This chapter has often been referred to as Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. My text is a record of the last words that concludes this prayer for His disciples. In the opening words of this prayer Jesus is praying for Himself, following which He prays for His disciples that He is leaving behind, and He further prays for all who “shall believe on me through their word,” which includes all Christians. He makes it very clear in this prayer that He is not praying for the world. The fact that the cross and His departure from this world was just hours ahead makes these final words so very important.
In the opening words of this prayer Jesus confirms to the Father that He had finished the work that He had come to earth to do and now He prayed that the Father would “glorify Him with the glory which He had with Him before the world was.” When Jesus said, “I have finished the work which thou gave me to do,” the work was not as yet completed for He had not yet been crucified. However He stated it as though it was already completed. The blue print for this great plan of salvation was laid out from the foundation of the world. Long before the morning stars ever sang together or the sons of God ever shouted for joy, it was recorded that Jesus was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8) With the fall of man in the Garden, the Father engaged His Son to undertake the task of providing both free and full salvation to its final completion. He knew that it would be finished to the everlasting delight of God and His saints and to the eternal dismay and defeat of the devil until Jesus could say, “I have glorified thee on the earth.” Indeed He did complete the task for again it is recorded, “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, IT IS FINISHED: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30) It was than that He laid the capstone on an uttermost salvation.
Jesus knew that while these believers had experienced and were enjoying His love in their labor and service, it was not yet perfected. These disciples manifested a mixed condition in their hearts. There was evidence of carnal traits and sinful propensities remaining within them. The lingering remains of carnality within their hearts and manifestation in their lives were His chief concern for them in this prayer. That was the reason that He prayed “sanctify them through thy truth: they word is truth.” (John 17:17)
This love is not ‘phileo’ which is a type of brotherly love, nor is it ‘eros’ which is more like the love of a husband and wife, but it is ‘agape’ or divine love. It is the same love given of the Father to Jesus. (John 17: 26) As such, we know that it is unsullied and perfect. If ever there was a pure and unmixed love in the universe it was certainly that love which came from the heart of the eternal God to His only begotten Son. The reciprocal love of the Son for His Father was identically the same in character. It was here, as in the holy of holies, that Jesus pulled back the veil just a little and showed us the glory that He had with the Father before the world was. He prays “that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
This love is made communicable to every believer by the Holy Spirit. “Hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”(Romans 5:5) While it is not the same in quantity it is the same love in kind and quality that is in God’s heart. This love that is imparted to every believing heart in regeneration is made perfect in entire sanctification. It was for the Christian He prayed that this love would be made perfect, pure, and without alloy. All affections contrary to pure love must be expelled in order for the believers to “love one another with a pure heart fervently”….and to “love God with all of our heart.” Pure love cannot fill the soul and at the same time give place to carnal traits such as envy, malice, hate, anger and other manifestations of the flesh.
When Jesus prayed, “for their sakes I sanctify myself,” (In His case He was setting Himself apart for the holy purpose of making atonement for the sin of the world. He had no need of a personal cleansing for He was sinless.) He was one “who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.”(I Peter 2:22) He sanctified Himself, “that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” (John 17:19) With the result, “that they all may be one.” This experience would harmonize them within their own heart so that there would be no more divided allegiances or affections, and they would be unified with one another. All of this was done so that the pure love of the Father toward the Son would be reproduced in kind and quality in the hearts of His believing children; “that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
What a wonderful truth that God did not consider this love too sacred to be reproduced in the human heart with all of its lacks, limitations, and human frailties. That is the very nature of this divine love, it is self-giving. It never completes itself without giving itself. And even when it gives itself it never impoverishes itself but always enlarges itself. This love is imparted in regeneration, perfected in entire sanctification and abounds more and more as we walk pleasing to God.
The Holy Spirit desires that this divine commodity, (agape), though sacred and of infinite worth, be poured out into all hearts that are open and receptive to it. Has this heart-cry been answered in your heart and life? If not make a total consecration of your life to Him who purchased you with His life’s blood on Calvary and He will fully satisfy every longing of your soul. He will purge out the dross and perfect His love within you.
We read in the closing three words of John 17, “I in them,” the same truth that the Apostle Paul expressed in Colossians 1:27, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Pure love in the heart is nothing more or less than Christ-likeness. Christ enthroned within is love enthroned. The greatest work of the Holy Spirit in us is to reveal Jesus to us, and to the world through us. Don’t tarry, seek until your heart is made perfect in love in order to show the world Jesus in you and have no fear when He comes for you. In his first epistle John records for us, “herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world.” (I John 4:17)
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