The Word Alone

Commentary

The Son Glorifying the Father (Verses 1–8)

Among all the utterances of our blessed Lord recorded in the Gospels, there is scarcely another portion which so unveils the deep and divine intercourse subsisting between the Father and the Son. Here we are admitted, as it were, within the veil, to hear the Son speaking to the Father before He passes through death and returns to the glory which He had with the Father before the world was.

This chapter is not the agony in Gethsemane. It is not the cry of desertion upon the cross. Neither is it the Lord’s discourse with His disciples in the upper room, though it is connected with it. Rather, it is the Son taking His place consciously in view of the completion of His earthly path, presenting before the Father all that pertained to the divine glory, to His own work, and to those whom the Father had given Him.

Throughout John’s Gospel, the Lord Jesus is especially presented as the eternal Son of God manifested in flesh. The Spirit of God here does not chiefly occupy us with Messiah relations, nor with dispensational order upon earth, but with eternal life revealed in the Son. Thus, in this prayer, we hear One who is perfectly man upon earth, yet who never ceases to be the eternal Son in divine communion with the Father.

The chapter itself may be viewed in three principal parts. First, the Son speaks concerning Himself and His relation to the Father (vv. 1–5). Secondly, He speaks concerning the disciples who had accompanied Him in His earthly ministry (vv. 6–19). Thirdly, He embraces all believers who should afterward believe through the apostolic testimony (vv. 20–26). In the portion before us, verses 1–8, the Spirit of God especially presents the Son in His completed testimony upon earth, and the introduction of eternal life through the revelation of the Father’s name.

It is of great importance to observe that the Lord speaks as One who has morally completed His work, though the cross was yet before Him. The hour had come. The entire path of obedience had led to that solemn moment toward which all the counsels of God converged. The cross was not an afterthought brought in by man’s rejection. It was the very basis upon which God could be glorified and eternal blessing secured for His people.

Moreover, the glory spoken of here is not merely outward or millennial glory, though that also belongs to Christ. The glory in this chapter is connected with the Father Himself. It is the glory of Sonship, a glory known in divine intimacy before the world existed. The Son came forth from that glory, revealed the Father upon earth, and was about to return into it as Man, having perfectly glorified God in all that He was and did.

The believer thus learns that Christianity is not merely a system of ordinances, nor simply the forgiveness of sins, blessed as that is. It introduces the soul into relationship with the Father through the Son. Eternal life is not merely endless existence; it is the knowledge of the Father and of Jesus Christ whom He has sent. Such knowledge is living, divine, and relational.

The disciples at this moment understood but little of the depth of these things. Yet the Lord could speak of them as having received His words and believed that He came forth from the Father. Weakness there was, and failure would soon appear; nevertheless, the Father’s work in them was real. Grace delights to recognise what is of God amidst all the infirmity of man.

One cannot meditate upon this passage without perceiving the calmness and majesty of Christ. The cross, with all its unspeakable sorrow, stood immediately before Him; yet His heart is occupied, not with Himself, but with the Father’s glory and the blessing of those given Him by the Father. Such is divine love. Such is the perfection of the Son.

The Hour Come — The Son Glorifying the Father (John 17:1)

“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:”

The Lord no longer addresses the disciples, but turns directly to the Father. His work upon earth had reached its closing moment. “The hour is come.” Throughout the Gospel we repeatedly find that His hour had not yet come, because all moved according to the divine counsels. Man could do nothing before the appointed time. Now the hour had arrived in which every purpose of God concerning redemption was to be accomplished.

The Lord asks, “Glorify thy Son.” This is not merely deliverance from suffering. The Son seeks the glory that belongs to Him according to the counsels of God, but in order “that thy Son also may glorify thee.” The Father had been perfectly revealed by the Son upon earth; now the Father would be glorified in and through the accomplishment of redemption.

At the cross, all the attributes of God were displayed in perfect harmony. His righteousness against sin, His holiness, His truth, and His infinite love all shone forth there. Never was God so glorified as when Christ was made sin for us.

Authority Over All Flesh and the Gift of Eternal Life (John 17:2)

“As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.”

The Son possesses authority over all flesh. This is universal dominion committed to Him by the Father. Yet the object stated here is not judgment but grace. The authority is exercised in giving eternal life.

It is striking that the Lord does not say He gives improvements to man in the flesh. Eternal life is entirely outside the first Adam condition. Man naturally is fallen, alienated from God, and spiritually cut off from the blessings of God’s forgiveness and salvation. Eternal life is found only in the Son.

Those who receive this life are viewed here as a gift from the Father to the Son. This truth runs throughout John’s Gospel. The believer belongs to Christ by the Father’s eternal purpose. Salvation therefore rests not upon human will, but upon divine grace.

The True Character of Eternal Life (John 17:3)

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

Eternal life is here defined in its essential character. It is not merely duration of existence. Lost souls exist eternally also, but not in blessing. Eternal life is the knowledge of the Father and of Jesus Christ.

This knowledge is not mere intellectual understanding. Men may study theology and yet remain strangers to God. The knowledge here is living acquaintance with God revealed in the Son.

Before Christ came, God was known imperfectly and partially. But the Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, declared Him. In Christianity, the believer knows God as Father through the Son whom He has sent.

Observe also the expression “Jesus Christ.” This title unites His humiliation and His glory. “Jesus” is the name of His humanity; “Christ” declares Him the Anointed One of God. The One sent by the Father into the world is both truly man and the eternal Son.

The Completed Work Upon Earth (John 17:4)

“I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”

What a testimony from the lips of the perfect Servant! Every thought, word, and act of Christ had glorified the Father. There had never been one movement independent of the Father’s will.

The Lord speaks morally of the work as finished. The cross was immediately before Him, yet nothing could hinder the accomplishment of all that the Father had given Him to do. The perfect obedience of Christ assured the completion of redemption.

The first man dishonoured God in a garden of delights. The second Man glorified God in a world of sin and hatred. Satan had found in Adam an entrance for ruin; in Christ he found absolutely nothing.

The work here is not merely miracles nor teaching, but the whole path of obedience culminating in the sacrifice of Himself.

The Son Returning to Eternal Glory (John 17:5)

“And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”

No creature could utter such words. Here the veil is completely drawn aside, and the eternal glory of the Son stands revealed.

The Lord does not merely ask for glory upon earth, nor for messianic honour among Israel. He asks for the glory He had “before the world was.” This is personal and eternal divine glory.

Yet there is something profoundly blessed here. The One who asks is the same blessed Person who had taken manhood. The Son returns to the Father as Man, having accomplished redemption. Humanity is thus introduced into heavenly glory in the Person of Christ.

The world had rejected Him. The Father receives Him into the glory that had eternally belonged to Him. Soon the disciples would see Him no more upon earth, but faith would know Him glorified above.

Manifesting the Father’s Name (John 17:6)

“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.”

The Lord had manifested the Father’s name. In Scripture, a name signifies what a person is. Christ perfectly revealed the Father’s character, nature, and love.

The disciples were “out of the world.” They still remained physically in it, but morally they belonged to another sphere. The Father had chosen them and given them to the Son.

The statement “they have kept thy word” is precious. Their understanding was imperfect, and their courage weak; nevertheless, there was reality of faith. Grace recognises the work of God even where much failure remains.

This manifestation of the Father’s name is one of the distinguishing blessings of Christianity. Israel knew Jehovah in governmental dealings; believers know the Father revealed in the Son.

Receiving the Words of the Son (John 17:7–8)

“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.”

The disciples had come to recognise the divine source of Christ’s mission and ministry. The words spoken by Christ were not independent human thoughts, but the Father’s communication through the Son.

This marks the true character of faith. Faith receives the testimony of God in Christ. The disciples did not yet understand redemption fully, nor the heavenly calling of the Church, but they believed that Jesus came forth from the Father.

The Lord distinguishes here between “came out from thee” and “thou didst send me.” The former speaks of His divine and eternal Person; the latter of His mission into the world.

How precious to see the Lord presenting the disciples before the Father according to the grace that had wrought in them, rather than according to the weakness still present with them. Peter would soon deny Him, and all would forsake Him for a moment; yet the Lord speaks according to the divine work already begun in their souls.

Concluding Reflections (John 17:1–8)

In these opening verses of John 17, the Spirit of God brings before us the incomparable glory of the Son in communion with the Father. The earthly pathway of perfect obedience was drawing to its close, yet all is calmness, certainty, and divine affection.

The Son had glorified the Father upon earth. He had revealed the Father’s name. He had communicated the words given Him by the Father. He now returns into the glory which was eternally His, carrying with Him, in the value of accomplished redemption, those whom the Father had given Him.

The believer thus learns that Christianity rests entirely upon the Person and work of Christ. Eternal life is found in knowing the Father revealed in the Son. The One who walked here in humiliation is the eternal Son who shared the Father’s glory before the world existed.

John 17 therefore lifts the soul above earthly religion into the sanctuary of divine relationship. It is the Son speaking to the Father, and believers are brought, through grace, into the blessedness flowing from that eternal communion.

Christ Interceding for His Own (Verses 9–16)

The earthly ministry of Christ was drawing to its close. The cross stood immediately before Him. Judas had already gone out into the night. The world had rejected the Son of God; Israel knew not the day of her visitation; yet the Lord, in perfect calmness and divine intimacy, lifts His eyes to heaven and pours out His heart to the Father.

This chapter has often been called the true Lord’s Prayer. The prayer commonly so named in Matthew 6 was given to the disciples as a model suited to their condition before redemption had been accomplished. But here we hear the Son Himself addressing the Father according to the full consciousness of His divine relationship. It is not the cry of dependence merely, though dependence is found in perfection in Him; it is communion. The Son speaks with the Father concerning those whom the Father had given Him out of the world.

It is exceedingly blessed to observe that the Lord does not occupy Himself here with the world as such. His own are before Him. The chapter is heavenly in its character. The Lord is no longer presented as Messiah upon earth, but as the heavenly Son returning to the Father, while leaving His disciples behind in the midst of a hostile scene. Redemption was about to be accomplished; but the disciples would remain in a world which had rejected both the Father and the Son. Therefore the Lord commits them to the Father’s keeping.

Throughout John’s Gospel the contrast between the world and those given to Christ by the Father is very marked. The world lies in alienation from God. It may be religious, cultivated, and outwardly moral, yet it neither knows the Father nor receives the Son. The disciples, however feeble in themselves, were distinguished by one great mark: they had received the word of Christ. This separated them morally from the world before they were outwardly separated from it.

Moreover, we learn here the precious truth that believers belong equally to the Father and to the Son. “All mine are thine, and thine are mine.” None but a divine Person could speak thus. The Son does not merely serve the Father’s interests; all that belongs to the Father belongs also to Him. Yet the perfect lowliness of Christ shines no less than His deity. Though equal with the Father, He takes the place of dependence and intercession on behalf of His own.

Another point of profound importance in this passage is the place which believers occupy in the world. They are not of the world, even as Christ is not of the world. Christianity does not improve the world, nor does it seek a home in it. The believer belongs to heaven because Christ belongs there. Yet he is left for a season in the world as a witness to Christ rejected and glorified above. Thus the Christian stands between two things: the hatred of the world beneath and the intercession of Christ above.

The preservation of the saints, therefore, does not depend upon their own strength, wisdom, or fidelity. Had this been so, all would inevitably fail. Their security rests in the Father’s name and in the advocacy of the Son. The same grace which called them out of the world keeps them while they pass through it. The Lord does not ask that they should be removed immediately from the scene of trial, but that they should be kept from the evil.

In these verses the heart of Christ is unveiled in a remarkable manner. He thinks not of Himself, though the cross is before Him. His concern is for those whom He loves. He places them consciously before the Father, identifies them with Himself, and commits them to divine keeping. The whole passage breathes heavenly affection, divine separation from the world, and the certainty of eternal security in the Father’s care.

Christ Praying for His Own (John 17:9–10)

“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.”

The Lord distinctly separates His disciples from the world. This is of the deepest importance. Men speak often of the world as improvable through Christian influence, but the Lord does not pray for the world here. His intercession is for those whom the Father had given Him out of it.

This does not mean that God has no thoughts of mercy toward sinners. The Gospel itself proves the contrary. But the world, as a system morally alienated from God, stood under judgment because it had rejected the Son. The disciples, however weak, belonged to another order altogether. They had received Christ.

Observe also the perfect security of the saints in the hands of both the Father and the Son. “They are thine.” The Father had given them to Christ, yet they remained the Father’s own possession. Then the Lord adds words which none but a divine Person could utter, “All mine are thine, and thine are mine.” Prophets could speak for God; servants could serve Him; but none could place his possessions in absolute equality with the Father except the eternal Son.

It is also deeply blessed that Christ says, “I am glorified in them.” Poor and feeble as the disciples were, Christ found His glory connected with them. The world saw little glory in these Galilean followers, but faith sees that Christ values His people according to the purposes of divine grace.

Kept in the Father’s Name (John 17:11–12)

“Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.”

The Lord was about to leave the world visibly. Hitherto He Himself had guarded the disciples during His earthly ministry. Now He commits them to the Father’s keeping.

The expression “Holy Father” is full of significance. The relationship is one of intimacy and affection, yet perfectly consistent with divine holiness. The disciples were left in a defiling world; therefore they needed preservation according to the holiness of the Father’s name.

The unity spoken of here is not ecclesiastical uniformity, nor outward organisation. It is unity in divine relationship and purpose. As the Father and the Son are perfectly one in mind and affection, so believers are to be one through the power of divine life.

The Lord then says, “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name.” What tenderness is found here! The Shepherd had watched over His sheep unfailingly. None were lost but “the son of perdition.” Judas was never truly of Christ, though outwardly among the disciples. His ruin fulfilled Scripture and manifested what mere profession without life always comes to.

The Joy of Christ and the Hatred of the World (John 17:13–14)

“And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”

The Lord desired that His own should possess His joy. It was not earthly happiness, ease, or prosperity. Christ Himself was “a man of sorrows.” Yet He possessed uninterrupted communion with the Father, and this was His joy.

The Christian’s joy flows from the same source. Circumstances may be painful; the world may oppose; yet fellowship with the Father and the Son remains the portion of the believer.

The consequence of receiving Christ’s word is immediately seen, “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them.”

Nothing provokes the hostility of the world more than the testimony of divine truth. The world may tolerate religion adapted to itself, but it hates the revelation of the Father in the Son. The disciples, having received the word of Christ, no longer belonged morally to the world-system around them.

Hence the Lord adds, “Because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” This is an astonishing statement. The believer’s association is with Christ rejected and heavenly, not with the world below. Christianity does not merely reform man in Adam; it introduces a new heavenly life connected with the Second Man in glory.

In the World but Not of It (John 17:15–16)

“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”

The Lord does not ask that believers should be removed immediately to heaven. They are left here for testimony. Christ Himself had been the perfect Witness of the Father in the world; now His disciples were to represent Him.

But they required divine protection. The danger was not merely persecution, but “the evil.” Satan rules morally in the world-system opposed to God. Therefore believers need continual preservation through the Father’s care.

Again the Lord repeats, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” Their position is defined by Christ’s own position. He belonged to heaven though present on earth; so do His people. The world crucified Christ because it could not tolerate the light of God manifested in Him. The believer shares the moral place of Christ before God and therefore cannot truly belong to the present world-order.

This truth is of immense practical importance. Whenever the Church seeks friendship with the world, she loses the sense of her heavenly calling. The early Christians understood that they were strangers and pilgrims. Their citizenship was in heaven. The power of Christianity declines in exact proportion as believers settle down in the world from which Christ has been rejected.

Yet the Lord does not abandon His saints amid the conflict. He prays for them. The same love which watched over the disciples on earth still sustains believers now. Christ is in the presence of God for His people, and the Father keeps them through His own name until they are with Christ in glory forever.

Sanctified in Truth and Perfected in One (Verses 17–26)

Among all the discourses recorded in the Gospel of John, there is scarcely one more holy in character, more intimate in communion, or more elevated in its nature than the seventeenth chapter. We are admitted here, not merely to hear the instruction of the Lord addressed to men upon earth, nor to behold His works of power among them, but to listen to the Son speaking to the Father before He passes out of this world unto the Father. The veil, so to speak, is drawn aside, and the believer is permitted to hear the desires and counsels of the heart of Christ concerning His own.

This chapter is not occupied with the sinner’s need, though the work by which that need is met lies at the foundation of all. Nor is it the presentation of the kingdom in manifested glory upon the earth, though glory surely appears at the close. It is rather the heavenly place and relationship into which believers are brought through the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. The Lord is no longer presented as walking in Galilee, nor as dealing publicly with Israel according to promise, but as One who is leaving the world and placing His disciples in an entirely new position before the Father.

The distinction between Israel and the assembly of the Lord’s people is here of the deepest importance. Israel knew Jehovah in earthly relationship and under legal responsibility. The disciples, however, are introduced into association with the Father through the Son. Christ had manifested the Father’s name to those whom the Father had given Him out of the world. Their portion was not earthly blessing under Messiah reigning in Zion, but heavenly association with the rejected Son. Hence the Lord repeatedly speaks of the world as opposed to them, even as it was opposed to Himself.

In the earlier part of the chapter, the Lord prays concerning the disciples who were with Him during His earthly ministry. He had kept them in the Father’s name while He was with them. He now commits them to the Father’s keeping because He is departing. Their sanctification, preservation, and unity become the objects of His intercession. Yet this unity is not the outward amalgamation sought by men, nor ecclesiastical uniformity established by human arrangement. It is unity flowing from participation in a common life and relationship with the Father and the Son.

From verse 17 onward, the character of Christian sanctification is especially unfolded. Sanctification here is not improvement of the flesh, for the flesh remains incurably evil. It is the setting apart of believers unto God by the truth, according to the revelation of the Father in the Son. Christ Himself becomes the heavenly object before the soul, and believers are separated from the world morally by occupation with Him.

The passage also reveals the entirely heavenly character of Christianity. Christ is no longer of the world, and believers, though left in it for testimony, are not of it any more than He is of it. Christianity therefore cannot properly merge itself with the world’s principles, ambitions, politics, or religion. The Church has too often forgotten this heavenly calling and has sought influence where it ought rather to have borne witness in separation.

Finally, the chapter closes with glory. The Lord desires that those given Him should be with Him where He is, to behold His glory. This is not merely the glory He will display to the world in the kingdom, but the glory given Him by the Father because of His eternal relationship as Son. The affections of Christ toward His people are thus fully revealed. He would have them in His own blessed company forever, sharing the knowledge of the Father’s love.

Thus this passage conducts the believer from sanctification in the present world to association with Christ in heavenly glory. It unfolds the counsels of divine love from eternity to eternity, while placing the saints in conscious relationship with the Father through the Son.

Sanctified Through the Truth (John 17:17–19)

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

The Lord now turns to the practical setting apart of His disciples. They had already received life, and they were already clean through the word He had spoken unto them; nevertheless, there was a sanctification proper to their new position as associated with a rejected and heavenly Christ.

Sanctification in Scripture has a twofold character. There is an absolute sanctification through the offering of Christ once for all, by which believers are perfected before God judicially. But here it is practical sanctification, the separation of the heart and mind unto God according to the revelation of Himself in Christ.

The measure and means of this sanctification are exceedingly precious. It is “through thy truth.” Man’s thoughts cannot sanctify. Ordinances cannot sanctify. The law could demand righteousness from man in the flesh, but it could not separate the soul unto heavenly things. The Father’s word alone reveals things as they truly are before God.

The world had rejected Christ. The disciples were therefore to be separated from it by the communication of divine truth. The word reveals the Father, the Son, heaven, eternal life, redemption, and the believer’s portion in Christ. By these things the soul is formed according to God’s thoughts instead of the world’s.

The Lord adds, “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” This is a remarkable expression. Christ personally was always holy; He could not become more so. But He sanctified Himself in the sense that He set Himself apart in heavenly glory as the object before His disciples’ hearts. No longer was He to remain with them upon earth according to Jewish expectations. He was going to the Father. A glorified Christ in heaven now becomes the believer’s object and standard.

Christian sanctification is therefore not merely abstinence from evil. It is separation unto a heavenly Christ. The heart learns to belong where Christ is. The Christian remains upon earth only as a witness to One rejected here but glorified above.

The Unity of Believers in Divine Life (John 17:20–23)

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.”

The Lord here embraces all believers who should afterwards receive the apostolic testimony. Thus the prayer extends beyond the immediate disciples and includes the whole assembly of God upon earth.

The first thing requested is unity. “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee.” This unity is often misunderstood. It is not a mere outward union of professing bodies. Christendom has attempted such unions repeatedly, yet the result has only been confusion and corruption. The unity of which the Lord speaks flows from divine life and the presence of the Holy Ghost.

Believers are brought into one spiritual fellowship through participation in the same life and relationship. The Father was perfectly revealed in the Son, and believers are brought into that circle of divine communion. The unity therefore is living and spiritual before it can ever be displayed outwardly.

The Lord further says, “That the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” There was to be such a manifestation of divine life and love among believers that the world would have before it a testimony to the mission of the Son. Alas, the Church in responsibility has entirely failed in maintaining this testimony. Division, worldliness, and human ambition have obscured the heavenly character of the assembly.

Yet the purposes of God cannot fail. The Lord continues, “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them.” This points onward to manifested glory in the kingdom. Then the unity of believers will be displayed perfectly before the world. What grace, that those who were once poor sinners should share the glory of the Son of Man!

The result will be, “That the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” This exceeds the earlier statement that the world “may believe.” In the coming glory the matter will no longer be one of faith but of manifested knowledge. The world shall behold the saints glorified with Christ and will know that the same love resting upon the Son rests also upon those united to Him.

Nothing could reveal grace more profoundly. The believer stands before the Father in the same acceptance as Christ Himself, because he is accepted in the Beloved.

The Desire of Christ for His Own Glory Shared (John 17:24)

“Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory.”

Here the Lord no longer merely asks, but expresses His own desire. It is the proper claim of the Son upon the Father’s love. He desires the company of those given Him.

The Christian’s portion is therefore essentially heavenly. Christ does not ask that believers should merely enjoy earthly blessing under His reign, precious as that will be for Israel and the nations. He desires that they should be with Him where He is. This is the proper hope of the assembly.

The glory here spoken of is especially that which belongs to Him as Son with the Father before the foundation of the world. It is not simply official glory conferred upon Messiah, but personal glory belonging to His eternal relationship with the Father.

Believers shall behold this glory because they are loved by the Father and united to the Son. The heart of Christ finds satisfaction in having His redeemed ones near Himself forever.

How entirely this separates Christianity from earthly religion. The saint belongs to heaven because Christ is there.

The Revelation of the Father’s Name and Love (John 17:25–26)

“O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.”

The world remained ignorant of the Father because it rejected the Son. Human wisdom never arrives at the knowledge of God as Father. Only the Son could reveal Him.

The Lord contrasts Himself with the world. The world knew not the Father; the Son knew Him perfectly. The disciples, through grace, had recognised the Father’s sending of the Son. Weak indeed their apprehension was, yet divine life was there.

The Lord concludes, “And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it.” The revelation of the Father did not cease with Christ’s earthly ministry. Through the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, the knowledge of the Father continues to be unfolded to believers. And to what end? “That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

This is the full Christian position. The believer is brought into the consciousness of the Father’s love resting upon him according to the place into which Christ has brought him. Moreover, Christ Himself dwells in the believer by the Spirit.

Thus the chapter closes, not with law, responsibility, or earthly promise, but with divine love and heavenly association. The saints are united to Christ, loved by the Father, sanctified by the truth, and destined for eternal glory with the Son. The heart is left resting in the blessed certainty that all the counsels of divine love shall surely be accomplished in Christ.