God Protects Us
“Protect them” (John 17:15). God does not remove us from danger but protects us in the midst. We are on a mission in this world in which we live as aliens. Therefore we cannot be taken out of it.
“Sanctify them” (John 17:17). God’s way is not to take us out of the world, but to take the world out of us. The Gk. hagiazo means to set a person apart. Through God’s Word He sets us apart from sin and from evil, that we might glorify Him.
“For those who will believe” (John 17:20). Christ’s prayer was for us as well as the Twelve.
Illustration. Christ is usually portrayed in Gethsemane bowed down in prayer. Here He is best portrayed standing, His commitment made. Triumphant, He looks beyond the Cross to the glory that is to be His when He returns to the Father. Jesus also prays for His disciples and for us.
“One as We are one” (John 17:22–23). This verse has been misused to promote the idea that Christ prayed for the organizational union of modern Christian denominations. Instead, Jesus prays that you and I might experience oneness with Him, even as He lived in a oneness relationship with the Father. How is this possible? While He was here on earth Jesus lived in oneness with the Father by being always responsive to the Father’s will (John 5:19–20; John 6:38; John 8:28–29; John 14:9–11). By being responsive to Christ’s will, we live in oneness with Him. It’s this uniquely personal relationship that Christ prays we will experience with Him.
Richards, Lawrence O. The Bible Reader’s Companion. electronic ed. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1991. Print.
Comments