glory which thou hast given me for thou loved me before the
foundation of the world. Now, as you probably know, I'm
a big and firm believer that most scripture has a context
as we come at it and as we study it. By context, that is, by viewing
a thing in its context, we mean that a passage is best and easier
and more correctly interpreted by the surrounding context in
which we find it in the scripture. For such things as the circumstances
that have a bearing upon the passage that we are studying,
or even a word or a phrase that we might look at in connection
with our text. We sometimes may refer to the
historical setting of a passage of the scripture, and that it
is very helpful that we might determine a few things about
the text that we are using. Number one, who is the speaker
in any particular text? And then we come to number two,
who was he speaking to at that time? Who's the speaker and who
are the words addressed unto? And of course, thirdly, very
important, what is the subject that is under discussion in a
particular passage of the scripture? And fourthly, to sum it up, what
were the circumstances that caused the writer or the speaker to
say the particular things that are recorded in our text? One
wrote a long time ago, one of the old Puritan. He said that
setting the context is nearly half of being correct about the
interpretation of a passage of the scripture. Now, this not
only requires more study and more preparation. That is, it
is harder to deal with a text in its context than just to take
it simply willy-nilly. But doing that can keep one from
making some very wild personal opinion and applications and
false conclusions about a passage of the scripture, which are not
justified when we stick closely under the context. So you've
heard a lot of preachers that take a passage of scripture and
make up all sorts of things that are not really what is being
dealt with in that passage of the scripture. Now, that being
said, I might suggest to you to see a two-fold context for
our passage that we have read today. Number one, there is the
larger or the overall context, and that would be chapter 13
through 16, and particularly chapter 17. Then secondly, there
is the immediate context of the scripture, and that would be
the prayer of our Lord here in John chapter 17. Now again, I'll
say that the overall context includes John chapter 13 through
chapter 17. And that all of that is written
here in these verses or passages of the scripture were spoken
at the same time, at the same place, and unto the same people. What we call the upper room discourses
of our Lord, chapter 13 through chapter 16, and they occurred
on the eve of the crucifixion of our Lord. For after this,
the Lord went out and was taken and crucified on the next day."
Now, using John's gospel, let's trace out, if we might, the end
course of the Lord's life and ministry upon the earth. From John 13 through 17, the
Lord's public ministry is over. The Lord no more will go about
in public teaching and preaching and healing and such like. He will no longer be a public
teacher or preacher, and he will no longer go about doing good
and healing all manner of disease as he did earlier. For he said
here, his hour is come, that he must be lifted up, and he
means to die on the cross. And as a prelude to that, we
drop back to chapter 12 of John's gospel, if you want to turn there,
John's gospel, and here he actually ends his public ministry, and
in John chapter 12, and verse 31 through verse 36 I would like
to read in our hearing. This is basically the end of
his public ministry. And if I be lifted up, I will
draw all men unto me. He said, signifying what death
he would die. And the people answered him,
we've heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever. How do you say that the Son of
Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? Then Jesus said unto them, Yet
a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the
light, lest darkness come upon you. For he that walketh in darkness
knoweth not whither he goeth. While you have the light, believe
in the light, that you may be the children of light. These
things faked Jesus and departed and hid himself from them. So again, I will say, basically
here is the end of the public ministry of our Lord. And he speaks in that of his
impending death. that the judgment of the world
was at hand, and its prince was to be cast out, and that he,
the light of the world, would not be with them much longer. John Brown said in his writings,
The Discourses and Sayings of Our Lord, he called these verses
a final warning. And the end of verse 36 is very
interesting. These things spoke Jesus and
departed and hid himself from them. And then, in the end of
chapter 12, 37-41, there is the truth that the larger part of
Israel Did not believe upon him. They did not embrace him and
Isaiah had perfectly Predicted that he had foretold it hundreds
of years before and in verse 42 even some chief rulers of
the Jew believed, but they did not confess Him lest they lose
their position, lest they be put out of the sinning God. And so they remained a quiet
or a secret disciple of our Lord. And judging strictly from the
numbers standpoint of those that turned to the Lord during His
earthly ministering, judging strictly from the numbers when
our Lord left were true believers in Him. We would have to say,
or some would say, that the Lord's ministry was not a very successful
one. as we might expect that he that
is very God might have a great following and have a great glorification
from the people. But now, coming to John chapter
13, it is the Jewish Passover that they're celebrating, and
the Lord observes it with his apostle in an upper room. And in John 13 and verse 1, Jesus
knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of
the world unto the Father. Verse 3, Jesus acted, knowing
that the Father had given all things into his hand, and that
he was come from God, and that he went from God. Now, there
are two things. Number one, the Lord washed the
feet of the disciple I mean, John 13, a great act of humility
as the Lord took a towel and a basin and washed the feet of
the disciple. Secondly, he exposed Judas as
his betrayer, a liar and a traitor, and Judas went out from among
them that he might consummate his betrayal of the Lord. Now, all else in chapter 13 through
16 is the Lord in the upper room readying, preparing His disciples
for His departure out of the world by the death of the cross. And He promised them that the
Spirit of God would come. He would send them a comforter. He would send them one who would
counsel them and teach them and would lead them. And He told
them what they must suffer for His namesake when He has gone
out of the world, but that He would equip them in such a way
that they might continue the work in his name. Now, much of
which is involved is a promise of the Holy Spirit of God in
his absence, after his death, after his going away, after his
going to the Father, after his going to the grave, and then
into heaven. much the Lord said they did not
understand at that particular time. They did not really even
understand the resurrection of our Lord from the dead. But then
the Spirit came and enlightened them and they became the minister
and faithful servants of the Lord. Now that with a background,
coming to chapter 17, when the Lord, having finished all those
instructions in 13 through 16, begins to close the session with
a prayer. And this fills all of chapter
17. I think we can agree with a Puritan
who wrote that the Spirit of God seems to intend a special
respect upon this particular prayer of the Lord, in that John
gives it to us in length, perhaps all of it. Now, we often read
that the Lord prayed. That's no surprise. It was a
common practice with our Lord, for the Scripture often speaks
of Him praying. But the Scripture speaks of him
praying when the actual words that he prayed are not given. We're simply told, and he prayed. And he prayed all night and such
like. Now there are some exceptions.
In John chapter 11, 41 through 42, when at the grave of Lazarus,
the Lord prayed and he prayed out loud and it is recorded. But he said, I'm praying this
for their sake, who are here and who are listening. And in
Matthew 26, we read that in the agony of the garden, preparing
for his death, the Lord prayed unto the Father, even God. But here in chapter 17, a long
prayer is recorded. I have a book by Thomas Manton.
He wrote 450 pages on the 17th chapter of John, and he said
this about it, quote, this prayer is a standing monument of Christ's
affection for his church and his people, and it retains a
perpetual efficacy, unquote, a standing memorial to the affection
of the Lord for his people. And nearly all studying the 17th
chapter of the Gospel of John recognize that this prayer has
three very distinct parts or sections that we can see, and
they are this. One, is in verse 1 through 5. And the Lord prays concerning
Himself. In these five verses, it all
concerns Himself. That His, literally, that hour
had come. That hour. The hour of all hours
in the history of the world. The appointed time for His death
had at last come. and that he had authority given
unto him by God over all flesh. That having finished the work,
with the exception of his dying, he prays to be glorified with
a glory that he had with the Father before the world ever
began. Verse 1 through 5, he prays for
himself. And then let's be careful, because
in verse 6 through 19, he prays particularly for that circle
of apostles that were with him in the upper room and would carry
on the work after death. Now, to them, he said, he had
manifested the Father's name, and he had given them God's Word
during the ministry. Verse 9, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine, and thou
hast given them unto me. So he prays for that circle of
men that would carry on the ministry. And then in verse 20 through
verse 26, he prays for, if you look at verse 20, for them also
that shall believe on me through their word. Those who shall become
disciples and believers by and through the preaching and the
written word of the apostle, the ministry, their preaching.
And in verse 24, which we took as our text, Father, I will that
they whom you've given me Be with me where I am." Now, in
glancing over this prayer, and it's rather long, we can see
what things the Lord asked for His people as believers. He prays for them, and let me
take you through three or four things that the Lord prayed for
in their behavior. A, He prayed for their preservation,
that they might be kept. Look at verse 11. Keep those
that you gave me. I kept them while I was in the
world. Now he commends them to the keeping of the Father. Keep
those you gave me. Look at verse 15. I pray that
you will keep them from the evil. preserve them from falling into
evil. So he prays for their preservation. Thank God for that. And then
B, he prays for their sanctification, that they might be sanctified.
Verse 17, sanctify them through thy word, thy word is truth. Again, in verse 19, we have a
prayer for their sanctification. And then C, he prays for their
unity, for their oneness in the things of God and in the faith. Verse 21, that they may be one
in in us. Verse 22, that they may be one
even as we are one. And D, finally, he prays for
their participation in glory. Verse 24, that they may behold
my glory. Now watch the words of our Lord. Father is how he opened that
verse of the scripture. Now, the Lord uses this title
six times in this prayer in John chapter 17. And twice we find
that he highly or overly magnifies the title In verse 11, it is,
Holy Father. And then again, in verse 25,
O Righteous Father, as he prays unto him. Father, in verse 1,
Father, glorify thy son. Now this is the same word that
is used of a human father, pater, a father, a parent. But we notice
that the Lord does not say our father, but father, directly
father. John 14 and verse 6, we have
that. My father in John 16 and verse
10, and O father in other places in the scripture. Now, God is
the Father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, 2 Corinthians 1
and verse 3. And by the way, in reading the
scripture, let us notice the frequent mention and the connection
between the Father the Son and that intimate relation of God
the Father and Christ the Son when God is called the Father
and God of our Lord Jesus Christ Ephesians 1 and verse 3 now though
Christ is very God and Yet do we read that God is his God as
well as his Father. And though his sonship is eternal,
yet is he the only begotten son of the Father. And his sonship
is in relation to what we call eternal generation of the Son
and the eternal purpose of God with regard unto the Son. To
God as his Father, from him as the Son, he begins a special
petition in John chapter 17. Now in addition to to the three
that we mentioned earlier, that they will be kept sanctified
and be in unity, then a consummation. Father, I will. Father, I will. Now is dying
will or is dying wish? is the final happiness of his
people and to be near and dear unto him where he is. Some have viewed this as a last
will and testament of the Lord, that his people be brought where
he is, that they may be with him and behold his glory, that
he ask upon solid ground for a specific people, They. I will that they. Now they here is a pronoun and
it can mean unspecified person or it can refer to individuals
that have been previously referred to or specified. They here refers to those which
thou has given unto me. And looking back over this chapter
or this prayer, the Lord has made frequent mention of those
given unto him, given unto him by the Father. Let's notice some. For example, in the second verse
of John chapter 17, we have a mention of that. As thou hast given him
power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as
many as thou has given him. In verse 6, I have manifested
thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. In verse 9, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. Verse 11 again, keep those thou
hast given me. Verse 12 again, those you gave
me I have kept. John 10 29, my father which gave
them me, that is the sheep. Hebrews 2 and 13, and I'd like
for us to settle in and look at this a bit if you would. Hebrews
2 and 13, behold I and the children which God has given me. Now that's a quotation from Isaiah
chapter 8 and verse 18. And it relates to Hebrews 2 and
10 and the determination of the sovereign God in the incarnation
and death of his son, to bring many sons unto glory." Hebrews
2.10, to bring many sons unto glory. To do that, it was necessary
that the son, Hebrews 2.9, be made a little lower than the
angel. Now I take the word little here,
having read several commentary, I take the word little not just
as degree, but also as duration, that is, a little, for a little
while. To do that, it was necessary
for the incarnation. For a person or a season, he
dwelt as the God-man on earth, and there he tasted death for
every man. Well, that's very interesting
for everything, I think, that it is in the Greek. Every one
of the children that God had given unto him and every necessary
part of the work that's related to his death upon the cross,
he tasted death for everything See the word in Acts 5 and verse
34 for a while a little bit of a season now once more Notice
Hebrews chapter 2 verse 10 and verse 13 verse 10 bringing many
sons unto glory now to complement this let's go back to John chapter
17 and and again in verse 2. For here is a very weighty verse
that is bursting with spiritual truth. We will not read it again
because we have read it. But he has been given power over
all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as the
Father had given him. And this drives his request that
he be glorified. Glorify the Father that he may
give eternal life. Glorify the Son, rather, that
he may give eternal life. Secondly, he is the dispenser
of eternal life that he should give it And thirdly, this eternal
life is the special privilege of not everyone, but as many
as thou has given him. Now his authority is very extensive. It is over all flesh, even all
things. You remember Matthew 11 in verse
27? All things are delivered unto
me of my Father. Remember John 3.35? The Father
has given all things into his hand, that is, the hand of the
Son. Matthew 28 and 18, all power
is given me in heaven and in earth. Remember John, or rather
Acts 10 and verse 42, the apostles were commanded to preach to the
people that God has ordained Christ to be the judge of the
living and of the dead. Again in Acts 17 and 31. John
5, 22, The Father judges no man, but
has committed all judgment unto the Son. And we read in Romans
14.10, 2nd Corinthians 5 and verse 10 we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ that we might answer for those things
that have been done now this power or authority belongs to
him as the mediator of the covenant and as the glorified man God
man mediator and it is a judicial power, that is the power of a
court or the power of a judge, to dispose of all things as he
would according to the Father's will. And it includes authority
also over the soul, the saving of the soul. And let me say it,
to save it or to damn it, that power belongs unto our Lord. To give eternal life or not give
it, that power and authority belongs to our Lord. And the
principal thing being the giving of eternal life in John 17, verse
2 and verse 3 to them as many as. To give eternal life to as many
as. Now that both qualifies and limits
the eternal life. Consider that simple phrase,
as many as. Now the Arminian reads that and
he finds a universality in that phrase, as many as. But in Acts 13 and verse 48,
as many as. were ordained to eternal life,
believe, as many as." Again, in Revelation 3 and 19, as many
as I love, I rebuke and I chasten. So there's a limit, definitely,
upon even that statement. In John 17 and 3, He, that is
the Lord, defines this eternal life. What is eternal life? What
does it consist of? What is its nature? Eternal,
he called it everlasting life in Matthew 19, 29. And in Romans
6 and 22, so does Paul. I give them eternal life and
this eternal life that they might know the only true God and Jesus
Christ whom thou hast sent. By the way, as we look at the
New Testament, I think this may be the only time in all of the
New Testament, in all of the Gospel, that the Lord uses this
title in referring to himself. Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent. I think it's the only time he
referred to himself as the Christ, he referred to himself as the
Son, and as the Son of Man. But eternal life, he said, is
this. to be given a saving knowledge of the true God and Christ. That's how our Lord defines eternal
life in this prayer in the scripture. The one that came from God, the
true God, whom they might know. 1 John chapter 5 and verse 20. This is eternal life. Consider
the opposite in John 3 and verse 19. This is the condemnation
that men love darkness rather than light Because their deeds
are evil. They know not God so they live
in sin They know God and so they follow him now to know God and
Jesus Christ he defines as eternal life, but that required a special
divine Revelation it is not attained in our own strength, ability,
or wit. Now, many believe in God, and
many believe in Christ. That is, they believe that they
exist. Many people believe God exists,
but they do not know them. That is, they do not know them
savingly. There are not many true atheists
in the world. Most believe there's a God. Most
believe, many believe in Christ. But on the other hand, not many
know that God and Christ in the sense of John chapter 17. Hear the Lord in this chapter,
verse 7. that all things you gave me are
of thee." They know a special revelation. Verse 8, they have
known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed
that you did send me, those disciples. Verse 25, these have known that
thou hast sent me, and so with that, we better understand that
the Lord does not speak of a natural or a notional or an intellectual
knowledge of God and of Christ. It is not of the mind. It is
not by speculation. It is not by the light of nature. It is not by the light of creation. Nor, and we must certainly insist,
none can savingly know God to the exclusion of Jesus Christ,
the Son. People say, I know God, and they
deny Christ. It is an impossibility. You cannot know God apart or
to the exclusion of Christ and vice versa. From verse 3, it
is clear. Eternal life is to know God and
to know Jesus Christ whom he has sent. On the other hand,
he is Antichrist that denies the oneness and the unity of
the Father and of the Son, and Jesus Christ," he said in verse
3. Now, to know Jesus Christ, one
wrote, a man by the name of Robert Trail, God without Christ is
a consuming fire. All hopes of acceptance by God,
apart from Christ, are vain dreams. A heaven without Christ is no
better than the Turks' paradise." Robert Traylor. Now the great
difference between the saved and the lost are, number one,
knowledge. This knowing Christ speaks of
a leading thing in Christian religion. Thus the whole world
is divided into A, those that know God and Christ, and B, those
who do not know God and Christ. And number two, those who know
God do righteousness. Those who do not know God do
wickedness and live in sin. How is this knowledge then obtained? It is so vital it is even put
for eternal life, how then is it obtained? Well, the short
answer is, it is a revelation. And it is a revelation flowing
out of regeneration. It is a revelation and a knowledge
and a light flowing out of the work of regeneration. And this
knowing is one and the same with faith or believing. for knowing
and believing and believing and having faith is with saving knowledge. George Hutcheson wrote a commentary
on John. He said this, I'm quoting, this
knowledge consists not in a bare act of understanding or intellect,
but it takes the will, the affection, the heart, the mind, and the
soul along with it." So it's a great work, a great internal
work. And Christ intercedes for those
that the Father has given him here in John chapter 17. Even in heaven, our Lord continued
the ministry of intercession, that he might
make intercession to God for us. Romans 8, 33 and 34. Now,
who are those given him? Let's identify them. They are
the elect. They are the chosen. They are
the predestinated unto the adoption of children according to Ephesians
chapter 1 verse 3 through verse 5. And so, they are given to
him not when they first believe and not when they die and go
into his presence, but before the foundation of the world. And Christ gave his life a ransom
for them. He was their surety, for he's
the surety of the New Testament, Hebrews 7 and verse 22. And as surety, he paid their
debt and cleared all their obligation in the sight of God. And now
in praying on the eve of his death, he lays a strong claim
to them, that they might have the blessing that he has secured
for them. And that blessing is this, that
they may be with me where I am. And he intensifies it by saying
that they may behold my glory, which you've given me. Behold
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. I couldn't begin to tell you
or explain all that's involved and the wonderfulness of that,
that they may see my glory, that they may behold it in their glorified
state, my blessed glory. It's His eternal glory. that
he had with the Father before the world began, back in verse
5. As then, it was not given, but
possessed. For he possessed glory before
the world, because he is very God, and the Son of God. But
he had not yet at that time assumed his humanity, but he had a full
measure of glory as a member of the Godhead. Set down on the
right hand of God he is now, and has been returned under the
fullness of that glory. Acts chapter 2, he has been made
Lord and Christ. Philippians 2 and 9, He has been
highly exalted and given a name above every name. that at his
mention every knee should bow and every tongue should confess.
I favor the view of Gil that he's speaking here of his glory
as the mediator of the covenant, that glory that we shall see,
that glory that he has after completing and finishing his
work and be glorified as the God-man. Now, they are given
to Christ in two ways. I read from a Puritan, they're
given unto Christ by way of charge, for he is that one that shall
act as their surety, mediator, and redeemer. And they're given
unto Christ by way of reward, because he hath bought them.
He has paid their debt. He's died for them. They're given
to him, and now he would have them. to behold his glory where
he is even in heaven. The reward is the travail of
his soul. As Isaiah spoke, he shall see
of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. I will they
be with me where I am. Now close with this thought.
The world knows not the children of God. This is through here
and in 1 John. They do not know us. Oh, they
know us by name and by sight and by relation. They do not
know and they do not understand the Christian life. They do not
understand regeneration and conversion. They do not understand the new
life. and one loving God. No, they don't know us. They
don't know God, and so they don't know us. They have no idea the
full definition and the full momentum of the Christian as
they live in this world. So don't expect them to, because
they do not and they cannot know us, because they do not know
God. But thank God you know Him, the
Lord said, and shall see Him in the fullness of His glory.