The Gospel of John: Our Lord’s High Priestly Prayer (5)

1 Peter 3 and the Call to Godly Conduct in Marriage

1 Peter 3, like wise wives, be subject to your own husbands so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives when they see your respectful and pure conduct.

Do not let your adorning be external, the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry or the clothing you wear, but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.

For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham by calling him Lord. And you are her children if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Finally, all of you have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless. For to this you were called that you may obtain a blessing.

For whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. Now, who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled.

But in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing.

Evil.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.

Baptism which corresponds to this now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Prayer for Christlike Conduct and Obedience to the Word

Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, again, in this passage, we're reminded of the attitude that we are to have as Christ Jesus had, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth. While being reviled, he did not revile and return.

While suffering, he uttered no threats, but he kept entrusting himself to him who judges justly. And therefore, wives are to respond in a certain way, and husbands are to respond in a certain way, and all of us are to have a unity of mind because of what Christ Jesus has done.

And Lord, we thank you for his example. We thank you for his pattern, and we pray, Lord, that we would walk in his footsteps. Lord, we ask that you would reveal to us the areas of our lives that are out of line with this passage.

We pray that we would examine ourselves, that we would see ourselves as we are, and that we would humbly repent of these things, and that we would align ourselves with the Word.

Of God.

And we pray, Lord, that as we continue our study in John, that we would live these truths.

Out.

We pray that we would be mindful of what we need to apply and how we need to apply it, and we pray, Lord, that in the power of the Spirit, we would do these things. So help us, Lord, now as we listen to your word being proclaimed, and we praise you and thank you for it.

In Jesus' name, amen.

John 17 and the Third Division of the High Priestly Prayer

Well, let's turn to John 17, please. Today's our fifth Lord's Day dealing with this high priestly prayer of Jesus. Today we arrive to the third division of this prayer. The first portion of the prayer involved Jesus praying for himself, verses 1 through 5, and then verses 6 through 19, Jesus was praying for his apostles, although there's application for us, of course.

And now arriving with verse 20 through 26, this third division, we read of our Lord Jesus praying for all those who had come to faith in him through the witness of the apostles. So he prayed for himself and his apostles, and then those who become Christians due to the apostolic witness.

And so, these verses, verses 20 through 26, have direct application for all Christians, for you and me and Christ, all Christians who have lived and truly believed in the Lord Jesus Christ since those early apostolic days.

And I might just say, when Christ died and rose and ascended into heaven, we would say that all those Old Testament believers were brought into the same blessing of grace that we enjoy as well. Now this portion of scripture has some difficult matters to understand clearly, and with a number of different proposals of meaning given by good men through history.

And so, we'll be somewhat reserved in our assertions at one point, but this portion of our Lord's prayer also contains great and blessed promises for Christians, blessings that our Savior secured for us through this prayer.

Of course, all of the prayers of the Lord Jesus were answered by our Father, and so, with this in mind, let us read verses 20 through 26, in which Jesus prayed to his Father, I do not pray for these alone, that would be the apostles, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me, and the glory which you gave me I have given them, that they may be one just as we are, I in them and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one, that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them as you have loved me.

I think that is the most amazing verse in the Bible, in my thinking, as I contemplate that last clause, that the Father has loved Christians as the Father has loved his Son, amazing. Father, I desire that they also whom you gave me may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world, O righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you sent me, and I have declared to them your name, and will declare it, that the love with which you love me may be in them, and I in them.

Sanctification as Being Set Apart for Mission

Now, as we concluded last Lord's Day, we were addressing verses 17 through 19, in which Jesus prayed that his disciples would be sanctified by the Father through the means of the truth, and so here again is that petition of our Lord, directly for his apostles, Jesus prayed to his Father, sanctify them by your truth, your word is truth, as you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world, and for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

We pointed out that this reference to sanctification in verse 17 is not referring to the work of progressive sanctification in the life of a Christian, an understanding of sanctification with which we are most familiar.

In other words, our Lord was not praying here that his disciples would grow in holy behavior and demeanor, becoming over time more like Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit, that's what progressive sanctification is, and there are many places in the scripture where that is advocated, but not here.

To sanctify, of course, means to set apart, and Jesus was praying that the Father would sanctify or set apart his apostles for the office and work of proclaiming the gospel to the fallen world to which they were being sent, and the following verse, verse 18, makes this interpretation very clear, I believe.

Jesus said to his Father of them, as you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world, and so he was praying that the Father would set them apart, sanctify them for this purpose, sending them out into the world.

Jesus prayed the Father would set them apart, equipping them and committing to use them as his apostles to proclaim to the world the saving gospel of Jesus Christ, and so that's what sanctify means in this context.

In verse 18, we see that the mission of Jesus and the mission of the church are quite alike. Here, Jesus had prayed, as you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world, and yet even though there's a common mission between Jesus and his people, there, of course, is a great distinction between them as well, and here, this distinction in our common mission with the Savior was stated well.

The prayer of Jesus reveals that the mission of God involves not only the sending of the Son by the Father, but also the sending of the church by the Son. Although the Son and the church participate in the one mission of God, their roles can be distinguished by the noticeably different senders.

The Son performs the Father's assignment, whereas the church receives the assignment from the Son. Thus, the church does not duplicate the mission of the Son, for example, in his sacrificial death, nor can it, but is instead both a result and extension of the mission of Christ to the world.

The church is not only created by the mission of God, but facilitates it by becoming a living testimony of God to the world. For this reason, Christ, just moments before completing his mission on the cross, offered a prayer of consecration for his church, dedicating it to God the Father for his purposes and protection, and entrusting it to the persevering presence of the Spirit, or Pericle.

Christ dedicated himself to this very purpose, verse 19, and offers the disciples to God as an extension of his own purpose and work. The mission of God, therefore, is neither an option for the church, nor an add-on to his already established purpose and program.

The mission of God embraces the church, and this pericope, in other words, this portion of scripture here, exhorts the church to live sent, like Christ himself. This whole passage has to do with mission.

Our desired design should be for the mission to the world. The Father sent Christ into the world on this mission. Christ sends the church into the world on this same mission. And then in verse 19, Jesus explained further that he was requesting that his Father would sanctify them in the same manner that he sanctified himself.

And so obviously he's not talking about increasing in holiness, is he? Jesus Christ cannot increase in holiness, he's infinitely holy. But he was praying to the Father that the Father would sanctify his apostles in the same way the Father sanctified him, that is, set them apart for this purpose of mission of reaching the world.

And so the truth to which they were to bear witness set them apart for the very meaning and purpose of their lives. Upon the Lord Jesus departing from them, returning to heaven to his Father, they were to devote themselves fully and wholly to make the gospel known to the world.

It follows, therefore, that Jesus would then pray for the ones who would receive salvation through that gospel, that his apostles would proclaim and record. And so that's what we have in verses 19 -26.

He prayed again for his apostles to be sanctified, set apart to reach the world, and now he's going to pray for all those who come to faith through their word. And that's all of us who are Christians.

All the redeemed of all of history, actually, but, you know, more directly, of course, those who heard the apostolic witness either directly in the first century or their witness that is recorded for us in the New Testament.

We continually believe on Christ through their witness. And so we enter now into verses 20 -26, this third section of this high priestly prayer in which Jesus prayed for all true believers. Jesus included in his prayer all who've come to faith and all who will yet come to saving faith through the word of the apostles.

This prayer offered up by Christ just minutes before his arrest, perhaps, was designed to encourage his disciples. That's why he did it in their hearing, so they would hear him and be encouraged and instructed in these words.

He prays for the union of his people with one another, as well as with himself and with his father, that we're all one, which results in great blessings being conferred upon them. And so let's consider these words and the encouragement that they bring to us as Christians.

True Believers, Faith, and Saving Faith

We first read that Jesus specified in his prayer those for whom he was praying. He was praying not only for his apostles, but for all who would believe through their word that they may be one, verses 20 and 21.

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one, as you, father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that, and it's a purpose clause, so that the world may believe that you sent me.

Now, let's consider what distinguishes or establishes the identity of these ones for whom he was praying. Jesus said that they are those who will believe in me. What ultimately distinguishes and identifies these people is their faith.

This would involve the fact that they all believe, subjective faith, they were all believers, and that what they believe, in other words, the subjective thing, the faith that they are believing, is the same for all of them.

They all believe and they all believe the same thing, basically, same essential things. Here in John 17, 20, Jesus is referring to subjective faith, the fact that every one of them are believers. This is what distinguishes us from the fallen world, who are unbelievers.

And, of course, there are numbers of verses that we probably, most of us have committed to memory, that contain blessed promises for those who believe, John 3, 18. Whoever believes in the Son, and that's a present tense verb or participle, by the way, it's not talking about a one-time act of faith, it's talking about a life of believing.

Whoever believes, present tense, in Christ is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he's not believed in the name of the only Son of God. The same with John 3, 36, you have a present tense verb or participle, I forget whether it's a verb or participle.

Whoever believes, that would be a participle, in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. Again, this is a life of believing. And then Hebrews 11, 6, and without faith it's impossible to please him.

And so faith is absolutely essential. Of course we understand, and we confess as Reformed folks, that saving faith is due to the grace of God operating upon and within the soul of the one who is a true believer.

Ephesians 2, 8, and 9, which so many people quote, but it seems they don't understand. Paul declared, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. And there's the argument, of course, what does that refer to, grace or faith?

The Greek grammar suggests it's referring to everything here. The whole matter of salvation, grace and faith, it's not of yourselves. Faith didn't come out of you, but rather it was a work of God in you, the work of God's grace.

You've been saved through faith, and not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast, lest anyone should boast. Saving faith is not the product of a man's understanding and will apart from the grace of God.

We believe through the grace of God. Saving faith is the product, even the outworking of God's grace in the soul. And so we might say that God saves his people through faith, not because of faith. And that's a common misunderstanding on the part of people.

They actually make faith a work because you believe God does this for you. No, rather God saves us by his grace and he employs faith as the means to do so. He saves his people because of Christ alone, because of Christ, not because of faith.

He saves us because of Christ through faith alone. And so God, by his grace, uses faith to bring his people to receive the blessings of Christ as Lord and Savior. But it's all of grace. It's a very sad and unfortunate fact, however, that there are multitudes who assume that any kind of believing in Jesus may be regarded as saving faith.

And to me, this is the great error of the day among evangelicals. It's thought if a person believes, he's to be regarded and treated as a Christian. But the subjective faith, believing, that is of a saving kind, is qualified in the word of God.

This is why we must frequently refer to Christians as true believers, who exhibit not simply faith, but saving faith, because there is a faith that doesn't save. There are many who are believers who are not true believers.

And so what is faith and what kind of faith is it that God requires? What is saving faith like? Well, the Bible describes saving faith as the faith of God's elect. It is the faith that is produced and sustained by the grace of God.

The scriptures teach that saving faith must have three elements or it's not saving faith. First, faith must be first based upon an understanding of truth. Therefore there must be some knowledge of essential matters that precedes faith.

Second, there must be an affirmation that knowledge is indeed true. Not everybody who has knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ believe it to be true. And then thirdly, there must be an trust and commitment to that truth.

One must believe and act upon that truth. Faith has been described as like a three-legged stool. Remove one of these three and it is not faith. Saving faith has these three elements. But saving faith that is born and sustained by the grace of God has certain characteristics that distinguishes it from faith that does not save the soul from sin.

And although we cannot be exhaustive here, we may cite a few of these essential qualities of saving faith. First, when one has saving faith, he humbly acknowledges his guilt for sin before God and that he is incapable of doing anything to remove that guilt or remedy his condition.

Secondly, the one with saving faith has come to understand that if he is to have salvation, it must be to the mercy of God alone for he believes rightly that he is deserving of damnation by the just and holy God who holds him accountable for what he does in this life.

Thief on the cross, why are you blaspheming this man? We are getting what we deserve, not him. Third, the one who has saving faith has heard and believes that only through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone as his Lord and Savior can he receive salvation from God.

In other words, there are a lot of people who say they believe on Christ but they add something to that faith in Christ and they think between the two they come up with salvation. That is not a true believer.

And there are multitudes like that. He knows there is no amount of good works or intensity of feeling or sincerity that can atone for his sins. It is not the tears we shed, it is the blood he shed that saves us.

It is not sincerity, it is not humility, it is not brokenness, although that will accompany saving faith. Fourth, the believing sinner knows and seeks to repent of his sin before God knowing that his faith must be manifested in his turning from living in and for sin to live before God and Jesus Christ.

There must be repentance which is a turning from sin. There are many, I would say about 50 of evangelicalism believes that repentance is not turning from sin, it is just changing your mind as to who you think Jesus is.

No, repentance is turning from sin unto God through Jesus Christ. Fifth, the true believer has come to see and believe that all he must know and believe regarding his salvation from sin is contained and set forth in the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, the inspired word of God.

He doesn't look elsewhere, he dare not. In short, saving faith, one's subjective faith, okay, that we're believers, must be based on and informed by an objective faith, what it is that is believed, that objective faith that's set forth in the Holy Scriptures.

So not all faith is saving faith. Again, subjective faith is that a person believes, objective faith is what it is that person believes. So when the Apostle Paul wrote of the matters that Christians have in common, he referenced this objective faith.

He declared there is one body, one spirit, just as you are called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, there it is, objective faith. This is not describing that you are believing, it's describing what it is you believe.

We have one faith in common, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, through all, in you all. These words describe what all Christians have in common, namely, we have all received the initial effectual calling into a secure and settled hope of our salvation, we all have the same Lord, even Jesus Christ, we all affirm the one faith in that Lord, all of us confessing that faith in Christ through one baptism.

And that's how we confess Christ, one way. But in addition to what we've said regarding these objective truths that the true believer embraces, saving faith is evidenced by other qualities. First, saving faith, of course, is an enduring and overcoming faith.

Temporary faith is not saving faith. It is he who overcomes shall not be hurt at the second death, is what Jesus told the church, I think at Ephesus, in Ephesians 2, might have been the next church, Smyrna, I forget.

And Jesus said to him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God, that is to the church at Ephesus. This enduring faith is in contrast to those who believe only for a time, but then forsake Christ.

Christ declared, the one who endures to the end will be saved. Again, it's not because they endure to the end, he's just describing those who are saved, they endure to the end. That's because their faith is created and born by the grace of God.

You can't squash true faith in a true Christian because the power of God, the grace of God, underscores it and upholds it. Nothing can destroy true faith. It can be damaged, it can be weakened, it can be strained, but it cannot be extinguished because the power of God is working and sustaining that faith.

1 Peter 1 makes that very clear. Secondly, saving faith is also manifested in the way of life of the true believer, of course. Hypocrites are those who profess to believe in Christ, but their lies show forth that they're void of saving faith.

Titus 1 .16, they profess to know God, see they're believers. Ask them, they'll tell you. But in works, they deny him. Their life is not consistent with their lips, being abominable, disobedient, disqualified for every good work.

And so there are ones who may claim to be true believers, but there are ones who refuse or fail to walk the narrow way of faithful obedience that leads to eternal life. And so Jesus spoke of them in this way, enter by the narrow gate for wide is the gate, broad is the way that leads to destruction and there are many who go in by it because narrow is the gate, difficult is the way.

Living the Christian life is difficult. In fact, we'd say even impossible. That's why you need the grace of God, otherwise it's not going to happen. But those are the ones that it leads to life, directs them to life.

Life is at the end of that difficult way. It's a life of faith. It's a life of discipleship. There are few that find it, Jesus said. We may also consider what Paul wrote to the church at Philippi regarding hypocrites.

Brethren, join in following my example, Paul said, and note those who so walk as you have us for a pattern. Those who so walk, he's talking about people who claim to be Christian but their lives say something else.

For many walk, he's describing the claim of a Christian. Many walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping that they are enemies of the cross of Christ. Why? Because they're not denying themselves.

They don't use the cross of Christ as the emblem of their life to show them how they're to live, to deny themselves. Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, their appetite, see their own lusts is what governs their lives, and whose glory is their shame, who set their mind on earthly things.

Paul says don't follow them, follow me and the example I'm setting for you. Because our citizenship is in heaven from which we are also eagerly waiting for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to his glorious body according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Philippians 3. And so in this Philippians passage, Paul was not writing of unbelievers but of professing believers who were not living as Christians. They were not characterized as ones who denied themselves, taking up the cross of Christ and following Christ.

And then third, saving faith endures through trials and trouble. And then finally, Peter wrote of this. We won't read this passage, I trust most of us are familiar with it. But Peter wrote, probably 1 Peter was written to new Christians, maybe in preparation to their baptism, and he was telling them that they were going to go through some very serious trials because of their faith.

And so he warned them, though now for a little while, if need be, if it's necessary, and the Greek language suggests here, and it is necessary, it's going to happen. You have been grieved by various trials.

And why is this necessary? So that the genuineness of your faith is going to be evident, made known, not only to you but to others as well. So that that faith tested by fire, that faith which is more precious than gold.

You see the price of gold going through the roof, $2 ,800 an ounce, it's incredible. Silver, I should say, is going up $2 ,800 an ounce, but gold is way up there too, around a couple thousand dollars an ounce.

It's incredible. Our faith is more precious than gold that perishes. You could have a pile of gold up here, you could have a pile 10 feet high, 10 feet wide. We wouldn't trade our faith for a moment for that because our saving faith is more valuable than that.

It has an eternal weight of glory compared to the wealth of this world. Yet how many people trade, you know, sacrifice their faith and living for faith because of the riches or the hope of gaining the riches of this world?

We don't because of the grace of God working within us. And on the day of Christ, that tested faith will be found to praise, honor, glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, at the second coming of Christ.

And so that's who he was praying for, believers, but not just anybody who claims to be a believer, those who are true believers as we've attempted to describe and define. Now let us return to verse 20 in which Jesus stated, I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.

Jesus then made the specific request to his father to grant believers in him this blessing, that they all may be one as you, father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.

This request is not only for the believers, much like we read in verse 11, Jesus prayed the same words, but in verse 11, he was speaking about his apostles. Here in this verse, verse 21, he's speaking about all Christians.

And so in verse 11, he said, no, now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, the apostles, and I come to you, holy father, keep them through your name, those whom you've given me, that they may be one as we are.

But here in verse 21, he is praying for the same blessing to be conferred upon all those who come to believe on him through the word of the apostles. Same prayer, but for different people, the apostles and all who believe through their word.

Now back when we addressed verse 11, we mentioned how that verse, as well as the one before us, verse 21, has often been cited as an argument for the organizational unity of churches, the ecumenical movement.

And those who promote this ecumenical agenda, you know, the great sin of the times is all the various denominations of the world, the divisions and whatnot, and we need to get rid of all those and just be one in organizational unity.

They say, this is what Jesus prayed to his father, that we should all be one, and look, we're not. Just look at us, so many divisions. We need to work together toward unity so that we may be one, just as Jesus prayed.

I don't know how many times I've heard and read that argument over the years. Then the world will believe. The reason the world's not believing is because of all of our divisions and differences, they argue.

But this is a terrible abuse and misunderstanding of our Lord's request to the Father on our behalf. First of all, we should not presume our failure to comply with their stated claims, that is the ecumenesis, has resulted in frustrating Jesus from having his prayer answered by his father.

The father answering Jesus' prayer is not contingent on whether or not you and I obey him. You follow what I'm saying? Jesus prayed to his father, the father granted him. We cannot thwart the Lord Jesus' prayer to his father because of what we do or fail to do.

The whole idea is just a terrible abuse of the passage. The father of our Lord Jesus does not refuse or fail to answer the prayer of his son, contingent on whether or not we choose to obey or conform to his will.

And second, we would argue that every prayer of the Son of God was answered by his father. Jesus himself suggested this when he prayed, Father, I thank you that you've heard me and I know that you'll always hear me, back in John 11, 14.

We would assert that the father granted this petition of his son. Jesus prayed this, the father granted it. In answer to the prayer of Jesus, we affirm that we are all presently one, just as the Son and the Father are one.

That's a present reality. The reason that people throughout the world have believed the message of the gospel during these past two millennia is because the father granted this request of our Savior on our behalf.

All Christians everywhere are proclaiming the one gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. And so people are being saved all over the world. What then does it mean for us all to be one as the Father and the Son are one?

It means that just as the Father and the Son are one in purpose and intent to proclaim the gospel of Christ to the world, so we are one with them and in them in this grand enterprise. That's what it was back in verse 11, that's what it is here in verse 21.

We have a unity of intention and purpose to which we are all committed, even proclaiming the gospel so that believers all over the world would receive eternal life that's in his Son. We're one with the Father, one with his Son in this endeavor.

Donald Carson wrote it well. Similarly, the believers, still distinct, are to be one in purpose. Various, you know, distinctive believers all over the place, but we're one in purpose, in love, in action, undertaken with, and for one another in joint submission to the revelation received.

More, Jesus prays to his Father that the disciples may also be in us. Probably alluding to the union language of the vine metaphor back in John 15. They are in the Father and his Son, so identified with God and dependent upon him for life and fruitfulness, that they themselves become the locus of the Father's life and work in them.

All of this is to the end that the world may believe that you sent me, as a display of genuine love amongst the believers attests that they are Jesus's disciples. So this display of unity is so compelling, so unworldly, that their witness as to who Jesus is becomes explainable only if Jesus truly is the revealer whom the Father has sent.

And so you pull a Christian, Pastor Prem, out of Southeast India, or Pastor Andrew in Western Kenya, by on the shores of Lake Victoria, or ourselves here in New England, or any Christian anywhere, and we are one in purpose and intent to make the gospel known.

And this was the intention of the Father and the Son, and we are one with them in this. It's a unity, an agreement, in purpose, and intention, and desire. That is our intention. Now, we may next give our attention to our Lord's words in verses 22 and 23.

Glory, Authority, and the Love of the Father for His People

Jesus prayed, and the glory which you gave me, I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one. I in them, and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one, that the world may know that you sent me, and have loved them as you have loved me.

This is the hard part, all right? Jesus stated to the Father that what he had done for his people, for those who believe on him, he said, and the glory which you gave me, I have given them. These are not easy matters.

In fact, Donald Carson wrote, exactly what is meant by these clauses is much disputed. And then G .R. Beasley Murray wrote of these words, unfortunately the precise nature that glory given to believers is uncertain.

And we don't have time now, but I actually put in the footnote at the bottom of page five, and it runs on to page six, a whole series or number of different efforts to explain what glory means in this passage by noted men all the way, you know, for the last seventeen, eighteen hundred years of church history.

They think the glory is the likeness of God, the glory of John Gill says it's the gospel. I won't, I won't rehearse them. I think I mentioned a couple of them here. And so when one considers the many and varied opinions as to the meaning of glory in this verse, I'm less troubled at my own inability to be absolutely certain as to its meaning.