Manifested love, Pt 32: Praying for us
John 17:6-12 6“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
John 5:19 19Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
John 7:16-17 16Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. 17Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.
I revealed you
Jesus came to the planet for a variety of reasons one of which was to offer the cleansing of sin to his people and eternal life through accepting of himself as their Savior. Another was to reveal the fullness of his Father. Often modern unbelievers mock the notion of belief in God because he is invisible; they ridicule believers who seem to suspend their senses to believe in a Supreme Being that can’t be seen. But God’s people know him because Jesus himself has revealed him. Jesus showed that God loved the world (all peoples) enough to sacrifice his own Son (John 3:16-17); that God was reconciling people to himself through his Son (Matthew 28:19); that God is revealed through Jesus (Colossians 1:15), and many other qualities.
Here is one of the mysteries no unbeliever understands but every believer does. That is that upon accepting Jesus as Savior, every believer receives the Holy Spirit to help the believer transcend the limitations of the senses. Jesus did not reveal God to every single human being on the planet, but only to those whose eyes would be opened and understanding expanded by the Holy Spirit. Remember though, that while every human being is God’s child by creation, only those who trust in the Son by faith (not senses) can call themselves children by redemption.
All I have is yours
When a worker in an office is given a task to do and does it exceptionally well, his superior (the one who assigned the task) often receives acclimation for the good job his subordinate has done. The application of this analogy to the relationship between Father and Son is insufficient because Father and Son have been one since eternity past, but it does help us understand how believers won through the Son can glorify the Father. Think of it this way: When a believer is drawn out of the darkness into the light grace and mercy are suddenly available to him in his struggle with sin. Surely these changes are a testament to the glory which then reflects upon Jesus.
Look at v10. If ever there is a verse testifying to the oneness of Father and Son this is it. How can anything held by a superior be claimed by a subordinate? It is easy to understand God owning everything I have since He created me, but how could I say everything He has is mine? So Father and Son must be one, and everything attained by Jesus, i.e. the glory new believers reflect onto Jesus must also reflect onto the Father.
Protect Your children
From the very second each of his disciples began following Jesus he had been protecting them from apostasy and Satan. Daily he taught them how to live righteously, taught them how to rightly interpret Scripture (which to them was the Old Testament), and how to love without condition. But Jesus was about to leave. Jesus asks that the Father do the same after he is gone, which of course he does through the Holy Spirit. But more is in view here: “Father, keep them as one , even as we are one.” This is a remarkable prayer; ‘keep them one in essence just as are we’. How is it that Father and Son are one? From eternity past they have had a plan: To bring the world into unity with one another and with them, and to bring righteousness, holiness, and love to the people. So if we are to be one as they are one, then we are to be united as they are against the world.
We are to stand together for the Way, the Truth, and the Life. When some unbeliever promotes an unhealthy and unrighteous lifestyle we gently but firmly show them how that lifestyle will lead to trouble and struggle. When a fellow believer begins to falter, we help bring him back. But most importantly it means faithfulness in our own lifestyle. We can’t help others if we are caught up in self-deception. So it means daily reading and meditation on the Word, daily prayer, and constant supplication that the Spirit show us where we are wavering.
What about me?
Every believer has been set free from the consequence of sin; they are given eternal life. But this is not a license for licentious living. It is a mandate to live the rest of one’s life showing one’s love for Jesus. Jesus has already done the heavy lifting; all we have to do now is cooperate. Certainly we will fail; we will sin. But then we get up, hit delete, and begin again.
1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)
16Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor [your superiors]. (1Peter 2:16-17)