João 17

João 17

William MacDonald - Truths to Live By Twice in His great high priestly prayer, our Lord prayed that His people might be one (verses 21 and 22, 23). This prayer for unity has been seized as Scriptural support for the ecumenical movement—a great organizational union of all professing Christian churches. Unfortunately this ecumenical unity is achieved through abandoning or reinterpreting fundamental Christian doctrines. As Malcolm Muggeridge wrote, “By one of our time’s larger ironies, ecumenicalism is triumphant just when there is nothing to be ecumenical about; the various religious bodies are likely to find it easy to join together only because, believing little, they correspondingly differ about little.” Is this the kind of unity that the Lord Jesus was praying for in John 17? We think not. He said that the unity He had in mind would result in the world’s believing that God had sent Him. It is extremely doubtful that any external federation would have this effect. The Lord defined the unity He had in mind when He said, “…as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.” He also said, “… even as we are one, I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one.” What unity does the Father and Son share which we can also have a part in? Not the fact of their common deity; we can never share in that. I would suggest that the Lord Jesus was referring to a unity based on common moral likeness. He was praying that believers might be one in exhibiting the character of God and of Christ to the world. This would mean lives of righteousness, holiness, grace, love, purity, longsuffering, self-control, meekness, joy and generosity. Ronald Sider suggests in Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger that the unity for which Christ prayed was manifested when the early Christians shared freely with one another whenever there was need. They had a true spirit of koinonia or community. “Jesus’ prayer that the loving unity of His followers would be so striking that it would convince the world that He had come from the Father has been answered—at least once! It happened in the Jerusalem church. The unusual quality of their life together gave power to the apostolic preaching” (see Acts 2:45-47; 4:32-35). Such unity today would have a profound impression on the world. As Christians presented a united testimony in radiating the life of the Lord Jesus, unbelievers would be convicted of their own sinfulness and would thirst for the living water. Today’s tragedy is that many Christians are scarcely distinguishable from their worldly neighbors. Under such circumstances, there is little inducement for unbelievers to be converted. Stay Together John 17:21–23 Keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3 Today's Scripture & Insight : Ephesians 4:1–6 Dewberry Baptist Church split in the 1800s over a chicken leg. Various versions of the story exist, but the account told by a current member was that two men fought over the last drumstick at a church potluck. One man said God wanted him to have it. The other replied God didn’t care, and he really wanted it. The men became so furious that one moved a couple kilometers down the road and started Dewberry Baptist Church #2. Thankfully, the churches have settled their differences, and everyone concedes the reason for their split was ridiculous. Jesus agrees. The night before His death Jesus prayed for His followers. May they “be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” May they “be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me” (John 17:21–23). Paul agrees. He urges us to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit” (Ephesians 4:3–4), and these cannot be divided. What have you done to contribute to the unity of your church? What else might you do? Heavenly Father, help me do the best I can to be at peace with others. May I never separate what You’ve joined. John 17:22 “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; the glory: John 1:16 Jn 15:18,19 Jn 20:21-23 Mk 6:7 16:17-20 Lu 22:30 Ac 5:41 Ro 15:15-20 2Co 3:18 5:20 6:1 Eph 2:20 Php 1:29 Col 1:24 2Th 1:5-10 Rev 21:14 that: John 14:20 1Jn 1:3 3:24 Related Passages: John 14:20 “In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 2 Corinthians 3:18+ But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. Hebrews 2:9-10 But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. CHRIST GIVES GLORY TO BELIEVERS The glory (doxa) which You have given (perfect tense) Me I have given (perfect tense) to them - Glory means that which gives a proper opinion of another. The glory of the Son gives a proper opinion of the Father and believers, because of Christ's gift of glory, give a proper opinion of the Father and the Son. It should be noted that the Father did not give this glory to His Son before His incarnation for in His pre-incarnate state Jesus had His own intrinsic glory as did the Father. It was after Jesus became a Man (having emptied Himself of His divine prerogatives) that the Father gave Jesus glory as John testifies to writing "the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (Jn 1:14+) What is glorification? John Heading agrees writing that "This glory of Christ is not that which is His eternally as One in Deity, but the glory consequential upon His becoming Man, and returning with added glory." (What the Bible Teaches - John) It should be mentioned that there is some difference of interpretation on what it means for believers to be recipients of Christ's glory. Merrill Tenney - The "glory" the Father had given Jesus was the triumphant task of redeeming men to God. As Hebrews states, he was "crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death" in the process of "bringing many sons to glory" (Heb 2:9-10). By sharing in His calling, they participate in His glory and are united with Him and with one another. God and man are together involved in bringing the new creation into being. (BORROW Expositor's Bible Commentary, PAGE 358) David Guzik on glory...I have given to them - As God the Father shared His glory with God the Son (ED: WHEN THE SON WAS INCARNATED BECAUSE IN ETERNITY CHRIST HAD INTRINSIC GLORY) (John 17:5), so Jesus gave glory unto His people. There are many ways that Jesus gives His glory to His people. The glory of His presence. The glory of His Word. The glory of His Spirit. The glory of His power. The glory of His leadership. The glory of His preservation. ii. In all these aspects, there is the essential aspect of the presence of Jesus, God the Son. Scripturally speaking, when God gives or displays His glory to His people, it is some type of manifestation of God’s presence. God’s glory is, in some way, the radiance or shining of His presence, His essential nature. The Apostle Paul also understood that Jesus gives His glory to His people: "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6) ESV Study Bible - Glory probably refers to the manifestation of the excellence of God’s entire character in Jesus’ life (see John 1:14). Jesus has given this to all believers (see John 17:20): His entire life revealed the glory of God and therefore He imparted it to His followers, and Christians now reflect God’s excellency in their own lives, in imitation of Christ. (SEE ESV Study Bible - Page 1504) John