Here is a teaching on chapter 17 of the book of John. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added into that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.
First I want to say a quick prayer.... Lord I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. Please give us knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we're reading and how to implement it in our daily lives. Lord I pray that you open up our eyes to see the truth of your words and that you open up our hearts and reveal the fruit of the spirit in our hearts. I pray that you open up our ears and our mind to really listen to the words that are being spoken today, to listen to your words, and the truth that you're speaking into our life. I pray that in every aspect of our lives that you lead, guide, and direct us. I love you with my whole heart. In Jesus' name, Amen.
John Chapter 17:
1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began."
I'm going to stop right there and discuss these verses with you guys. So in these verses Jesus was praying to God the Father and this is an example of how we should pray to God the Father. We should always pray to God the Father anytime we have worries, fears, doubts, or we have things that we want to ask him throughout the day, we need to just have that personal conversation with God the Father and that's what Jesus is doing here. Jesus was fully submitted to the will of God the Father and he was about to fulfill his mission on earth (which was to come onto the earth, live a sinless life, die on the cross for our sins, raise three days later, and whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life). After Jesus fulfills his mission on earth he goes back to heaven with God the Father.
In verse 3 Jesus says that eternal life is that we may know God the Father and Jesus Christ, who God the Father sent. So when we truly know God the Father, whenever we ask Jesus Christ to come into our heart and forgive us of our sins, and we are disciples of Jesus Christ, we follow him, we love him and we love God the Father and we know that Jesus Christ comes from God the Father; that's when we have eternal life. And just like Jesus said in the Bible study from chapter 16 of the book of John that he's going to come back and bring his disciples to heaven with him, to our true home in heaven with God the Father and Jesus Christ. In verses 4-5 Jesus is telling God the Father that he brought him glory on earth. Jesus completed the work that God the Father gave him to do, he was fully submitted to the will of God the Father, and now he asks that God the Father glorifies him with the glory that he had before the world began, the glory that he had in the beginning in heaven.
6 "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours: you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by the name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I'm still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified."
So in these verses Jesus is praying to God the Father for his disciples, the ones that God the Father had chosen out of the world for Jesus. These disciples believed in Jesus and God the Father and knew that God the Father had sent Jesus. In verse 10 Jesus shows that he and God the Father are fully connected and that they share everything. Just like Jesus said in other verses that he is in God the Father and God the Father is in him. In verse 11 Jesus says that he's no longer going to remain in the world. He's going to go back to heaven but his disciples are still in the world and he asks God the Father to protect them by the power of his name so that they may be one as Jesus Christ and God the Father are one. Whenever we are Jesus's disciples and we follow him, worship him, seek to live the way that Christ lived, and we have the Holy spirit within us, then we remain in Jesus and his words remain in us.
In verse 12 Jesus shows that while he was with his disciples he was able to protect them and keep them safe, but now that he's going back to heaven he wants to make sure that they're still protected. Jesus only wants what's best for his disciples and the only one that was lost was Judas Iscariot. In verse 13 Jesus is going back to heaven and he wants to make sure that his disciples are okay without him and that they have his joy in them inside of them. In verse 14 Jesus said that he has given his disciples his word and the world has hated his disciples because they're not of this world. We, as Jesus's disciples, are not of this world. This world is our temporary home and our true home is in heaven just like Jesus's true home is in heaven.
Then in verse 15 Jesus asks God the Father to protect his disciples from the evil one (from Satan) and not to take them out of the world but just to protect them. Now in verse 17, when we seek the truth from God the Father and we uncover the truth of his words he will protect us from all kinds of evil. We just have to continue to seek the truth of God's word and let the Holy spirit guide us and the truth will be uncovered to us. Then we have to live in that truth, set ourselves apart in that truth, and not be conformed by this world and the evil and corruption of this world. Then what he says in verse 19, Jesus sanctified himself or set himself apart to do the will of God the Father. Jesus was fully submitted to this will and made the ultimate sacrifice so that all who believe in him may be sanctified to God the Father and set apart to have eternal life in heaven.
20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24 "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25 Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
Alright, so these are all the verses of this Bible study, but I'm going to discuss these verses with the guys here. So now in these verses Jesus Christ is praying for all believers, not just the disciples that were with him, but the people that are going to believe because of the gospel and the message that his disciples are going to be giving. As believers of Jesus Christ we are all one and all saved by one savior, which is Jesus Christ. We all become brothers and sisters in Christ and we are all tied together with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (that is within us) and this is what Jesus is praying for here in verses 20-23.
In verse 24, Jesus wants his disciples to be in heaven with him when it's their time to go and to see his glory. Now in verses 25-26, Jesus Christ is fully submitted to God the Father and he seeks that the world knows and loves the Father and that the world will be saved and ask Jesus Christ into their hearts. This is why it is so important for us, as disciples and believers of Jesus Christ, to spread the gospel, love, light, and the truth of God's words, so that others may believe in Jesus Christ and be saved also. That is why I do these Bible studies and I pray at the beginning of each Bible study to make sure that we are uncovering the truth of God's words, we're spreading that to other people, and we get the knowledge and understanding from God the Father to know exactly what it is that we're reading, how to implement it in our lives, and how to make an impact in other people's lives.
The words in this Bible, the words in this chapter, and the words in the book of John are so powerful. The world has got to know the love that Jesus Christ has for us, the love that God the Father has for us, and the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made so that we will have eternal life through him. It is our duty as disciples of Jesus Christ to let other people know about him and to spread the gospel so that they may believe in our message and that we may all come together as one in complete unity. So I encourage you today to really soak in all of these words and all of the things that we've learned in this Bible study and to really implement it in your life, to spread the gospel, and let other people know about Jesus Christ. If you haven't been letting other people know about Jesus, don't beat yourself up about it, but now is the time. There's no better time than now. We all need to spread some love, some light, and let other people know about our Savior so that through listening to our message and believing in Jesus Christ they may be saved and have eternal life.
John Ch 17 Study Guide
When should we pray to God the Father?
Based on this scripture, what is eternal life?
Why does Jesus pray for his disciples?
Why is it important for us to spread the gospel and the truth of God’s words?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?
So that concludes our Bible study on chapter 17 of the book of John. Next week will be going over part 1 of chapter 18 so stay tuned for that.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
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