that they may all be one; even 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. The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, even as you loved me.
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John 17:21-23 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Jesus said these things, then lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you; even as you gave him authority over all flesh, so he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him. This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do. Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed. I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept your word. Now they have known that all things whatever you have given me are from you, for the words which you have given me I have given to them, and they received them, and knew for sure that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I don’t pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. I have kept those whom you have given me. None of them is lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to you, and I say these things in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves. I have given them your word. The world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even 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. The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world hasn’t known you, but I knew you; and these knew that you sent me. I made known to them your name, and will make it known; that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Parallel Translations
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that they may all be one; even 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.
The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one;
I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, even as you loved me.
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that they all maye be one as thou father arte in me and I in the that they maye be also one in vs that the worlde maye beleve that thou hast sent me.
And that glory that thou gavest me I have geven them that they maye be one as we are wone
I in them and thou in me that they maye be made perfecte in one and that the worlde maye knowe that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me.
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That they all may bee one, as thou, O Father, art in me, and I in thee: euen that they may be also one in vs, that the worlde may beleeue that thou hast sent me.
And the glory that thou gauest me, I haue giuen them, that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them, and thou in mee, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the worlde may knowe that thou hast sent mee, and hast loued them, as thou hast loued me.
Cross-references (77)
- 1 Corinthians 12:12 (v21) For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ.
- Colossians 3:11-14 (v21) where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, or free person; but Christ is all,…
- John 17:11 (v21) I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have…
- John 17:21 (v23) that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that…
- 1 Corinthians 12:25-27 (v21) that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. When one member suffers, all…
Show all 72 cross-references
- Philippians 1:27 (v21) Only let your way of life be worthy of the Good News of Christ, that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your state,…
- John 16:27 (v23) for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came from God.
- 2 Corinthians 3:18 (v22) But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even…
- John 13:35 (vv21, 23) By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
- 1 John 3:1 (v23) See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us,…
- John 10:30 (v21) I and the Father are one.”
- John 17:22-23 (v21) The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and you in me, that they may…
- Acts 4:32 (v21) The multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul. Not one of them claimed that anything of the things which he possessed was…
- Romans 12:5 (v21) so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another,
- Zechariah 14:9 (v21) Yahweh will be King over all the earth. In that day Yahweh will be one, and his name one.
- John 14:20 (v22) In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
- Ephesians 4:3-6 (v21) being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one…
- Philippians 2:1-6 (v21) If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and…
- 1 John 4:12-16 (v23) No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we…
- Galatians 3:28 (vv21, 23) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
- John 10:38 (v21) But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the…
- John 17:8 (v21) for the words which you have given me I have given to them, and they received them, and knew for sure that I came from you. They have…
- John 17:26 (v23) I made known to them your name, and will make it known; that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
- Colossians 3:14 (v23) Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.
- John 17:24 (vv22–23) Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory, which you have given me, for you…
- 1 John 1:3 (vv22–23) that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yes, and our fellowship is with the Father,…
- John 14:10 (v23) Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who…
- John 14:23 (v23) Jesus answered him, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him.
- 1 Corinthians 1:10 (v21) Now I beg you, brothers, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions…
- 1 Peter 5:10 (v23) But may the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, perfect,…
- 1 Corinthians 1:30 (v23) Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:
- Ephesians 1:6-14 (v23) to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved, in whom we have our redemption through his blood,…
- Colossians 2:9-10 (v23) For in him all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily, and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power.
- 1 Peter 3:8-9 (v21) Finally, all of you be like-minded, compassionate, loving as brothers, tenderhearted, courteous, not rendering evil for evil, or insult for…
- Jeremiah 32:39 (v21) I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their good, and the good of their children after them.
- Mark 16:17-20 (v22) These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new languages; they will take up…
- John 1:16 (v22) From his fullness we all received grace upon grace.
- John 6:56 (v23) He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him.
- Romans 8:10-11 (v23) If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him who raised…
- 2 Corinthians 5:21 (v23) For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
- Ephesians 2:20 (v22) being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone;
- Ephesians 4:12-16 (v23) for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the…
- Philippians 3:15 (v23) Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, think this way. If in anything you think otherwise, God will also reveal that to you.
- Colossians 2:2 (v23) that their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love, and gaining all riches of the full assurance of understanding, that…
- John 3:17 (vv21, 23) For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him.
- Ezekiel 37:16-19 (v21) “You, son of man, take one stick, and write on it, ‘For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions.’ Then take another stick, and…
- John 14:9-11 (v21) Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do…
- 2 Corinthians 5:20 (v22) We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
- 1 John 3:24 (v22) He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.
- Ezekiel 37:22-25 (v21) I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will be king to them all. They will no longer be two nations.…
- Zephaniah 3:9 (v21) For then I will purify the lips of the peoples, that they may all call on Yahweh’s name, to serve him shoulder to shoulder.
- Mark 6:7 (v22) He called to himself the twelve, and began to send them out two by two; and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
- John 1:14 (v22) The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
- John 10:16 (v21) I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one…
- John 15:18-19 (v22) If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But…
- John 17:25 (v21) Righteous Father, the world hasn’t known you, but I knew you; and these knew that you sent me.
- Acts 2:46 (v21) Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and…
- 2 Corinthians 6:1 (v22) Working together, we entreat also that you do not receive the grace of God in vain,
- 1 John 4:19 (v23) We love him, because he first loved us.
- 1 John 5:7 (v21) For there are three who testify:
- Luke 22:30 (v22) that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. You will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
- John 5:23 (v21) that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.
- John 17:3 (v21) This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
- John 20:21-23 (v22) Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on…
- Acts 5:41 (v22) They therefore departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Jesus’ name.
- Romans 15:15-20 (v22) But I write the more boldly to you in part, as reminding you, because of the grace that was given to me by God, that I should be a servant…
- Colossians 1:28 (v23) We proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus;
- John 17:18 (v21) As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world.
- Philippians 1:29 (v22) Because it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer on his behalf,
- Colossians 1:24 (v22) Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his…
- 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 (v22) This is an obvious sign of the righteous judgment of God, to the end that you may be counted worthy of God’s Kingdom, for which you also…
- Revelation 21:14 (v22) The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
72 distinct cross-references across this passage (77 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv21–23 21. That all may be one. He again lays…
21. That all may be one. He again lays down the end of our happiness as consisting in unity, and justly; for the ruin of the human race is, that, having been alienated from God, it is also broken and scattered in itself. The restoration of it, therefore, on the contrary, consists in its being properly united in one body, as Paul declares the perfection of the Church to consist in
believers being joined together in one spirit and says that apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors, were given, that they might edify and restore the body of Christ, till it came to the unity of faith; and therefore he exhorts believers to grow into Christ, who is the Head, from whom the whole body joined together, and connected by every bond of supply, according to the operation in the measure of every part, maketh increase of it to edifcation, (Ephesians 4:3, 11-16.)
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Wherefore, whenever Christ speaks about unity, let us remember how basely and shockingly, when separated from him, the world is scattered; and, next, let us learn that the commencement of a blessed life is, that we be all governed, and that we all live, by the Spirit of Christ alone.
Again, it ought to be understood, that, in every instance in which Christ declares, in this chapter, that he is one with the Father, he does not speak simply of his Divine essence, but that he is called one as regards his mediatorial office, and in so far as he is our Head. Many of the fathers, no doubt, interpreted these words as meaning, absolutely, that Christ is one with the Father, because he is the eternal God. But their dispute with the Arians led them to seize on detached passages, and to torture them out of their natural meaning, in order to employ them against their antagonists. Now, Christ’s design was widely different from that of raising our minds to a mere speculation about his hidden Divinity; for he reasons from the end, by showing that we ought to be one, otherwise the unity which he has with the Father would be fruitless and unavailing. To comprehend aright what was intended by saying, that Christ and the Father are one, we must take care not to deprive Christ of his office as Mediator, but must rather view him as he is the Head of the Church, and unite him with his members. Thus will the chain of thought be preserved, that, in order to prevent the unity of the Son with the Father from being fruitless and unavailing, the power of that unity must be diffused through the whole body of believers. Hence, too, we infer that we are one with the Son of God; not because he conveys his substance to us, but because, by the power of his Spirit, he imparts to us his life and all the blessings which he has received from the Father.
That the world may believe. Some explain the word world to mean the elect, who, at that time, were still dispersed; but since the word world, throughout the whole of this chapter, denotes the reprobate, I am more inclined to adopt a different opinion. It happens that, immediately afterwards, he draws a distinction between all his people and the same world which he now mentions.
The verb, to believe, has been inaccurately used by the Evangelist for the verb, to know; that is, when unbelievers, convinced by their own experience, perceive the heavenly and Divine glory of Christ. The consequence is, that, believing, they do not believe, because this conviction does not penetrate into the inward feeling of the heart. And it is a just vengeance of God, that the splendor of Divine glory dazzles the eyes of the reprobate because they do not deserve to have a clear and pure view of it. He afterwards uses the verb, to know in the same sense.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv21–23 21 That they all may be one; as thou,…
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.
Ver. 21. That they all may be one] Though not by the same kind of union whereby the Father and the Son are one, yet by a union every way as real and indissoluble; such as whereby the world may be convinced that Christ is the very Messiah, and the faithful the true Church. So it was acknowledged in the primitive times, Act 4:32. But what a sad thing was it, that a heathen should soon after have cause to say, Nullae infestae hominibus bestiae, ut sunt sibi ferales plerique Christiani; No beasts are so mischievous to men, as Christians are one to another. (Am. Marcellinus, ii. 2.) Tristissima illa persecutio sub Diocletiano, potissime orta est a petulantia, superbia et rixis sacerdotum. (Euseb.) They had not so learned Christ. Love and humility are his cognizances. Why then should the Turk have occasion to say, that he should sooner see his fingers all of a length, than Christian princes all of a mind? Why should the Jew stumble at our dissensions, which is one of the main scandals they take from Protestants?
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv21–23 Our Saviour here prays on the behalf of such…
Our Saviour here prays on the behalf of such as should believe on him, that they might be one in faith, and one in brotherly love. Whoso considereth this as a piece of Christ’s prayer for believers, and that St. Paul hardly wrote one epistle to the primitive apostolical churches in which he did not press this by most potent argument, cannot but nourish some hopes, (how improbable soever it appears at present), that all the sincere disciples of Christ shall one day arrive at the keeping of the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, and likewise look upon themselves in point of duty obliged to endeavour it. To which pitch of perfection possibly Christians might soon arrive, if superiors would, after the example of the apostle, Act 15:28, lay upon their inferiors no more than necessary things; and equals would learn to contend for truth in love, and to walk with their brethren so far as they have attained; and as to other things, to forbear one another in love; and wherein any of their brethren are otherwise minded, then they are to wait till God shall reveal it to them, Phi 3:15. But this is not all the union which Christ prays for; he also prays that they might be one in the Father and the Son; that is, that they might believe; for faith is that grace by which we are united to, and made one with, God and Christ; though others interpret it of obedience, or such things wherein God the Father and Christ are one, &c. For although so many as are ordained to life shall believe, yet that they might believe is matter of prayer: this our Saviour prays for, for the further glory of God, which is that which he meaneth by the world’s believing that God had sent him; there being no greater evidence that Christ is the true Messiah, than the general acceptance of the doctrine of the gospel, which he brought throughout the world; for who can imagine, that a new doctrine brought into the world by one of no greater reputation than Christ had in the world, and propagated by persons of no greater quality than the apostles were, should obtain in the greatest part of the world, if he that first introduced it had not been first sent by God into the world, and the apostles had not been extraordinarily influenced and assisted by God as to the propagation of it, after Christ was ascended into heaven?
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv21–23 The special mercy, and particular blessing which Christ prays…
The special mercy, and particular blessing which Christ prays for on behalf of believers, is a close and intimate union betwixt the Father, himself, and them, and also betwixt one another; such an union as doth in some sort resemble that union which is betwixt God and Christ; not an unity of essence and nature, but of wills and affections.
Hence note, 1. That the mystical union betwixt Christ and his members carrieth some resemblance with that union which is betwixt the Father and the Son.
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2. That the union amongst the ministers and members of Jesus Christ, is of so great importance, necessity, and consequence, that he did in their behalf principally and chiefly pray for it. An unity of love and affection, of faith and profession, an unity of practice and conversation, are mercies which Christ earnestly prayed for, and has dearly paid for; and nothing is more desired by him now in heaven than that his disciples should be one among themselves here on earth: Father, may they be one, as we are one: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
Here Christ intimates one special advantage that would redound to the world by this desirable union betwixt the ministers and members of Christ; it will, if not convert, yet at least convince the world, that I and my doctrine came from God.
Thence note, that union amongst Christ’s disciples is one special mean to enlarge the kingdom of Christ, and to cause the world to have better thoughts of him and his doctrine: By their being one, as we are one, the world will believe that thou hast sent me.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv21–23 And the glory which thou gavest me,.... Not the…
And the glory which thou gavest me,.... Not the glory of his deity; this is the same with his Father, what he has in right of nature, and not by gift; nor can it be communicated to creatures; this would be to make them one in the Godhead, as the three are one, which is not the design of the expression in the close of the verse: nor his mediatorial glory, which he had with the Father before the world began; this indeed was given him by the Father, but is not given to the saints: nor the glory, of working miracles; which glory Christ had, and which, as man, he had from the Father, and in which his own glory was manifested; this he gave to his disciples; but all that are his have not had it, and some have had it who are none of his: rather the Gospel is meant, which is glorious in its author, matter and subject, in its doctrines, in the blessing: grace it reveals, and promises it contains, and in the efficacy and usefulness of it to the souls of men. This was given to Christ, and he gave it to his disciples:
I have given them; as he did the words that were given to him, Joh 17:8,
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that they may be one, even as we are one; for the Gospel was given to the apostles, and still is to the ministers of it, to bring men to the unity of the faith, for the perfecting of the saints, and the edifying of the body of Christ: or else the fulness both of grace and glory, which is in Christ's hands for his people, is here designed. This is one considerable branch of the glory of Christ, as Mediator, to be full of grace and truth; this was given him by the Father, and is what he communicates to his; even the Spirit, and all sorts of grace, and every supply of it; and which greatly contributes to the union of the saints among themselves: yea, eternal happiness is often signified by glory; and this is given to Christ; he has it in his hands to give to others; and he does give it, a view of it, a right unto it, a meetness for it, a pledge of it, some foretastes of it, and a kind of a possession of it; for the saints have it already, at least in him; and he will give them the actual enjoyment of it, and this in order to their consummate and perfect union together, as a glorious church without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv21–22 As thou art in me - This also is…
As thou art in me - This also is to be understood in a way of similitude, and not of sameness or equality. That the world may believe - Here Christ prays for the world. Observe the sum of his whole prayer,
1. Receive me into thy own and my glory;
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2. Let my apostles share therein;
3. And all other believers:
4. And let all the world believe.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv21–23 Verse 21. That they all may be one] This…
Verse 21. That they all may be one] This prayer was literally answered to the first believers, who were all of one heart and of one soul: Ac 4:32. And why is it that believers are not in the same spirit now? Because they neither attend to the example nor to the truth of Christ.
That the world may believe] are have already seen that the word, κοσμος, world, is used in several parts of this last discourse of our Lord to signify the Jewish people only.
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Christ will have all his members to be one in spirit-one in rights and privileges, and one in the blessedness of the future world.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv22–23 And the glory ... - The honor which thou…
And the glory ... - The honor which thou hast conferred on me by admitting me to union with thee, the same honor I have conferred on them by admitting them to like union with me.
May be one, even as we are one - Not in nature, or in the mode of existence - for this was not the subject of discourse, and would be impossible - but in feeling, in principle, in purpose. Evincing, as the Father and the Son had always done, the same great aim and plan; not pursuing different interests, or counteracting each other’s purposes, or forming parties, but seeking the same ends by the same means. This is the union between the Father and the Son. Always, in the creation, preservation, and redemption of the world, the Father and the Son have sought the same object, and this is to be the model on which Christians should act.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv21–22 Christ does pray that his disciples may be one,…
Christ does pray that his disciples may be one, as he and his heavenly Father are one; not that the unity may resemble the unity of persons in the divinity, by a perfect and exact likeness; but only as far as it is possible for men to imitate the perfections of God, as when he says, "Be ye merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful." (St. John Chrysostom, hom. lxxxi. in Joan.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv21–23 that they all may be one, as thou, Father,…
that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they may be one in us--The indwelling Spirit of the Father and the Son is the one perfect bond of union, knitting up into a living unity, first all believers amongst themselves; next, this unity into one still higher, with the Father and the Son. (Observe, that Christ never mixes Himself up with His disciples as He associates Himself with the Father, but says I in THEM and THEY in US).
that the world may believe that thou hast sent me--sentest me. So the grand impression upon the world at large, that the mission of Christ is divine, is to be made by the unity of His disciples. Of course, then, it must be something that shall be visible or perceptible to the world. What is it, then? Not certainly a merely formal, mechanical unity of ecclesiastical machinery. For as that may, and to a large extent does, exist in both the Western and Eastern churches, with little of the Spirit of Christ, yea much, much with which the Spirit of Christ cannot dwell so instead of convincing the world beyond its own pale of the divinity of the Gospel, it generates infidelity to a large extent within its own bosom. But the Spirit of Christ, illuminating, transforming, and reigning in the hearts of the genuine disciples of Christ, drawing them to each other as members of one family, and prompting them to loving co-operation for the good of the world--this is what, when sufficiently glowing and extended, shall force conviction upon the world that Christianity is divine. Doubtless, the more that differences among Christians disappear--the more they can agree even in minor matters--the impression upon the world may be expected to be greater. But it is not dependent upon this; for living and loving oneness in Christ is sometimes more touchingly seen even amidst and in spite of minor differences, than where no such differences exist to try the strength of their deeper unity. Yet till this living brotherhood in Christ shall show itself strong enough to destroy the sectarianism, selfishness, carnality, and apathy that eat out the heart of Christianity in all the visible sections of it, in vain shall we expect the world to be overawed by it. It is when "the Spirit shall be poured upon us from on high," as a Spirit of truth and love, and upon all parts of the Christian territory alike, melting down differences and heart burnings, kindling astonishment and shame at past unfruitfulness, drawing forth longings of catholic affection, and yearnings over a world lying in wickedness, embodying themselves in palpable forms and active measures--it is then that we may expect the effect here announced to be produced, and then it will be irresistible. Should not Christians ponder these things? Should not the same mind be in them which was also in Christ Jesus about this matter? Should not His prayer be theirs?
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv21–23 21. May be one—Amid every diversity there is among…
21. May be one—Amid every diversity there is among true Christians a true unity. So amid many varieties, external and striking, the human race has a unity internal and absolute. One touch of feeling makes the whole world akin. Universal man, and man alone, has the moral emotion, the religious susceptibility, the power to possess an idea of the infinite God.
The European, the Chinaman, the Hottentot, can be brought to worship the Omnipotent; but not the dog, the elephant, or the gorilla. So, amid every outward diversity, there is in the Christian body the true unity of the Spirit. The attempt has been made to bring that body under one human head, the Pope, and what has been the result? The head became ambitious, corrupt, despotic, infidel, and bloody. This was substituting for God’s unity of the Spirit man’s unity of temporal power.
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As thou… and I—The opposer of the doctrine of the Trinity very vainly attempts to prove that the Logos, or Word, can be no more one with God, than one Christian man can be one with another. But the as here indicates not equality in degree, but similarity in nature according to the human likeness and proportion to the Divine. As of Christian perfection the ideal is God, so of Christian unity the model is the ever-blessed Trinity. (See note on Mat_5:48. Also, Joh_14:9-10.) For man was made in the image of God. Of the Church, as of the Trinity, the unity is spiritual.
That… that… that—There are three thats in this verse. The first two are parallel to each other, the latter enlarging the other, and both depend on pray in the previous verse. Christ directly prays that his followers may be one; and that they may be one in us. The third that depends upon these two. May they be one in us, that the world may be inspired, by that unity, with faith.
The world—Stands in a double aspect: as the embodied enemy of Christ, and, as such, no object of prayer; and as the raw material from which the future Church must be won and shaped, and, as such, the object of this extension of prayer. And in the following verses Christ prays that the Church may be perfect in one, both for its own blessed sake and for the winning the world to faith. No limits are assigned to the diffusion of faith through the world; but the Saviour, justifying a holy ambition in his Church to win the whole, prays that the world may believe, and nothing less.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv21–23 21. That they all may be one] This is…
21. That they all may be one] This is the purpose rather than the purport of the prayer: Christ prays for blessings for His Church with this end in view,—that all may be one.
as] Or, even as. The unity of believers is like the unity of the Father with the Son (Joh_10:30), not a merely moral unity of disposition and purpose, but a vital unity, in which the members share the life of one and the same organism (see on Rom_12:4-5). A mere agreement in opinion and aim would not convince the world. See on Joh_17:11. Omit ‘art,’ which is an insertion of our translators.
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may be one in us] The balance of authority is against ‘one,’ which may be an explanatory gloss. In Joh_6:56 and Joh_15:4-5 Christ’s followers are said to abide in Him: this is to abide in His Father also.
hast sent] Better, didst send (comp. Joh_17:18). The eternal unity of believers with one another will produce such external results (‘see how these Christians love one another’), that the world will be induced to believe. Christian unity and love (Mat_7:12; Luk_6:31; 1 Corinthians 13) is a moral miracle, a conquest of the resisting will of man, and therefore more convincing than a physical miracle, which is a conquest of unresisting nature. Hence the divisions and animosities of Christians are a perpetual stumbling-block to the world.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv21–23 (21) That they all may be one—i.e., both “these”…
(21) That they all may be one—i.e., both “these” (the Apostles) and “them also which shall believe on Me through their word” (the whole body of believers in all times and places). He expresses in this grand thought of the unity of the whole Church the fulness of the purpose of His prayer.
As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.—The insertion of “art,” which, as the italics show, is not in the original text, weakens the sense. It is better, therefore, to omit it. The word “one,” in the second clause, is of doubtful authority, and has the appearance of a gloss. The probable reading, therefore, is, That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; and the meaning is that the union of the Church may be of the same essential nature as that between the Father and the Son; yea, that the union of the Church may result from the union of individual members with the Father through the Son. (Comp. Joh_14:23; Joh_15:4-10, et al.) The Father in the Son and the Son in the Father; both Father and Son taking up their abode in the believer, and the believer, therefore, in the Father and the Son. This is the ideal of the unity of the Church of Christ; and if this union with God is realised by each individual, it necessarily follows that all the individuals will be one with each other. (Comp. Notes on Eph_4:4 et seq.)
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That the world may believe that thou hast sent me.—The result of the union of believers with God, and therefore with each other, will be that the world will see in it a proof of the divine origin of Christianity, and will believe that the Father sent the Son into the world. As this will be the result, it is thought of as the purpose of the prayer for the whole body of believers. Instances of this result crowd involuntarily upon the mind. The brotherhood of Christians has ever been the witness to their common Fatherhood in God. The divisions of Christendom have ever been the weakness of the Church and the proof to the world that, in that they are divided, they cannot be of God. (Comp. Note on Joh_13:35.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv21–23 That they all may be one. My prayer is…
That they all may be one. My prayer is that the many may become one, form one living glorious unity; every part of which spiritual organism, while living a separate and differentiated life, is yet a part of a whole. In the natural sphere, as the parts of a whole organism are mere and more developed, and increasingly resemble individualities in their separation, they are in the same proportion dependent on the whole for the life that is in them. Even in a highly organized community, as the separate individuals have more and more personal consciousness of special function, they become the more dependent on the whole, and in one sense lost in the unity to which they belong. The branches in the vine form together one vine; the members of a body, being many, are one body and members of one another. It is open to discussion whether the kayw clause, which here follows, characterizes the above statement, as Meyer and many others urge, or whether, with Godet, the sentence, "That they all may be one," should not be taken as a general statement, to be followed by the kaywv clause, which characterizes the following words. The first method is a more rational interpretation, nor does the sentence drag. According as thou, Father, (art) in me, and I (am) in thee; i.e. the relation between the Father and Son, the manner in which the Father lives in the Son, as in his organ or instrument of manifestation and object of supreme affection, and as the Son is in the Father, abiding ever in the light of his glory, in the power of his Name, and as these two are thus One in being, so, or similarly, the believers are to live in and for each other, becoming a unity, just as the Father and Son are unity. In order that they themselves also may be one in us. This ina does not offer a parallel sentence in apposition with the former, nor is the "that" to be inverted, with Godet, who translates, "that according as thou.., they also may be one in us;" but it is the climax of the whole unifying process, after the likeness of the union between the Father and the Son, viz. that they themselves may be included in this unity. Though they are thus to be lost in God, yet they do not lose their own individuality. Nay, in proportion to their organic relation to the fullness of the Godhead and the completeness of their own spiritual fellowship with one another, will this personal consciousness of theirs become more and more pronounced. There is yet a further process contemplated, viz. in order that the world may believe (pisteuh , as in the next verse; ginwskh , in the present subjunctive, rather than the aorist) that thou didst send me. The spiritual life and unity of the Church will produce an impression on the world which now rejects the Christ and does not appreciate his Divine commission. The union which springs from the blended life of the various and even contradictory elements in the Church will prove the reality of its origin. The world will believe, this is the final purpose of the intercession concerning the disciples; so though above he did not pray for the world as the then immediate object of his intercession, the poor world is in his heart, and the saving of the world the end of his incarnation. If the union between the Father and the Son is the sublime type of the union between those who shall believe, it is not the union of a great society in accordance with certain invincible rules of affiliation and government. The union between the Father and Son is not a visible manifestation, but a spiritual inference. The common indwelling in the Father and Son, the identity of the spiritual emotion and purpose in all who have one Lord, one faith, one baptism, will convince the world by producing a similar inference. Alford: "This unity is not mere outward uniformity, nor can such uniformity produce it. At the same time, its effects are to be real and visible, such that the world may see them." A prayer for unity.
I LOOK AT THIS PRAYER IN THE LIGHT OF PENTECOST. Within two months from the utterance of the prayer, the apostles, through their spokesman Peter, uttered forth their first great word concerning their glorified and ascended Master, and in that same day there was added to the apostles about three thousand souls. Thus within this short time the first company of them believing in Jesus through the word of his apostles made its appearance. Jesus was not turning a bare possibility into a certainty when he referred so confidently to those who would believe in him through the word of his servants. What faith he had in humanity! Some who have watched and, as they would say, studied mankind, speak of them as a physician might speak of some one very ill, when he says the sick person cannot possibly get better. Jesus, on the other hand, is the Physician, who, while he allows that things are indeed very bad, magnifying our natural misery and helplessness to the utmost, yet at the same time proclaims in trumpet-tones a real cure, though the only one. Three thousand were added to the apostles. They all became one company, not only in spirit, not only in ultimate aim and hope, but in the most literal meaning of the word.
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Thus at Pentecost there came an outward unity such as the world had never seen before.
II LOOK AT THE DISCORDS AND BREACHES THAT SOON MADE THEIR APPEARANCE. The unity of Pentecost did not and could not last; it was but the outcome of a fervid, first love, and as time rolled on those who had been thus united lapsed into their old separation and contrariety. The old man, full grown and vigorous, is not to be dispossessed by the new creature in Christ Jesus without a serious struggle. Even in the first days a Meat deal happened that might almost make one think the disciples of Jesus set no store at all by their Master"s prayers, and never troubled to recollect the desires on which he had set his heart. No proper means was taken to nourish and cherish the power of the Holy Ghost in the hearts of all the believers. Thus it is little wonder the widows had to complain that they were neglected in the daily ministrations. Little wonder, too, that Peter, the very leader on the Day of Pentecost, proved unfaithful to the principle of Christian unity. He either forgot or had never properly comprehended that in Jesus there is neither Jew nor Gentile; and so he wanted Gentiles to become Jews before he would allow them to be Christians.
III WHAT WE INDIVIDUALLY MUST DO FOR UNITY. Jesus wants the world to believe that the Father has sent him sent him out of another world where all is harmony, into a world where, apart from him, all is discord. And the world will only believe when it sees beautiful, lovable things done under its very eyes. We must each of us be a real unity, entirely in accord with Jesus our Master, even as he was in entire accord with his Father. As the Father was seen in Jesus, so the Christ should be seen in us. The spirit of the loving, laboring, life-giving Jesus should be worked into the very foundation of our nature; then that small part of the world which has to do with us may indeed believe that One has been sent from heaven to make men into a happy and united family. Y.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv22–23 The glory which Thou gavest Me I have given…
Joh_17:22-23
The glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them
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The Churchs unity and its influence
I.
THE GIFT WHICH CHRIST BESTOWS ON HIS disciples.
1. What was the glory which Christ received? A glory belonged to the Son of God in His own Divine right (Joh_17:5). But the glory GIVEN to Him must refer to His mission in becoming incarnate. It was the glory of being
(1) The Divine Messenger. He was a Teacher sent from God to unfold all the truth which we required to know for our spiritual renewal and everlasting welfare, so that He proclaimed Himself as the Light of the World.
(2) The Divine Agent. He came to act for God, as well as to declare His truth. How much of true glory was there in such godlike action and enterprise as this!
(3) The Divine Representative. He came to show us the Father, to manifest the Divine name and character (Heb_1:3).
2. The glory communicated by Christ. Clearly it has no reference to any perishable wealth or worldly honour; for the Son of man had not where to lay His head. It is the glory of being
(1) The messengers of God (Joh_20:21). Christ came as the Light of the world, so in and through Him they are the light of the world.
(2) The agents of God. As the glory of Christ consisted in doing the Fathers will, and in being about His business, so in the same should the glory of all Christians be found.
(3) The representatives of God. In Jesus there shone forth the glory of the only begotten of the Father, and His true disciples receive of His glory, even grace for grace. Men seek glory for themselves in the material resources, social attractions, and artistic splendours of the world. But all such glory can be no lasting portion for the soul. The glory which Christ bestows will be remembered, and made to shine forth at the manifestation of the sons of God at the end of all things.
II. THE DESIGN OF THIS GIFT. That they may be one, &c. Wherever the glory makes itself appear, you see the truest evidence of Christian discipleship, and the highest proof of Christian unity. This unity is
1. Glorious in its source: I in them, and Thou in Me. In this way only are Christians truly and vitally one. In the absence of the living Saviour from individual souls, no forced process of uniformity, no subscription merely of the same creed, can effect their union in one body. Christ is in all His true disciples; in their understandings, as the object of the highest knowledge; in their hearts, as the King of Love; in their consciences, as the Prince of Peace; in their whole inner being, as the Lord of Life, the Captain of Salvation, and the Hope of Glory. Thus He becomes the true principle and bond of all unity.
2. Gradual in its realization: That they may be perfected into one. Many things hinder the complete enthronement of Christ in the soul, and so many hindrances prevent the perfecting of the Churchs oneness. Christians, instead of showing their essential unity, have appeared to be the fiercest and most uncompromising foes. But all hindrances will yet be overcome.
3. This triumph of unity is the very highest design which can be realised in relation to the Church. Sin is the element of discord, and the principle of dissocialism and separation in the world; and Gods great purpose for the destruction of this discord, and the restoration of true harmony, is the establishment of a holy brotherhood in Christ, the living Centre and personal Head of men. By Him God is to reconcile all things unto Himself.
III. THE GLORIOUS END TO BE ACCOMPLISHED. That the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, &c.
1. In Joh_17:21, Jesus said, that the world may believe; here He says that the world may know. Knowledge is belief, or faith in its highest attainment. The growing oneness of the disciples would be to the world an evidence of Christian truth, and the triumph of Christian love, mighty and irresistible. But Christ gives an additional thought--that Thou hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me. Through-this conviction alone, of Gods infinite love, do the children of the world become the children of God. What an exhibition of the exceeding riches of Divine grace in the gift of Gods only begotten Son would this oneness supply!
2. This oneness, moreover, would show the exceeding blessedness of consecration to God. (J. Spence, D. D.)
The glory, unity, and triumph of the Church
I. THE GREAT MEANS OF THE UNITY which Christ proposes here. The glory which Thou gavest Me, &c. The glory which the Father gave the Son was
1. That He endowed Him with the Holy Spirit (Joh_3:34-35). The Holy Ghost descended upon our Lord in His baptism and abode upon Him. In Him was fulfilled Isa_11:1-3. In this Spirit there is glory, for the prophet further says, His rest shall be glorious. Now upon each true disciple this glory of God rests according to his measure. Owing to this endowment, there rested upon Jesus Christ a wondrous glory in many respects.
(1) As man He knew the name and character of God. The pure in heart shall see God, and those pure eyes of His had seen God to the full. Has He not given us that same vision of the Father? Yes, for He tells us, He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father. Our eyes have been opened by the blessed Spirit of God to see the invisible.
(2) In His receiving, keeping, and giving forth the Word of God. The depository of the Divine word was Christ, and this was greatly to His glory. Is not THE WORD, one of the brightest of His titles? But now He hath given unto us the Word, and henceforth we are to hold forth the Word of Life.
2. In the sanctification of His blessed person. For their sakes I sanctify Myself. How consecrated to God He was from His childhood till He said, It is finished! This is the glory which He gives to us. His prayer is, Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth. His disciples live unto holiness, and are known as a people zealous of good works.
3. In His mission. As thou hast sent Me into the world, even so, &c.
4. In His model humanity. You, too, are not to be common men, but model men. Jesus especially was a model in
(1) His perfect self-abnegation. For Gods glory, and Christs purpose in the convincement of the world, we are to live, and if we do so the Spirit of glory will be resting upon us.
(2) His oneness with God. His life ran parallel with the path of the Most High.
5. Wherever this glory is seen true unity is developed. Suppose I were to find a man, living in the likeness of Christ, with this spiritual glory conspicuous upon him. Suppose he is a coalheaver, the glory of his character will be none the less conspicuous amid the dust; or suppose that he is an earl, the glory will be none the more dim because of the good mans honours. The holy consecration in each case is the same, and the degrees of rank do not affect the essential beauty of either. If you bring a company of common Christians together and they begin discussing, I daresay they will jangle; but if you could select a number upon whom this glory rests, within a short time they will be all on their knees together, or singing together, or engaged in some form of loving fellowship. Spiritual men are so essentially one that like two drops which lie close together they have an increasing tendency to unite.
II. THE UNITY ITSELF. It is not uniformity. This our Lord says nothing of. Though we are one body in Him, yet all the members have not the same office.
1. I in them. Christ lives in His people, and we are so to act, in the power of the Holy Ghost, that onlookers shall say, Surely Christ lives again in that man, for he acts out the precepts of Jesus.
2. Thou in Me. That is, God is in Christ. This is manifestly true, for you cannot read the life of Christ without seeing God in Him.
3. This brings about the union of believers with the Father: being one with Christ, and Christ being one with the Father, the point is reached for which our Lord prayed, that they also may be one in us.
4. Couple this with believers being one with each other, and you get the being made perfect in one. Moved by the same love of holiness, inspired by the same spirit of love, the eternal Fathers will is the will of the Son, and the Spirit worketh in us also to will and to do according to the good pleasure of the Lord.
III. THE EFFECT WHICH THIS PRODUCES.
1. It will convince the world of the truth of Christs mission. When they see men who are no longer selfish, hard, ungenerous; men no longer governed by their passions; men who desire that which is holy, just, and good; men living to God--then the world will say, Their Master must have been sent of God. And then, not only will their characters convince, but their unity, because the ungodly world will say, We see the glory of Christianity in the poor man, and we see the same in the rich man.
2. But the world is also to be convinced of the Fathers love to us. When the world sees bodies of truly consecrated men and women living together in holy love, then they will also see much joy, peace, mutual consolation, and they will perceive that the providence of God makes all things work together for their good, and that the Lord has a special care over them as a shepherd hath over his flock. Then will they say, These are the people that God has blessed. See how He loves them. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
True glory
I. IS THE SAME IN ALL MORAL INTELLIGENCES. This prayer speaks of several grand unities.
1. One life. The life of God and Christ are here spoken of as one.
2. One truth; Thy truth. Truth has many sides, but it is one essential whole. Truths are but phases of His.
3. One Church. The Christly in all sects and countries are but one family of which Christ is the Head.
4. One love. Benevolence has many modifications, but in essence it is the same in all.
5. One glory. The glory that Christ had was the glory of God, and this He imparts to us--the glory of moral goodness. In the eye of conscience, in the light of the Bible, and in the estimate of God, the good only are glorious.
II. IS COMMUNICABLE FROM ONE BEING TO ANOTHER. Three things are necessary to its communication
1. The manifestation of it. Were the Eternal to conceal His glory, no creature intelligence could participate in its rays. A good being to make others good must show his goodness.
2. The contemplation of it. What boots it, if no eye observes the manifested glory. The man who at noonday shuts his eyes is as much in the dark as though it were midnight.
3. The imitation of it. There must be an effort on the part of the observer to imbibe, cherish, and develop the Divine goodness.
III. COMES TO MAN THROUGH CHRIST. Christ is the only perfect Revealer, We beheld His glory, &c. It is by studying and imitating Him that men become glorious. For we with open face, &c.
IV. IS CONSISTEST WITH CIRCUMSTANTIAL SUFFERING. As seen in the case of these disciples
1. How glorious their endurance!
2. How glorious their achievements! To their victories we owe our liberty, Bibles, schools, asylums, Christendom. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
Saints glorified on earth
I. THE CHARACTER OF THIS CHRIST-GIVEN GLORY.
1. Negatively.
(1) Not in appearance. Painters have delighted to pourtray Christ with a shining halo on His brow. But this is imaginary. His visage was marred more than any mans, &c.
(2) Not in regal state and trappings. These He despised. He refused to be made a king, and had not where to lay His head.
(3) Not in immediate triumph over existing conditions in any department of thought or action. Judged by all accepted standards of glory hardly was ever teacher less glorious.
2. Positively. His glory lay in the purpose and aim of His life, as appointed by the Father and accepted by Himself. It was early made known that Gods glory was His goodness. At the Incarnation the angel song showed this, and so did Christ at the first manifestation of His glory at Cana. And now with the Cross in prospect He prays (Joh_17:1-2).
3. It is clear then that Christ gives glory to His people in calling them to carry forward His work and in granting them necessary equipment (Joh_17:8; Joh_17:18). Christians are given to know the glory of being fellow-labourers with their Master. Perhaps to some the Lords call to service has been unattractive and irksome. It is the glory He hath given us. Is not the soldier honoured when appointed a part in the thick of the fight?
II. THE DESIGN OF CHRIST IS GIVING GLORY TO HIS PEOPLE.
1. To glorify God by making Him known (Joh_17:1; Joh_17:6). The fruitful cause of the worlds woe is ignorance of God.
2. To lead to blessed union with God and one another, that they may be one &c.
3. Here is discovered the responsibility of all disciples. By unfaithfulness we may turn our glory into shame.
III. THIS CHRIST-GIVEN GLORY THROWS LIGHT ON THE FUTURE GLORY OF THE SAINTS, which will consist of
1. A call to higher service. Inasmuch as thou hast been faithful over a few things, &c.
2. The realization of perfect and harmonious relationship with God and one another.
3. The possession of true rest and joy--the joy of accomplished and prospective service. (J. Stevens.)
The mutual glory of Christ and His people
I. THE NATURE OF CHRISTS GLORY. There is
1. The essential glory of Christ.
2. His mediatorial glory.
3. His remunerative glory.
II. SOME INSTANCES IS WHICH THIS GLORY IS COMMUNICATED TO THE SAINTS.
1. They have glorious titles.
2. Glorious privileges.
3. They are brought into glorious relations.
4. Glorious acts and exploits are ascribed to them.
5. Glorious prespects are before them.
III. INFERENCES.
1. The vanity of earthly things.
2. The dignity of real Christians.
3. Press forward to possession.
4. Let Him who put this glory on us receive all glory from us. (B. Beddome, M. A.)
Christs glory given to His people
I. CHRISTS GLORY.
1. Sonship.
2. Union with God.
3. Perfection of attributes.
II. HIS PEOPLES GLORY.
1. They are sons of God.
2. They are one with Christ.
3. They reflect His nature.
4. They are kings and priests. (W. W. Wythe.)
The glory Christ gives to His disciples
As the essence of the glory of Jesus consists in His dignity as the Son, and the well-beloved Son, so the glory He has bestowed on believers is the filial dignity, the state of adoption (Joh_1:12). Whereby they have become what He eternally is--children of God and objects of His perfect love. This glory Jesusbestowed on His own, by bringing matters to such a state that God could justly reflect upon them all the love which He has for Jesus Himself (verses Joh_15:9-10). Thus the proposition which follows, that they may be one, &c., is easily understood. Once objects of the same Fathers love, and bearing in common the image of their Elder Brother, they form among themselves a closely united family (cf. Rom_8:29; Eph_1:10)
. (F. Godet, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv21–22 21. That they all may be one; … that…
21. That they all may be one; … that they may be one in us. This is a prayer for the unity of the saints. The Lord all through this discourse has shown the intimate union between the Father and himself. The Father is in him and he in the Father, all that is the Father's is his, and his is the Father's. They have no separate will, kingdom, or interests. Such a union is demanded among the disciples of Christ. Such union is impossible while they are divided into various denominations, with separate work, property and interests, separate churches, colleges, papers and missions. Denominationalism is utterly opposed to this prayer, and every apologist for it is disloyal to the spirit of the prayer. Nor is it fulfilled in any church where there are factions, where “all are not perfectly joined together, of the same mind and the same judgment.” If Christ abides in the heart, the one life will draw all who have Christ formed within them into one family. This unity is needful, and for it the Lord prays, That the world may believe that thou hast sent me. It must be a union that the world can see and recognize. It is therefore an organic union, one Body as there is one Lord. There is no other source of skepticism so fruitful as church quarrels and sectarian divisions.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv21, 23 kosmos = mankind. (See Scofield "Mat 4:8").
world
kosmos = mankind. (See Scofield "Mat 4:8").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v22 The glory that you gave me, I have given…
The glory that you gave me, I have given to them
"I have honored my followers just as you have honored me"
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so that they will be one, just as we are one
You can translate this in an active form. AT: "so that you can unite them just as you have united us" (See: Active or Passive)
that they may be brought to complete unity
"that they may be completely united"
that the world will know
Here "the world" is a metonym that refers to the people who do not know God. AT: "that all the people will know" (See: Metonymy)
loved
This kind of love comes from God and focuses on the good of others, even when it does not benefit oneself. This kind of love cares for others, no matter what they do.
translationWords
glory
love
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv21–23 17:21 For believers, becoming one with one another is…
17:21 For believers, becoming one with one another is an outgrowth of the union they enjoy with Jesus himself, a union modeled on the oneness of the Father and the Son. • may they be in us: Through the power of the Spirit, believers would experience a profound spiritual intimacy with the Father and the Son and be transformed (14:20, 23; 1 Jn 4:13). • Disciples of Jesus represent him, so their conduct and relationships with each other reflect the credibility of Christ in the world. When there is disunity, infighting, and intolerance, their testimony to the world is unconvincing. When people observe the community of believers, they know that it represents Jesus; a unified, loving community convinces the world to believe (John 13:35; 1 Jn 3:11).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.