John 17 |
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John 17:3:
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. |
 Jonathan Edwards
“Of all the knowledge that we can ever obtain, the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of ourselves, are the most important.”― Jonathan Edwards |
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John 17:4:
“I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. |
 Eric Alexander Files
I frequently hear of conferences where brethren meet to share insights into new and better methods by which we may fulfill our ministry. I’m sure they are very valuable, and I hope I am not so naïve as to think that methods are unimportant in God’s work. But I have almost never heard of a conference where brethren have met together before God to ask each other: “In all honesty, what are the compelling motives that determine the direction of my ministry?”
Yet Jesus laid great stress on motives: “I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 5:30). Looking back over His ministry He says, “I have glorified you by finishing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4). The glory of the Father was the terminus of everything for Jesus. There was nothing beyond this. And He means it to be so for us. That is why it is such a serious thing to rob God of His glory. He will not share that glory with another just because He cherishes His own glory above everything else and is jealous of it; it is the motive of everything He does (Isa. 48:11). Paul tells us that the Father’s motive in exalting Christ to the highest place and giving Him a name that is above every name is “the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:11). If we have any other end in view, then quite simply we will labor without the blessing of God. --Eric Alexander, Ligonier: The Missing Motive 2/1/10 |
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John 17:9:
I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. |
“I pray not for the world,” (Jn 17:9). Against universal redemption. If Christ would not spend his breath to pray for them, then surely he would not spend his precious blood to purchase heaven for them. Christopher Love, The Christian’s Duty and Safety in Evil times-.
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==john 17:13-15:
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John 17:13-15:
But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 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. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. |
 Craig Denison Files
Jesus came to bring about the fullness of joy in man. Often we see Christians who are not exhibiting a lifestyle of joy, and therefore we assume God is not a happy God. We see all the darkness that surrounds us and assume that God is most often angry or sad. But in John 17:13 (ESV), Jesus prayed to the Father: “But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”
Jesus’s prayer in John 17:13 demonstrates two important, life-changing truths for you and me today. First, Jesus had joy. We could not have His joy fulfilled in us if He doesn’t have joy to start with. And the whole of Scripture supports the truth that within God dwells the fullness of joy. Psalm 16:11 (ESV) says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” And Galatians 5:22 tells us that joy is a fruit of the Spirit. The God whom you have been filled with at salvation longs to produce the fruit of joy in your life. He longs to make you a joyful person from the inside out so that your joy wouldn’t be based on circumstances or the fleeting whims of the world. Second, John 17 tells us that we can have the joy of Jesus for ourselves. The God of joy longs to fill you to overflowing with satisfaction and hope. He longs to make your joy abundant and transcendent of the good or bad around you. God is joyful because it’s a part of His nature. And He longs for it to be the same with you. -Craig Denison; The Joy of The Lord; Sports Spectrum; 12.21.21 |
April 9, 2023: Pastor Chris Gordon wrote: There are certainly legitimate reasons for leaving the Golden State, but that is not what this article is about. The larger question is why the Lord leaves us in this world to begin with. It was Jesus himself who prayed, ‘I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one (Jn. 17:1).” No one would argue with this until we insert the word "California”, but say it out loud for a moment: “Father, I pray that you do not take them out of 'California.'” Wait a minute, why would I stay in a state with high taxes and so many problems? That’s a great question. Why are Christians in this world? Truth be told, much of the exit out of California by Christians has nothing to do with religious freedom. I am a Christian today living in California and I still have the right to homeschool or Christian school my children, I still have the right to gather for worship and preach Jesus. But within me lurks this desire to leave—why? Most leave today not for religious reasons, but for utopian ones. If someone wants a better way of life, who has a right to question one’s conscience, but when the flight is tied to a rejection of progressive policies for better freedoms, and all that is accomplished is a bigger house, more space, less people, more money, and the ease of being with people who look and act most like me—well, that sounds a lot more like the reasoning Lot went to Sodom, doesn’t it? “And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD," like the land of California—oops, I meant Egypt. |
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John 17:17:
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” |
When Jesus prayed to the Father for us in John 17:17, He prayed: “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” The Word of God as contained in the Bible is truth. You can rely on scripture to always enrich the abundant life of integrity Christ gives to the believer. |
Tarah-Lynn Saint-Elien
So how do we overcome our fear? Here are three quick tips.
1. It starts with taking every thought captive. The apostle Paul encouraged the church at Corinth to capture every thought and subject it to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). This process of thinking about what we’re thinking about is important. If we don’t examine what we think about, we won’t be able to identify the areas we’re most fearful. We won’t be able to expose the lies of the enemy.
2. Replace lies with truth. Where do you find truth in a world that changes the narrative to suit whatever agenda is being pushed?
The Bible tells us that the Word of God is truth (John 17:17). Jesus Himself said He was the truth (John 14:6). It, therefore, means that we need to immerse ourselves in the Word of God so we can know the truth.
3. Prepare for battle. This process of overcoming our fear is not a one-time event. Sadly, we will have to do it many times in our lifetimes, sometimes battling the same fears. The good news is that God has already equipped us with everything we need to be successful (Psalm 18:39). --Tarah-Lynn Sait-Ellen; Hebrews12Endurance; How to Overcome Fear: 3 Quick Tips
1. It starts with taking every thought captive. The apostle Paul encouraged the church at Corinth to capture every thought and subject it to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). This process of thinking about what we’re thinking about is important. If we don’t examine what we think about, we won’t be able to identify the areas we’re most fearful. We won’t be able to expose the lies of the enemy.
2. Replace lies with truth. Where do you find truth in a world that changes the narrative to suit whatever agenda is being pushed?
The Bible tells us that the Word of God is truth (John 17:17). Jesus Himself said He was the truth (John 14:6). It, therefore, means that we need to immerse ourselves in the Word of God so we can know the truth.
3. Prepare for battle. This process of overcoming our fear is not a one-time event. Sadly, we will have to do it many times in our lifetimes, sometimes battling the same fears. The good news is that God has already equipped us with everything we need to be successful (Psalm 18:39). --Tarah-Lynn Sait-Ellen; Hebrews12Endurance; How to Overcome Fear: 3 Quick Tips
God knows the hearts of men, and He knows what their true needs are. God doesn’t have to guess what they might need – He KNOWS; and His Word, when preached faithfully, does its job of addressing the individual’s need.
A man of veracity makes a true statement. Veracity is, therefore, a personal moral attribute, and truth is a property of things. This being the case, veracity is that perfection in God which renders all his judgments according to truth, which prompts him to say what is true, and which makes it impossible for him to lie. This impossibility is moral, not natural. That is, God has the natural ability to say what is not true, but infinite excellence of his character, including His veracity, makes it morally impossible for him to lie. Jesus in praying for his disciples addressed his Father thus: Sanctify them through thy truth: Thy word is truth. The word of God is true, because veracity is one of the attributes of his moral character. Whatever that word says as to the part, present or future is true, for the word of God endures to all generations. Truth, in the highest sense of the word, is a correct representation of the things as they have been, as they are now, or as they will be forever. The term “truth” is fully applicable to all that God says, for though heaven and earth shall pass away, his words will not pass away.
A man of veracity makes a true statement. Veracity is, therefore, a personal moral attribute, and truth is a property of things. This being the case, veracity is that perfection in God which renders all his judgments according to truth, which prompts him to say what is true, and which makes it impossible for him to lie. This impossibility is moral, not natural. That is, God has the natural ability to say what is not true, but infinite excellence of his character, including His veracity, makes it morally impossible for him to lie. Jesus in praying for his disciples addressed his Father thus: Sanctify them through thy truth: Thy word is truth. The word of God is true, because veracity is one of the attributes of his moral character. Whatever that word says as to the part, present or future is true, for the word of God endures to all generations. Truth, in the highest sense of the word, is a correct representation of the things as they have been, as they are now, or as they will be forever. The term “truth” is fully applicable to all that God says, for though heaven and earth shall pass away, his words will not pass away.
==john 17:18-24:
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As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. 24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. |
 Jonathan Edwards
And it is farther to be considered, that what God aimed at in the creation of the world, as the end which he had ultimately in view, was that communication of himself which he intended through all eternity. And if we attend to the nature and circumstances of this eternal emanation of divine good, it will more clearly show HOW, in making this his end, God testifies a supreme respect to himself, and makes himself his end. There are many reasons to think that what God has in view, in an increasing communication of himself through eternity, is an increasing knowledge of God, love to him, and joy in him. And it is to be considered, that the more those divine communications increase in the creature, the more it becomes one with God: for so much the more is it united to God in love, the heart is drawn nearer and nearer to God, and the union with him becomes more firm and close: and, at the same time, the creature becomes more and more conformed to God. The image is more and more perfect, and so the good that is in the creature comes forever nearer and nearer to an identity with that which is in God. In the view therefore of God, who has a comprehensive prospect of the increasing union and conformity through eternity, it must be an infinitely strict and perfect nearness, conformity, and oneness. For it will forever come nearer and nearer to that strictness and perfection of union which there is between the Father and the Son. So that in the eyes of God, who perfectly sees the whole of it, in its infinite progress and increase, it must come to an eminent fulfillment of Christ’s request, in John 17:21, 23. That they all may be ONE, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be ONE in us; I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in ONE. In this view, those elect creatures, which must be looked upon as the end of all the rest of the creation, considered with respect to the whole of their eternal duration, and as such made God’s end, must be viewed as being, as it were, one with God. They were respected as brought home to him, united with him, centering most perfectly, as it were swallowed up in him: so that his respect to them finally coincides, and becomes one and the same, with respect to himself. The interest of the creature is, as it were, God’s own interest, in proportion to the degree of their relation and union to God. Thus the interest of a man’s family is looked upon as the same with his own interest; because of the relation they stand in to him, his propriety in them, and their strict union with him. But God’s elect creatures, with respect to their eternal duration, are infinitely dearer to God, than a man’s family is to him. What has been said shows, that as all things are from God, as their first cause and fountain; so all things tend to him, and in their progress come nearer and nearer to him through all eternity which argues, that he who is their first cause is their last end. --Jonathan Edwards; A Dissertation Concerning The End For Which God Created The World
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==john 17:25-26:
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“O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them
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These words are an excellent summary of the mission of Jesus: he came to make known the Father. Jesus reveals the Father to us. He does so not merely in an intellectual way, as if we just needed more facts or information about the Father. Jesus reveals the Fatherly character and heart of God, and he does so in a way that communicates experiential knowledge, not just head knowledge. Knowing God as Father means that the love that eternally existed between the Father and the Son is experienced and enjoyed by us as well, that is, we not only are loved by God the Father, but we feel loved by him.
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