The Gospel of John – Part 2
(John 17 – Part 2)
As I read and comment on John 17, I am both awestruck and humbled by Jesus’ words. I am strained beyond my ability to understand the depth and breadth of His love for me and the profundity of His words. At the same time, I sense a tremendous weight of responsibility to understand and respond to His words. I pray that you will see the Gospel of John the same way.
God help me, help us all, I pray.
John 17, verses 6-11. “I have manifested Your Name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
“Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
“I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.
NOTES
The phrase, “I have manifested, your Name” comes from the Greek word, ‘phaneroó’, which means to make clear visible, manifest, and to make known.
COMMENTS
“I have manifested, your Name” seems like a simple and straight forward statement. But, there are two things that have happened.
- Jesus, by saying, “I have manifested your Name”, is saying that “He, Jesus,is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature.”
We have been conditioned to see Jesus as the humble servant with whom we are pals. We ‘walk with Him and talk with Him as we go along our way’ as the song goes. But, the Word tells us that when we look upon Jesus, we should be awestruck and humbled and blinded by the radiance of His glory.
The Bible tell us that, before Jesus came to earth, no man had looked upon the face of God and lived. We have been chosen and are privileged to look upon the face of God, in these Last Days, and live!
- The “Name of God” encompasses the Grandeur, the Glory and the Majesty of God. His Name represents all we can know about God and the things of God we cannot begin to grasp.
It is impossible to fully understand what we are seeing we look upon the face of God, nor can we completely comprehend Him, as “His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts”. Yet, He has made us His own, as children, we are joint-heirs of His Kingdom!
- Jesus then says these prophetic and causative words, “Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.
And so it is. We are being kept in His Name, the Name He has given Jesus.
THE NAME WHICH YOU HAVE GIVEN ME
It may seem, to some, unnecessary to attempt to understand “the Name He has given (Jesus)”, but, if we are being “kept in that Name”, and we are to be identified by that Name, I believe we should know.
This can be complex, but, read, study, pray and watch:
The word for “Name” here is the Greek word, “onoma”, which means a name, authority, or causation; its usage is as a name, one’s character, fame and reputation. According to Hebrew notions, a name is inseparable from the person to whom it belongs, i.e. it is something of his essence. Therefore, in the case of God, it is specially sacred.
This text says, specifically, “keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me.” By this, it is unmistakable and undeniable that God the Father and God the Son, are One.
The text goes on to say, “that they may be one even as We are.” The phrase, ”that they may be” translates from the Greek word, “eimi” meaning “I exist; I am”; eternally self-existent.
Take a breath, (assuming you have lost your breath like I have), and realize what this is saying. Jesus is praying to God the Father, using prophetic and causative words, praying to The Father and stating that we, His disciples, may will also be ‘eternally self-existent’
And that His disciples are made as one,” even as We are”. This phrase, translated from the Greek word, ‘kathos’, means, ‘according to the manner in which, in the degree that, just as’.
“THAT THEY MAY BE EVEN AS WE ARE”
We are to be kept, by the Eternal “I Am”, (Eimí), and we shall be as Christ is: eternal. God’s Name for Himself, “I am”, hearkens back to God’s only name, “Yahweh“, which means “He who always was, is, and will be”, and so are we, and one day, so shall we be.
RECAP
- Jesus, by saying, “I have manifested your Name”, is saying that “He, Jesus, is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature.”
“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
- The “Name of God” encompasses the Grandeur, the Glory and the Majesty of God. His Name represents all we can know about God and the things of God we cannot begin to grasp. And, we are to be identified with that Name as the children of God and joint-heirs with Jesus.
- Jesus then says these prophetic and causative words, “Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.”
And so it is. We are being kept in His Name, the Name He has given Jesus.
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
(We will resume with John chapter 1, after completing our background study in John 17)
Please bookmark this page and let’s study together, through the Prophetic and life giving book of John. THE GOSPEL OF JOHN – Part 3
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