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United with Christ in God’s Love & Mission

January 26, 2025 Preacher: Jeff Griffis Series: Communion in Christ's Love

Scripture: John 17:20–26

United with Christ in God’s Love & Mission – John 17:20–26

PRAY & INTRO: Does it matter to know that Jesus prayed for you? … Does it matter to know, if you belong to God through faith in Jesus Christ, that God the Son himself prayed for all his people, including you, that we would be unified in God’s familial love and mutual mission?

As we have been saying about this prayer in John 17, what Jesus prays God is sure to accomplish. Let there be no shadow of doubt or lack of certainty that God is doing and will do as Christ prayed. The only two questions that remain are, “Does this apply to me?” and “How should I respond?” - If I am outside of Christ, then the only reasonable response is to repent of loving sin and trusting self, and to seek God’s gracious salvation in submitting to Jesus as Lord. If you have trusted in Christ as Lord, then you know this applies to you and should be responding in gratitude and with courage to be and do as he says.

Just so, we should respond with the overall thrust that Jesus has for his disciples in this departure discourse and in praying this prayer in their hearing.

Take heart from Christ’s prayer for all his people to be united in God’s love and mission. (verses 20-23)

I say the applicational thrust is to “take heart” because Jesus has been comforting them and preparing them with courage to forge ahead in his mission. He begins and ends the discourse proper with this same theme.

John 14:1 ESV

1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

In particular, he comforts them, that at his request, God will continue to be present with them and in them by the coming of another Helper, the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:16-17).

As he began with comfort, so he ends with courage:

John 16:33 ESV

33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

The world rages in hatred and confusion, but in Christ Jesus we have peace; we are tranquil because we know we have peace with God (Rom 5:1). And in the world we will experience suffering and persecution, even as Christ did, but we should take heart, because Jesus is about to prove his victory… when he rises from the grave and ascends to glory (and sends the Holy Spirit that he promised). 

So too, when Jesus prays in John 17, we take heart from God glorifying himself in his self-revelation in Jesus Christ (vv 1-5). And like the first disciples, we can take comfort and courage from the certainty of belonging to God through faith in Jesus (vv 6-10… We know that we know God because we are those who are keeping Christ’s word). And we can trust that we are being safeguarded in his care because he has set us apart by his truth and sent as messengers of his truth (vv. 11-19).

And now, even more directly, we should…

[repeat title] Take heart from Christ’s prayer for all his people to be united in God’s love and mission.

As we proceed in our exploration of the details, we’ll maintain this same applicational thrust: that in this prayer that our Lord prays for all his disciples, we should take heart.

First then…

Take heart from the extent of this prayer for unity. 

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word” (20)

Notice that this builds on the previous prayer for the Apostles. “I am not praying only on their behalf [the 11 disciples], but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their testimony [their word, their message, their communication of Jesus as God’s salvation… recorded in the NT writings]” - From v. 11 forward, then, where Jesus prays, “keep them in your name, that they may be one”… that unity is continued here, and it is expanded to include all those who will believe, and this unity is further explained and developed.

That should give us joyful comfort of God’s own ability and promise to save and keep his own. It should encourage and motivate us that God has revealed to us his foundational truth in Jesus Christ, and he has set us apart for himself by his truth and in service to this truth. And it should challenge us to sink our roots still deeper into that truth.

Now, consider further the scope (the extent) of this prayer for unity. According to v. 20 this is a prayer for all who “will believe” in Jesus through the word (message) communicated by the Apostles. This is a prayer for everyone who has ever received Jesus Christ as he is communicated in the message of the NT, and everyone who will receive him still.

Take yourself out of your bubble for a second, and contemplate the scope of this prayer. We should be awed and inspired at the extent of this prayer for unity, to include all believers of all generations and all nations. - What bridges thousands of years and generations? What can cross continents and cultures and languages and peoples? What, or who, can possibly bridge the distance between us and connect us? Is it not to be united in relationship to God through Jesus, who created us that we should worship him in his holiness, and reflect him in his glory? Is it not then also to become united with God in his love and his purpose of making himself known?

We should take heart from the extent of this prayer for unity that binds us together with his first disciples, and which spans across generations and nations to include all his people for all time. And we should certainly…

Take heart from the meaning of this prayer for unity.

“that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us” (21) … “The glory that you have given me I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one” (22)

This oneness is to be united with God and his people in love and purpose, a unity in relationship and in mission. - It is a divinely-generated spiritual unity, accomplished by God and for God.

Again, as we said in our discussion of verse 11, this cannot be an ontological unity, as if we are being deified to become what God is. Rather it is a unity of familial love and common purpose. We have been invited into the covenant love of God that is shared in the Godhead (a love that is pure and self-giving). And we are invited into his purpose of self-revelation, of making himself known. 

It’s helpful to note as well then, that the emphasis here is not on experiential or practical unity; rather, it is a relational unity produced by the transformative work of God through Christ by his Spirit. This is a unity of relationship and purpose. - That is not to say that this unity in God’s love and mission has no bearing on our experiential or practical unity. Indeed it does, but it is not the primary thrust of this passage. (We can look to the likes of Philippians chapter 2 for Paul’s instruction to us be of one mind in humble service for the good of others.)

So, in what way are we “in” Christ, in God? Christ’s own image of the vine, and of his familial relationship to the Father, are most helpful to us here. We have been grafted into God’s covenant love, and we have been brought in to represent his character (familial relationship is a key to understanding this: “just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you.”

1 John 3:1a “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” This is a familial bond, of carrying on the family name. We have not yet received the fullness of our inheritance, but we are representatives of the family name.

It is this second emphasis that is picked up particularly at v. 22: “the glory that you have given me I have given them.”

Glory is God’s splendor, conceived of as a visible brightness (radiance) that communicates (represents) God’s presence, in his infinitely perfect nature, authority, and power. (Would it help if I repeat that?)

Therefore, John and other the NT writers can describe Jesus as the glory of God made known, as he mediates not only God’s only means of salvation, but he also embodies God’s perfection, authority, and power.

John 1:14 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Who communicates the full grace and truth of God’s identity and worth? Jesus. How? John calls Jesus both the Logos (word) and the Light from God, associating him even with this very concept of God’s glory, his splendor communicated visibly. Christ is the verbal and visible manifestation of God.

Similarly, the writer of Hebrews initiates his sermon on the supremacy of Jesus with a description of the Son in human form as both the verbal and visible presentation of the perfect nature and power of God. 

Hebrews 1:1–3 ESV

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

In vv. 1&2, God has spoken to us by his Son, and in v. 3, He is the radiance of the glory of God… he visibly and audibly communicates the perfect nature and power of God.

So in what way has his glory (the visible representation of his splendor) been transmitted to us? - My mind has memorized a Question and Answer from a catechism that we have reviewed with our children, which is biblically sound: How and why did God create us? God created us male and female in his own image to glorify him.

But by our rebellious sin of self-elevation and self-trust (which is idolatry), we humans have grotesquely marred the image of God in us by our foolish desire for autonomy. However, in the forgiveness of sin and Christ’s imputed righteousness, God remakes us and seals us by his Spirit to be a reflection of his glory, as he intended. … And he continues that work in us.

2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV

18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Here the context (of 2 Cor 3:7-17) explains that by the Spirit of God in us the glory endures and doesn’t fade like it did with Moses, nor then do we veil our faces, but with boldness we perceive Christ’s glory and representthat glory to the world as God continues transforming us.

So then, Jesus is the visible and verbal representation of the splendor of God to us, in order that his people may be a united reflection of God’s glory.   

Take heart in the meaning of this prayer: Christ unifies us in loving familial relationship with God (and one another), and in his mission of self-revelation. Although we are indeed individual branches in the vine, we are united, as the Father and Son are one, in mutual familial love and in common purpose to reflect the glory of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The third thing for us to see in vv. 20-23 is that we should…

Take heart from the outcome of this prayer for unity.

“so that the world may believe that you sent me” (21) … “I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (23)

Jesus prays for all his people to have a complete and compelling unity of relationship to God and purpose for God, leading to a testimony about Christ that the world cannot ignore. This unity of familial love and mutual mission will be so complete, so perfected, that our unity will be a compelling visible and verbal testimony to the whole world of the truth that Jesus is Lord and of God’s transforming love.

The world takes great pains, under the influence of Satan, to ignore and deny the deity of Jesus, and the necessity of his sacrifice, and the truth of his victorious resurrection. But why do they have to work so hard at this? Because Jesus is unquestionably the most influential and unique person in all of human history, and because if they accept that he is who the Bible says he is, then they have to submit to Jesus as Lord and to the authority of God over their existence.

But in this prayer from Jesus to the Father we can take heart that true Christianity is undeniable and unassailable, because we are the people literally transformed and indwelt by the Spirit of God, to whom and in whom the love of God is on display.

Romans 5:5 ESV

5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Now at vv. 24-26, Jesus’ prayer reaches a culmination and summary of sorts, so these concepts are easier to follow and understand as they relate to things he has been teaching and praying.

Take heart that Jesus prayed for the completion of our salvation and for the continuation of his purposes through us. (verses 24-26)

In these closing verses, Jesus prays for the consummation of our salvation and gives account to the Father for having made him known and continuing to make him known (to us and through us, by his Spirit).

Take heart because…

Those who belong to him will reach his eternal presence and see his unveiled glory.

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” (24)

What Jesus prays is guaranteed to be what is best for God’s glory, so it is certain to be accomplished by God.  - Jesus prayed aloud in their hearing so that we would know what he prayed. Jesus desires that those who thus belong to him will reach the consummation of his eternal presence to see his unveiled glory. What Jesus wants here is the same as what the Father wills, so he will surely do it.

Take heart because we know that…

Our unity and destiny are determined by our adherence to God’s self-revelation in Jesus Christ.

“O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I have made known to them your name…” (25-26)

From his prayer we take heart to continue steadfastly in submission to Christ in this world, knowing that we have received his truth (that we have a right relationship with God through Jesus), and that we live by his truth and are unified in his truth. And it is right relationship to God through Jesus, this truth we have come to know, which guarantees our eternal destiny, our receiving the promised inheritance of perfect rest and worship in the presence of God.

Finally, take heart because…

God will continue to make himself known by the presence of his Spirit in Christ’s people, by whom we also receive assurance that we are in God’s covenant love. 

“… and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (26)

Last week we said one way to summarize who we are as Christ’s people is “set apart and sent,” and this week we have another way to summarize our identity and purpose: To know God and make him known. To know God in Christ Jesus and to make him known by verbal proclamation of his Lordship and the visible transformation in our lives.

We have seen in this departure discourse that The way Jesus would continue to be present with them, and us, is by the Spirit of truth whom he is sending when he ascends to his rightful place of glory. And the ongoing work of the Spirit in us and through us gives us assurance of God’s love, even as we saw from Rom 5:5.

In summary today, we reiterate…

Conclusion: If you are in Christ, take heart. Jesus prayed for you, together with all his people, to reflect his glory in the world. God will surely do it.

In 2,000 years many things have changed (the printing press, the industrial revolution, the revolution in technology and communication), but what truth remains? The one truth that remains is that we are not “whole” without God. We are separated and wandering. We have endless information, communication, and entertainment at our fingertips… but nothing fills the void of love that we desire, nor of meaningful existence and purposeful direction for our lives. But God fulfills these needs in our lives through faith in Jesus, because God himself is what we were made for.

Take heart that you have come to know God. Jesus’ prayer for the unity of his people should give us calm assurance of right relationship to God, and his prayer should and courageous motivation to reflect the glory of God in the world. We are God’s people, a people for God’s possession. And his people are not complete. We continue to proclaim him to everyone around us until he has saved every last one on whom he has set his covenant love in his perfect, eternal plan.

Christian, take heart. God will surely continue to make himself known until his saving purpose is complete. And then we will together, as his beloved from all generations and all peoples, worship in eternity the God who has made himself known to us in Christ Jesus.

PRAY

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More in Communion in Christ's Love

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Safeguarded & Set Apart (Part 2)

January 12, 2025

Safeguarded & Set Apart (Part One)

January 5, 2025

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