The Gospel of John ~ Chapter 17, Part 7

Verses 20 – 22

The Great High Priestly Prayer, Part 7

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Chapter 17 Outline:

Vs. 1-5, Christ Prays for Himself.

Vs. 6-19, Christ Prays for His Disciples.

Vs. 20-26, Christ Prays for His Church.

http://gracedoctrine.org/the-gospel-of-john-chapter-17-part-7-verses-20-22/

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Outline of this Study:

Vs. 20-26, Christ Prays for His Church

• Exegesis & Principles of John 17:20 – 22
• Doctrine of the Church
• Positional Truth
• Doctrine of Divine Decrees
• Divine Decree Effects
• The Doctrine of Glory

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Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, (If You have - Trusted in Him for Eternal Life), it is important to prepare yourself to: Take-in God’s Word and/or Participate in a Communion Service, so take a moment to name, cite, or acknowledge your sins privately, directly to God the Father. This will assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father & the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the real teacher.

1 John 1:9 says— “If we confess [simply name, cite, or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown & forgotten sins].”

For those of you who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior, please see: The Salvation Message @ the end of this document.

2 Pet 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

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John 17:20-26, Christ Prays for His Church.

We now turn to the third and final portion of our Lord’s Great High Priestly Prayer.

John 17:20, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word.”

As we have noted the three parts include:

Verses 1-5, where Jesus is praying for Himself,

Verses 6-19, where Jesus is praying for His Disciples,

Verses 20-26, where Jesus is praying for the Church overall.

In addition, we can summarize the major parts of this prayer as regarding the grace gifts Jesus desires for each of us:

• In Verses 1-5, Jesus emphasizes salvation and the gift of eternal life, especially in Verse 2, “I give eternal life.”

• In Verses 6-19, He emphasizes the disciples’ protection, so that they may have Experiential Sanctification, by means of God’s Word resident within their souls: “I have given them Your Word,” Verse 14.

• In Verses 20-26, our Lord emphasizes our unity and glorification, “I have given them glory.”

These gifts take care of the believer’s past, present, and future.

Also note the assurances of eternal security for the believer in this prayer:

• Believers are the Father’s gift to the Son, Verse 2, and God will not take back His love gifts.

• Christ finished His work. Because Christ did His work completely; believers cannot lose their salvation.

• Christ was able to keep His own while on earth, and He is able to keep them today, for He is the same Savior.

• Christ knows we will finally be in heaven, because He has already given us His glory.

• Christ prayed that we might be in heaven, and the Father always answers His Son’s prayers, John 11:41-42. Therefore, every Christian who dies goes to heaven, because Christ prayed that this might be so, Verse 24.

In this third portion, because the Church will complete the work of God’s Plan for this Dispensation, we have two main themes of this prayer,

• Unity of believers: “That they may all be one ….” with, “I in them.”

• The glorification of believers: Verse 22, “I have given them the glory that You gave Me”.

Unity: Our Lord especially prayed that all believers might be as one body under one head, animated by one soul, by means of the Word of God, and by our union with Christ and with the Father in us, all made possible through the indwelling Holy Spirit, 1 Cor 1:10; 12:12-27; Eph 4:1-6.

1 Cor 1:10, “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

Eph 4:1-6, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, ²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, ³being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”

Unfortunately, this is not the case in our generation. Instead we have schisms and factions that divide us and lead to all kinds of disputes. The more we dispute, especially about the lesser things, the more we throw doubts upon Christianity. Therefore, let us endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, praying that all believers may be more and more united in one mind and one judgment. And if we do, we will convince the world of the truth and excellence of our belief, and find more fellowship with God and His saints.

But yet, there is a vast difference between unity (oneness of heart and spirit) and uniformity (everybody being exactly alike).

Christ never prayed that all Christians would belong to one world church, or dress alike, and talk alike, etc.

Likewise, banding together organizationally may bring about organizational uniformity, but that cannot guarantee unity.

Unity comes from life within, not from pressure without.

While true Christians belong to different churches and denominations, they are all part of the true church, the body of Christ, which is a spiritual unity in love that convinces the world of the truth of the Gospel. In fact, it is possible for Christians to differ on minor matters and still love one another in Christ.

Glorification: Jesus does not say “I will give them” because in the Plan of God, the believer has already been glorified, Rom. 8:30.

Rom 8:30, “And these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified, (in eternity past).”

We have been glorified from eternity past due to God the Father’s omniscience of our positive volition towards the gospel message in time.

In addition, this prayer for glorification is another proof of the believers’ eternal security; because we are already glorified as far as God is concerned.

Now, just as the believer has Positional, Experiential, and Ultimate Sanctification, he also has Positional, Experiential, and Ultimate Glorification. We have seen Positional Glorification in Rom 8:30.

In Verse 22, we have Experiential Glorification, and in Verse 24, “they may see My glory” refers to our Ultimate glorification (cf. Col 3:4; Rom 8:18).

Col 3:4 states that we will share His glory, “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

Rom. 8:18 also promises that we will see and share in His glory, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

In Verse 22, note that the “glory” given to Jesus by the Father is what Jesus has given to us, “so that we may be one.” Here the Present, Active, Subjunctive of EIMI is used, “OSIN,” which means potential and probability but not certainty. As stated above and throughout the New Testament, we are one positionally as members of the body of Christ, but here in the Subjunctive Mood, it means there is a potential which speaks to experiential glorification and unity.

So, this prayer for glorification is in fact another way of saying, I have given them Your Word (i.e., manifested You). When the believer fills his soul with the Word of God and builds his Edification Complex of the Soul (ECS), he has experientially the glory of God in Him.

In Verse 26, Christ promises further revelations of the Father, “and will make it known,” which He gave to the apostles through the Spirit, beginning at Pentecost and going forward.

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John 17:20, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word.”

The Greek reads: 

“περὶ τούτων δὲ ἐρωτῶ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τῶν πιστευόντων διὰ τοῦ λόγου αὐτῶν εἰς ἐμέ,”

 Transliterated it reads: 

“OU PERI TOUTON DE EROTO MONON, ALLA KAI PERI TON PISTEUONTON DIA TOU LOGOU AUTON EIS EME.”

We begin with, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone,”

 “OU PERI TOUTON DE EROTO MONON,”

OU is the Negative Particle used with the indicative mood, (in this case EROTO below). It usually implies a positive response. Typically, we could say, “I do not,” but here it is better to say, “I am not” given the positive nature of this statement.

PERI is a Preposition here with the Genitive case of TOUTON, denoting the subject, so we can translate it as, “about, concerning, of, with reference to, for, on account of, on behalf of, etc.”

TOUTON is an Adjective used as a Demonstrative Pronoun in the Genitive, Masculine, Plural that means, “these or these things.” Here it is referring to His immediate disciples, the subjects of the second part of this prayer.

DE is a Conjunction meaning, “but, to the contrary, rather, and, now, then, so.” This conjunction signifies the change in subject. It changes from the disciples in Verses 6-19 to the church in Verses 20-26. This is also emphasized in this sentence with MONON, “only” and ALLA KAI, “but and” below. So, here we will say, “now” signifying the change in subject and rightly move it to the beginning of the sentence.

EROTO is a familiar verb used throughout this chapter, (John 16:19, 23, 26, 30; 17:9, 15, 20), signifying that this is a prayer petition of Jesus. It is the Verb EROTAO - ἐρωτάω (er-o-tah'-o) in the Present, Active, Indicative, First Person, Singular, and means, “to ask, to request, entreat, beg, or beseech.”

The Instantaneous Present Tense is for action that is completed at the time of speaking.

The Active Voice in the First Person Singular:  Jesus is petitioning God the Father on behalf of the Church. Therefore, we will say, “I ask,” but with the negative, “I am not asking.”

The Indicative Mood is for the reality that Jesus did petition the Father in this way.

MONON is the Adjective MONOS – μόνος (mon'-os) that means, “only or alone,” telling us that Jesus is not just praying for His immediate disciples but for the whole church.

So far, we have, “Now I am not only asking (petitioning) concerning these (disciples).”

Next, we have, “but for those also who believe in Me through their word.” 

Which in the Greek is, “ALLA KAI PERI TON PISTEUONTON DIA TOU LOGOU AUTON EIS EME.”

ALLA is the first of two Conjunctions. This one is a Superordinating Conjunction emphasizing subject of this portion of the sentence which is the Church. It can mean, “but, rather, on the contrary.” When with KAI, as is here, it adds emphasis or contrast, so we can say, “not only this but also that.”

KAI is our second Conjunction meaning, “and, even or also.” As stated above, we will say, “but also.”

PERI is once again a Preposition with the Genitive case of PISTEUO, denoting the subject being “believers” who constitute the Church, so we can translate it as, “concerning” again.

TON PISTEUONTON is the Genitive, Masculine Plural of the Article HO - ὁ (ho), “the” and the Participle Verb in the Present, Active, Genitive, Masculine, Plural. PISTEUO – πιστεύω (pist-yoo'-o) normally means, “believe or faith.”

As a Participle Verb it is used Substantively here, and being in the plural, we can say, “the ones who are believing,” or “those who are believing,” where it is used for believers of the Church Age. Even though this is in the Present Tense, we note that this is futuristic action based on the rest of this verse. These believers believe “because of” the Gospel of Jesus Christ taught by the disciples, which has not yet occurred.

Therefore, as we have seen throughout this prayer, this is a Futuristic / Prophetic Present Tense due to the context of this passage. Likewise, “believing” does not constitute the necessity of ongoing action, but instead spans the entire Dispensation of the Church Age. That is why many translations simply say, “those who believe” and some go as far as putting it in the future tense and say, “those who will believe.”

DIA is a Preposition in the Genitive case linked to LOGOU below. In the Genitive Case, it can mean, “through, by means of, or with.”

Here we have a Genitive of Agency construction signifying the intermediate agent through or by which believers come to believe.

TOU LOGOU is the article HO - ὁ (ho), “the” and the Noun LOGOS – λόγος (log'-os) in the Genitive of Agency, Masculine, Singular that means, “a word, saying, speaking, etc.” Here it means, “witnessing” the Word of God that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is through the Word of God that unbelievers come to believe.

AUTON is the Pronoun AUTOS - αὐτός (ow-tos'), “him, self, etc.” in the Genitive, Masculine, Third Person, Plural. This continues the Genitive of Agency construction. In the plural, we say, “of them or their,” referring once again to the immediate disciples of Jesus Christ who would build the Church.

EIS is a Preposition in the Accusative Case here linked with EME below. It can mean, “into, to, in, on, upon, etc.” This is the One the believing believes in or upon.

EME is the Pronoun EGO - ἐγώ (eg-o'), “I”, in the Direct Object, Accusative, First Person, Singular, so it means, “Me,” where Jesus is referring to Himself as the One believed in.

So, for the second half of Verse 20 we have, “but also concerning those who will believe in Me through their word (preaching the gospel).”

Our complete translation of John 17:20 is, “Now I am not only asking (petitioning) concerning these (disciples), but also concerning those who will believe in Me through their word (preaching the gospel).”

Here our Lord is anticipating the Church Age, which would begin on the following Feast of Pentecost. This Church was built by the 11 disciples who remained with Jesus and Paul who would come later on. These 12 made up the Apostles of the Church who would witness and evangelize and begin the process of building the Church.

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Doctrine of the Church

There are two categories of “Church” in the Church Age.

The Church universal is synonymous with the Royal Family of God, also known as the Body of Jesus Christ. It is composed of all Church Age believers. You enter the Church universal at salvation, through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the resultant Positional Sanctification, by which the Royal Family of God is formed, and by which equal privilege is given to every believer.

Jesus said in Mat 16:18, “On this rock (Jesus Christ), I will build My Church.”

He used the Future Active Indicative of OIKODOMEO which means, “to build a house.” He was speaking of a future time to His ministry, just as it is future time to His Great High Priestly prayer of John 17:20, “those who will believe in Me.”

The local church is an assembly of believers in a specific geographical location under the teaching ministry of their right Pastor/Teacher, predominantly face to face, or on the rare occasion, through some other system of communication. The local church has a policy and an administrative system based on doctrinal principles. This is why there are deacons and other administrative authority in a local church.

Dispensational Orientation Related to the Universal Church:

Throughout human history, God the Father has designed several different time periods for the administration of His Plan, regarding the great appeal trial of the Angelic Conflict. These periods of “administration” are also called Ages or Stewardship or Dispensations, Eph 1:9-10; 3:2-3, 8-11; Col 1:25.

Eph 3:8-11, “To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, ⁹and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; ¹⁰so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. ¹¹This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Overall there are at least 5 Dispensations. Some theologians break these 5 down into more finite parts.

• The Age of Innocence – The Garden of Eden.
• The Age of the Gentiles – Expulsion from Eden to the Giving of the Law.
• The Age of Israel – Giving of the Law to Pentecost ~ 30-33AD, and including the Tribulation.
• The Church Age, (which interrupted the Age of Israel) – Pentecost to the Rapture just prior to the beginning of the Tribulation.
• Millennial Reign – Second Advent of Christ post-Tribulation lasting 1000 years.

The Church actually began on the Day of Pentecost around 30-33 A.D., as the Lord had prophesied. In Acts 1:5, Jesus said, just before He ascended, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit a few days from now.” Specifically, “a few days” referred to ten days. Our Lord remained on earth for forty days after the resurrection. According to the Jewish feast calendar, the Day of Pentecost began fifty days after the resurrection, represented by the Feast of the First Fruits. So, there was an interval of ten days after the Ascension before the Church Age began.

The first occurrence of the Baptism of the Spirit is the day the Church Age superseded the Dispensation of Israel. By comparing Acts 11:15‑16 with Acts 2:1‑3, we establish the fact that the Baptism of the Spirit occurred for the first time on the Day of Pentecost. The Baptism of the Spirit is also taught in 1 Cor 12:13.

The Jewish Age was interrupted seven years short of its completion when the Church Age began. The Tribulation, which follows the Rapture, is the end of the Jewish Age.

The “times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) is defined as the period from 70 A.D., (the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans), until the Rapture, where only Gentile nations can be client nations to God.

The Church Age terminates with the Rapture or resurrection of the Church, when all the royal family receive their resurrection bodies, 1 Thes 4:13‑18; 1 Cor 15:51‑57; Phil 3:21; 1 John 3:1‑2. The Church and Israel never function simultaneously on the earth.

The Church is also called the Mystery Age, Rom 16:25‑26; Eph 3:1‑5; Col 1:25‑27, because it was not known in the Old Testament. In addition, no Church Age doctrine was written or orally taught in Old Testament times, because the Church Age is a unique Dispensation, since believers are entered into union with Christ and permanently indwelled by God the Holy Spirit. The Church Age continues until the Royal Family is completed; then the Rapture occurs.

The Importance of the Local Assembly in the Church Age:

The Bible never tells us to be solitary saints or spiritual hermits isolated from other believers. In fact, the Bible tells us we are:

• Put together, 1 Cor 12:12
• Fitted together, Eph 2:21
• Built together, Eph 2:22
• Joined together, Eph 4:16
• Held together, Col 2:19;
• Heirs together, Rom 8:17; 1 Thes 4:17
• Members together, Eph 3:6
• And therefore, we should be taught together preferably face-to-face.

Eph 4:15-16, “But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, ¹⁶from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies (i.e. the Pastor/Teacher), according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

The joint here is the Pastor/Teacher in your right local assembly. God the Father has designed a plan by which you are supplied with all the spiritual nourishment you need by one local assembly and Pastor/Teacher, cf 1 Peter 5:1-5.

Charles Spurgeon commenting on the study of the Word of God wrote, “A student will find that his mental constitution is more affected by one book thoroughly mastered than by twenty books which he has merely skimmed, lapping at them.”

The same goes for the local assembly. You will gain more by concentrating and mastering the teaching of your right Pastor/Teacher than you will by listening to twenty or more other pastors, who are not your right Pastor/Teacher.

While our relationship with Christ is very personal, God did not intend it to be private. We all belong to each other for all of eternity.

God saw membership of a local church as a vital organ of His living body, an indispensable and interconnected part of the Body of Christ. Rom 12:4-5; 1 Cor 6:15; 12:12-27

1 Cor 6:15, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be!”

The church is a body not a building, an organism and not an organization. For the organs of your body to function properly, they must be attached to your body. The same is true in the spiritual realm, as you are part of Christ’s body.

You were created for a specific role in the body of Christ, but you will miss out on its purpose if you are not attached to a living local church, Rom 12:4-5.

Rom 12:4-5, “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, ⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”

If an organ is somehow severed from its body, it will shrivel up and die. It cannot exist on its own, and neither can you. Disconnected from the lifeblood of a local body, your spiritual life will wither and eventually cease to exist.

• This is why the first symptom of spiritual decline is usually inconsistent attendance at worship services and other gatherings of believers.

• Whenever we become careless about fellowship, everything else begins to slide too. We should never be careless about any part of our relationship with God including our participation and involvement in our local church.

As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love, Eph 4:16.

Eph 4:16, “From whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

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Then in John 17:21, we have the petition for Positional Sanctification of the Body of Christ, the Church, in the concept of unity so that the World would come to believe!

John 17:21, “That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

The Greek reads: 

“ἵνα πάντες ἓν ὦσιν, καθὼς σύ, πάτερ, ἐν ἐμοὶ κἀγὼ ἐν σοί, ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν   ἡμῖν ὦσιν, ἵνα ὁ κόσμος πιστεύῃ ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας.”

Transliterated it reads: 

“HINA PANTES HEN OSIN, KATHOS SU, PATER, EN EMOI KAGO EN SOI, HINA KAI AUTOI EN HEMIN OSIN, HINA HO KOSMOS PISTEUE HOTI SU ME APESTEILAS.”

We begin with, “That they may all be one;”

 “HINA PANTES HEN OSIN;”

The Petition for Experiential Sanctification.

HINA is a Coordinating Conjunction meaning, “that,” which introduces a purpose clause. The purpose clause indicates that God has a Plan for the Body of Christ and that Jesus Christ recognizes His Plan.

PANTES is the Adjective PAS - πᾶς (pas), “all or every,” used here as a Pronoun in the Subject, Nominative, Masculine, Plural. As a Pronoun, we could say, “everyone, all people, etc.,” referring to the Church. Because of the following Adjective HEIS “one,” we do not want to use “one” twice, so we will say, “all of them” or better “they all.”

HEN is the Cardinal Adjective HEIS - εἷς (hice), “one,” used as a Pronoun in the Nominative, Neuter, Singular. It emphasizes the Baptism of the Spirit; whereby, at the point of salvation, God the Holy Spirit takes each one of us and enters us into union with Christ; thereby, we become members of the Body of Jesus Christ and are called out from the world while still being in the world as the “Church.”

OSIN is the Verb EIMI - εἰμί (i-mee'), “is, are, to be,” in the Present, Active, Subjunctive, Third Person, Plural that means, “may be.”

The Progressive Present Tense is for ongoing action.

The Active Voice in the Third Person, Plural refers to the Church Age believer.

The Subjunctive Mood in this “HINA” clause is used here because of the purpose clause and not because union with Christ is potential. So, we can say, “may always keep on being.”

God’s plan for the Church Age believer is to be entered into the Body of Christ and be ONE body, made up of individual local assemblies, made up of individual members.

So, we have, “That they all may keep on being one (the Church).”

Then we have an analogy, “even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You,” 

“KATHOS SU, PATER, EN EMOI KAGO EN SOI,”

KATHOS is an Adverb used here as a Subordinating Conjunction meaning, “as, just as, even as, etc.”

SU is the Second Person, Singular, Pronoun in the Subject Nominative case meaning, “you,” where Jesus is praying to and referring to God the Father.

PATER is the Noun that means, “father,” used here as a Vocative of address, Masculine, Singular, referring to God the Father.

EN is a Preposition in the Dative Case meaning, “in.”

EMOI is the First-Person Pronoun EGO - ἐγώ (eg-o'), “I, me,” in the Dative, First Person, Singular. Jesus is referring to Himself.

KAGO is the Compound word form KAI – καί (kahee), “and,” and EGO, “I”, so we say “and I.”

EN is a Preposition in the Dative Case meaning, “in.”

SOI is the Second Person Pronoun, SU – σύ (soo), “you,” in the Dative Singular, referring to God the Father once again.

So, we have, “Just as You (God the) Father, are in Me (Jesus Christ) and I in You.”

Because of ellipsis, no verb in the sentence, we added “are” for context sake.

Principles:

• This is the unity of the Trinity. This means that the Father and Son have identical essence, and yet they are two separate and distinct persons.

• There is a relationship between the Father and the Son, as there always has been and always will be.

• This does not say that there is one God; it says that they share the same kind of essence. They have identical characteristics, which are emphasized here.

• In the actual function and formation of the Plan of God; whereby, the Father sends the Son, a relationship is established on the basis of the Doctrine of Divine Decrees, and this relationship is emphasized.

The Biblical and Logical Order of the Divine Decrees are:

• Create all mankind.
• Permit the fall of man.
• Provide salvation.
• Leave the reprobate or unbeliever to their just condemnation.
• Elect and predestine believers only.

It is a permanent relationship; a perfect relationship because it involves perfect people. The perfection of the relationship of God is demonstrated by positional truth.

Next, we have, “that they also may be in Us,” 

“HINA KAI AUTOI EN HEMIN OSIN,”

HINA again establishes a purpose clause meaning, “that.”

KAI is the conjunction meaning, “and, even or also.”

AUTOI is the Pronoun AUTOS - αὐτός (ow-tos'), “self, oneself,” in the Subject Nominative, Masculine, Third Person, Plural so we can say, “they,” referring to the Church - all Church Age believers.

EN is once again the Preposition in the Dative Case meaning, “in.”

HEMIN is the First-Person Pronoun EGO - ἐγώ (eg-o'), “I or Me,” in the Dative Plural, so we say, “Us,” where Jesus is referring to both Himself and God the Father.

OSIN is once again the Verb EIMI - εἰμί (i-mee'), “is, are, to be,” in the Present, Active, Subjunctive, Third Person, Plural that means, “may always keep on being.”

So, we have, “that they also may always keep on being in Us.”

This once again emphasizes the Doctrine of Positional Truth.

The Father is in the Son and we are in union with the Son; we have certain things on a permanent basis which belong to us by being one.

• We have eternal life, 1 John 5:11-12.
• We have righteousness, 2 Cor 5:21.
• We share the same election, Eph 1:4.
• We have a destiny, Eph 1:5.
• We share His sonship, 2 Tim 2:1.
• We share His heirship, Rom 8:16-17.
• We share His sanctification and priesthood, Heb 10:10-14.

Finally, we have, “so that the world may believe that You sent Me,” 

“HINA HO KOSMOS PISTEUE HOTI SU ME APESTEILAS.”

HINA is once again a Conjunction linked with a Subjunctive Mood verb (PISTEUE). Here it establishes a Results Clause. This is the result Jesus desires in answer to His prayer for the Church. We will say, “so that.”

HO KOSMOS is the Article, “the,” and the Noun meaning, “world,” in the Subject Nominative, Masculine, Singular. World refers to all unbelievers of the Church Age.

PISTEUE is the Verb PISTUEO – πιστεύω (pist-yoo'-o) that means, “to believe” in the Present, Active, Subjunctive, Third Person, Singular.

The Customary Present Tense is what Jesus desires to occur regularly for the unbeliever.

The Active Voice in the Third Person Singular groups all unbelievers as one unit, “they.”

The Subjunctive Mood gives us our purpose, “would believe.” We will say, “they would believe.”

HOTI is another Coordinating Conjunction which also means, “that.”

SU is the Second Person, Singular, Pronoun once again meaning, “You,” referring to God the Father.

ME is the First Person, Singular, Pronoun EGO - ἐγώ (eg-o'), “I or Me,” in the Direct Object, Accusative case, referring to Jesus Christ.

APESTEILAS is the Verb APOSTELLO - ἀποστέλλω (ap-os-tel'-lo) that means, “to send or send away,” in the Aorist, Active, Indicative, Second Person, Singular.

The Constative Aorist Tense views the entirety of the action of God the Father commissioning Jesus Christ to come to earth as the God/Man in His First Advent. We will say, “sent.” This is the reality of the incarnation in the Plan of God the Father.

So, we have, “So that the world (unbelievers) would believe that You sent Me.”

Notice that Jesus repeatedly mentioned the importance of believing that “You sent Me.” 

Those who begin, at this point of believing, will experience all the reality of Christ’s revelation.

Jesus asserted for the first time that the world had a place in His priestly prayer. He had stated in Verse 9 that He was not asking on behalf of the world. But this verse makes it clear that the world was in His loving concern.

Jesus now prayed that the world “may believe” when they see the oneness of believers. Christian unity is strong evidence of truth.

The world here refers to the kingdom of Satan and this brings us down to the intensification of the Angelic Conflict. During the intensification of the Angelic Conflict, Christ is not on earth; there will be no performance of miracles; miracles are set aside. No miracles are necessary. In the Church Age, which is also the intensified stage of the Angelic conflict, the power is in the Word of God, by the Father’s Plan and design.

The Edification Complex of the Soul (ECS) is going to play a major part in bringing the world around to where they will actually sit up and take notice.

Our complete translation of John 17:21 is, “That they all may keep on being one (the Church), just as You, (God the) Father, are in Me (Jesus Christ) and I in You, that they also may keep on being in Us, so that the world (unbelievers) would believe that You sent Me.”

The Godhead is the ideal and perfect unity. Jesus asked for His disciples to experience a unity beyond the unity of purpose and disposition. His desire was that His own would have the unity; whereby, each member shared the life source of God Himself; that is living in your resurrection life here on earth.

By having the same Spirit the Savior has, and bearing the same character, believers are one in the Father and in the Son, “one in Us.”

Jesus desires two things here:

• That the Church would receive Positional Sanctification and be one entity called the Body of Christ.

• That unbelievers would come to believe in Christ based on the Church being formed. As such, there are two doctrines we should note: 1) Positional Truth, and 2) The Divine Decrees.

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Positional Truth

Introduction: Rom 5:1-21

Aristotle declared, “There appears another something besides the reason natural to us which fights and struggles against the reason.”

The Apostle Paul witnessed of himself in Rom 7:19, “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I do the very evil that I do not want.”

Here we see evidence that within man is a sin nature that leads him astray from God’s original intent of man’s creation. This is due to the fall of the original creation, Adam and the woman in the Garden of Eden.

“The Fall” is the term utilized to identify the moment when Adam and the woman rejected God’s plan for their lives, and instead, with their self-will, choose another path. They ate the fruit from the tree of which God told them not to eat. By doing so, they sinned for the first time, and as a result they received a sinful nature in their flesh.

When we think about “the fall,” we must also think about that which followed it, which was:

• Spiritual death and depravity of those who sinned.
• Spiritual death and depravity of the human race.
• Physical death.

These are the three things that were brought on by the original sin and three things that Positional Truth remedies.

God had warned Adam and the woman “dying you will surely die,” Gen 2:17. Therefore, the fact of Original Sin divides into two branches of truth.

• Original corruption, which is spiritual death.
• Original guilt, with its penalty of physical death.

Therefore, we see that the penalty executed on Adam and the woman, and subsequently all of mankind, due to original sin, is three-fold:

• Spiritual death which is temporal separation of soul and spirit from God, imposed upon Adam and the woman the moment they sinned, and every member of the human race the moment they are born.

• Physical death which began at once with its unavoidable process of disintegration and eventual separation of soul and spirit from the body.

• The Second Death which is the Lake of Fire, the eternal separation of soul and spirit from God. (The Lake of Fire was prepared for Satan and his fallen angels, not human beings. Yet, humans enter it only on the grounds that they reject God’s provision for sin and cast in their lot with those fallen angels.)

When Adam sinned his first sin, he experienced a conversion downwards. He became degenerate and depraved. He received within himself a fallen nature which is contrary to God and is ever prone to evil. His constitution was altered fundamentally, and he thus became a wholly different being from the one God had created.

As a result, by a sinful act, Adam acquired a sinful nature; whereas, going forward throughout human history, all members of his family are born with that nature, (except for our Lord Jesus Christ due to His virgin birth).

As every effect must have its cause, we have a sinful nature today because of Adam’s original sin. The sinful nature is universal to all of mankind and is sometimes called the “Adamic nature,” “inborn sin,” “original sin,” “old man,” or as we call it, “old sin nature.”

The Old Sin Nature is a reality which originated with Adam and has been transmitted from Adam to his entire race, Rom 5:19, “For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners.”

Death is an intruder into God’s creation. As created, man was as immortal as the angels. But upon Adam’s disobedience of God, Adam came at once into the experience of spiritual death. He was doomed to the second death, except he should be redeemed, and then he began the process of physical death, which process in due time came to its full completion. So too is the fate of his family, 1 Cor 15:22, “For as in Adam all die.”

The Sin Nature is a perversion of God’s original creation, and in that sense, is an abnormal thing. And as Paul stated, every faculty of man is injured as a result of the fall, and the disability to do good, and the strange predisposition to evil arises from the inner confusion the Sin Nature puts on us.

Therefore, the Sin Nature manifests itself along two lines:

• Inclination to evil by which it is usually identified.
• Depravity which is the inability to do good in the manner which is pleasing to God.

As such, spiritual death is evidenced in both of these features and relates more to the incapacity to do good than it does with the inclination to do evil. That is why a man cannot save himself; he is inclined to do evil, and he is totally depraved (immoral and evil) to do good and please God in himself.

In fact, spiritual death is not the cessation of any form of life; it is rather life to its full measure as separate from God, Eph 2:1-3; 4:18-19.

As a result of “The Fall,” not only is the Sin Nature passed down by the male from generation to generation, but God also imputes to every newborn Adam’s original sin. This imputation is a real imputation, because it has a home to receive it called the Old Sin Nature. When the original sin is received by the Sin Nature, the result is instantaneous spiritual death of the new born. This means that every member of the human race is born spiritually dead, (with the exception once again of our Lord Jesus Christ due to the virgin birth and no passed down sin nature to receive the imputation of Adam’s original sin), and that the penalties of such death stand on every member of the human race. In addition, they remain in the bondage of sin and under the sentence of death in all its forms until they are saved, if ever they are saved.

Concerning spiritual death, they are separate from God; concerning physical death, the penalty for man’s share in Adam’s sin, they are under physical death as a judgment; and concerning the Second Death, they are doomed to eternal separation from God. As such, great is their need for the Savior!

Of the believer Rom 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

That is why the Christian death is described as a sleep, so far as the body is concerned, and as a departure to be with Christ, so far as the soul and spirit are concerned, 1 Thes 4:13 compared with Phil 1:23.

1 Thes 4:13, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep.”

Phil 1:23, “But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.”

Christ’s spiritual death upon the Cross was a complete judgment of sin and the sin nature for all of mankind, especially for those who are regenerated. He, as our substitute, bore the condemnation which no mortal can comprehend, the penalty of spiritual death - separation from God the Father, cf. Mat 27:46.

The two-fold remedy for sin is:

1) The judgment for all of mankind of our sin nature by Christ on the Cross.

2) The gift of the indwelling Spirit for those who believe in Christ’s saving work on the Cross as the One who is able to give victory over every evil disposition.

God has judged the sin nature for believers; otherwise, it could not be said as it is in Rom 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Finally, the Divine cure for physical death (that phase of the Adamic sin which is reckoned to all human beings by an actual imputation resulting in their physical death) is seen in a sequence of Divine accomplishments which culminate in the complete abolishment of death itself, when all enemies are placed in subjection to our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Cor 15:26-27; Rev 21:4.

All of this is made possible because of the completed work of our Lord Jesus Christ upon the Cross, John 19:30, “it is finished,” and is revealed to us in the Doctrine of Positional Truth as noted in Rom 6:1-14.

There are Two Categories of Positional Truth: Retroactive and Current Positional Truth.

Retroactive Positional Truth:

Prior to your salvation, you were bound / married to your sin nature / “the flesh.” Rom 7:1-2

Through the Baptism of the Spirit, based on the deaths of Christ, God the Father legitimately divorced you from your bond to the flesh and placed you in a new life betrothed to Christ. Baptism means identification with someone or something. Through baptism, you were identified with Christ’s deaths on the Cross. Rom 7:3-4

Retroactive Positional Truth is the backward-looking work of Christ on the Cross, where He paid the price for every sin.

Our identification with Christ’s death is broken down into 3 parts, although it all happened simultaneously.

• Identification with Christ’s spiritual death means positional rejection of human good and evil.

• Identification with His physical death means positional separation from human good and evil.

• Identification with His burial means positional divorce from human good and evil and the OSN.

Your resurrection means literal rejection, separation, and divorce for all time from human good and evil, Rom 6:4-11. Verse 11, “Consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Retroactive Positional Truth is different from current Positional Truth. In Retroactive Positional Truth, we reject and are separated from human good and evil, and divorced from the Old Sin Nature.

While identification with Christ in His deaths and burial connotes breaking the power of the Old Sin Nature, it still does not give us anything new. Therefore, God has also provided Current Positional Truth; whereby, we are blessed with many things so that we obtain and experience a new spiritual life.

When God takes away the old, by retroactive Positional Truth, He substitutes with the new by current Positional Truth.

Current Positional Truth:

Current Positional Truth is identification with Christ as He is seated at the right hand of the Father in His resurrection, ascension, and session, Rom 6:5; Eph 2:6.

Rom 6:5, “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death (and we have), certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.” (Our eternal relationship with Christ is accomplished by this conditional sentence.)

Eph 2:6, “And raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

Current Positional Truth Emphasizes Two Factors:

• The environmental factor: The Baptism of the Holy Spirit plus Bible doctrine equals reality of encapsulated environment, i.e., God’s Power System (GPS).

• The blessing factor: Rom 5:15‑17 teaches the blessing factor; imputation of God’s righteousness plus Bible doctrine equals reality of blessing in time.

Current Positional Truth is related to Positional Sanctification, 1 Cor 1:2. The Baptism of the Spirit puts us in permanent relationship with God; we are set apart forever in Christ Jesus.

Current Positional Truth is related to the imputation of Divine righteousness by the justice of God at salvation through the Baptism of the Spirit, 2 Cor 5:21; Rom 6:5-10.

2 Cor 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

In union with Christ, we share Christ’s perfect righteousness and eternal life, in addition to possessing the perfect righteousness and eternal life of the Father by imputation. Therefore, we have a double portion, making us unique. This means more is expected of us. There is no excuse for any of us not reaching maturity. All things necessary have been provided.

Current Positional Truth is related to the possession of eternal life. We have a double portion of eternal life and Divine righteousness; what we receive by imputation at salvation from God the Father, and what we receive at salvation by being in union with Christ, Rom 8:13; 1 John 5:11-12.

1 John 5:11‑12, “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹²He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”

Rom 8:13, “For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

This refers to having eternal life by identification with Christ, cf. Rom 6:23. In addition, John 3:36 says that eternal life is also given at salvation through imputation.

Current Positional Truth provides the basis for being a new creature in Christ and having that new life, 2 Cor 5:17-18; Gal 6:15.

2 Cor 5:17-18, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. ¹⁸And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.”

The objective of the new life is the imputation of blessings in time from God’s justice, Eph 1:3-4. Divine righteousness imputed to us at salvation demands blessing. What the righteousness of God demands, the justice of God executes when we have capacity. Blessings, which go through the grace pipeline from God’s justice to His imputed righteousness in us, come to us by means of the encapsulated environment which is the “newness of life” in Rom 6:4-7; 2 Tim 2:11.  

Eph 13, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”

2 Tim 2:11, “It is a trustworthy statement: for if we died with Him, we will also live with Him.”

Current Positional Truth is Related to Election and Predestination.

Eph 1:4‑6, “Even as He has chosen us for Himself in Him.” We share the election of Jesus Christ in eternity past as a part of the Divine decrees. Election means we are in union with Christ. Verse 5 says, we are adult sons because Jesus Christ is an adult son. We can call ourselves predestined, but only in the light of Current Positional Truth.

Current Positional Truth is the basis for establishing the Royal Family of God, Eph 2:6 with 1 Peter 2:9. It is for the Church Age believer only. Christ had no battlefield royalty or family. Due to His victory on the Cross, He gained battlefield royalty as the “King of kings and Lord of lords,” but had no royal family to accompany His new title. The Church Age had to be inserted into history to provide a Royal Family for Him. This royalty is characterized by the Baptism of the Spirit, which is unique to the Church Age.

Current Positional Truth is related to the Royal Priesthood, 1 Peter 2:9 with Heb 10:10-14. Hebrews 10 says, we have been sanctified because Jesus Christ has been set apart to the Father. Therefore, we minister in the realities of the newness of life, which comes from the Baptism of the Spirit.

Current Positional Truth is related to God’s personal possession forever, the believers of the Royal Family, 1 Pet 2:9‑10. The Royal Family of God is superior to all other believers of all time by virtue of Positional Truth. God protects His very own possessions, and He provides the encapsulated environment from the Baptism of the Spirit.

Summary

We have a position in Christ made possible by the two aspects of Positional Truth; Retroactive and Current.

Retroactive Positional Truth positionally breaks the power of the Old Sin Nature, and Current Positional Truth provides the potentiality of “newness of life,” Rom 6:4, 17-18; 1 Cor 3:16; 2 Cor 6:16 - Temple of God.

Current Positional Truth is identification with Christ in His resurrection, ascension, and session as He is seated at the right hand of the Father, Rom 6:8-11, 14; 7:6.

When God takes away the old, by Retroactive Positional Truth, He substitutes with the new, by Current Positional Truth.

Oswald Chambers wrote: “Sanctification is not my idea of what I want God to do for me—sanctification is God’s idea of what He wants to do for me.”  Rom 8:1-5

Click Here to See Doctrine of Divine Decrees

Click Here to See Divine Decree Effects

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Next, we turn to John 17:22, which is a petition for “The perpetuation of glory into the Church Age.”

The reason being is that the Angelic Conflict will shift gears very shortly after Jesus prays this prayer. He will soon be departing and taking His glory with Him to be seated at the right hand of the Father, both in Deity and humanity (Hypostatic Union). Therefore, there is a need for a new type of glory, so here Jesus is praying for our glory to continue the manifestation of God the Father.

John 17:22, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;”

The Greek reads: 

“κἀγὼ τὴν δόξαν ἣν δέδωκάς μοι δέδωκα αὐτοῖς, ἵνα ὦσιν ἓν καθὼς ἡμεῖς ἕν;”

 Transliterated it reads: 

“KAGO TEN DOXAN HEN DEDOKAS MOI DODOKA AUTOIS, HINA OSIN HEN KATHOS HEMEIS HEN;”

There are three kinds of glory which are found in this passage:

• First of all, there is phase one glory; the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
• Then there is phase two glory; the Edification Complex of the Soul (ECS).
• And finally, there is phase three glory; the resurrection body which we will receive at the Rapture of the Church, in ultimate sanctification.

The Glory that Jesus is referring to here is Phase One glory based on the Baptism of God the Holy Spirit, which gives us unity with the Father and Son and Phase Two glory which is the teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit the Grace Apparatus for Perception (GAP) which provides the ECS. Verse 24 emphasizes Phase Three glory, resurrection bodies.

We begin with the first phrase, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them,”

“KAGO TEN DOXAN HEN DEDOKAS MOI DODOKA AUTOIS.”

KAGO is the Compound Conjunction from KAI – καί (kahee), “and,” and EGO, “I”, that is also a pronoun meaning, “and I,” where Jesus is adding to His petition for the Church by referring to His act of giving glory to the Church for the express purpose of Unity in the Body of Christ.

TEN DOXAN is the article HO - ὁ (ho) for “the” plus the Noun DOXA – δόξα (dox'-ah) in the Accusative, Feminine, Singular that means, “praise, honor or glory.”

HEN here employees the Eta “e” in the Greek, where in the second part of this sentence, the Greek uses the epsilon “e” of their alphabet making them two different words. Here it is the Relative Pronominal Adjective HOS - ὅς in the Accusative, Feminine, Singular that can mean, “who, which, what, etc.” As a Relative Pronoun, it is used to connect a substantive (noun) with a clause that in some way qualifies its meaning, (e.g. who, which, what, and that). Here “glory” given to the Body of Christ is typified by the glory the Father has given to the Son.

DEDOKAS is the Verb DIDOMI – δίδωμι (did'-o-mee), “to give, in the Perfect, Active, Indicative, Second Person, Singular.

The Intensive Perfect Tense is for completed past action, focusing on the results that continue into the present. The Father has glorified Christ from eternity past and that glory continues throughout His incarnation and hypostatic union including His session.

The Active Voice in the 2^nd Person, Singular refers to God the Father, the One Jesus is praying to, as the One performing the action of glorifying Jesus Christ.

The Indicative Mood is for the reality of the Father having glorified His Son. We will say, “You have given.”

MOI is the Pronoun EGO - ἐγώ (eg-o'), “I or me,” in the Dative, First Person, Singular. In the Dative Case, we can say, “to me,” referring to the glory the Father gave “to” His Son.

Principles:

• “Have given” - DIDOMI in the perfect tense, means that this glory was provided in eternity past as a part of the Divine Decrees. This glory which was given to Jesus Christ is actually in three phases. There is the glory of the incarnation including:

• The glory of the Indwelling Spirit acquired through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
• The glory acquired by building the ECS.
• Then there is the glory of the resurrection, the result of which Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father.

Therefore, the results are found in the Incarnation, ECS, and Resurrection.

• His first two glories were acquired through the ministry of the indwelling of the Spirit and the function of GAP, Luke 2:40, 52, and in the third glory, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are both said to have given Him a resurrection body.

• The omnipotence of God the Father is the agent of the resurrection; He raised Him from the dead sending His human spirit through billions and billions of light years of space to His body in the tomb, Eph 1:20; Col 2:12; 1 Thes 1:10; Rom 6:4; 1 Peter 1:21; Heb 13:20.

• The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit raised Him from the dead returning His human soul from Hades to His body, Acts 2:24; Rom 1:4; 8:11; 1 Peter 3:18. So, God the Holy Spirit is also the agent of the resurrection.

DODOKA is the Verb DIDOMI - δίδωμι (did'-o-mee) once again that means, “to give,” but here it is in the Perfect, Active, Indicative, First Person, Singular.

The Intensive Perfect Tense is once again for completed past action, where the results continue into the present. But here Jesus is the One performing the action, where He has glorified the Church Age believer by completing the work upon the Cross, leaving His word for our edification, and sending His Spirit. Because of the past tense and the fact that the Church does not even exist as of the time when Jesus was speaking, this too is from eternity past as part of God’s Divine Decree and is anticipating the dogmatic completion of future glorification of the body of Christ.

The Active Voice in the 1^st Person Singular refers to God the Son. Jesus Christ is the One who has glorified His Church.

The Indicative Mood is for the reality of the Jesus Christ having glorified His Body. We will say, “I have given.”

AUTOIS is the Pronoun AUTOS - αὐτός (ow-tos'), in the Dative, Masculine, Third Person, Plural. In the Third Person, it is referring to the group Jesus introduced in Verse 20, and continues to pray for here - His body. So, we will say, “to them,” referring to the Church.

So far, we have, “And the glory which You (God the Father) have given to Me (Jesus Christ) I have given to them (the Church).”

Principles:

• This is speaking about the glory of the Incarnate Word, cf. John 1:14; John 2:11, not the glory of the Eternal Word mentioned in John 17:24.

John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

• “I have given them” is in the Perfect Active Indicative of DIDOMI. Therefore the “glory” given by God the Father to God the Son, during His incarnation (Baptism of the Spirit, ECS, and resurrection body) is also given to us because of our unity as the Body of Christ.

• The phase two glory is given to the believer during his lifetime. Just as the Holy Spirit sustained the humanity of Christ during His earthly ministry, so the same indwelling Holy Spirit sustains the believer during his priesthood on earth, John 14:12.

• The power of the indwelling Spirit depends on being filled with the Spirit, Eph 5:18; Gal 5:16.

Next, we have, “that they may be one, just as We are one;”

“HINA OSIN HEN KATHOS HEMEIS HEN;”

HINA is a Subordinating Conjunction meaning, “that,” here linked with the Subjunctive Mood Verb OSIN below, establishing a purpose clause, “in order that.”

Principles:

• The purpose of glorifying the Church is for its unity. We have unity based on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the construction of our ECS.

• Just as Jesus was glorified during His incarnation by the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Mat 3:16-17; Mark 1:10-11; Luke 3:21-22, and the construction of His ECS in His humanity, so we too are glorified and unified by the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, a.k.a. the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the construction of our very own ECS.

OSIN is the Verb EIMI - εἰμί (i-mee'), “are, is, to be,” in the Present, Active, Subjunctive, Third Person, Plural that means, “may or might be.”

The Customary Present Tense is for ongoing action of the Church being in unity.

The Active Voice in the 3^rd Person Plural refers to each member of the body of Christ collectively. So, we can add “they” for the Church.

The Subjunctive Mood is for probability and goes with HINA above to establish the purpose clause. This is the desire of Jesus Christ in this petition. So, we can say, “they may keep on being.”

HEN here utilizes the Epsilon “e” of the Greek alphabet making it a different word than what we saw in the first phrase of this verse. Here HEN is a Pronominal Cardinal Adjective in the Subject Nominative, Neuter, Singular that means, “one.” This represents Jesus’ desire for the Church, “to be one body” made up of many individual parts. As stated above, this unity is accomplished through the Baptism of God the Holy Spirit and the construction of an ECS.

KATHOS is a Subordinating Conjunction that means, “as or just as.” It is a Conjunction of analogy that compares and links the unity that the Father has with the Son with the unity we have within the Body of Christ.

HEMEIS is the Pronoun EGO - ἐγώ (eg-o') “I or me,” in the Nominative, First Person, Plural that means, “We,” where Jesus is using the analogy of His unity with the Father to be the same as that of the Church.

HEN here again utilizes the Greek Epsilon “e” making this a Pronominal Cardinal Adjective in the Subject Nominative, Neuter, Singular that means, “one.” This time it is referring to the unity of the Father and the Son. This is our type for the Body of Christ’s unity. Because there is no verb in the last part, we can add “are” for our translation, “We are one.”

Our translation of the second phrase is, “In order that they may keep on being one just as We are one.”

Our complete translation of John 17:22 is, “And the glory which You (God the Father) have given to Me (Jesus Christ) I have given to them (the Church), in order that they may keep on being one just as We are one.”

Principles:

• This is the third time Jesus presented to the Father His desire for believers’ unity, John 17:11, 21, 22. John 17:22 repeats the unity prayed for in John 17:21, and He mentions it again in the next verse.

• Jesus pointed to the unity of the triune God as the pattern for His Church.

• He used the analogy of the shared glory between the Father and Son as being their eternal bond of unity, which glory Jesus has given to His Church so that it eternally bonds its members to the Body of Christ.

• Just as the Father and Son have identical essence, so too do all believers at the moment of salvation with the imputation of Divine Righteousness, Eternal Life, etc. In addition, as we build our ECS, we all have the same “Mind of Christ,” Rom 15:5-6; 1 Cor 1:10; Phil 2:2.

Rom 15:5-6, “Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, ⁶so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Phil 2:2, “Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”

• The glory Christ gives to believers prepares them for the unity for which He prayed. This glory is the revelation of God. He makes God real to all disciples, and by the knowledge of God, the believer has eternal life, which is another form of unity with the Body of Christ and God Himself.

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Doctrine of Glory

Definition.

The glory of God refers to the sum total of His Divine essence or to any part of His Divine essence. Glory always has the connotation of honor inherent in a person, distinction, greatness, renown, fame, nobility, or majesty.

David, in recognizing God’s grace and rulership over Israel, states the principle of the glory of God in Psa 21:5-6, as given to Jesus Christ.

Psa 21:5-6, “His (Christ’s) glory is great through Your victory (salvation), splendor and majesty You place upon him. ⁶For You make him most blessed forever; You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence.”

Glory refers to God’s integrity; greatness refers to His other attributes. Deut 5:24, “Behold, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness.”

There is a point at which we see God for the first time and we understand His glory. You cannot see the greatness of God until you can see the glory of God. Seeing the glory of God is seeing the integrity of God through pertinent Bible doctrine.

Rom 3:23 says that we all fall short of the glory of God. To fall short of the glory of God is to fall short of His integrity, that is, not knowing and or applying it in our lives. His integrity is made up of His righteousness and justice. God’s perfect righteousness rejects our sin, and His justice accepts our faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.

God’s glory is the source of the EPIGNOSIS doctrine in our right lobe, which causes Occupation with Christ. Eph 1:17

Eph 1:17, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom even from the source of revelation by means of (EPIGNOSIS) knowledge from Him.”

Glory is used to describe the strategic victory of Christ in the angelic conflict, Luke 24:26; John 12:20-24, 28; 13:31-32; Heb 2:10; 1 Peter 1:10-11.

John 12:20-24, “Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; ²¹these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ ²²Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. ²³And Jesus answered them, saying, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit’.”

1 Peter 1:10-11, “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, ¹¹seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.”

Luke 24:26, “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”

• God the Father is the source of our Lord’s glorification, and the Father is glorified as a result of the Son’s glorification, just as the Son is glorified in the Father’s glorification.

• The Humanity of Jesus Christ is glorified because He fulfilled the Father’s Plan of Salvation.

• When the Father glorifies the Son, the Father is also the recipient of glory. This reflects on their intimate relationship as noted in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one,” and Christ’s authority orientation as noted in John 13:16. It speaks of the unity of “being” between the Father and Son, compared with John 17:5, “glorify Me together with Yourself.”

• Heb 2:10, “To have led to glory many sons;” God brings many sons to glory by judging our sins, so that, when we believe in Christ, we are entered into an eternal relationship with His glory. We receive the imputation of God’s perfect righteousness, which is the potential for blessing from the integrity of God. This is what Jesus meant in John 17:22, “I have given to them,” referencing the glory the Father gave to His Son.

• 1 Tim 3:16, “Christ taken up into the place of glory;” this refers to the third heaven, the location of the integrity of God, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God in glory and is what we call Phase Three glory, our resurrection.

In John 13:31-32, “Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; ³²if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately.”

• “Immediately,” means that God the Father will raise His Son so that the Son will not see corruption or decay, Psalm 16:10; 49:9; Acts 2:27, 31; 13:34-37.

How the believer glorifies God.

God is glorified at the moment of our salvation through adoption into the Family of God.

Eph 1:5‑6, “Having predesigned us to adoption (the appointment of adult) sons (for Himself) through Jesus Christ, according to the kind intention (benevolent purpose) of His will, ⁶to the praise of glory (from the source) of His grace, which He freely bestowed on (has pursued) us in the Beloved.”

Glory is used for the indwelling of Christ. Col 1:27, “To whom the God decreed to make known what is the riches (wealth) of the glory of the mystery among the gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope (confidence) of glory.”

The Royal Family is called to eternal glory since Christ is seated in the place of glory. The formation of the Royal Family comes under the phrase, “being called to eternal glory,” 1 Peter 5:10; 2 Peter 1:3. This is the status of the Royal Family being called into eternal relationship with the integrity of God.

God is glorified by means of the church, Eph 3:21, when believers attain spiritual adulthood and move to spiritual maturity. Those believers are said to be “filled with all the fullness of God,” Eph 3:19.

There are three categories of Spiritual Adulthood. You glorify God in all three categories:

• Spiritual Self-Esteem is cognitive self-confidence.
• Spiritual Autonomy is cognitive independence.
• Spiritual Maturity is cognitive invincibility, when you are manufactured into an invisible hero.

The riches of maturity are from the glory of God.

Eph 1:17-18, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the (EPIGNOSIS) knowledge of Him. ¹⁸I pray that the eyes of your heart (right lobe) may be enlightened, so that you all will know what is the hope of His calling, (maximum blessing), what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.”

Eph 3:16, “In order that He might give you according to the riches from His glory, to become strong by means of power through His spirit with reference to the inner man.”

Phil 4:19-20, “And my God will supply all your needs according to (the standard of) His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

The mature believer has received this glory, 1 Peter 1:7‑8. Receiving glory is blessing from the integrity of God to the mature believer.

1 Peter 1:7‑8, “So that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ⁸and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.”

The believer glorifies God when he parlays the Life Beyond Gnosis, Eph 3:19, into the Life Beyond Dreams, Eph 3:20.

• The Life Beyond Gnosis is EPIGNOSIS, the consistent function of post-salvation renewing of your mind, Rom 12:2. This means cognition of the Mystery Doctrine for the Church Age through perception, metabolization, and application, by means of the filling of the Holy Spirit.

• Learning Bible doctrine in the Old Testament will not advance you in the Life Beyond Gnosis. You must understand the Mystery Doctrine of the Church Age, which is found in the New Testament Epistles. It contains all the mechanics for the Plan of God in this Dispensation.

• The result is the attainment of spiritual adulthood. Then you begin to gather fantastic and dynamic momentum.

• Therefore, spiritual maturity parlays the Life Beyond Gnosis into the Life Beyond Dreams, which is maximum blessings in time and eternity that becomes the basis for maximum glorification of God.

The pattern for glorifying God includes suffering for blessing, John 12:25-26; Rom 8:17; 2 Tim 2:3-9; 4:7; Rev 2:10, not divine discipline or self-induced misery under the law of volitional responsibility.

There are three categories of suffering for blessing that correlate to the three stages of spiritual adulthood.

• Providential Preventative Suffering.
• Momentum Testing.
• Evidence Testing.

Rom 8:17, “And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

2 Tim 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; ⁸in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

John 12:25-26, “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”

Rev 2:10, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

God will not only reward those who glorify Him, but He will also sustain them in their suffering, Heb 2:7-9; 1 Peter 1:6-8; 5:10.

Glorification of God is then related to the distribution of your escrow blessings for time and eternity, 1 Cor 3:10-15; Rev 2-3. When God is able to reward you, He is glorified because your rewards where based on His Word, His Spirit, His Plan, His Provisions, and your non-meritorious faith in Him.

God is glorified and receives glory forever in the function of ultimate sanctification and the deliverance of the ultra supergrace believer, Rom 5:2; 6:4; 2 Tim 4:18.

2 Tim 4:18, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Rom 5:2, “Through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”

Rom 6:4, “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life (glory).”

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Literal Translation of the Gospel of John, Chapter 17, 

Verses 20 - 22

John 17:20 is, “Now I am not only asking (petitioning) concerning these (disciples), but also concerning those who will believe in Me through their word (preaching the gospel).”

John 17:21 is, “That they all may keep on being one (the Church), just as You, (God the) Father, are in Me (Jesus Christ) and I in You, that they also may keep on being in Us, so that the world (unbelievers) would believe that You sent Me.”

John 17:22 is, “And the glory which You (God the Father) have given to Me (Jesus Christ) I have given to them (the Church), in order that they may keep on being one just as We are one.”

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In Part 8 of the Gospel of John Chapter 17, we will study:  

• Exegesis & Principles of John 17:23.
• Doctrine of the Indwelling of the Jesus Christ.
• Personal Love of God the Father Toward the Believer.

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A PERSONAL NOTE FOR YOU

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.”

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have;” it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it, and it can never be lost or taken away from you [John 10:28-29]. Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life [also called eternal life in Scripture] is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Eph 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I am here to tell you that Jesus loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His life for you. God the Father also loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His only Son for you by sending Him to the Cross. At the Cross Jesus died in your place. Taking upon Himself all of your sins and all of my sins. He was judged for our sins and paid the price for our sins. Therefore, our sins will never be held against us.

Right where you are, you now have the opportunity to make the greatest decision in your life. To accept the free gift of salvation and eternal life by truly believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins and was raised on the third day as the proof of the promise of eternal life. So right now, you can pause and reflect on what Christ has done for you and say to the Father:

"Yes Father, I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ,
died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins."

If you have done that, I Welcome You to the Eternal Family of God !!!

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Grace Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher: James H. Rickard
23 Messenger Street, Unit 3
Plainville, MA 02762

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