Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of John
Chapter 17: That They All May Be One
John 17 is the holy of holies of Scripture, the great high priestly prayer of Jesus on the eve of the cross. He lifts His eyes to heaven and prays, 'Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son,' and reveals the essence of salvation: 'this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.' He prays for the disciples the Father gave Him, 'Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are,' asking not that they be taken from the world but kept from the evil, and 'Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.' Then He prays for all who would believe through their word, 'That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.' He longs that they may be with Him to behold His glory, 'which I had with thee before the world was,' and closes, '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.' The chapter shows us the Son glorifying the Father, the Saviour praying for His own, and the oneness of God overflowing into the unity of His people.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of John chapter 17, the high priestly prayer. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Jesus prays for His own glorification, for the keeping and sanctifying of His disciples, and for the unity of all who believe. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
That They Might Know Thee
Life eternal is to know the only true God in Jesus Christ.
Keep Through Thine Own Name
Jesus prays the Father to keep and sanctify His own.
Thy Word Is Truth
Kept in the world, not of it, set apart by the truth.
That They All May Be One
The unity of the one God overflows into His people.
This Is Life Eternal (John 17:1-5)
Jesus prays that the Father would glorify the Son through the cross, and reveals that eternal life is to know God in Him.
That They Might Know Thee the Only True God, and Jesus Christ
"These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was."
Word Study
"know," Greek ginosko (γινώσκω). The word means to know, not merely to know facts about, but to know by personal, intimate acquaintance and relationship. "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Eternal life is not first a place or a length of days but a knowing, a living relationship with God. And Jesus reveals how the one true God is known: in "Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." This is no assertion of two Gods, nor of two persons of a Trinity, but the very heart of Apostolic truth: there is only one true God, and He is known and revealed in Jesus Christ. To know the only true God is to know Him as He has manifested Himself in the man Christ Jesus; the Father sent the Son, that is, the one God came in flesh, and in Christ we know the only true God. Eternal life is to know that one God in the face of Jesus.
Explanation
Jesus lifts His eyes to heaven and prays as the hour arrives: "Father... glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee." He defines eternal life as knowing God: "that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Then He asks for the glory "which I had with thee before the world was" -- the eternal glory of the Word who was God (1:1), now to be restored to the incarnate Son. The prayer opens the veil on the intimacy of the Father and the Son, who are one God; the Son glorifies the Father by finishing the work of the cross, and the Father glorifies the Son by raising and exalting Him.
Gospel Focus
Jesus, having finished His words to the disciples, now turns to the Father in prayer, and we are permitted to listen at the door of heaven. "Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee." The hour of the cross is the hour of glory, for in laying down His life the Son would most fully glorify the Father, and the Father would glorify the Son through resurrection and exaltation. The purpose is life for His people: the Son has "power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." Then comes the priceless definition of eternal life: "this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Eternal life is a Person known, not a reward earned. And the two named, "the only true God" and "Jesus Christ," are not two Gods but the one God and His manifestation in flesh; to know the only true God is precisely to know Him in Jesus Christ whom He sent, for the one God has revealed Himself in His Son. Jesus then reports His finished obedience: "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." Though the cross is still hours away, He speaks of His work as as good as done, so certain is His obedience. And He prays as the eternal God now come in flesh: "glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." Here is the plain witness of Christ's eternal, divine glory: before creation, before the world was, He shared the glory of God. The One praying is no mere man come into being at Bethlehem, but the eternal God who had glory with the Father "before the world was," now come in flesh and about to return to that glory. In Him the only true God is known, and to know Him is life everlasting.
Keep Through Thine Own Name (John 17:6-19)
Jesus prays the Father to keep His disciples in His name, guard them from evil, and sanctify them by the truth.
Sanctify Them Through Thy Truth: Thy Word Is Truth
"I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth."
Word Study
"name," Greek onoma (ὄνομα). The word means a name, and in Scripture the name stands for the person, the character, and the revealed nature of the one named. Jesus says, "I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me," and prays, "keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me... I kept them in thy name." The Father's name is His revealed self, and Jesus manifested it, for the name of the Father is fully revealed in the Son; indeed, the saving name of God, given for our salvation, is the name of Jesus, "for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Notice too that "keep through thine own name... that they may be one," the one name is the ground of the oneness of God's people. To be kept in the name is to be kept in the revealed character and power of the one God, who has made His name known in Jesus Christ.
Explanation
Jesus prays for His disciples, whom the Father gave Him out of the world and who have kept His word. He does not ask that they be taken out of the world but that they be kept from the evil one and "sanctified through thy truth: thy word is truth." As the Father sent the Son into the world, so the Son sends them, set apart for a mission. His concern is their unity, their joy, and their protection while He returns to the Father. The great High Priest, before He offers Himself, intercedes for His own -- a foretaste of the ongoing intercession by which He keeps all who are His.
Gospel Focus
Jesus now prays for the eleven, the men the Father "gavest me out of the world." He describes them with a Shepherd's tenderness: they were the Father's, given to the Son, and "they have kept thy word" and "known surely that I came out from thee." He prays specifically for them, "I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me", not because He does not love the world (He came to save it), but because this prayer is for the keeping of His own. And note the seamless union: "all mine are thine, and thine are mine", the possessions of the Son and the Father are wholly shared, the language of the one God. His great request is for their preservation: "Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are." He asks the Father to guard them in the one name, that they might share in the very oneness of God. He had kept them Himself while present; now, departing, He commits them to the Father's keeping, having lost none "but the son of perdition," Judas, whose fall fulfilled Scripture. Jesus does not pray for their removal from the world, "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil." His people are to remain in the world as witnesses, kept from its evil, not extracted from its presence. They are "not of the world, even as I am not of the world", set apart in their nature and allegiance. And so He prays, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." To sanctify is to set apart as holy, and the instrument is God's truth, His word, by which believers are made holy and fitted for their mission. Then the mission itself: "As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world." As the Father sent the Son, so the Son sends His own, an apostolic commission. And He grounds their sanctification in His own self-consecration: "for their sakes I sanctify myself", setting Himself apart to the cross, "that they also might be sanctified through the truth." The Saviour who is about to be crucified prays first not for Himself but for the keeping, the joy, the holiness, and the mission of His own, and commits them to the safe keeping of the one name.
As Thou, Father, Art in Me, and I in Thee (John 17:20-26)
Jesus prays for all who will believe, that they may be one as the Father and Son are one, and be with Him to behold His glory.
That They All May Be One
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. 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. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 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."
Word Study
"one," Greek hen (ἕν). "That they all may be one." The word is again the neuter hen, "one thing," the same word Jesus used in "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). The unity He prays for among believers is patterned after the oneness of the Father and the Son: "as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us." The oneness of God, the Father in the Son and the Son in the Father, is the one God, undivided; and out of that divine oneness flows the spiritual unity of the church. Believers are not made one God, but they are drawn into real union with the one God and with one another, "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one." The undivided oneness of the Godhead is the source and pattern of the true unity of the people of God, a unity that testifies to the world "that thou hast sent me."
Explanation
Jesus widens the prayer to include "them also which shall believe on me through their word" -- every future believer, including us. His petition is for oneness: "that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us... that they may be one, even as we are one." The unity of the Father and the Son -- who are the one God -- is the pattern and source of the church's unity, a oneness so real the world will believe. He ends longing that they behold His glory and know the Father's love: "I in them, and thou in me." The one God who is the Father dwelling in the Son will dwell in His people, making them one.
Gospel Focus
Jesus now widens His prayer beyond the eleven to embrace every believer of every age: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." All who would come to faith through the apostolic witness, ourselves included, were on His heart in this prayer. And His great petition for the whole church is oneness: "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us." The pattern of Christian unity is the very oneness of God, the Father in the Son and the Son in the Father, the one undivided God; and out of that divine oneness the church's unity flows. This is not mere organizational agreement but a real spiritual union, believers drawn into the one God and into one another. And it has a great purpose: "that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." The unity of God's people is a witness to the world of the truth of Christ. He repeats it: "that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one." The indwelling runs like a golden chain, the Father in the Son, the Son in the believer, binding all into one. Then Jesus prays the longing of His heart for His own: "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory." He desires that His people be with Him forever and see His glory, the glory He had "before the foundation of the world", again the plain witness of His eternal deity. He contrasts the world's ignorance with the disciples' knowledge: "the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me." And He closes the prayer where He began, with the revelation of the Father's name and the outflow of divine love: "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." The Son came to make the Father's name known, and to bring us into the very love that the Father has for the Son, and to dwell in us Himself. So the high priestly prayer ends with the greatest gifts: the name of God revealed, the love of God poured into us, and Christ Himself abiding in His people. This is what our Great High Priest prayed on the eve of the cross, that we might know the one true God in Him, be kept and sanctified, be made one as He and the Father are one, be with Him in glory, and be filled with the love of God.
Chapter 17 in Review
John 17 is the great high priestly prayer of Jesus. He prays, "Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son," and reveals that "this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Having finished the work the Father gave Him, He asks to be glorified "with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." He prays for His disciples, "Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are," not to take them out of the world but to keep them from evil, and "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." Then He prays for all believers, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee," that they may be with Him to behold His glory, and that "the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them."
For the Apostolic reader this prayer is a mountain of revelation. Eternal life is defined not as reward but as relationship: to know the only true God, and to know Him precisely in Jesus Christ whom He sent, for there is one true God, revealed and manifest in the Son. The One who prays had glory with the Father before the world was, the plain witness of His eternal deity, now come in flesh and about to return to that glory through the cross. He commits His own to the keeping of the one name, the name of God revealed and made saving in Jesus, and prays for their preservation, their joy, their sanctification by the word of truth, and their sending into the world as the Father sent Him. And He prays for the unity of all His people, patterned on the oneness of the Father and the Son, that the world might believe. That unity is no mere agreement but a real drawing of believers into the one God and into one another, the Father in the Son, the Son in us, all made perfect in one. And the prayer ends with the highest gifts: the name of God made known, the very love of the Father for the Son placed within us, and Christ Himself abiding in His people. Rest, then, in the keeping of the one name, be sanctified by the word of truth, seek the unity that reflects the oneness of God, and dwell in the love that our Great High Priest has prayed into us.
- Eternal life is to know the only true God in Jesus Christ whom He sent (17:3).
- He had glory with the Father before the world was: His eternal deity (17:5).
- Jesus prays the Father to keep His own in the one name (17:11-12).
- We are kept in the world, not of it, and sanctified by the word of truth (17:15-17).
- The oneness of the Father and Son is the pattern of the church's unity (17:21-22).
- Christ prays that God's love and His own presence dwell in us (17:26).
Questions for Reflection
- Do you have eternal life, the knowing of the one true God in Jesus Christ?
- Are you being sanctified by the word of truth for your mission in the world?
- Do you pursue the unity of God's people that testifies to the world?
- Do you dwell in the love of God that Christ prayed into His own?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. Eternal life as knowing God in Christ: 1 John 5:20; John 14:6-9; 2 Corinthians 4:6. Christ's eternal glory before the world: John 1:1-3; 8:58; Philippians 2:6; Colossians 1:17. The saving name of God in Jesus: Acts 4:12; Philippians 2:9-11; John 5:43. Kept and sanctified: 1 Peter 1:5; John 15:3; Ephesians 5:26; 1 Thessalonians 4:3. Sent into the world: John 20:21; Matthew 28:19-20. The unity of believers: Ephesians 4:3-6; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Colossians 3:14. The love of God dwelling in us: Romans 5:5; 1 John 4:12-16. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The Son prays to be glorified: John 17:1-5; 1 John 5:20; John 1:1-3.
- The prayer for the disciples: John 17:6-19; Acts 4:12; 1 Peter 1:5.
- The prayer for all believers: John 17:20-26; Ephesians 4:3-6; Romans 5:5.