Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Jesus' prayer for His disciples

John 17 (New International Reader's Version)



1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed. He said,
"Father, the time has come. Bring glory to your Son. Then your Son will bring glory to you.


2 You gave him authority over all people. He gives eternal life to all those you have given him.
3 "And what is eternal life? It is knowing you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth. I have finished the work you gave me to do.


5 So now, Father, give glory to me in heaven where your throne is. Give me the glory I had with you before the world began.


6 "I have shown you to the disciples you gave me out of the world. They were yours. You gave them to me. And they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 I gave them the words you gave me. And they accepted them. They knew for certain that I came from you. They believed that you sent me.


9 "I pray for them. I am not praying for the world. I am praying for those you have given me, because they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. Glory has come to me because of my disciples.


11 "I will not remain in the world any longer. But they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them safe by the power of your name. It is the name you gave me. Keep them safe so they can be one, just as you and I are one.


12 "While I was with them, I guarded them. I kept them safe through the name you gave me. None of them has been lost, except the one who was sentenced to be destroyed. It happened so that Scripture would come true.


13 "I am coming to you now. But I say these things while I am still in the world. I say them so that those you gave me can have all my joy inside them. 14 I have given them your word. The world has hated them. This is because they are not part of the world any more than I am.

15 I do not pray that you will take them out of the world. I pray that you will keep them safe from the evil one.


16 "They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to it. 17 Use the truth to make them holy. Your word is truth. 18 You sent me into the world. In the same way, I have sent them into the world. 19 I make myself holy for them so that they too can be made holy in a true sense.


20 "I do not pray only for them. I pray also for those who will believe in me because of their message. 21 Father, I pray that all of them will be one, just as you are in me and I am in you. I want them also to be in us. Then the world will believe that you have sent me.


22 "I have given them the glory you gave me. I did this so they would be one, just as we are one. 23 I will be in them, just as you are in me. I want them to be brought together perfectly as one. This will let the world know that you sent me. It will also show the world that you have loved those you gave me, just as you have loved me.


24 "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am. I want them to see my glory, the glory you have given me. You gave it to me because you loved me before the world was created.


25 "Father, you are holy. The world does not know you, but I know you. Those you have given me know you have sent me. 26 I have shown you to them. And I will continue to show you to them. Then the love you have for me will be in them. I myself will be in them."

Important Points From Life Applications Study Bible:

1. This entire chapter is Jesus' prayer. From it, we learn that the world is a tremendous battlefield where the forces under Satan's power and those under God's authority are at war. Satan and his forces are motivated by bitter hatred for Christ and His forces. Jesus prayed for His disciples, including those of us who follow Him today. He prayed that God would keep His chosen believers safe from Satan's power, setting them apart and making them pure and holy, uniting them through His truth.

2. The world hates Christians because Christians' values differ from the world's. Because Christ's followers don't cooperate with the world by joining in their sin, they are living accusations against the world's immorality. The world follows Satan's agenda, and Satan is the avowed enemy of Jesus and His people.

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