Jesus has declared the name of God to His disciples and He has done so fully and completely. In the past God had revealed various parts of His name (His character and nature) through various circumstances and prophets, but now Christ has revealed the fulfullness of Who the Father is to us through Himself, His words, and His deeds.

Jesus has made God known to His followers and He is going to further do that by Himself and by His Spirit (John 1:18, 17:6, 16:12,25; Acts 1:3, Matt 28:20, John 15:26, 16:13-15). But the greatest revelation He gave us of the Father and His love for us was through the cross (Rom 5:8), which was probably what He had in mind when He prayed this.

John 1:18  No-one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

John 17:6  “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.

John 16:12  “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.

John 16:25  “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.

Acts 1:3  After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

Matthew 28:20  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

John 15:26  “When the Counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.

John 16:13-15  But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.  He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.  All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

Romans 5:8  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Christ has “continued” to make the name of the Father known throughout the centuries since His death on the cross, first by His resurrection and ascension, and since then through His Holy Spirit. In fact, the whole history of the church from Pentecost to now contains ongoing revelations from Jesus to His body. Maclaren says it this way: “The difference between the two volumes of revelation—that which includes the work of Christ upon earth, and that which includes His revelation from the heavens—is this, that the first volume contains all the facts, and the second volume contains His interpretation and application of the facts in the understandings and hearts of His people.” Christ has been continuously revealing the Father to us, bringing a greater understanding of the significance of what He did while on the earth, and changing our hearts to receive what He has for us.

There will be times of shaking and those times are when our ever-living Master and Teacher is bringing a new and much-needed lesson to His body. We call them “movements” but they are really revelations from Him. I believe the emphasis of personal relationship with God came through Martin Luther and others. God used John Welsey to bring a new revelation of holiness and the Azusa Street revivals to show us that the gifts of the Spirit are still alive today. The Restoration Movement with the Campbells was resposible for Baptism by immersion being re-emphasized. I wonder what God is doing today? (These are just my opinions. Please feel free to disagree, but let’s remain unified and love each other.) The point here is that God is still active on the earth and He will reveal things to us individually and corporately to bring us into a greater understanding of Him and His goals for us. Remember that His revelations will always line up with scripture (1 Thes 5:21, 2 Tim 3:16-17).

1 Thessalonians 5:21  Test everything. Hold on to the good.

2 Timothy 3:16-17  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Jesus does not reveal the Father to satisfy our desire for knowledge. He does it so that the love with which the Father loved His Son may be in our hearts (Rom 5:5). But there is a possible double meaning here. He may mean that the love the Father had for Him may be among us, uniting us together as one. He probably meant both.

Romans 5:5  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Another purpose Jesus had in revealing the Father was that He Himself might be “in” us. Christ in us is the hope of glory (Col 1:27). The love of God is associated with Jesus living within us. We can only know the fullness of God’s love if His Son lives in our hearts.

Colossians 1:27  To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

This ends the Lord’s prayer in John. It is interesting to note the similarities between the last words of Jesus here and the last word of His discourses in (16:33). Westcott observes that “He is Himself the source of victory and life.” Amen.

John 16:33  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

We can have and experience the love the Father has for Jesus in our own hearts, and that is exactly what Jesus wants for us. The Father loves His Son with a continuous, full, perfect love and Jesus has for eternity lived in the experience of that love except for one brief moment on the cross when He bore our sins (Matt 27:46). He wants us also to live in that continuous experience of God’s love and, since Christ dealt with our sin on the cross (Rom 8:1), there is nothing to keep that from happening, except we ourselves. If you sin, then confess it (1John 1:9) and be restored into a perfect relationship with God. Then all you need do is receive. Jesus always gets His prayers answered, so receive and feel the love God has for you — the same love He has for Jesus.

Matthew 27:46  About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Romans 8:1  Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Matthew Henry observes, “When he prayed that they might be sanctified, he called him holy Father; when he prays that they may be glorified, he calls him righteous Father; for it is a crown of righteousness which the righteous Judge shall give. “

It is also noteworthy that immediately after addressing God as “righteous Father” Jesus distinguishes between the world and His disciples. Morris notes that “It is because God is righteous that He treats both groups as He does.” What does he mean by this?

Jesus also contrasts His knowledge of God with that of the world (7:29, 8:55, 15:21, 16:3).

John 7:29  but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”

John 8:55  Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word.

John 15:21  They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.

John 16:3  They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.

Here Jesus is thinking of His disciples and says “I will” or “I want” but when speaking of Himself He said “not what I will, but what You will” (Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42). His final petition is for them and not Himself. Oh, that we were more like Him!

Mark 14:36  “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Luke 22:42  “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

He wants His disciples to be where He is and He has already said that He was no longer in the world (17:11). He is asking that His disciples be with Him in heaven and see the glory that is His there. Notice that He is talking about those the Father has given Him. This includes not just the twelve but all of us who follow Him. This prayer is immediately for His disciples but is also for us.

John 17:11  I 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.

We are indeed going to be with Jesus (John 12:26; 13:36; 14:3; Rom 8:17; 2 Tim 2:11). We will be able to see Him and His glory when we get to heaven (1 John 3:2).

John 12:26  Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me.

John 13:36  Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

John 14:3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Romans 8:17  Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

2 Timothy 2:11  Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him;

1 John 3:2  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Note that heaven is the place where Jesus will be, but heaven is also just being with Him. His presence would make any place heaven! (Php 1:23)

Philippians 1:23  I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;

His glory in heaven is much different than the glory of His cross (John 12:41, Rev 21:23).

John 12:41  Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

Revelation 21:23  The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

The Father loves the Son (John 5:20).

John 5:20  For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.

Barclay makes the interesting observation that “It is a precious thing to remember that before these terrible hours his last words were not of despair but of glory.”

Our view of the spiritual is still vastly limited by our living in the present physical world. We think of this world as being reality when the “real” reality is in heaven. An example of this is when a loved one dies we think of them as “departed” when in fact we should think of them as “arrived.” For them this prayer of Jesus that they be with Him has been fulfilled, because, for the Christian, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor 5:8). “We weep, but they rejoice.” (Maclaren)

2 Corinthians 5:8  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

Now our communion with Christ is imperfect because of our flesh, sin, circumstances, distractions, worries, and work, but some day all of those will be stripped away and we will be with Him forever! What a day that will be!

On a side note, God always prioritizes the spiritual over the physical. An example is Adam. God told him that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that he would die (Gen 2:16-17) and when he did eat of it, Adam did die. First his intimate relationship with God died (Gen 3:19) and eventually his physical body died, too (Gen 5:5). We have been delivered from both of Adam’s deaths which were a result of his sin. We have been delivered from spiritual death through Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross for us and we will be delivered from physical death when we eat from the tree of life in heaven (Rev 22:14).

Genesis 2:16-17  And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;  but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

Genesis 3:19  By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Genesis 5:5  Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.

Revelation 22:14  “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

God deals with the spiritual first and then the physical unless He needs to deal with the physical to accomplish His goals in the spiritual. So why do we prioritize the physical over the spiritual?

The secret of perfect unity is the double indwelling. Christ is in the believers and the Father is in Him. Lagrange thinks the significance of this is that “the Son is in the faithful, He is in the Father: it is thus by Him that the faithful are united with the Father: not that they pass the one to the other, but because they find the Father in the Son.”

The purpose of this indwelling is that the believers will be “perfected in unity”. “perfected” is the Greek word teleioo which means to be made perfect or complete; or to accomplish. The disciples already had some unity but it was not sufficient. They needed a more complete unity.

Their unity is to enable the world to know 2 things: the first is that God the Father sent Jesus and the second is that He loves believers as He loves His Son (Rev 3:9). Actually the two are inseperable. Why?

Revelation 3:9  I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.

God’s will is that all come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and He will do all He can to make that happen (1 Tim 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). In His prayer Jesus is telling us that our unity with other believers is our greatest witnessing tool. The unity of believers will be so effective because it is an evidence of the truth of our message. Now if unity is such a great witnessing tool to the lost of this world, what does disunity do? It is perhaps the greatest tool Satan has to keep people from getting saved. No wonder he spends so much time and effort keeping us apart.

1 Timothy 2:4  who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

2 Peter 3:9  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

This section of Christ’s prayer is for those who will believe through the message of the disciples. This is the only recorded time Jesus prays for us and His entire prayer for us is for our unity. If our unity is such a big deal to Jesus then it should be just as big a deal to us!

We must guard against disunity, especially showing it in front of non-believers. Disunity may come in several different forms: arguing, dissentions, holding things against each other, treating some believers better than others, judging each other, etc. But these are forms of disunity which are mostly not seen by unbelievers and thus are not the most dangerous form which keeps the unsaved from believing Christ’s message. The worst form of disunity is speaking badly of our brothers and sisters to unbelievers or even in front of them.

Saying bad things about fellow followers of Christ can in itself take 2 forms. First, we must not speak badly of our individual brothers and sisters. Even if what we say is true, it should never be said to a non-Christian or it is sin. Second, we must not speak badly of the corporate body of Christ in any of its forms. This means we cannot downgrade other churchs or denominations or even speak badly of our own church in front of the unsaved. To do so is to act against what Jesus is here praying.

So what are you holding in your heart against your brother or sister? Have you said bad things about other denominations around non-Christians? Have you let the devil use you as an anti-witnessing tool? If you have, then please repent and determine with God’s help to never do so again. Our unity is vital to God because it is what He uses to convince the world of the truth of His message. Our goal should be to partner with Him in saving the world His way and not to help the devil send people to hell.

The glory of Jesus as the Son of God is displayed in (Matt 3:17, John 1:14, Heb 1:5, 3:6). This is the glory Jesus imparts to his followers (John 1:12, 1 John 3:1). In other words, he made us his brethren that we might be united in one great household (Rom 8:29, Eph 1:10, 2:19, 1 John 3:9,10, 4:8,16). A true comprehension of the Fatherhood of God and our brotherhood in Christ must result in unity.

Matthew 3:17  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

John 1:14  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Hebrews 1:5  For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”?

Hebrews 3:6  But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

John 1:12  Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

1 John 3:1  How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Romans 8:29  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Ephesians 1:10  to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

Ephesians 2:19  Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household,

1 John 3:9-10  No-one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.  This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

1 John 4:8  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:16  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

The true glory of Christ was in following the will of the Father which culminated in the cross. So it is with the Christian. We are to walk in humility serving others. That will cause the world to look upon us as lowly and unimportant, but in God’s eyes we will gain true significance. (Luke 9:23, Gal 6:14, Acts 5:41).

Luke 9:23  Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Galatians 6:14  May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Acts 5:41  The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

The glory that the world seeks drives men against each other, for if one is lifted up, it means another has been put down. Not so with Christians.

Unity is a very big deal to Jesus. This is evidenced by the fact that He prayed for it three times (17:11, 21, 22). There exists a unity between the Father and the Son, even when Jesus was upon the earth and had rid Himself of His deity. He was fully human and yet at the same time fully unified with the Father (John 10:30).

John 17:11  I 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.

John 17:21-22  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.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:

John 10:30  I and the Father are one.”

Further, He states that the Father is in the Son and the Son in the Father. The two are one and yet distinctly different. Barrett sees it this way, “the Father is active in the Son – it is the Father who does his works (14:10) – and apart from the Father the deeds of the Son are meaningless, and indeed would be impossible; the Son again is in the Father, eternally with him in the unity of the Godhead, active alike in creation and redemption.” The amazing thing here is that Jesus prays a similar thing for all believers. They are to be in the Father and in the Son without losing their identity. Remember what He said in (John 15:4-8). It is only in this type of relationship that they can do anything. So the unity Jesus is requesting is one which will result in a more complete relationship with the Father and the Son and this, in turn, will result in the world believing that Jesus came from God. Strachan notes that, “The size and extent of the Church alone will not impress the world. This inward unity expressing itself in a common mission and message will alone impress the world.”

John 14:10  Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.

John 15:4-8  Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

This brings us to ask exactly what is the type of unity Jesus expects His followers to have? The type of unity that it is not to be is one of organization. Nor is it a unity of creeds or rituals. Jesus does not want us to strive for ecclesiastical unity as some religious organizations do. The unity He wants is one of personal relationship. This has several facets:

Unity of one body (John 11:52; Eph 1:10).

John 11:52  and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.

Ephesians 1:10  to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

Unity of being one in spirit with the Lord and thus with everyone else who is also one in spirit with the Lord (1 Cor 6:17).

1 Corinthians 6:17  But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

Unity of heart. This is similar to the previous one in that it has to do with having the same desires, aspirations, priorities, and love.

This unity will become perfect upon our arrival in heaven and will be developed within us until that time (John 17:23, Eph 4:13).

John 17:23  I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Ephesians 4:13  until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ.

The process by which unity among believers today is attained is revealed in (Eph 2:15-16). Unity is only possible in Christ. Bromiley (Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, p 539) states that “As divided men they first meet in his crucified body, in which their old life is put to death and destroyed.” It is Christ who unites us. If we truly love and obey Him, unity is only natural because He is not divided among Himself (Matt 12:25-26). Our differences should never be an excuse for disunity (1 Cor 12:12-13, Rom 12:4-5).

Ephesians 2:15-16  by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,  and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

Matthew 12:25-26  Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?

1 Corinthians 12:12-13  The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.  For we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Romans 12:4-5  Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,  so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Unity is beautiful and should be sought after (Psa 133:1-3).

Psalms 133:1-3  A song of ascents. Of David. How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!  It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes.  It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life for evermore.

It seems that the prayer of Jesus was answered for a time after His ascension (Acts 4:32). However, it didn’t last long (1 Cor 1:10-11, 3:1-4) and with all of our different denominations and so much discord within individual churches today, it still is not being answered. This was not the intent of Jesus! Why is His prayer not answered? Because God will not over-ride the will of man.

Acts 4:32  All the believers were one in heart and mind. No-one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.

1 Corinthians 1:10-11  I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.  My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.

1 Corinthians 3:1-4  Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ.  I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.  You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?  For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?

On a different note, sometimes it takes time for prayer to be answered. If it takes 2,000 years or more for Jesus to get His prayers answered, why should we lose heart when our answers linger only a few days or months?

Jesus has started by praying for Himself, and then for His disciples, and now for all who will believe through the message of His disciples. This would include those who directly heard the testimony of the disciples and also we who have read it in the New Testament. Notice that Jesus doesn’t use a name for the future group of believers; He just refers to them as individuals who believe the message. He doesn’t call them Catholics or Baptists or by any other name of any denomination. Neither does He call them a congregation or even “the church”. According to Jesus, we are just “a great spiritual community (of individual believers who are) held together by (a) common faith in Him”. (Maclaren)

Jesus has referred to “your word” (that of the Father) three times in His prayer  to this point (17:6, 14, 17) and now He is speaking of the word of His disciples. Their message will lead others to place their faith in Him.

John 17:6  “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.

John 17:14  I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.

John 17:17  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

Notice that the only ones Jesus prays for are those who either believe in Him or are going to believe in Him. Although He loved the world and came to die to give all men an opportunity to be saved, He only intercedes for those who have, or are going to have, a living relationship with Him. This brings up some questions about our own prayer lives. Part of the reason this and the prayer Jesus gave in (Matt 6:9-13) are for our benefit. He was gving us an example of how we should pray. When a believer is in need of help, we should pray that God gives them what they need, but what about an unbeliever? Should we pray that God delivers them from their troubles and supplies their needs, or should we instead pray that God uses their troubles to bring them to Him? What would Jesus do?

Matthew 6:9-13  “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,  your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

“sanctify myself” = Jesus completely set Himself apart to God (Eph 5:2, Heb 7:27, 9:14). By saying (John 12:28, Matt 26:42, Luke 23:46) Jesus also sanctified Himself. How?

Ephesians 5:2  and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Hebrews 7:27  Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.

Hebrews 9:14  How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

John 12:28  Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

Matthew 26:42  He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

Luke 23:46  Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

Luthi states, “He serves as Mediator between Heaven and earth. He sanctifies Himself by placing Himself completely at His Father’s service and saying, ‘Not my will, but thine, be done.’ His path of duty leads through the Cross and the grave to Resurrection, and up to the right hand of the Father, from whence He shall come again. The absolute, voluntary filial obedience is the secret of Christ’s self-sanctification. That is what He means when He stands alone before the Father here and vows to Him, ‘I sanctify myself.’”

The sacrifice of Jesus purchased the sanctification of the church (Eph 5:25-26). It is the ultimate consecration of Jesus to His sacrifice on the cross that enables the consecration — setting apart — of the children of God. As the priest and Levites in the Old Testament were consecrated by the shedding of blood so are we, but with a much better blood. Therefore it only follows that our setting apart to the work God has called us to do is much better than that of the priests and Levites.

Ephesians 5:25-26  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her  to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,

What has God called you to do? Is He even now preparing you for a work? What are you going to say when He says, “Go” and in whose power will you go if you do?

Jesus prays that the disciples will be consecrated and then sent. Jesus went through the same chain of events Himself (John 10:36). His mission has made a pattern for theirs (and ours). They are not to live aimless lives because they have a commission from the Lord which they must do even as Jesus did His.

John 10:36  what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?

A further example of this is when God consecrated, or set apart, Barnabas and Saul to spread the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 13:1-4). God did the calling of these men — He is the One Who had the work He wanted them to do and then told them so — and He had the church be a part of that consecrating, probably so they would be supporting the two with prayer and financial needs. It is important to note that once Barnabas and Paul had been set apart, they then departed Antioch and did what God called them to do.

Acts 13:1-4  In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.  While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”  So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.  The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.

However, the timing of being sent is also entirely up to God and only God. If we go before God calls us, then His power won’t be available to us (Acts 1:4-8), but if we just sit around and enjoy what God has done for us without doing what He has called us to do, then He will either send somebody else, or He will bring pressure on us to do what he originally set us apart for as He did the early church in (Acts 8:1-4).

Acts 1:4-8  On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.”  So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”  He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 8:1-4  And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.  Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.  But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.  Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

What has God called you to do? You must fervently pursue it as much as Jesus pursued His calling. God never sets us apart to sit; He sets us apart to be sent.

“sanctify” = hagiazo = to separate from the profane and to God; to make holy. They have been born again into a new nature that is not of this world and now they need to act accordingly. Morris states that “They are to be holy men, separated from the world to be of service to the world.” Having men and articles consecrated to God’s service is nothing new (Ex 28:41; 29:1, 36; 40:13) but it is now better because it is based on a more complete revelation.

Exodus 28:41  After you put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint and ordain them. Consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.

Exodus 29:1  “This is what you are to do to consecrate them, so that they may serve me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without defect.

Exodus 29:36  Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it.

Exodus 40:13  Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so that he may serve me as priest.

Jesus prays that they may be set apart by the truth. This will be accomplished by them doing the truth (3:21). Sanctification is dependant upon the revelation of God. It is only as we come to know Him and what pleases Him that we are able to obey Him and become separate from the world. Sanctification is not received by travailing in prayer nor is it given by the laying on of hands. Sanctification happens when we accept God’s truth in our hearts and make it so much a part of our lives that we live it.

John 3:21  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Sanctification or consecration has a two-fold aspect. The first has been noted that it is where we act upon what we know to do. The second is individual settings-apart for a specific work and it is entirely up to God. He chooses who will serve where and gives them whatever gifts and characteristics they need for that ministry. Necessary to both of these aspects of sanctification is the power of God. Without His power there is no gifting or calling and without His power there is no obedience. In (2 Cor 12:10) Paul wrote that “when I am weak, then I am strong” and how true that is, but we often have the misconception that God sends His power to fill in the small cracks of our weaknesses, but the truth is that our weaknesses and inabilities to do His will are not an occasional crack, but instead a huge, gaping cavern. God’s power is an overwhelming necessity in our lives.

2 Corinthians 12:10  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

“Your word is truth.” = There is no article with “truth”; if there had been, we might have equated God’s word with truth and made the two interchangeable. His word is more than just true; it is truth; but it is not all of the truth. Truth also contains scientific fact. The earth revolves around the sun; gravity causes apples to drop down out of trees instead of upwards or sideways; to every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. These are all part of truth. But as Dr. Francis Collins, the head of the Human Genome Project, said, “God is not afraid of scientific truth. How could he be? He invented it.” (qt’d in Guideposts, Dec. 2006, p. 44) Essentially, truth is God’s nature finding its expression in creation (Rom 1:20), in revelation (in this verse Jesus says “your word is truth”), and ultimately in Jesus Christ (John 14:6). We should never be afraid of discovering the truth because all truth comes from God. 40% of all scientists believe in a God who answers prayer. The other 60% don’t because they are operating under the false premise that there is no God and therefore they do not look at the facts objectively. God is the Author of truth and when we honestly look at the truth we will see Him.

Romans 1:20  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

John 14:6  Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus earlier said that His own word was truth and that it made men free (8:31-32). The Father’s word is similar. It is truth and must be immediately accepted and acted upon. God’s revealed truth is not something to be learned and then filed away in our memories; it is something to be apprehended and then acted upon. This is the manner in which men are sanctified.

John 8:31-32  To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”