Lesson for October 26, 2025
The Book of John
Lesson 38
Chapter 17:1-26
Verses 1-12
“Jesus spoke these things; and raising His eyes to Heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, so that the Son may glorify You, 2 just as You gave Him authority over all mankind, so that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I glorified You on the earth by accomplishing the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now You, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world existed. 6 I have revealed Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have followed Your word. 7 Now they have come to know that everything which You have given Me is from You; 8 for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. 9 I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on the behalf of those whom You have given Me, because they are Yours; 10 and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 I am no longer going to be in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, so that they may be one just as We are. 12 While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name, which You have given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.”
Verses 1-5, Jesus prayed for Himself. Verses 6-19, Jesus prayed for His disciples. Verses 20-26, Jesus prayed for us, the Church.
Previously, Jesus had said that His hour had not come (John 2:4, 7:6, 8, 30, 8:20). Now the time had come for Jesus to die on the Cross, in fulfillment of the plan of God the Father for the salvation of the world. This was the perfect time, planned in eternity. Jesus glorified the Father by accomplishing His mission on earth to provide salvation. When He said on the Cross, “It is finished,” the work of salvation had been completed and the penalty for sin had been paid. No one can add anything to His completed work of salvation. (Hebrews 7:27; 9:12, 26-28)
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I glorified You on the earth by accomplishing the work which You have given Me to do. The Father gave Jesus the authority to provide eternal life for everyone who would accept it. Only believers in Christ can truly know God. Jesus glorified the Father by fulfilling the plan of salvation, which in turn glorified Him.
Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, so that they may be one just as We are. This prayer of Jesus was for His disciples and for their new role as apostles during the Church Age. The disciples had finally begun to understand Who Jesus was and what His purpose for coming to earth as a human being was all about. So, Jesus asked the Father to protect them and provide for them during the intensified period of the Angelic Conflict, the Church Age.
Verses 13-19
“But now I am coming to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18 Just as You sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.”
Jesus prayed His disciples would understand how to share the happiness of God by the knowledge of His Word, which He had been teaching them. Satan’s world system does not provide a lasting happiness for a believer. Jesus asked for the Father’s protection from Satan and his world system for His disciples after He returned to Heaven. Though believers live in Satan’s world system, they are not to be a part of its human viewpoint thinking. Believers are citizens of Heaven and as such are to live on the basis of divine viewpoint thinking.
Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth means that in keeping with our heavenly citizenship, we will be set apart to God in our Christian life by the application of doctrinal truth. Knowing, believing, and applying the truth of God’s Word is the Christian life. Only by the application of accurate Bible doctrine can a believer avoid the pitfalls of Satan and his world system.
And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. The idea of Jesus sanctifying Himself was to fulfill the plan of God. His mission was to be the Savior of the world by His death on the Cross. He completely yielded Himself to the Father’s plan and became an example for believers in setting themselves apart to God and the ministry that God gives them to represent Christ on earth.
Verses 20-26
“I am not asking on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, 21 that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; 26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
This prayer was for us! Jesus prayed for unity among believers. Satan’s world system has no unity; it is divided into many human viewpoint beliefs about everything in life. The body of Christ, however, is to be in union with one another, spiritually. Unity means having things in common. It was never God’s intention to have division and discord within the body of Christ.
Jesus gave believers an example to follow. He compared the relationship between the Father and Son to the relationship that believers are to have with one another. The Father and Son function as one because they are in unity. The Father and the Son are one; one in essence and one in attributes. Jesus did exactly what the Father planned and He pleased the Father in everything. (John 5:30; 8:29) Therefore, the relationship of the Father and Son is the model for Christian unity.
Ephesians 4:11-13, “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a (spiritually) mature man or woman, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. Unity of the faith refers to believers in a local congregation advancing to spiritual maturity through the knowledge and application of accurate Bible doctrine. The faith means Bible doctrine. Knowledge of the Son of God means comprehending all that Christ has done for us in the past, all that He is doing for us in the present, and all that He has planned for us in the future. It means that we are to study and learn Who Christ is and what He has accomplished for us as believers.
To the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. The Greek word for measure is “metros,” meaning a standard. A believer’s standard should always be Jesus Christ. As we seek to be like Him, we will follow the pattern He set for us. Jesus Christ reached spiritual maturity at a very early age. The Greek word for stature is “helikia,” meaning full age or maturity. Our goal therefore should be to attain the level of spiritual maturity that Jesus did in His humanity. The Greek word for fullness is “pleroma,” which means to be filled. Christ was filled with the Holy Spirit from birth, filled with the knowledge of God’s Word, filled with the integrity of God, which demonstrates the perfect pattern for believers to follow. (Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 3:19, 5:18; Philippians 1:9-11)
So that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them. Jesus was fully influenced by His love for God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He was fully possessed by the super-natural power of God the Holy Spirit. (John 15:9-10)
We demonstrate our love for God by staying in fellowship with Him a maximum amount of time, by keeping “short accounts.” This means using the Rebound Technique when we realize we have sinned. Personal sin takes us out of fellowship with God, confessing our personal sins (Rebound) restores our fellowship with God. I John 1:7-10, “But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.”