John 17:23

world; and let such proofs of his Godhead be given as shall serve to convince and instruct mankind. That thy son also may glorify thee - That by dying be may magnify thy law and make it honorable, respected among men - show the strictness of thy justice, and the immaculate purity of thy nature. Verse 2 As thou hast given him power - As the Messiah, Jesus Christ received from the Father universal dominion. All flesh, i.e. all the human race, was given unto him, that by one sacrifice of himself, he might reconcile them all to God; having by his grace tasted death for every man, Heb 2:9 . And this was according to the promise of the universal inheritance made to Christ, Psa 2:8 , which was to be made up of the heathen, and the uttermost parts of the land, all the Jewish people. So that he got all from God, that he might give his life a ransom for the whole. See 2Cor 5:14 , 2Cor 5:15 ; Rom 5:21 ; 1Tim 2:4 , 1Tim 2:6 . That he should have eternal life, etc. - As all were delivered into his power, and he poured out his blood to redeem all, then the design of God is that all should have eternal life, because all are given for this purpose to Christ; and, that this end might be accomplished, he has become their sacrifice and atonement. Verse 3 This is life eternal - The salvation purchased by Christ, and given to them who believe, is called life: 1. Because the life of man was forfeited to Divine justice; and the sacrifice of Christ redeemed him from that death to which he was exposed. 2. Because the souls of men were dead in trespasses and sins; and Christ quickens them by his word and Spirit. 3. Because men who are not saved by the grace of Christ do not live, they only exist, no good purpose of life being answered by them. But when they receive this salvation they live - answer all the Divine purposes, are happy in themselves, useful to each other, and bring glory to God. 4. It is called eternal life to show that it reaches beyond the limits of time, and that it necessarily implies - 1. The immortality of the soul; 2. the resurrection of the body; and 3. that it is never to end, hence called αιωνιος ζωη, a life ever living; from αει, always, and ων, being or existence. And indeed no words can more forcibly convey the idea of eternity than these. It is called ἡ αιωνιος ζωη, That eternal life, by way of eminence. There may be an eternal existence without blessedness; but this is that eternal life with which infinite happiness is inseparably connected. The only true God - The way to attain this eternal life is to acknowledge, worship, and obey, the one only true God, and to accept as teacher, sacrifice, and Savior, the Lord Jesus, the one and only true Messiah. Bishop Pearce's remark here is well worthy the reader's attention: - "What is said here of the only true God seems said in opposition to the gods whom the heathens worshipped; not in opposition to Jesus Christ himself, who is called the true God by John, in 1Jn 5:20 ." The words in this verse have been variously translated: 1. That they might acknowledge thee, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent, to be the only true God. 2. That they might acknowledge thee, the only true God, and Jesus, whom thou hast sent, to be the Christ or Messiah. 3. That they might acknowledge thee to be the only true God, and Jesus Christ to be him whom thou hast sent. And all these translations the original will bear. From all this we learn that the only way in which eternal life is to be attained is by acknowledging the true God, and the Divine mission of Jesus Christ, he being sent of God to redeem men by his blood, being the author of eternal salvation to all them that thus believe, and conscientiously keep his commandments. A saying similar to this is found in the Institutes of Menu. Brigoo, the first emanated being who was produced from the mind of the supreme God, and who revealed the knowledge of his will to mankind, is represented as addressing the human race and saying: "Of all duties, the principal is to acquire from the Upanishads (their sacred writings) a true knowledge of one supreme God; that is the most exalted of sciences, because it ensures eternal life. For in the knowledge and adoration of one God all the rules of good conduct are fully comprised." See Institutes of Menu, chap. xii. Inst. 85, 87. Verse 4 I have glorified thee - Our Lord, considering himself as already sacrificed for the sin of the world, speaks of having completed the work which God had given him to do: and he looks forward to that time when, through the preaching of his Gospel, his sacrifice should be acknowledged, and the true God should be known and worshipped by the whole world. Verse 5 Before the world was - That is, from eternity, before there was any creation - so the phrase, and others similar to it, are taken in the sacred writings; see Joh 17:24 ; Psa 90:2 ; Eph 1:4 . See Joh 1:1 . Let the glory of my eternal divinity surround and penetrate my humanity, in its resurrection, ascension, and in the place which it is to occupy at thy right hand, far above all creatures, Phi 2:6 , Phi 2:9 . Verse 6 II. Our Lord's Prayer for His Disciples, Joh 17:6-19 I have manifested thy name - Εφανερωσα, I have brought it into light, and caused it to shine in itself, and to illuminate others. A little of the Divine nature was known by the works of creation; a little more was known by the Mosaic revelation: but the full manifestation of God, his nature, and his attributes, came only through the revelation of Christ. The men which thou gavest me - That is, the apostles, who, having received this knowledge from Christ, were, by their preaching and writings, to spread it through the whole world. Out of the world - From among the Jewish people; for in this sense is the word κοσμος to be understood in various parts of our Lord's last discourses. Thine they were - Objects of thy choice; and thou gavest them to me from among this very unbelieving people, that they might be my disciples and the heralds of my salvation. And they have kept thy word - Though their countrymen have rejected it; and they have received me as thy well beloved Son in whom thou delightest. Verse 8 I have given - them the words - I have delivered thy doctrine to them, so that they have had a pure teaching immediately from heaven: neither Jewish fables nor fictions of men have been mingled with it. And have known surely - Are fully convinced and acknowledge that I am the promised Messiah, and that they are to look for none other; and that my mission and doctrine are all Divine, Joh 17:7 , Joh 17:8 . Verse 9 I pray not for the world - I am not yet come to that part of my intercession: see Joh 17:20 . I am now wholly employed for my disciples, that they may be properly qualified to preach my salvation to the ends of the earth. Jesus here imitates the high priest, the second part of whose prayer, on the day of expiation, was for the priests, the sons of Aaron: see on Joh 17:1 (note). These words may also be understood as applying to the rebellious Jews. God's wrath was about to descend upon them, and Christ prays that his own followers might be kept from the evil, Joh 17:15 . But he does not thus pray for the world, the rebellious Jews, because the cup of their iniquity was full, and their judgment slumbered not. Verse 10 I am glorified in them - Christ speaks of the things which were not, but which should be, as though they were. He anticipates the glorifying of his name by the successful preaching of the apostles. Verse 11 I am no more in the world - I am just going to leave the world, and therefore they shall stand in need of peculiar assistance and support. They have need of all the influence of my intercession, that they may be preserved in thy truth. Keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me - Instead of οὑς δεδωκας μοι, Those whom thou hast given me, ABCEHLMS, Mt. BHV, and nearly one hundred others, read ᾡ, which refers to the τῳ ονοματι σου, thy name, immediately preceding. The whole passage should be read thus: Holy Father, keep them through thy own name Which thou hast given me, that they may be one, etc. By the name, here, it is evident that the doctrine or knowledge of the true God is intended; as if our Lord had said, Keep them in that doctrine Which thou hast given me, that they may be one, etc. This reading is supported by the most ample evidence and indisputable authority. Griesbach has admitted it into the text, and Professor White in his CRISEΩS says of it, Lectio indubie genuina, "It is, without doubt, the genuine reading." That they may be One - That they, and all that believe through their word, (the doctrine which I have given them), may be one body, united by one Spirit to me their living head. The union which Christ recommends here, and prays for, is so complete and glorious as to be fitly represented by that union which subsists between the Father and the Son. Verse 12 I kept them in thy name - In thy doctrine and truth. But the son of perdition - So we find that Judas, whom all account to have been lost, and whose case at best is extremely dubious, was first given by God to Christ? But why was he lost? Because, says St. Augustin, he would not be saved: and he farther adds, After the commission of his crime, he might have returned to God and have found mercy. Aug. Serm. 125; n. 5; Psa 146:1-10 . n. 20; Ser. 352, n. 8; and in Psa 108:1-13 . See Calmet, who remarks: Judas only became the son of perdition because of his wilful malice, his abuse of the grace and instructions of Christ, and was condemned through his own avarice, perfidy, insensibility, and despair. In behalf of the mere possibility of the salvation of Judas, see the observations at the end of Acts 1 (note). Perdition or destruction is personified; and Judas is represented as being her son, i.e. one of the worst of men - one whose crime appears to have been an attempt to destroy, not only the Savior of the world, but also the whole human race. And all this he was capable of through the love of money! How many of those who are termed creditable persons in the world have acted his crime over a thousand times! To Judas and to all his brethren, who sell God and their souls for money, and who frequently go out of this world by a violent voluntary death, we may apply those burning words of Mr. Blair, with very little alteration: "O cursed lust of gold! when for thy sake The wretch throws up his interest in both worlds, First hanged in this, then damned in that to come." That the scripture might be fulfilled - Or, Thus the scripture is fulfilled: see Psa 41:9 ; Psa 109:8 ; compared with Act 1:20 . Thus the traitorous conduct of Judas has been represented and illustrated by that of Ahitophel, and the rebellion of Absalom against his father David. Thus what was spoken concerning them was also fulfilled in Judas: to him therefore these scriptures are properly applied, though they were originally spoken concerning other traitors. Hence we plainly see that the treachery of Judas was not the effect of the prediction, for that related to a different case; but, as his was of the same nature with that of the others, to it the same scriptures were applicable. Verse 13 My joy fulfilled in themselves - See on Joh 15:11 (note). Verse 14 I have given them thy word - Or, thy doctrine - τον λογον σου. In this sense the word λογος is often used by St. John. And the world hath hated them - The Jewish rulers, etc., have hated them. - Why? Because they received the doctrine of God, the science of salvation, and taught it to others. They knew Jesus to be the Messiah, and as such they proclaimed him: our Lord speaks prophetically of what was about to take place. How terrible is the perversion of human nature! Men despise that which they should esteem, and endeavor to destroy that without which they must be destroyed themselves! Verse 15 That thou shouldest take them out of the world - They must not yet leave the land of Judea: they had not as yet borne their testimony there, concerning Christ crucified and risen again from the dead. To take them away before this work was finished would not answer the gracious design of God. - 1. Christ does not desire that his faithful apostles should soon die, and be taken to God. No: but that they may live long, labor long, and bring forth much fruit. 2. He does not intimate that they should seclude themselves from the world by going to the desert, or to the cloisters; but that they should continue in and among the world, that they may have the opportunity of recommending the salvation of God. 3. Christ only prays that while they are in the world, employed in the work of the ministry, they may be preserved from the influence, του πονηρου, of the evil one, the devil, who had lately entered into Judas, Joh 13:27 , and who would endeavor to enter into them, ruin their souls, and destroy their work. A devil without can do no harm; but a devil within ruins all. Verse 17 Sanctify them - Ἁγιασον, from α, negative, and γη, the earth. This word has two meanings: 1. It signifies to consecrate, to separate from earth and common use, and to devote or dedicate to God and his service. 2. It signifies to make holy or pure. The prayer of Christ may be understood in both these senses. He prayed - 1. That they might be fully consecrated to the work of the ministry, and separated from all worldly concerns. 2. That they might be holy, and patterns of all holiness to those to whom they announced the salvation of God. A minister who engages himself in worldly concerns is a reproach to the Gospel; and he who is not saved from his own sins can with a bad grace recommend salvation to others. Through thy truth - It is not only according to the truth of God that ministers are to be set apart to the sacred work; but it is from that truth, and according to it, that they must preach to others. That doctrine which is not drawn from the truth of God can never save souls. God blesses no word but his own; because none is truth, without mixture of error, but that which has proceeded from himself. Our Lord still acts here in reference to the conduct of the high priest, to whom it belonged to sanctify the priests, the sons of Aaron: see on Joh 17:1 (note). Verse 18 As thou hast sent me - so have I also sent them - The apostles had the same commission which Christ had, considered as man - they were endued with the same Spirit, so that they could not err, and their word was accompanied with the same success. Verse 19 I sanctify myself - I consecrate and devote myself to death - that I may thereby purchase eternal salvation for them. There seems to be here an allusion to the entering of the high priest into the holy of holies, when, having offered the sacrifice, he sprinkled the blood before the ark of the covenant. So Jesus entered into the holiest of all by his own blood, in order to obtain everlasting redemption for men: see Heb 9:11-13 . The word, ἁγιαζω, to consecrate or sanctify, is used in the sense of devoting to death, in Jer 12:3 , both in the Hebrew and in the Septuagint: the Hebrew קדש signifies also to sacrifice. Verse 20 III. Our Lord's Prayer for His Church, and for All Who Would Believe on His Name, Through the Preaching of the Apostles and Their Successor. Joh 17:20-26 . See on Joh 17:1 (note). Neither pray I for these alone - This prayer extends itself through all ages, and takes in every soul that believes in the Lord Jesus. And what is it that Christ asks in behalf of his followers? The greatest of blessings: unity, peace, love, and eternal glory. Verse 21 That they all may be one - This prayer was literally answered to the first believers, who were all of one heart and of one soul: Act 4:32 . And why is it that believers are not in the same spirit now? Because they neither attend to the example nor to the truth of Christ. That the world may believe - are have already seen that the word, κοσμος, world, is used in several parts of this last discourse of our Lord to signify the Jewish people only. Christ will have all his members to be one in spirit - one in rights and privileges, and one in the blessedness of the future world. 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. Verse 23 That the world may know - That the Jewish people first, and secondly the Gentiles, may acknowledge me as the true Messiah, and be saved unto life eternal. Verse 24 That they may behold my glory - That they may enjoy eternal felicity with me in thy kingdom. So the word is used, Joh 3:3 ; Mat 5:8 . The design of Christ is, that all who believe should love and obey, persevere unto the end, and be eternally united to himself, and the ever blessed God, in the kingdom of glory. Verse 25 The world hath not known thee - Has not acknowledged me. See on Joh 1:11 , Joh 1:12 (note). And these have known - Here our Lord, returning to the disciples, speaks: 1st. Of their having received him as the Messiah; 2dly. Of his making the Father known unto them; 3dly. Of his purpose to continue to influence them by the Spirit of truth, that they might be perfectly united to God, by an indwelling Savior for ever. Verse 26 I have declared unto them thy name, etc. - I have taught them the true doctrine. And will declare it - This he did: 1st. By the conversations he had with his disciples after his resurrection, during the space of forty days. 2dly. By the Holy Spirit which was poured out upon them on the day of pentecost. And all these declarations Jesus Christ made, that the love of God, and Christ Jesus himself, might dwell in them; and thus they were to become a habitation for God through the eternal Spirit. Our Lord's sermon, which he concluded by the prayer recorded in this chapter, begins at Joh 13:13 , and is one of the most excellent than can be conceived. His sermon on the mount shows men what they should do, so as to please God: this sermon shows them how they are to do the things prescribed in the other. In the former the reader sees a strict morality which he fears he shall never be able to perform: in this, he sees all things are possible to him who believes; for that very God who made him shall dwell in his heart, and enable him to do all that He pleases to employ him in. No man can properly understand the nature and design of the religion of Christ who does not enter into the spirit of the preceding discourse. Perhaps no part of our Lord's words has been less understood, or more perverted, than the seventeenth chapter of St. John. I have done what I could, in so small a compass, to make every thing plain, and to apply these words in that way in which I am satisfied he used them. Introduction Jesus passes the brook Cedron, and goes to the garden of Gethsemane, Joh 18:1 . Judas, having betrayed him, comes to the place with a troop of men to take him, Joh 18:2 , Joh 18:3 . Jesus addresses them, and they fall to the ground, Joh 18:4-6 . He addresses them again, and Peter smites Malchus, Joh 18:7-11 . They seize him and lead him away to Caiaphas, Joh 18:12-14 . Peter follows to the palace of the high priest, Joh 18:15-18 . The high priest questions Christ concerning his doctrine, and Jesus answers, and is smitten, Joh 18:19-23 . Peter denies his Lord twice, Joh 18:24-27 . Jesus is led to the judgment hall, and Pilate and the Jews converse about him, Joh 18:28-32 . Pilate converses with Jesus, who informs him of the spiritual nature of his kingdom, Joh 18:33-37 . Pilate returns to the Jews, and declares Christ to be innocent, Joh 18:38 . He seeks to discharge him, and the Jews clamor for his condemnation, Joh 18:39 , Joh 18:40 . Verse 1 Over the brook Cedron - Having finished the prayer related in the preceding chapter, our Lord went straight to the garden of Gethsemane, Mat 26:36 , which was in the mount of Olives, eastward of Jerusalem. This mount was separated from the city by a very narrow valley, through the midst of which the brook Cedron ran: see 1 Maccabees 12:37; Joseph. War, b. v. c. 2, s. 3. xii. 2. Cedron is a very small rivulet, about six or seven feet broad, nor is it constantly supplied with water, being dry all the year, except during the rains. It is mentioned in the Old Testament: 2Sam 15:23 ; 1Kgs 15:13 ; 2Kgs 23:4 . And it appears the evangelist only mentions it here to call to remembrance what happened to David, when he was driven from Jerusalem by his son Absalom, and he and his followers obliged to pass the brook Cedron on foot: see 2Sam 15:23 . All this was a very expressive figure of what happened now to this second David, by the treachery of one of his own disciples. This brook had its name probably from קדר Kadar, he was black; it being the place into which the blood of the sacrifices, and other filth of the city, ran. It was rather, says Lightfoot, the sink, or the common sewer, of the city, than a brook. Some copyists, mistaking Κεδρων for Greek, have changed του into των, and thus have written των Κεδρων, of cedars, instead of του Κεδρων, the brook of Cedron: but this last is undoubtedly the genuine reading. A garden - Gethsemane: see on Mat 26:36 (note).

v. 20 ): " Not these only, not these only that are now my disciples" (the eleven, the seventy, with others, men and women that followed him when he was here on earth), "but for those also who shall believe on me through their word, either preached by them in their own day or written by them for the generations to come; I pray for them all, that they all may be one in their interest in this prayer, and may all receive benefit by it." Note, here, 1. Those, and those only, are interested in the mediation of Christ, that do, or shall, believe in him. This is that by which they are described, and it comprehends all the character and duty of a Christian. They that lived then, saw and believed, but they in after ages have not seen, and yet have believed. 2. It is through the word that souls are brought to believe on Christ, and it is for this end that Christ appointed the scriptures to be written, and a standing ministry to continue in the church, while the church stands, that is, while the world stands, for the raising up of a seed. 3. It is certainly and infallibly known to Christ who shall believe on him. He does not here pray at a venture, upon a contingency depending on the treacherous will of man, which pretends to be free, but by reason of sin is in bondage with its children; no, Christ knew very well whom he prayed for, the matter was reduced to a certainty by the divine prescience and purpose; he knew who were given him, who being ordained to eternal life, were entered in the Lamb's book, and should undoubtedly believe, Acts xiii. 48 . 4. Jesus Christ intercedes not only for great and eminent believers, but for the meanest and weakest; not for those only that are to be employed in the highest post of trust and honour in his kingdom, but for all, even those that in the eye of the world are inconsiderable. As the divine providence extends itself to the meanest creature, so does the divine grace to the meanest Christian. The good Shepherd has an eye even to the poor of the flock. 5. Jesus Christ in his mediation had an actual regard to those of the chosen remnant that were yet unborn, the people that should be created ( Ps. xxii. 31 ), the other sheep which he must yet bring. Before they are formed in the womb he knows them ( Jer. i. 5 ), and prayers are filed in heaven for them beforehand, by him who declareth the end from the beginning, and calleth things that are not as though they were. II. What is intended in this prayer ( v. 21 ): That they all may be one. The same was said before ( v. 11 ), that they may be one as we are, and again, v. 22 . The heart of Christ was much upon this. Some think that the oneness prayed for in v. 11 has special reference to the disciples as ministers and apostles, that they might be one in their testimony to Christ; and that the harmony of the evangelists, and concurrence of the first preachers of the gospel, are owing to this prayer. Let them be not only of one heart, but of one mouth, speaking the same thing. The unity of the gospel ministers is both the beauty and strength of the gospel interest. But it is certain that the oneness prayed for in v. 21 respects all believers. It is the prayer of Christ for all that are his, and we may be sure it is an answered prayer— that they all may be one, one in us ( v. 21 ), one as e are one ( v. 22 ), made perfect in one, v. 23 . It includes three things:— 1. That they might all be incorporated in one body. "Father, look upon them all as one, and ratify that great charter by which they are embodied as one church. Though they live in distant places, from one end of heaven to the other, and in several ages, from the beginning to the close of time, and so cannot have any personal acquaintance or correspondence with each other, yet let them be united in me their common head." As Christ died, so he prayed, to gather them all in one, ch. xi. 52 ; Eph. i. 10 . 2. That they might all be animated by one Spirit. This is plainly implied in this— that they may be one in us. Union with the Father and Son is obtained and kept up only by the Holy Ghost. He that is joined to the Lord in one spirit, 1 Cor. vi. 17 . Let them all be stamped with the same image and superscription, and influenced by the same power. 3. That they might all be knit together in the bond of love and charity, all of one heart. That they all may be one, (1.) In judgment and sentiment; not in every little thing—this is neither possible nor needful, but in the great things of God, and in them, by the virtue of this prayer, they are all agreed—that God's favour is better than life—that sin is the worst of evils, Christ the best of friends—that there is another life after this, and the like. (2.) In disposition and inclination. All that are sanctified have the same divine nature and image; they have all a new heart, and it is one heart. (3.) They are all one in their designs and aims. Every true Christian, as far as he is so, eyes the glory of God as his highest end, and the glory of heaven as his chief good. (4.) They are all one in their desires and prayers; though they differ in words and the manner of expressions, yet, having received the same spirit of adoption, and observing the same rule, they pray for the same things in effect. (5.) All one in love and affection. Every true Christian has that in him which inclines him to love all true Christians as such. That which Christ here prays for is that communion of saints which we profess to believe; the fellowship which all believers have with God, and their intimate union with all the saints in heaven and earth, 1 John i. 3 . But this prayer of Christ will not have its complete answer till all the saints come to heaven, for then, and not till then, they shall be perfect in one, v. 23 ; Eph. iv. 13 . III. What is intimated by way of plea or argument to enforce this petition; three things:— 1. The oneness that is between the Father and the Son, which is mentioned again and again, v. 11 , 21-23 . (1.) It is taken for granted that the Father and Son are one, one in nature and essence, equal in power and glory, one in mutual endearments. The Father loveth the Son, and the Son always pleased the Father. They are one in design, and one in operation. The intimacy of this oneness is expressed in these words, thou in me, and I in thee. This he often mentions for his support under his present sufferings, when his enemies were ready to fall upon him, and his friends to fall off from him; yet he was in the Father, and the Father in him. (2.) This is insisted on in Christ's prayer for his disciples' oneness, [1.] As the pattern of that oneness, showing how he desired they might be one. Believers are one in some measure as God and Christ are one; for, First, The union of believers is a strict and close union; they are united by a divine nature, by the power of divine grace, in pursuance of the divine counsels. Secondly, It is a holy union, in the Holy Spirit, for holy ends; not a body politic for any secular purpose. Thirdly, It is, and will be at last, a complete union. Father and Son have the same attributes, properties, and perfections; so have believers now, as far as they are sanctified, and when grace shall be perfected in glory they will be exactly consonant to each other, all changed into the same image. [2.] As the centre of that oneness; that they may be one in us, all meeting here. There is one God and one Mediator; and herein believers are one, that they all agree to depend upon the favour of this one God as their felicity and the merit of this one Mediator as their righteousness. That is a conspiracy, not a union, which doth not centre in God as the end, and Christ as the way. All who are truly united to God and Christ, who are one, will soon be united one to another. [3.] As a plea for that oneness. The Creator and Redeemer are one in interest and design; but to what purpose are they so, if all believers be not one body with Christ, and do not jointly receive grace for grace from him, as he has received it for them? Christ's design was to reduce revolted mankind to God: "Father," says he, "let all that believe be one, that in one body they may be reconciled" ( Eph. ii. 15, 16 ), which speaks of the uniting of Jews and Gentiles in the church; that great mystery, that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body ( Eph. iii. 6 ), to which I think this prayer of Christ principally refers, it being one great thing he aimed at in his dying; and I wonder none of the expositors I have met with should so apply it. "Father, let the Gentiles that believe be incorporated with the believing Jews, and make of twain one new man. " Those words, I in them, and thou in me, show what that union is which is so necessary, not only to the beauty, but to the very being, of his church. First, Union with Christ: I in them. Christ dwelling in the hearts of believers is the life and soul of the new man. Secondly, Union with God through him: Thou in me, so as by me to be in them. Thirdly, Union with each other, resulting from these: that they hereby may be made perfect in one. We are complete in him. 2. The design of Christ in all his communications of light and grace to them ( v. 22 ): " The glory which thou gavest me, as the trustee or channel of conveyance, I have accordingly given them, to this intent, that they may be one, as we are one; so that those gifts will be in vain, if they be not one." Now these gifts are either, (1.) Those that were conferred upon the apostles, and first planters of the church. The glory of being God's ambassadors to the world—the glory of working miracles—the glory of gathering a church out of the world, and erecting the throne of God's kingdom among men—this glory was given to Christ, and some of the honour he put upon them when he sent them to disciple all nations. Or, (2.) Those that are given in common to all believers. The glory of being in covenant with the Father, and accepted of him, of being laid in his bosom, and designed for a place at his right hand, was the glory which the Father gave to the Redeemer, and he has confirmed it to the redeemed. [1.] This honour he says he hath given them, because he hath intended it for them, settled it upon them, and secured it to them upon their believing Christ's promises to be real gifts. [2.] This was given to him to give to them; it was conveyed to him in trust for them, and he was faithful to him that appointed him. [3.] He gave it to them, that they might be one. First, to entitle them to the privilege of unity, that by virtue of their common relation to one God the Father, and one Lord Jesus Christ, they might be truly denominated one. The gift of the Spirit, that great glory which the Father gave to the Son, by him to be given to all believers, makes them one, for he works all in all, 1 Cor. xii. 4 , &c. Secondly, To engage them to the duty of unity. That in consideration of their agreement and communion in one creed and one covenant, one Spirit and one Bible—in consideration of what they have in one God and one Christ, and of what they hope for in one heaven, they may be of one mind and one mouth. Worldly glory sets men at variance; for if some be advanced others are eclipsed, and therefore, while the disciples dreamed of a temporal kingdom, they were ever and anon quarrelling; but spiritual honours being conferred alike upon all Christ's subjects, they being all made to our God kings and priests, there is no occasion for contest nor emulation. The more Christians are taken up with the glory Christ has given them, the less desirous they will be of vain-glory, and, consequently, the less disposed to quarrel. 3. He pleads the happy influence their oneness would have upon others, and the furtherance it would give to the public good. This is twice urged ( v. 21 ): That the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And again ( v. 23 ): That the world may know it, for without knowledge there can be no true faith. Believers must know what they believe, and why and wherefore they believe it. Those who believe at a venture, venture too far. Now Christ here shows, (1.) His good-will to the world of mankind in general. Herein he is of his Father's mind, as we are sure he is in every thing, that he would have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth, 1 Tim. ii. 4 ; 2 Pet. iii. 9 . Therefore it is his will that all means possible should be used, and no stone left unturned, for the conviction and conversion of the world. We know not who are chosen, but we must in our places do our utmost to further men's salvation, and take heed of doing any thing to hinder it. (2.) The good fruit of the church's oneness; it will be an evidence of the truth of Christianity, and a means of bringing many to embrace it. [1.] In general, it will recommend Christianity to the world, and to the good opinion of those that are without. First, The embodying of Christians in one society by the gospel charter will greatly promote Christianity. When the world shall see so many of those that were its children called out of its family, distinguished from others, and changed from what they themselves sometimes were,—when they shall see this society raised by the foolishness of preaching, and kept up by miracles of divine providence and grace, and how admirably well it is modelled and constituted, they will be ready to say, We will go with you, for we see that God is with you. Secondly, The uniting of Christians in love and charity is the beauty of their profession, and invites others to join with them, as the love that was among those primo-primitive Christians, Acts ii. 42, 43 ; iv. 32, 33 . When Christianity, instead of causing quarrels about itself, makes all other strifes to cease,—when it cools the fiery, smooths the rugged, and disposes men to be kind and loving, courteous and beneficent, to all men, studious to preserve and promote peace in all relations and societies, this will recommend it to all that have any thing either of natural religion or natural affection in them. [2.] In particular, it will beget in men good thoughts, First, Of Christ: They will know and believe that thou hast sent me, By this it will appear that Christ was sent of God, and that his doctrine was divine, in that his religion prevails to join so many of different capacities, tempers, and interests in other things, in one body by faith, with one heart by love. Certainly he was sent by the God of power, who fashions men's hearts alike, and the God of love and peace; when the worshippers of God are one, he is one, and his name one. Secondly, Of Christians: They will know that thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Here is, 1. The privilege of believers: the Father himself loveth them with a love resembling his love to his Son, for they are loved in him with an everlasting love. 2. The evidence of their interest in this privilege, and that is their being one. By this it will appear that God loves us, if we love one another with a pure heart; for wherever the love of God is shed abroad in the heart it will change it into the same image. See how much good it would do to the world to know better how dear to God all good Christians are. The Jews had a saying, If the world did but know the worth of good men, they would hedge them about with pearls. Those that have so much of God's love should have more of ours. Christ's Intercessory Prayer. 24 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. 25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26 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. Here is, I. A petition for the glorifying of all those that were given to Christ ( v. 24 ), not only these apostles, but all believers: Father, I will that they may be with me. Observe, 1. The connection of this request with those foregoing. He had prayed that God would preserve, sanctify, and unite them; and no

May be made perfect in one. That their union may be complete. That there may be no jars, discords, or contentions. A machine is perfect or complete when it has all its parts and is in good order--when there is no portion of it wanting. So the union of Christians, for which the Saviour prayed, would be complete or perfect if there were no controversies, no envyings, no contentions, and no heart-burnings and jealousies. It is worthy of remark here how entirely the union of his people occupied the mind of Jesus as he drew near to death. He saw the danger of strifes and contentions in the church. He knew the imperfections of even the best of men. He saw how prone they would be to passion and ambition; how ready to mistake love of sect or party for zeal for pure religion; how selfish and worldly men in the church might divide his followers, and produce unholy feeling and contention; and he saw, also, how much this would do to dishonour religion. Hence he took occasion, when he was about to die, to impress the importance of union on his disciples. By solemn admonition, and by most tender and affecting appeals to God in supplication, he showed his sense of the value of this union. He used the most sublime and impressive illustration; he adverted to the eternal union between the Father and himself; he reminded them of his love, and of the effect that their union would have on the world, to fix it more deeply in their hearts. The effect has shown the infinite wisdom of the Saviour. The contentions and strifes of Christians have shown his knowledge in foreseeing it. The effect of all this on religion has shown that he understood the value of union. Christians have contended long enough. It is time that they should hear the parting admonitions of their Redeemer, and go unitedly against their common foe. The world still lies in wickedness; and the friends of Jesus, bound by the cords of eternal love, should advance together against the common enemy, and spread the triumphs of the gospel around the globe. All that is needful now, under the blessing of God, to convince the world that God sent the Lord Jesus, is that very union among all Christians for which he prayed; and when that union of feeling, and purpose, and action shall take place, the task of sending the gospel to all nations will be soon accomplished, and the morning of the millennial glory will dawn upon the world.