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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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GOSPEL OF JOHN Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert C. High Priestly Prayer
17:1–26 [22 - (Jn 17:1-26)] 1. The Son
of God Prays to be Glorified (1‑5) a) Many
refer to Mt 6:9ff as the “Lord’s Prayer” (“Our Father who is in heaven…).
However, Jesus gave that prayer, not to be endlessly repeated, but as a model
for prayer when He said, “Pray in this way…” The “Lord’s Prayer” would be
better ascribed to John chapter 17 where Jesus’ intimate prayer with the
Father was recorded. In His prayer, Jesus prayed for the resumption of His
glory in order to glorify the Father (1‑5); for His eleven disciples (6‑19);
and for all believers in this present age who hear the gospel and believe (20‑26). b) Jesus again referred to the “hour” (hōra,
John 2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23, 27*; 13:1; 17:1) which referred to His
crucifixion where He accomplished God’s salvation for sinful man (1). (1) He asked
the Father to glorify Him so that the Son of God could glorify the Father. (2) This did not mean that Jesus did not have
any divine glory previously or that He was not deity. Jesus always had this
glory from all eternity (5). Rather it referred to the fact that after
becoming a man, He limited Himself in exhibiting all of His deity and glory. (3) “He had voluntarily laid aside many of His
eternal glories when He became a man. He did not lay aside His deity, but He
did put off some of the glories of His deity.” (Kent, “Light in the Darkness,” pg. 190). (4) Ph 2:5‑8 teaches that Jesus emptied
Himself or limited His eternal glory and attributes to the Father’s will. The
Son as the God/Man became dependent upon the Father in all aspects, but not
inferior. (5) This has been described as the refraining
from the independent exercise of His divine attributes. Submitting Himself
completely to the Father’s will, He used His divine attributes, not
independently, but only when the Father indicated that it was His will (Jn
8:28; 12:49; 14:10, 31). (ibid). c) The Son
was given authority over all flesh but especially over those who were given
to Him by the Father (2 cp. Jn 6:37a; 17:6). Those who were given to the Son
were themselves given eternal life. d) Eternal life, its basis and summarization
is equivalent to knowing the Father and the Son (3). e) The Son glorified the Father by
accomplishing what the Father sent Him to do, which was to reconcile sinful
man to Father (4) 2. The Son
of God Prays that Believers are Kept in God’s Name (6‑12) a) Jesus
manifested the Father’s name, glory, attributes, and person to His disciples
(those who were given to Him) through His life and the Word (6). b) The disciples know that the Son came from
the Father and has given them to the Son (7). c) Jesus taught them God’s words and truths
and they understood them and received them (8). d) Jesus prayed specifically for His
disciples, the ones who were given to Him. He was not praying these things
for the world, which was unbelieving and hostile toward Him (9). Even though
there is a reference here to election (Ep 1:4), that is not to say that Jesus
did not pray for the world (cf. Lk 23:34). e) The Son was glorified in the disciples
because they were given to Him by the Father and because they will bear
witness to His name, person, and work (10). f) The Son’s earthly ministry was coming to
an end and He would be leaving this world. However the disciples would be
remaining in the world. Jesus prayed to the Father that He would keep them
and protect them from falling away in Christ (11). g) Jesus kept and protected His disciples
while on earth (12). He “guarded” (phulássō ‑ activity of
watchmen) them and none perished (apollumi). Judas, whom Jesus
called the “son of perdition (apōleia fr apollumi ‑
destruction, eternal punishment)” was not one of the chosen. 3. The Son
of God Prays that Believers are Sanctified through the Word (13‑19) a) The Son
spoke these things (specifically Upper Room Discourse) so that that the
disciples would have Christ’s full joy because they had a relationship with
Him and obeyed His will (13). b) As Christ was “not of the world” (lit.
ek tou ksomou ‑ out of the world, or part of the world’s system and
control), His disciples were “not out of the world (14, cp. 17:16 emphatically).
They are no longer of the world because they received and believed Christ’s
words and truths. Because they are not of the world, the world hated them (Jn
15:18‑19; 1Jn 3:13). c) Christ deliberately does not ask the
Father to take them out of the world, but He does ask that the Father keep
them from the evil one (Devil) (16). Satan rules the world’s system and keeps
its subjects under His control (Ep 2:2). Believers will not be under His
control, nor will Satan be able to make them fall (1Jn 3:8; 4:4). d) The Son now asks the Father to sanctify
His disciples in the truth (17). The word “sanctify” (hagiázō)
means to make holy, set apart, and purify or cleanse. Jesus is praying that
God would help all believers grow spiritually, become holy, and be set apart
for God’s holy use. This is accomplished in the realm of God’s truth. Knowing
God’s truth and living God’s truth is what causes a believer to become holy
and useful. Jesus identified the truth as God’s Word. It is through God’s
Word that believers are built up and become holy. Just like in the garden,
Satan’s strategy was to limit, water‑down, question, or remove the Word
(Ge 3:1) and He is still attempting to do this today. e) Just like Christ was sent into the world
by the Father to preach the Word, so the Son sent His disciples into the
world to preach the Word (18, 2Ti 4:2). f) Christ must first sanctify Himself which
is a reference to the fact that Christ was set apart to provide man’s
salvation and righteousness by dying on the cross (19). Only then can His
disciples be holy and set apart for God’s holy use. 4. The Son
of God Prays for all Believers (20‑26) a) Christ
does not just pray for His immediate disciples, but all those who we trust
Christ as their Savior due to hearing the Word through them (20). b) As a result, there will be a oneness
between the Father, the Son, and believers through the Holy Spirit (21). This
is not a biblical reference to support ecumenism. c) Christ’s glory, “which He had before the
world was” was about to be revealed after Christ’s, death, resurrection, and
exaltation (22). Believers will share in Christ’s glory (Ro 8:16‑18; Ep
2:6). d) As a result there will be a “perfected
unity” between the Godhead who will indwell believers through the Holy Spirit
(23). Then the world will know that the Father sent the Messiah and that He
loves believers as much as He loves the Son. e) Christ also prayed for the eternal
security of all believers (24). Christ asked that all believers will be with
Him throughout all eternity. They will see His full glory, which He had from
eternity past. f) Even though the world has not known the
Father, Christ knows the Father and believers will understand the Godhead and
their perspective ministries (25). g) The Father planned salvation, the Son
accomplished the Father’s plan, and the Holy Spirit makes the Son’s
accomplishment known to believers (26). |
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