This morning I have been reflecting on the seventeenth chapter of John's Gospel, which is where the Lord is praying His last prayer for His disciples, and really for the Church. There is so much to think about and try to assimilate into my understanding that it could probably take months if not years to really grasp the fullness of what Jesus is saying. Today I am just going to chew on a few verses, as follows - John 17:20-23 NIV:
20] “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, [21] that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. [22] I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one--- [23] I in them and you in me---so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."
What an incredible prayer! I am so grateful for verse 20, because clearly Jesus us including you and me in His prayers, for we are those who believe in Him because of the message of the Apostles. I love that Jesus is praying for our oneness (verse 21), for our intimate connection and relationship with one another. This really is the precursor to Paul's message concerning the Body of Christ in the twelfth chapter of His first letter to the Corinthians. It is out of this prayer for unity, but more than that, out of His prayer for oneness that we understand our connection to, and our being part of the Body. There is only one Body of Christ, and we are all part of it, all those who believe in Jesus, regardless of our doctrinal or denominational affiliation. I like to think of those human lines of separation, as merely names of different parts of the body, much like we have hands, feet, fingers and toes.
I also love that Jesus prays for us, asking that we might be joined into the very oneness that the Holy Trinity enjoys (verse 21). This is where my grasp of understanding starts to become practically non-existent, when compared to the reality of what Jesus is praying. The Trinity is one of the great and unsearchable mysteries of God, and Jesus is basically asking the Father to invite us into it! Oh that we might truly have the mind, heart and perspective of God! I am greatly encouraged, because if Jesus prayed it, the Father initiated that prayer, and it reflects His heart as well. If Jesus prayed it and the Father desires it, and the Holy Spirit empowers us, then what can keep this from becoming our reality?
In verse 22 Jesus says that He has given us (both the Apostles and those who believe in their message) the glory that the Father gave Him. The verb tense of this statement is called perfect tense, described here by the lexicon I use: "The perfect tense in Greek corresponds to the perfect tense in English, and describes an action which is viewed as having been completed in the past, once and for all, not needing to be repeated. Jesus' last cry from the cross, TETELESTAI ("It is finished!") is a good example of the perfect tense used in this sense, namely "It [the atonement] has been accomplished, completely, once and for all time."
So Jesus says He has given us (already completed in perfection, never needing to be repeated) the glory the Father gave Him. The Greek word used here is doxa and it is defined as follows:
1) opinion, estimate, whether good or bad concerning someone
a) in the NT always a good opinion concerning one, resulting in praise, honour, and glory
2) splendour, brightness
a) of the moon, sun, stars
b) magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, grace
c) majesty
1) a thing belonging to God
a) the kingly majesty which belongs to him as supreme ruler, majesty in the sense of the absolute perfection of the deity
2) a thing belonging to Christ
a) the kingly majesty of the Messiah
b) the absolutely perfect inward or personal excellency of Christ; the majesty
3) of the angels
a) as apparent in their exterior brightness
3) a most glorious condition, most exalted state
a) of that condition with God the Father in heaven to which Christ was raised after he had achieved his work on earth
b) the glorious condition of blessedness into which is appointed and promised that true Christians shall enter after their Saviour's return from heaven
What an awesome statement, and one that we clearly are not experiencing to our full potential! Again, if Jesus said it, The Father wills it, and the Holy Spirit is empowering this how can it not happen? I am laying a claim to this, to seeing this become my reality. I don't know what it fully means (and likely never will this side of Eternal Life) but I know it is much more than what I experience now!
Lord, we pray that You would breathe again on this promise for the Church, Your Body, and refresh and renew our understanding of oneness! Draw us into You, reveal Your Glory through us! That the world might know that You love us all!
Amen!
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