23Jesus Prays for His Disciples—Part 1: As Those Whom the Father Had Given Him  (John 17:6–10)

I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. (17:6–10)

The doctrines of divine sovereignty (that God elected sinners for salvation in eternity past) and human responsibility (that sinners are held accountable for how they respond to the gospel) are both clearly taught in Scripture, and play an important role in this passage.

Without apology or excuse, the Bible teaches that the Father “chose [believers] in Him [Jesus Christ] before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4; cf. Col. 3:12; Titus 1:1; 2 John 1). In eternity past, they were “predestined” for justification (Rom. 8:29), adoption (Eph. 1:5), and a heavenly inheritance (Eph. 1:11). Based on no merit or work of their own (Eph. 2:8; Titus 3:5), God “saved [believers] and called [them] with a holy calling, not according to [their] works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted [them] in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim. 1:9). Thus, they are “beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen [them] from the beginning for salvation” (2 Thess. 2:13). Credit for their salvation is wholly based on the Father’s gracious electing choice, made possible through the Son’s sacrificial death. The reality is that they would have remained “dead in [their] trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), if God had not imparted spiritual life to them (v. 4). The Lord Himself declared that “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44), underscoring the sinner’s utter inability to come to saving faith unless God sovereignly initiates that work in his or her heart. Salvation is never the result of human morality, wisdom, or willpower, but of God’s gracious purposes. As Paul told the Romans, salvation “does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy…. [And] He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires” (Rom. 9:16, 18). Though Paul preached the gospel to thousands, only “as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). No one outside of those whom God has preselected for salvation will ever embrace Jesus Christ as Savior (cf. Rom. 3:10–12; 9:11; Thess. 1:3–4; 1 Peter 1:2).

At the same time, the Bible contains numerous entreaties to all unsaved people to believe in the Lord (e.g., Isa. 55:1; Matt. 11:28–30; John 5:40; 7:37–39; Rev. 22:17). The gospel call, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31), goes out as an open invitation to every sinner. The gracious offer is the same for everyone everywhere: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9). In fact, God’s expressed desire (which is different than His sovereign decree) is for “all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). That desire is made manifest in the gospel call, which extends to all people (Matt. 28:19), and which reveals the grace of God by offering salvation to anyone who believes in Jesus Christ (cf. Titus 2:11). The truth is that “many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt. 22:14), meaning that while the gospel is a plea to all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30), only the elect will embrace it in faith. Yet those who reject the gospel do so willingly and without excuse (cf. Rom. 1:20), having been given ample opportunity to respond by their patient Creator and Judge (2 Peter 3:9; cf. Rev. 2:21). On the basis of their own willful sins (Rev. 20:12–13; cf. Matt. 16:27), which evidence the fact that their names were never written in the Book of Life (Rev. 20:15; cf. 13:8; 17:8), they will be justly condemned and sent to eternal destruction (cf. 20:14; Matt. 25:46; Thess. 1:9).

In this way, Scripture presents the dual realities that God is absolutely sovereign in choosing who will be part of His redeemed people, and also that sinners who reject the gospel bear personal responsibility for refusing God’s offer of salvation. To be sure, there is an element of mystery (from the human perspective) in how those two truths work together in the mind of God. But believers should not go beyond what has been revealed in Scripture in trying to reconcile what their finite minds are incapable of comprehending (cf. Deut. 29:29; 1 Cor. 4:6);if both truths are set forth in God’s Word, then both should be embraced. Furthermore, sinful human beings dare not accuse God of unfairness in only electing some sinners to salvation—since, if God were fair, all sinners would experience His wrath (cf. Romans 3:23; 6:23). No one has the right to question the eternal saving purposes of God. Anticipating any such reactions, the apostle Paul responded firmly with these words:

Believers will praise God for all eternity because He graciously chose them and redeemed them through the work of the Son. They did nothing to earn their salvation, and therefore all the glory goes to God. But those who reject the gospel and are condemned to hell will have no one to blame but themselves. Having willfully suppressed the truth in unrighteousness, they will receive the penalty they rightly deserve for their rebellion. The seventeenth-century English Puritan Richard Baxter graphically illustrated this point in his classic work, The Saints’ Everlasting Rest:

The eternal saving purposes of God had always been Jesus’ primary concern during His earthly ministry (Luke 5:31–32; 19:10; John 3:16–17; 4:34–38). Now, as the cross drew near, the Lord articulated those purposes in this magnificent prayer to His Father—voicing them audibly so that His disciples could hear. The Lord knew that what had been planned in eternity past would be fulfilled in the next few hours of time (cf. vv. 1–5). He also knew that His disciples would abandon Him at the critical moment (John 13:36–38; 16:32), that their faith would be shaken (cf. Luke 22:31–32), and that their hearts would be deeply grieved (John 16:22). Though His own suffering would far outweigh theirs, Jesus sacrificially served them (as He had done throughout His entire ministry [cf. Mark 10:44–45] including that evening [John 13:1, 12], and would ultimately do on the cross [15:13]) by praying for them. In fact, of the twenty-six verses that comprise Jesus’ prayer in John 17, fourteen center specifically on the disciples (vv. 6–19) with an additional seven (vv. 20–26) focusing on those who would believe in Christ in the future through their extended ministries.

Having prayed that the Father would glorify the Son (in vv. 1–5), Jesus then interceded for His disciples (vv. 6–19). This section of His High Priestly Prayer may be discussed under two headings: His prayer for them as those whom the Father had given Him (vv. 6–10); and His specific requests for them in light of His imminent departure (vv. 11–19). The first of those headings will be discussed below, with the second being addressed in the following chapter.

The frightening realization that Christ was leaving them was a paralyzing thought to the disciples. They had depended on Him for everything. He had been their teacher (John 13:13), their protector (Matt. 12:1–5), and the supplier of all their needs (cf. Luke 22:35). But now He was going away. They were about to be left alone and, from their viewpoint, thrown back on their own resources. Understanding their fears, Jesus spent much of His time with the disciples on the evening before His death comforting them. He reassured them that He would continue to love them and provide for their needs (see the exposition of chapters 13–16 in previous chapters of this volume). Now, having given the disciples those marvelous promises, Jesus prayed that the Father would ensure those promises. As one commentator explains:

Jesus’ confidence was founded, not in the resolve of the eleven, but in the will and power of the Father. But before launching into His specific requests for the disciples (in vv. 11–19), the Lord explained why He knew the Father would honor His requests (in vv. 6–10).

Verse 6 serves as an important transition statement from Christ’s prayer for His own glory (in vv. 1–5) to His prayer for the disciples (in vv. 6–19). Of note in this verse is the interplay between the human side and the divine side of salvation. Christ subsequently expanded on each of those topics, as He established the disciples’ believing response on the one hand (in vv. 7–8), and God’s sovereign election on the other (in vv. 9–10). The verse itself provides a thesis statement of sorts for the verses that follow, introducing the reasons why Jesus knew the Father would ensure His previous promises to the disciples (in chapters 13–16) and answer His subsequent requests for them (in vv. 11–19).

The Lord defined those for whom He was praying first of all as those to whom He had manifested the Father’s name. The phrase connects back to verse 4, indicating that part of Christ’s earthly mission was to make known the Father’s name to the disciples. Manifested translates a form of the verb phaneroō, which means “to reveal,” “to make known,” or “to show.” The aorist tense denotes that this was an accomplished fact, one that Christ had perfectly finished according to the Father’s plan. The concept of God’s name encompasses all that He is: His character, nature, and attributes. Psalm 9:10 reads, “Those who know Your name will put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.” In Psalm 20:7 David exulted, “Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God,” while in Psalm 22:22 he declared, “I will tell of Your name to my brethren” (cf. 5:11; 8:1; 48:10; 75:1; 115:1; 119:55; 1 Kings 8:33, 35, 43, 44, 48; 1 Chron. 17:24; 2 Chron. 6:20; Neh. 1:11; Isa. 26:8, 13; Mic. 6:9).

The supreme manifestation of the name of God was the Lord Jesus Christ, God in human flesh. So perfectly and completely did Jesus reveal God’s nature and character that He could make the shocking statements, “He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me” (John 12:45) and, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (14:9; cf. 1:18). The New Testament writers declare Him to be “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Col. 1:15), in whom “all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (2:9), “who … existed in the form of God” (Phil. 2:6) and “is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature” (Heb. 1:3).

The name of God was so sacred to the Jews that they refused to pronounce it. Instead, they took the consonants from the tetragrammaton (YHWH; cf. Ex. 3:14–15) and added the vowels from the word adonai (“Lord”). When they read the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, they pronounced the resulting word (“Yahweh,” rendered “Jehovah” in older English translations) “Adonai,” in order to avoid speaking God’s name aloud. Jesus, however, not only manifested God’s name, He spoke it. And even more shockingly, He took it for Himself (cf. John 8:24, 58 and the exposition of those verses in John 1–11, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 2006]). In so doing, Jesus so outraged His Jewish opponents, who thought it blasphemy, that they sought to kill Him (John 5:18;8:59; 10:31–33), and eventually succeeded (John 19:7).

Nonetheless through His death, Jesus Christ opened the way to personal, loving fellowship with God. As He Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). And earlier, using the metaphor of a sheepfold, He declared, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9). Those who have placed their faith in Him have their sins forgiven, and enjoy an intimate relationship with the Father, whom they have the privilege of calling Abba (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6), which endearingly means, “Papa” or “Daddy.”

Christ further described the disciples to the Father as the men whom You gave Me out of the world (cf. 15:19). The truth that believers are a gift from the Father to the Son has already been seen as an important theme in this prayer (cf. vv. 2, 9, 24). The world is the evil, godless, satanically ruled system composed of all the unredeemed and all that opposes God and His kingdom (cf. 7:7; 12:31; 14:17, 19, 30, 31; 16:11; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 6:12; 1 John 5:19). Christians are no longer part of the world, having been “rescued … from the domain of darkness, and transferred … to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:13). Earlier that evening Jesus had told the disciples, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you” (15:18–19). Since they are no longer part of it, and indeed have been crucified to it (Gal. 6:14), believers are not to be conformed to the world (Rom. 12:2) or walk in it as they once did (Eph. 2:2; cf. 1 John 2:15–17). Instead, they are called to overcome it (1 John 5:4–5) by keeping themselves unstained by it (James 1:27) and avoiding friendship with it (James 4:4).

Christ’s statement they were Yours and You gave them to Me is a forceful affirmation that even before their conversion the disciples belonged to God. Earlier in John’s gospel the Lord had declared, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (6:37; cf. v. 39; 17:2, 9, 24). God told the apostle Paul that He had “many people in this city [Corinth]” who belonged to Him even though they were not yet saved (Acts 18:10; cf. 13:48). As was discussed earlier, God elected believers to salvation in eternity past (Eph. 1:4), and wrote their names in the Book of Life (Phil. 4:3; Rev. 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27; 22:19; cf. Dan. 12:1; Luke 10:20). Having chosen to redeem them, the Father gave them to the Son as gifts of His love (see the fuller discussion of this glorious reality in the previous chapter of this volume). Thus, as earlier demonstrated, the disciples (and by extension all believers —cf. v. 20) were infinitely precious to the Son, not because of anything intrinsically valuable in them, but because they were promised to Him by His Father before time began (cf. 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 1:1). As the next few hours would prove, Jesus considered the Father’s gift so precious He was willing to die to receive it.

In addition to recognizing that they were a gift from His Father, the Lord also described the disciples as those who have kept the Father’s word. That statement introduces the element of obedience essential to salvation (cf. Phil. 2:12–13). That obedience, of course, is not a meritorious work that contributes something to salvation (cf. Gal. 2:15–16), but is rather the inevitable result of genuine saving faith (cf. Eph. 2:8–10). Thus, to say that the disciples had obeyed the Father’s Word is merely another way of expressing that their faith was genuine. The New Testament inseparably joins saving faith and obedience, so much so that obedience is often used as a synonym for faith (e.g., John 3:36; Acts 6:7; Rom. 1:5; 16:26; 1 Peter 1:2). It is also the sure mark of sincere love for Jesus Christ (John 14:15, 21, 24; 15:10, 14). (Interestingly, Jesus used forms of this same Greek word for “keep” (tereo) in vv. 11, 12, 15 when He asked the Father to keep the disciples. Thus, the Lord asked the Father to keep those who keep His Word.)

The disciples, then, were among those who kept the Word that had been revealed to them. From the heart, they had responded in genuine faith to the truth they had received. At the same time, Scripture recognizes that they had done so because they were a gift from the Father to the Son, having been among those whom He sovereignly chose in eternity past and called effectually in time for salvation. The rest of this section (vv. 7–10) builds on those inseparable twin truths. Having summarized them in verse 6, Jesus continued to explain why He knew the Father would grant His requests regarding the disciples: because they had believed in Him as the Son (vv. 7–8) and because they were a gift to Him from the Father (vv. 9–10).

BECAUSE THEY HAD BELIEVED IN HIM AS THE SON

Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. (17:7–8)

Though they had been with Jesus for several years, it was not until now that His disciples were beginning to truly understand the mission His Father had given Him. It would still be a few days until Christ arose, when they would begin to fully grasp the reasons Jesus had to die. Yet they clearly believed that Jesus was whom He claimed to be (Matt. 16:16; Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20), that He came from the Father, and that He alone spoke the words of eternal life (cf. John 6:68–69). As Jesus had already stated in verse 6, they had kept His Word and thus had proven to be His true disciples (cf. John 8:31).

The content of the disciples’ faith offers further proof of its genuineness. Though before the cross there was still much that they did not grasp, they sincerely believed the truths they did understand (in contrast to the false faith of many others—cf. John 2:23–25; 6:64, 66). The eleven had come to know first of all, as Jesus said to the Father, that everything You have given Me is from You (a statement that again highlights His intimacy with and dependence on the Father). The disciples believed that Jesus worked by the power of God and did everything according to His Father’s will. This was in contrast to the Jewish religious leaders, who accused Jesus of operating through the power of Satan (Matt. 12:24). Such conclusions, as Christ Himself pointed out, were not only blasphemous and unforgivable (cf. Matt. 12:24–32) but foolish, since Satan would never empower someone to further the work of God (vv. 25–29). The disciples, of course, knew the truth. They had seen Jesus’ miracles, which were marked by divine compassion (Matt. 14:14; 15:32; 20:34; Mark 1:41; 6:34; 9:35–36; Luke 7:13–14); they had heard Jesus’ sermons, which pierced the heart with divine authority (Matt. 7:29; 13:54; 22:33; Mark 1:22; 6:2; 11:18; Luke 4:32; John 7:46); they had seen Jesus pray, knowing that He spent long hours in communion with His Father (Matt. 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:18, 28; 11:1–4); they had watched Jesus’ minister to sinners, and yet never sin Himself (Matt. 9:11; 11:19; Luke 5:29–32; 15:2; 1 Peter 2:22; 3:18; 1 John 2:29; 3:5); they had even witnessed the Father’s visible and audible approval of His Son (Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35; John 12:28; cf. Matt. 3:17). They knew that He came from God, and as a result they followed Him wholeheartedly (Matt. 19:27; cf. Mark 8:34; Luke 9:57–62; John 12:25–26).

The disciples likewise believed that the words which the Father gave to Jesus were true (cf. v. 14; 7:16; 8:28; 12:49; 14:10, 24). Jesus had given those words to them; and they received them, by both affirming them and subsequently acting upon them (cf. James 1:22). They truly understood Christ’s divine origin, that He came forth from the Father (cf. 16:30). They also believed in His divine mission, that the Father had sent Him into the world (cf. vv. 18, 21, 23, 25; 3:34; 4:34; 5:24, 30, 36, 37; 6:38, 39, 44, 57; 7:16, 28, 29, 33; 8:16, 18, 26, 29, 42; 9:4; 11:42; 12:44, 45, 49; 13:20; 14:24; 15:21; 16:5; 20:21). They had come to realize what John’s prologue articulates: that He is the Son of God (John 1:1; cf. 16:30), equal in essence and eternally coexistent with the Father (1:1–2), the Creator of all things (1:3), and the source of eternal life and spiritual light (1:4). They recognized the glory of the Word made flesh, and knew that it was “glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14). Soon they would also understand the wonders of His death and resurrection (cf. 16:20). Those realizations were revolutionary for the disciples:

After Pentecost, the proof of their faith would be demonstrated in dramatic ways, as they boldly proclaimed Jesus as Lord to all who would listen. Though they suffered severe persecution and (for nearly all of them) martyrdom, the disciples would not abandon what they knew to be true. Even the threat of death could not undermine the undying conviction that God had placed within them (cf. Acts 4:13; 5:41). The saving faith they were given was enduring by its very nature (cf. 1 Peter 1:3–9; 1 John 2:19).

Through their obedience, they demonstrated that they were among those whom the Father had elected as a love gift for His Son. Their works did not save them, but they did evidence that true saving faith was alive in their hearts. James Montgomery Boice posed the question,

The Bible teaches that God will certainly bring to glorification all those whom He predestined in eternity past (cf. John 6:37, 39; 10:28; Rom. 8:29–30; Eph. 1:13–14; Phil. 1:6; 1 Thess. 5:23, 24; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 1, 24). It also teaches that those whom God has truly chosen will respond in faith to the gospel, and will also persevere in the truth to the end (cf. Matt. 24:13; 1 Cor. 15:1–2; Col. 1:21–23; Heb. 2:1; 3:14; 4:14; 6:11–12; 10:39; 2: Peter 1:10). On the one hand, this perseverance requires diligent effort on the part of believers (Phil. 2:12; 1 Tim. 4:7–8; Heb. 5:9). On the other hand, it is a work that God ultimately does through believers (Phil. 2:13; Heb. 13:21). In fact, all of the Christian life (including the desire to pursue godliness) is a result of God’s grace (cf. 1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 3:5). (Note the discussion in the following chapter of this commentary regarding God’s power to protect the faith of those who are His.)

As those who had received, believed, and persevered in the truth, the disciples proved themselves to be among God’s elect. Of the Twelve only Judas Iscariot was not chosen, betraying the Lord “so that the Scripture would be fulfilled” (John 17:12; cf. 13:21–30).

BECAUSE THEY WERE GIVEN TO HIM FROM THE FATHER

I ask on their behalf, I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them (17:9–10)

Because they had responded with belief, and demonstrated the genuineness of that faith through their continued obedience, the disciples showed evidence of what Jesus had always known to be true of them and said earlier—that they had been chosen out of the world by the Father as a gift for Him. This then provides the second and ultimate reason why Jesus was confident that the Father would grant His prayer for the disciples; the Father would be sure to protect and purify them because they were His gift to His Son (cf. vv. 11, 15, 17). By reiterating that He was asking exclusively on behalf of those whom the Father had given Him, Jesus made it clear that He did not ask on behalf of the world. Rather, He was asking on behalf of His own who remained in the world after He had left (vv. 11–12).

It is true that God shows a kind of love to all people in the world (what theologians call common grace), even to those who reject the gospel (cf. Mark 10:21). He pleads with sinners to repent (Ezek. 18:23, 32; Acts 17:30), extends the gospel invitation to them (Isa.55:1; cf. Matt. 11:28–30), “causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:45; cf. Ps. 145:9; Acts 14:17). But Christ’s intercessory work as High Priest is only for those who belong eternally to Him because they have been given by the Father. In fact, the only recorded instance in the New Testament of Christ praying for the unregenerate is His cry from the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). That prayer is a model for believers, who are to “love [their] enemies and pray for those who persecute [them]” (Matt. 5:44; 2 Tim. 2:26). But the unredeemed world was not His interest in this prayer. His attention was on those whom the Father had given to Him and for whom He was about to die to provide atonement—that they would be protected from the world especially during the immediate events surrounding His arrest, trial, and crucifixion.

Jesus’ statement they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine underscored His confidence in the fact that the eleven belonged to God. Like the disciples, all believers belong to the Father, having been adopted into His family through the Son (cf. Rom. 8:14–17; Gal. 3:26; 4:5–7) and sealed and cleansed by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13–14; 4:30; Titus 3:5). “Do you not know,” Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19–20; cf. 7:23). Christians are God’s chosen ones (Matt. 22:14; John 13:18; Col. 3:12; 2 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 2:10; Titus 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1–2; 2:9), His children (John 1:12; Eph. 5:1; Phil. 2:15; 1 Peter 1:14; 1 John 3:1–2), His subjects (Luke 6:20; John 3:3, 5; Acts 14:22; Col. 1:13; 1 Thess. 2:12), His slaves (Acts 4:29; Rom. 1:1; 1 Cor. 7:22; Phil. 1:1; Col. 4:12; 2 Tim. 2:24; 1 Peter 2:16), and His sheep (Ps. 100:3; John 10:7–16, 26–28; 1 Peter 5:2–4).

Christ’s statement all things that are … Yours are Mine is nothing less than a claim to deity and full equality with the Father. It again emphasized the intimate unity that the Son shares with the Father (vv. 3, 6–7, 21, 23–24, 26; cf. 16:15). For a mere creature to claim that all things of God’s were his would be blasphemous presumption. Only one who is Himself God could legitimately claim to be the owner of and ruler over all things. Martin Luther grasped the significance of this claim:

Since the Father and the Son have all things in common, believers also belong to Christ (1 Cor. 3:23; 15:23; 2 Cor. 10:7; Gal. 3:29; 5:24). Those who belong to the Father belong to the Son, and vice versa.

The Lord further noted that He had been glorified in them. Even now, their faith in Him as the Son of God brought Him glory. Here then Christ gives testimony that the gift of faith given to the disciples enabled them to recognize and to confess Him even in His state of self-humiliation. After His ascension, Christ’s glory would continue to be displayed on earth through His followers even in His absence. That request was in perfect harmony with the Father’s purpose—to give the Son a redeemed humanity who would glorify Him forever.

The supreme goal of everything a Christian does is to bring God glory. Paul exhorted the Corinthians, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). In his second letter to them, he added, “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home [on earth] or absent [in heaven], to be pleasing to Him” (2 Cor. 5:9; cf. Rom. 14:7–8). Jesus commanded His followers, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16; cf. Phil. 2:15).

Believers are to reflect Christ’s glory in a world of darkness. Paul made that glorious truth crystal clear when he wrote, “God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves” (2 Cor. 4:6–7). The desire to glorify Christ will continue into all of eternity, as believers join with angels in magnifying and exalting the Son forever (cf. Rev. 4:8–11; 5:11–14; 19:6; 22:3–4).

That the disciples (and all other believers) could be changed from rebellious lovers of this world into sanctified worshipers and glorifiers of God is the miracle of God’s grace in salvation. Though regeneration takes place at a moment in time, it is a miracle that was planned in eternity past and that has unending implications for eternity future. All believers (including the eleven disciples) were chosen and claimed by the Father before the world began and promised to the Son as a tangible expression of His infinite love. That is the divine side of salvation. The human side is persevering faith and obedience, by which the disciples had demonstrated that they truly belonged to God.

Believers at all times can be likewise assured that they are truly saved. Objectively, that assurance comes from the Bible’s promise that anyone who sincerely embraces Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will be saved (Rom. 10:9–10). Subjectively, that confidence stems from the fruit of enduring faith and continuing obedience in a person’s life no matter what the temptation or test. Hear the powerful words of Peter:

Like the eleven, all true disciples of Christ abide in His Word (John 8:31) and lovingly obey His commands (John 14:15). Such behavior is only possible because their hearts have been changed by God, who has drawn them to the Son (John 6:44) and regenerated them through the Spirit (Titus 3:5). Thus the apostle John could write,

Ensuring the preservation of the disciples’ faith is a divine work that the Lord does by His power (cf. John 6:37–40). Nothing can separate His own from His love (Rom. 8:31–39) and He is willing and “able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25).

In the face of His absence in sin-bearing, though only for a few hours, Jesus proceeded to ask the Father to take up the protection of those whom He had given to Him. Yet, in making that request, Jesus expressed absolute certainty that the Father would do what He asked. His confidence was not in the disciples’ steadfastness or ingenuity, but in the love and power of His Father (cf. John 10:28–30). He knew that what the Father had promised in eternity past He would certainly accomplish and ensure in the present.