Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 17:22
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
22. Having prayed for them with a view to their unity, He states what He Himself has done for them with the same end in view.
gavest ] Better, hast given (see on Joh 17:4). The meaning of this gift of ‘glory’ seems evident from Joh 17:24; the glory of the ascended and glorified Christ in which believers are ‘joint-heirs’ with Him (see on Rom 8:17). Looking forward with confidence to the issue of the conflict, Christ speaks of this glory as already given back to him ( Joh 17:5) and shared with His followers. Comp. Joh 16:33.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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 others 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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Joh 17:22-23
The glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them
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.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 22. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them] That is, the power to work miracles, and to preach unadulterated truth, say some; but as our Lord is not here praying for the disciples, but for all those who should believe on him through their word, Joh 17:20, it is more natural to understand the passage thus. As Christ, according to his human nature, is termed the Son of God, he may be understood as saying: “I have communicated to all those who believe, or shall believe in me, the glorious privilege of becoming sons of God; that, being all adopted children of the same Father, they may abide in peace, love, and unity.” For this reason it is said, Heb 2:11, Christ is not ashamed to call them brethren. However, our Lord may here, as in several other places, be using the past for the future; and the words may therefore be understood of the glory which they were to share with him in heaven.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
By glory here some understand the heavenly glory; but then they must understand the oneness mentioned in the latter part of the verse, of the union which the saints shall have with Christ and his Father in glory, in another world. Others understand the Divine nature, of which the apostle in, 2Pe 1:4, saith, believers are made partakers: this seemeth to come nearer, for the more men and women are made partakers of that, the more they will study the unity of the Spirit. Others understand the power of working miracles, by which Christ is said to have manifested his glory, Joh 2:11; and the effect of this power is called the glory of God, Joh 11:40. Others understand the preaching of the gospel, in which the ministration of the Spirit is glorious, 2Co 3:8; and the faithful ministers of the gospel are called the glory of Christ, 2Co 8:23.
That they may be one, even as we are one; our Saviour either again repeats his prayer, that they might be one; or else declareth that he had communicated his power, his glory to them, that they might be one, as be and his Father are one.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
22. And the glory which thougavesthast given.
me I have given them, thatthey may be one, even as we are oneThe last clause shows themeaning of the first. It is not the future glory of theheavenly state, but the secret of that present unity justbefore spoken of; the glory, therefore, of the indwellingSpirit of Christ; the glory of an accepted state, of a holycharacter, of every grace.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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,
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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And the glory ( ). Literally, “And I the glory,” with emphasis on “I.” It is the glory of the Incarnate Word (Bernard), cf. John 1:14; John 2:11, not the glory of the Eternal Word mentioned in 17:24. Bengel says: Quanta majestas Christianorum! Then verse 22 repeats the unity prayed for in verse 21.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And the glory which thou gavest me,” (kago ten doksan hen dedokas moi) “And the glory which you have given to me,” as the only begotten Son of you, Joh 1:14; 2Co 3:18. It was a distinguishing honor, a crowning glory that He gave to His church, Eph 3:21.
2) “I have given them;” (dedoka autois) “I have given (doled out) directly to them,” to my church-disciples, my house, my missionary agency of worship and service, Rom 8:18; I have shared it with them, Joh 17:5; that they may spread it, Eph 3:21.
3) “That they may be one,” (hina osin hen) “in order that they may be (exist as) one,” in unity, harmony, and purpose, a desire for them that He repeated, Joh 17:21; Eph 4:1-5; Rom 12:5.
4) “Even as we are one.” (kathos hemeis hen) “Just as we are (exist as) one,” Joh 17:21; Joh 10:30; Joh 14:9; Joh 15:23-24.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
22. And I have given to them the glory which thou gavest to me. Let it be observed here, that, while a pattern of perfect happiness was exhibited in Christ, he had nothing that belonged peculiarly to himself, but rather was rich, in order to enrich those who believed in him. Our happiness lies in having the image of God restored and formed anew in us, which was defaced by sin. Christ is not only the lively image of God, in so far as he is the eternal Word of God. but even on his human nature, which he has in common with us, the likeness of the glory of the Father has been engraved, so as to form his members to the resemblance of it. Paul also teaches us this, that
we all, with unveiled face, by beholding THE GLORY OF GOD, are changed into the same image, (2Co 3:18.)
Hence it follows, that no one ought to be reckoned among the disciples of Christ, unless we perceive the glory of God impressed on him, as with a seal, by the likeness of Christ. To the same purpose are the words which immediately follow:
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(22) And the glory which thou gavest me (better, hast given Me) I have given them.Comp. Joh. 13:32, and in this chapter Joh. 17:1; Joh. 17:5; Joh. 17:24. Here, as all through this Intercessory Prayer, the future which immediately grows out of the present is regarded as present; the fulness of the glory which awaits Him at His Fathers right hand is thought of as already given to Him; and the believers who have become, and will become, one with Him, to whom He has given eternal life (Joh. 17:2), are thought of as sharers in it. It is the thought which is expanded by St. Paul when he speaks of the children being heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if we suffer with Him to the end that we may be also glorified with Him (Rom. 8:17); and by St. John when he speaks of children of God being like Him because we shall see Him as He is (1Jn. 3:1-2). In the original the pronoun I is emphatically expressed. The glory which Thou hast given Me, our Lords words seem to mean, I have on My part given to them. I have fulfilled the work which Thou hast given Me to do. I have made and declared an atonement between man and God. My work is done. I pray that Thou wouldst fulfil Thine own.
That they may be one, even as we are one.This is here expressed, in addition to the thought of the last verse, as the purpose for which He has given to them the glory which the Father has given Him. It is future in the union of the glory of heaven; it is present in the realisation of heaven now in those who have the one common hope of their calling.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
22. The glory which thou gavest me The eternal celestial glory.
I have given them It is in them even now, in various degrees, a spark, a slender flame, a beaming luminousness, destined to shine in eternal splendour in the celestial firmament. “Even the slightest glimmering of heavenly light which begins to shine out of the countenance of a justified publican, is an outbeaming of this glorification; and so is the still brighter angel-face of the crowned martyr at his trial.” Stier.
May be one
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And the glory which you have given me I have given 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.”
The glory of Jesus was ‘full of grace and truth’ (Joh 1:14). It was a glory of compassion and mercifulness, and above all of truth concerning God. This He has sought to pass on to His own. As they are absorbed in the truth revealed in His word, concentrating on the central themes of God and redemption, and understanding and appreciating more of the character of God, and as they become more and more aware of God’s free unmerited grace and love, and of their privilege to enjoy, and responsibility to manifest, that love, so they will be one in humility and awe. Having received grace (undeserved, unmerited favour) and truth they will be full of grace and truth. They will have received His glory. But let them depart from these and they will be divided.
But there is more than that to be included. Jesus spoke in Joh 17:5 of ‘the glory which I had with you before the world was’. It is true that this glory could never be fully communicated to His own, especially while they were on earth, but it is at least partly given to them for He is given to them, and they will be able to enjoy it to the full capacity of which they are able, while on earth, and to an even greater capacity in Heaven. They will be able to bask in the ethical and spiritual glory of Jesus both now and then as they are changed from glory into glory by the Spirit of the Lord (2Co 3:18) and behold and reflect that glory in their lives. And the glory in 2 Corinthians was referring to the full glory of God as seen by Moses on the Mount. Now we see it as though in a first century mirror, distorted but real. One day we will see it as it is. And then we will experience it to our fullest capacity, for He has given it to us in full measure. We ‘will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is’ (1Jn 2:2).
Jesus then goes on to make clear that Christians are introduced into a fellowship of love and truth that is almost beyond comprehension. It is a unity caused by His indwelling in them and the Father’s indwelling in Him. They are made ‘partakers of the divine nature’ (2Pe 1:4). They are united with His own body (1Co 12:12 ff). But as He has made clear it is a unity based on truth (Joh 17:17-19). Once so-called Christians begin to diverge from the central truths in the word of God they no longer share in that unity but have become mere philosophers, borrowing Christian truth for their own purposes and destroying the central nature of truth. And the only test we have is the word of God.
But we must be careful to distinguish truth from our interpretations of truth. That the Holy Spirit was given and is experienced in the church is a central truth, how He particularly works in detail is an interpretation of truth. That Christ is coming in one way or another at the end of time is a central truth. The details of that coming are interpretations of truth. And so we could go on. Now we see in a distorted mirror (1Co 13:12). Let us therefore beware of dogmatic arguments about that of which we cannot be certain, while holding firmly to that of which we can be certain.
By uniting in truth we will be perfected into one, and nothing will disturb that oneness. Thus will the world know that Christ came from the Father and that the Father loves His people as He loved His Son, for they will be brothers in Christ.
‘I in them, and you in me.’ This unity is grounded in a oneness with the indwelling Christ Who is Himself one with the Father.
‘That they may be perfected into one.’ God’s essential purpose is in the uniting and bringing together into harmony with Himself of all things (Col 1:20; Rom 8:18-23; Act 3:21; Eph 1:10), the removal of all that causes dissension in creation, and His longing is that this be first accomplished in His people so that they will enjoy ‘the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’ (Eph 4:3). Then will the world know that Jesus was sent by God, and that the people of God are loved by God equally with His love for His Son.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 17:22-23. And the glory which thou gavest me, &c. “Moreover, the glory of inspiration, of a divine mission, and of the power of miracles to confirm that mission, which thou gavest unto me, I have bestowed on my apostles; and on those who should be converted by them, and employed to preach the gospel to the world; in order that, being commissioned by the same authority, and illuminated with one Spirit, they may fully agree in their doctrine, and their labours may lead to one end: so may they become worthy messengers of thee and thy only-begotten Son, and cause the world fully to know both that thou hast sent me their Master, and that thou approvest of them and their undertaking, even as thou hast approved of me.” How fully this prayer for the unity of the first preachers was answered, we learn from the history of the Acts; and their unity must appear very remarkable, when it is considered what vastnumberswereemployedin preaching the gospel throughout the various countries of the world. Nevertheless, our wonder will cease, when we call to mind that all who possessed the power of miracles, and preached with any authority, were inspired by the Spirit of God; so could not but all agree in the same glorious and divine scheme of religion. We may just observe here the sum of our Lord’s whole prayer, first,
“Receive me into thy own, and my glory: secondly, let my apostles share therein: thirdly, and all other believers; and, fourthly, let all the world believe.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 17:22-23 . What He on His part ( ) has done in order to bring about this unity of His believing ones and its object a newly introduced and great thought of the power of His kingdom not still dependent on (Ewald).
] The heavenly glory. Comp. 1, 5, 24. This, once already possessed by Him before the incarnation, the Father has given to Him, not yet, indeed, objectively , but as a secure possession of the immediate future; He has obtained it from God, assigned as a property, and the actual taking-possession is now for Him close at hand. In like manner has He given this, His , in which the eternal , Joh 17:2-3 , is consummated, to His believing ones ( ), who will enter on the real possession at the Parousia, where they (Rom 8:17 ), after that they, up to that time, (Rom 8:24 ) Comp. on Rom 8:30 . They are in Christ already His , and the Spirit to be received will be to them the (Eph 1:14 ; 2Co 1:22 ; 2Co 5:5 ), but the actual entrance on the inheritance is first accomplished at the Parousia (Joh 14:2-3 ; Rom 8:11 ; Col 3:4 ). But this relation does not justify us in interpreting as destinare (Gabler, B. Crusius), or at least as constitui dare (Grotius), while the explanations also which take of the glory of the apostolic office in teaching and working miracles (Chrysostom, Theophylact, and, but with intermixture of other elements, Euth. Zigabenus, Erasmus, Vatablus, Grotius, and several others, including Paulus and Klee), or of the inner glory of the Christian life (Olshausen, comp. Gess, p. 244), of the life of Christ in believers , in accordance with Gal 2:20 (Hengstenberg), of sonship (Bengel, comp. Godet, who refers to Rom 8:29 ), of love (Calovius, Maldonatus), of grace and truth , Joh 1:14 (Luthardt, Ebrard, a part also of Tholuck’s and Brckner’s interpretation), are opposed to the context. [199] See immediately, Joh 17:24 .
, . . .] For what a strong bond of unity must lie in the sure warrant of fellowship in eternal ! Comp. Eph 4:4 .
. ] Not out of connection with the construction (De Wette), since it fits into it; not even beginning a new proposition, and to be completed by (Augustine, Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus, Beda, Beza, Bengel, and several others, including Luthardt), since thus the discourse on the would be, in opposition to the context (see Joh 17:24 ), interrupted; but an appositional separation from , from which it is therefore, with Lachmann and Tischendorf, to be divided only by a comma. In is contained: , and both are pragmatically, i.e . in demonstration of the specific internal relation of the of believers to the oneness of the Father and the Son, thus expounded: I moving in them, and Thou in me . In accordance with this appositional, more minute definition, the is again taken up with liveliness and weight (“see how His mouth overflows with the same words,” Luther), and that in the expression containing the highest degree of intensity : , that they may be completed to one (to one unity), be united in complete degree , in the sense of the result . Comp. passages like Plato, Phileb . p. 18 B: ; Dem. p. 368. 14 : .
, . . .] Parallel to , Joh 17:21 , adding to faith the knowledge connected therewith (conversely, Joh 17:8 ), and then completing the expression of the happy result to be attained by the designation of the highest divine love , of which the believer is conscious in that knowledge. We are not even remotely to think of the “ forced conviction of rebels ” (Godet); against this Joh 17:2-3 already declare, and here the entire context. Note rather how the glance of the praying Jesus, Joh 17:21-23 , rises up to the highest goal of His work on earth, when, namely, the shall have come to believe, and Christ Himself shall have become in fact (Joh 4:42 , comp. Joh 10:16 ). This at the same time against the supposition of metaphysical dualism in Hilgenfeld.
. , . . .] and hast loved them (as a matter of fact, through this sending of me) as Thou hast loved me , therefore with the same Fatherly love which I have experienced from Thee. Comp. Joh 3:16 ; Eph 1:6 ; Rom 5:5 ; Rom 8:32 .
[199] The is explained away also by Weizscker in the Jahrb. f. Deutsche Theol. 1857, p. 181. It is said to be substantially the same as the , ver. 14.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1715
THE GLORY WHICH CHRIST GIVES TO HIS PEOPLE
Joh 17:22. The glory which thou gavest me I hare given them.
THE dignity of human nature is a favourite subject with many: nor, if man be considered in his primeval state, can it be estimated too highly. But man is a fallen creature, and reduced to the most abject condition. The Scriptures speak of him in the most humiliating terms: nevertheless, through the grace of the Gospel, he is restored to his primitive honours: he in some respects is elevated even above the angels of heaven. No words can express his dignity more fully than those of the text. Do we inquire what that glory is which the Father gave to Christ, and Christ gives to his Church and people?
We will specify it in five particulars:
I.
The glory of manifesting the Divine power
Angels have been used as instruments of Divine power both for the preservation and destruction of mankind; but it is peculiar to Christ and his people to manifest the Divine power in conflicts with their enemies.
Christ had this glory given him
[He had innumerable enemies, both men and devils [Note: Psa 2:2. Luk 22:53.]; but he conquered sin, Satan, death, and hell [Note: Col 2:15. Eph 4:8.]. This he did through the support and influence of his Father [Note: Isa 42:1.].]
This glory has Christ given us
[His people are in a state of warfare [Note: Eph 6:12.]: but the very weakest of them triumph at last through Christ [Note: Rom 8:37.]. Paul acknowledges this to the praise of his Divine Master [Note: 2Co 12:9.].]
II.
The glory of displaying the moral perfections of the Deity
The material world displays the natural perfections of God; but not even the angels in heaven can set forth all his moral perfections
[Never having been injured, they cannot exercise mercy, forbearance, love of enemies.]
This is the peculiar prerogative of Christ
[Christ manifested the most wonderful compassion [Note: Luk 19:41; Luk 23:34; Luk 24:47.]. In so doing he displayed the Fathers perfections [Note: Joh 14:9.]. This honour he himself received of the Father [Note: Joh 14:10.].]
His people however are made to share this glory with him
[They, as stars in their several spheres, reflect the beams of the Sun of Righteousness. How strongly was his character delineated in the life of Paul and in the death of Stephen! Every one of them endeavours to walk as he walked. They are enabled to do this by Christ himself [Note: Php 4:13.].]
III.
The glory of being sons of God
The angels are sometimes called sons of God; but they bear this relation to him only as creatures.
Christ has this honour in an infinitely higher sense [Note: Heb 1:5.]
[Christ is the Son of God both in his divine and human nature. He is emphatically called by the Apostle Gods dear Son [Note: Col 1:13.].]
The same honour has Christ conferred on us
[Every believer is brought into this relation to God [Note: 2Co 6:18.]. This astonishing mercy may well excite wonder and admiration [Note: 1Jn 3:1.]. It is bestowed on the believer by Christ himself [Note: Joh 1:12.],]
IV.
The glory of being united to God
The Scriptures often speak of the union that subsists between Christ and the Father
[Our Lord himself affirmed that he and the Father were one [Note: Joh 10:30.]. St. Paul declares that all the fulness of the Godhead dwelt in Christ [Note: Col 2:9.]. What our Lord did as man, is attributed to him as God [Note: Act 20:28.].]
A similar, though not the same, union subsists between Christ and his people.
[Our Lord represents them as branches of the living vine [Note: Joh 15:1.]: he compares their union with him to his with the Father [Note: Joh 17:21.]: he declares not only that he himself is the author of this union, but that it is a part of that glory which he has given us [Note: ver. 22, 23.].]
V.
The glory of reigning with God
Both the good and evil angels are called principalities and powers, but they are never said to reign with God.
Our Lord however has received this honour of his Father
[All power in heaven and in earth is committed to him [Note: Mat 28:18.]. He is exalted far above all principalities and powers [Note: Eph 1:20-21.]. It is decreed that every soul shall submit to Jesus [Note: Isa 45:23.].]
This honour also has Christ vouchsafed to his people
[The victorious saints will exercise a kind of dominion over the ungodly at the last day [Note: Psa 49:14. Rev 2:26-27. Psa 149:7-9.]: they will sit with Christ as assessors in judgment over men and devils [Note: 1Co 6:2-3.]: they have a kingdom appointed to them even now [Note: Luk 22:29.]: they will be formally invested with it at the last day: they will receive it as a special grant from Christ himself [Note: Rev 3:21.].]
Infer
1.
What an exalted character is the true Christian!
[Christians are despised by the unbelieving world: but the Scriptures describe their dignity in most exalted terms. How can we ever estimate aright the glory given them by their Lord! What glory can the earth afford in comparison of this! Let us not then act unworthy of this high character.]
2.
How marvellous is Christs love to his people!
[Every thing, which he himself has received of the Father, he gives to them: he even bought it with his blood, that he might bestow it upon them. How incomprehensible is this love! Let us entertain worthy conceptions of it: let us be constrained by it to love and serve him.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
Ver. 22. And the glory which thou, &c. ] That is, the grace, which is glory begun, as glory is grace perfected; we are here “transformed into the same image from glory to glory,” 2Co 3:18 ; “and set together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” Eph 2:6 ; “Such honour have all his saints.” Such things are found in them as do accompany or comprehend salvation, Heb 6:9 , , . Scholiast.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
22, 23. ] Grotius and others interpret this , “potestas faciendi miracula,” and refer to ch. Joh 2:11 and ch. Joh 11:40 ; but wrongly: for if so, the must mean the Apostles only, whereas it is distinctly referred to the believers of all time . The is (Lcke, De Wette, Stier: Meyer understands it of the heavenly glory, Rom 8:17 ) the glory of Christ as the only-begotten Son (ch. Joh 1:14 ), full of grace and truth (see Joh 17:5 and note), which by virtue of His exaltation and the unity of all believers in Him through the Spirit, has become (not, shall be ) theirs, Eph 1:18 ; Eph 2:6 ; Rom 8:30 ; not yet fully, nor as it is His , but as each can receive and shew it forth. The perfection of it is spoken of, Joh 17:24 .
We have the same recurrences of as in Joh 17:21 , and the same dependence (see var. readd.). The second of them here expresses not merely the similarity of their unity to that of the Son and Father, but the actuality of its subsistence , in Christ abiding in them and the Father in Christ.
On . , see reff.
here, parallel as it is to above, cannot be interpreted of a bare recognition, or of a recognition at the final judgment, but must be taken to mean that salutary knowledge by which from time to time the children of the world are by God called to become the children of light. See the same words, and note, ch. Joh 14:31 , also ch. Joh 13:35 , and observe that in all three places the recognition is that of love; in ch. Joh 13:35 , of the disciples one to another; in ch. Joh 14:31 , of Jesus to the Father; here, of the Father to believers, as perfected into unity in the Son of His love.
“Observe,” says Meyer, “how the glance of the Intercessor reaches in these verses even to the highest aim of His work on earth, when the world shall be believing, and Christ Himself actually the Saviour of the world , ch. Joh 4:42 , cf. ch. Joh 10:16 .”
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 17:22 . That the unity of believers in the Father and the Son might be perfect, it was needful that even the glory which Christ possessed by the Father’s gift (Joh 17:5 ) should be given to His people. The perfect tense is used, because the gift had already been determined. The nature of the glory spoken of is interpreted both by Joh 17:5 and by Joh 17:24 . It could not be completely and actually bestowed until the point indicated in Joh 17:24 was reached.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
gayest. Here the reading should be “hast given”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
22, 23.] Grotius and others interpret this , potestas faciendi miracula, and refer to ch. Joh 2:11 and ch. Joh 11:40; but wrongly:-for if so, the must mean the Apostles only, whereas it is distinctly referred to the believers of all time. The is (Lcke, De Wette, Stier:-Meyer understands it of the heavenly glory, Rom 8:17) the glory of Christ as the only-begotten Son (ch. Joh 1:14), full of grace and truth (see Joh 17:5 and note), which by virtue of His exaltation and the unity of all believers in Him through the Spirit, has become (not, shall be) theirs, Eph 1:18; Eph 2:6; Rom 8:30; not yet fully, nor as it is His, but as each can receive and shew it forth. The perfection of it is spoken of, Joh 17:24.
We have the same recurrences of as in Joh 17:21, and the same dependence (see var. readd.). The second of them here expresses not merely the similarity of their unity to that of the Son and Father,-but the actuality of its subsistence, in Christ abiding in them and the Father in Christ.
On . , see reff.
here, parallel as it is to above, cannot be interpreted of a bare recognition, or of a recognition at the final judgment,-but must be taken to mean that salutary knowledge by which from time to time the children of the world are by God called to become the children of light. See the same words, and note, ch. Joh 14:31, also ch. Joh 13:35, and observe that in all three places the recognition is that of love;-in ch. Joh 13:35, of the disciples one to another; in ch. Joh 14:31, of Jesus to the Father; here, of the Father to believers, as perfected into unity in the Son of His love.
Observe, says Meyer, how the glance of the Intercessor reaches in these verses even to the highest aim of His work on earth, when the world shall be believing, and Christ Himself actually the Saviour of the world, ch. Joh 4:42, cf. ch. Joh 10:16.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 17:22. , the glory) The glory of the Only-begotten shines forth through the believing sons of God.-, I have given) Oh! how great is the majesty of Christians! I have given, already although secretly.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 17:22
Joh 17:22
And the glory which thou hast given me I have given unto them;-The power and wisdom God had given the Son when he sent him into the world, he thus gives to his apostles that through this power they might show that God was with them as he had been with Jesus.
that they may be one, even as we are one;-Gods Spirit in Christ makes them one. This same Spirit ruling in the disciples will make them one with God and one with each other. All persons guided by the one Spirit will be one with each other.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Joh 17:22-26
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
Some very wonderful truths are brought before us in these verses. In verse 22 our Lord speaks of sharing His acquired glories with His own. You remember we saw that there is a difference between the essential glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and His acquired glory. When He spoke in verse 5 of the glory which I had with thee before the world was, and back into which He was going, He was speaking of His essential glory that you and I will never share. He is God-God the Son, with God the Father, and God the Spirit. He is God, and we, of course, will never be exalted to Deity. We do not in any sense share that glory, but we are to behold that glory when we see Him. We shall see Him in all His glory as the Eternal Son.
There are other glories that He won by His cross, that accrued to Him because of the work He did when down here in this world of sin, and those glories we shall share. He speaks of the glory that He had won when He says, The glory which thou gavest me (17:22). He has given us a share in all that He won by His death on the cross. In view of that, He prays a third time for the unity of His people. In verse 11 He prays for a unity in testimony: And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. Thank God, through His grace they are kept in unity of testimony.
In verse 21 He has in view unity in fellowship, and this, of course, is based upon the unity of life, which is shared by all saints. For, after having prayed for those with Him at that time, He says, Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word (v. 20). There is a unity of life. We today have exactly the same divine life that He had, so that prayer has been answered. The people of God are one. It is perfectly true we do not always act as though we are one, but we are all members of His blessed family.
He desires us to so live in that unity that the world may believe. When people of the world see that we Christians love one another, they are impressed with the reality of our profession. When they see us quarreling, it gives them a reason to question the reality of our profession.
Now in the verse before us He says, The glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one [as the Divine Trinity are one]: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one [that they may be perfected into one] (vv. 22-23a). What is this? It is displayed unity at the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ. That they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent me (v. 23). During the present time, as we manifest our unity, the world believes. At His coming, it will no longer be possible to question the fact. The world will know this unity when all the saints are revealed in the same glory as the Lord Jesus Christ. That the world may believe that thou hast sent me. In that day the world will awaken to the realization of the fact that Christ is indeed the Sent One. It will then be too late for many of them who refused to believe to come into harmony with Him.
The second part of this verse is so marvelous that if it were not in the Word of God we would not believe it: Thou hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Just suppose somebody stood up and declared this without scriptural authority. It would be too much to take in! That the world may know that thou has sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Is that really true? Does God the Father love me as much as He loves Jesus Christ? Do you believe it, my sister? Does he love you, my brother, as much as He loves Jesus Christ? What an amazing truth this is! I can understand that because He loves His Son He will take me into favor and give me a measure of affection because I believe in His Son. But here I find there is no difference between the love the Father has for His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love He has for His children of faith in Jesus Christ.
So near, so very near to God,
Nearer I could not be;
For in the person of His Son,
I am as near as He.
So dear, so very dear to God,
Dearer I could not be;
The love wherewith He loved His Son,
Such is His love to me.
There is a verse in Johns first epistle that long puzzled me. It contains just nine monosyllables. We like to use big words with which to set forth our poor poverty-stricken thoughts. But when the Holy Spirit sets forth the most profound truth He often clothes it in the very simplest language. He wraps it up in little words, so easy and plain that all can take it in. In the latter part of 1Jn 4:17 we read, As he is, so are we in this world. Look at that. Nine monosyllables, and some of them contain only two letters. As He is. I could not make that out. I wondered if that were the correct translation. Might it not mean, As he is, so ought we to be in this world? I read the context and looked it up in the original. No, that was not it. Could it be that this is to be carried into the future? Could it mean, As he is, so will we be when we get through with this world? No, that was not it. As he is, so are we in this world. But I am not pure in thought and word and deed as He is. I am not as considerate of the feelings of others as He. I do not love God as He does. I do not love the lost world as He does. There must be something wrong.
Then my attention was directed to the fact that John had just been talking of the day of judgment. I used to be afraid of the day of judgment. How terrible it would be after many years of service to come to the judgment, and find I had failed and might be lost after all! But I read, 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 (literal rendering). It began to open up to me. My relationship to the coming judgment is the same as His. Is He ever coming into judgment for sin? He has been judged already in my place. Is He to give an account for the sins laid on Him at Calvarys cross? No. Then what about me? As he is, so are we in this world. Perfect love casteth out all fear (1Jn 4:18). I had been looking for perfect love in myself, trying to pump it up; looking for perfect love, but never finding it. The Lord led me to look for perfect love in the blessed Lord Jesus Christ. I found it there, the love that brought Him to Calvarys cross. Perfect love is there and only there. It casts out all fear. It was on my behalf He suffered.
Death and judgment are behind me,
Grace and glory are before;
All the billows rolled oer Jesus,
There they spent their utmost power.
He took my place; He bore my judgment. There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1). Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life (Joh 5:24). My fears are gone. As he is, so are we in this world. An English brother said:
Johns nine monosyllables all in a row,
Are my joy and my comfort while here below.
Suppose I am passing the courthouse and see the police taking in different ones. I ask, What is going on here? Oh, they say, they are trying a lot of gangsters. I say, I think Ill go in. They tell me, You had better stay out. You may get into trouble. What for? I ask, My case is not coming up. I have boldness in the day of judgment. So it is here. I have boldness in the day of judgment because my case is not coming up. I have been judged in my Substitute. All my sins are settled for. I do not mean that I will not be judged for my works. That is a different occasion.
We stand now before God in relation to the judgment in the same place as His blessed Son stands. He has made us accepted in the beloved (Eph 1:6). We are accepted in Him. Dont let any one cheat you out of the joy of that. The Father loves me as much as He loves the Lord Jesus Christ. Isnt it wonderful to be a Christian? That the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
Now notice the next portion. Father, I will [that is, I desire] (Joh 17:24a). You know the Lord Jesus said, I came not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me (Joh 6:38). He never asserted His will. He says, I [desire] that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou Iovedst me before the foundation of the world (17:24). Do you think the Father will grant Him His desire? Do you think when the saints are gathered the Lord will be looking around and saying, Some I thought the Father had given Me are missing? No, they will all be there. I will that they also, whom thou hast given me [seven times He uses that expression], be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou Iovedst me before the foundation of the world. There is one glory we shall share, another glory we shall behold. We shall behold the glory of the only begotten Son, one who was loved of the Father before the world was created. Thou Iovedst me before the foundation of the world. This tells not only of the preexistence of the Lord Jesus Christ but also of the blessed fellowship of the persons of the Trinity.
Now the Lord closes His prayer thus: O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me (v. 25). When He speaks of God in view of the world, He says, Righteous Father. When thinking of His own relationship, it is simply, Father, or Holy Father. What blasphemy it is to call any man on earth Holy Father, when the blessed Lord reserves that title for God the Father! Here He says, O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee. How true it is, the natural man [understandeth] not the things of God: [but] they are spiritually discerned (1Co 2:14). The world imagines it knows God. The unsaved talk about God, but know not the One revealed by the Lord Jesus Christ.
I was reasoning with a man who called himself a Unitarian. I gave him Scripture to prove the preexistence and Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He did not accept the testimony of the Scripture. As he left me, he said, Well, good-bye, brother. I cannot accept your faith, but we can shake hands because we both believe in God the Father, if we do not agree about Jesus. I answered, If you had offered your hand simply as a man, I could shake hands with you. I do not want to be discourteous, but I cannot shake hands with you on your statement that we have the same Father but disagree about the Lord Jesus Christ.
The world does not know the Father. The world has many lords and gods, but only in the Lord Jesus Christ has the Father been revealed. The world hath not known thee, but I have known thee. He knew the heart of God, for He came from God and went back to God. He was one with the Father. Now this wonderful Lord is revealed by the Spirit to every one of us, His own. These have known that thou has sent me. Here on earth He took the place of the Sent One. He said, I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me (8:16). As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world (17:18). We can go into a lost world with the consciousness of being sent by the Son to carry the gospel to lost men and women.
In verse 26 He says, I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it. In verse 6 He said, I have manifested thy name. Here He says, I have declared unto them thy name. That was a part of His mission, to make known the Fathers name. He manifested it in His life, for He was the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (1:14). He manifested it by His doctrinal statement: I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it. What does He mean? He is just going to the cross to die, to seal His testimony by giving His life for the redemption of mankind.
In resurrection, what is the first thing He does? He appears to Mary, and says, Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God (20:17). He had declared the Fathers name here on the earth. He declares it again in resurrection. So we have a double testimony as to our relationship to God.
I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. How is that love in us, the love wherewith the Father loved the Son? Turn to Rom 5:1-5 and read, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. The Spirit of God has come down from glory to witness to the acceptance of our blessed High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is entered into the holiest, and He it is who sheds abroad the Fathers love in our hearts. That love is not merely human, it is that which is divine. That is why the Scripture says, Every one that loveth is born of God (1Jn 4:7). It does not mean, if you are an affectionate person you are born of God. We have such a low conception of love.
I remember hearing of a young man who came to his pastor as he was leaving for another field, and said, Before you came here I did not care for God, man, or the Devil. Now I have learned to love them all. That is the idea some people have of love! But divine love is holy love, the love of God to sinners, the love the Holy Spirit puts in the heart. It is this love that enabled Christ to triumph over all circumstances and to love lost men, no matter how they treated Him. May we all enter into it more fully for His names sake.
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
the glory: Joh 1:16, Joh 15:18, Joh 15:19, Joh 20:21-23, Mar 6:7, Mar 16:17-20, Luk 22:30, Act 5:41, Rom 15:15-20, 2Co 3:18, 2Co 5:20, 2Co 6:1, Eph 2:20, Phi 1:29, Col 1:24, 2Th 1:5-10, Rev 21:14
that: Joh 14:20, 1Jo 1:3, 1Jo 3:24
Reciprocal: Psa 21:5 – glory Jer 30:19 – I will Joh 17:11 – that Joh 17:21 – they all Rom 8:29 – to be Rom 8:30 – he justified Col 1:27 – Christ 2Th 2:14 – to
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
ONE WITH HIM
The glory which Thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one.
Joh 17:22
The text points to our oneness and union with Christ, by which alone we derive an interest in Him and we are made partakers both in His grace and glory. Jesus hath given us
I. The glory of(a) Being brought within the covenant; (b) Redemption; (c) The Holy Ghosts gifts and influences.
II. Look at it under two considerations:(a) Put forth the faculties to calculate that glory which, if one of Christs redeemed people, you have in union with Him. (b) Jesus hath given present glory to all His redeemed in that communication which is constantly passing and repassing between Him and them.
III. What is our experience?Do we partake of what is Christs? Our sorrows, our wants, our afflictions, are His care. Does He partake of what is ours? Our hearts, our lives must be His.
Rev. Dr. Robert Hawker.
Illustration
Do not forget that of this oneness our Holy Communion is now the seal and pledge; and as we eat the bread and drink the wine we will not forget that they are the emblems of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ; and that as they mingle with our natural body, so we receive Christ into our very being; and that as the bread and wine are the same in all, so is the one Christ in all. And that oneness, and the one Christ in all, is the cause of the assurance that we are one each with the other, that we may never be divided, that we shall be one through all eternity. Which sweet and holy oneness, may God, by His infinite mercy, grant to us for His dear sake.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
2
One of the commonest words in the definition of glory is “honor.” It certainly is among the highest of honors to be in the service of Christ. That honor is emphasized by the fact that Jesus bestowed it upon his servants, having received it himself from the Father. Best of all considerations, is the object of the bestowing such honor, namely, that the whole group of interested persons, God, Christ and his disciples, should form a unit in the great cause of human salvation.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 17:22. And the glory which thou hast given me I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one. Jesus had prayed that all believers might be one as He and the Father were one. He now turns to what He Himself had done that He might effect this end. We have already seen that the glory referred to is that of self-sacrificing love, brought out from amidst the taunts with which men met it when displayed in Jesus, and owned by the Father as the only true glory. Such a glory Jesus had given to His people that, in living fellowship with the Father and the Son, they may be one in Them. Not worldly honour or station, the favour of kings, the patronage of statesmen, or the wealth of nations, was their glory; but the gift to love, and to sacrifice themselves for the worlds good. Then in that love would they be one, even as the Father and the Son are one.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Here observe, 1. Christ’s communication of that glory to believers, which he had received of the Father; that is, not his essential glory, but his mediatorial glory: The glory which thou gavest me. Now Christ hath no glory given him as God, but much glory bestowed upon him as Mediator.
Observe, 2. The end of this communication,why he gave his disciples that glory which the Father had given him; namely, that they might be one.
Learn, 1. That God the Father had bestowed much glory on Christ his Son, as he is Man, and Mediator of the church.
2. That the same glory for kind and substance, though not for measure and degree, which Christ as Mediator has received from the Father, is communicated to true believers.
3. That the great end of this communication was, and is, to oblige and enable his people to maintain a very strict union among themselves; The glory which thou gavest me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one.
4. That unity amongst believers is part of that glory which Christ as Mediator hath obtained for them.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Vv. 22, 23. And the glory which thou hast given me, I have given them, that they may be one, as we are one, 23, I in them and thou in me; that their unity may be perfect, that the world may know that thou hast sent me and that thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me.
In this whole prayer, Jesus rests His petitions on the fact that He has already begun that of which He asks the completion. Hence the , 1, placed at the beginning.
What is the glory of which Jesus has already made a gift to His own, and by means of which He has laid the foundation of the unity which He asks for? Chrysostom and, at the present day, Weiss understand by it the glorious power of sustaining their apostolic ministry by miracles. But this outward sign has nothing in common with the inward sphere in which the thought of Jesus is here moving. How could a result like this, which is expressed by the following , that, proceed from a miraculous power, an external, passing and individual phenomenon? Hengstenberg refers this term glory to the participation of believers in the unity of the Father and the Son; but this explanation leads to a tautology with the following clause. De Wette, Reuss, Meyer, apply this term glory to the kingdom which is to come, and the word give to a property only by right; but this is to anticipate the meaning of Joh 17:24. Jesus starts, on the contrary, in Joh 17:22 from a fact already accomplished, in order to make it the point of departure for a coming good (Joh 17:23) which will precede the final glory (Joh 17:24). We read, Joh 17:24, that the glory of Jesus consists in being the eternal object of the Father’s love; the glory which He has communicated to believers is, therefore, the becoming by faith what He is essentially, the objects of this same divine love; comp. Joh 17:23 (that thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me) and Joh 17:26. This glory, which is that of adoption, Jesus has communicated to His own by bringing things to this point,that God can, without obscuring His holiness, convey to them the love which He has for Jesus Himself. By this means we understand the following clause: that they may be one, as we [are] one. This love of the Father, of which they are all the objects in common, unites them closely among themselves and makes them all one family of which Jesus is the elder Brother (Rom 8:29, Eph 1:10).
The first words of Joh 17:23, in a clause which is simply placed in juxtaposition with the preceding: that they may be one as we are, remind us of the mode of this unity: God living in Christ, Christ living in each believer, and this to the end that the limit of a perfect unity may be attained, and that the organism of humanity consummated in God may appear.
The aim of this admirable unity is that the world may know. This word is undoubtedly not the synonym of believe, Joh 17:21. The term know includes with the faith of believers (Joh 17:21) the forced conviction of rebels. For how could the word , the world, designate only the believers? The question is of the universal homage, voluntary or involuntary, rendered to Christsuch as is described in Php 2:10, Rom 14:10-12. The whole universe renders homage to the divine messenger who, by transforming believers into His own image, has succeeded in making them loved as He is Himself loved.
Thus is the way prepared for the pointing out of the final end of the ways of God towards the Church of Christ, its participation in the glory of the Son of God:
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Jesus continued to explain the nature of the unity that He requested from His Father. In what sense do all believers share God’s glory? Jesus probably was speaking of His bringing the full knowledge of God to them. The revelation of God results in glory for God. When believers understand and believe the revelation of God that Jesus brought, they become partakers of that glory. This is something else they share in unity with one another that the Father and the Son also share with one another. Another view is that the glory in view refers to Jesus’ work of redemption, but that subject is not as prominent in the context as the revelation of God.