John (Program #44) – Life’s Prayer (3)

We are one divine human incorporation in the Triune God. Surely, our Oneness is not just a “getting together” or a kind of “joining something”. It is the Oneness of the Triune God.

In John 17, you have a list: 4 verses, mentioning something of the Oneness. Verse 11 says, the Oneness is in the name of the Father. The reality of the Father’s name is the Father’s divine life. So, the first factor of the genuine Oneness is the name of the Father with the Father’s divine life. Then verse 21, this is deep verse, so profound! “That they all may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that You have sent Me.” The point here is this. The Oneness is in the Triune God. When we are all in the Triune God, then in the Triune God, we have the Oneness. But, here we have to pay attention to this fact. How could we be in the Triune God? Through His death and resurrection…

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John (Program #43) – Life’s Prayer (2)

We have an entity in New York called the United Nations. But, I think we all realize that the United Nations is actually the divided nations, that there is no real oneness outside the Triune God.

This passage (the Lord’s prayer in John 17) is maybe the most important portion of the Holy Word because this is the Lord’s final recorded prayer before He goes to the cross to die. And, what we see in this prayer is the aspiration of the Lord’s heart’s desire actually becomes His specific prayer to the Father. So, in this prayer, what we see is the very heart’s desire of the Triune God. And, in verse 1 of this prayer, the Lord opens by saying, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You.” So, this is a prayer for the Father to glorify the Son that the Son may glorify the Father. And, what this means is for the Father and the Son to have a full expression through His many believers. And, this expression of Himself is His glorification.

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John (Program #42) – Life’s Prayer (1)

When the Spirit as the essence of the Word makes that written Word living, immediately we receive the dispensing of the Father’s life. And, in that life we can be one with all the believers in Christ Jesus.

Upon a first reading or a rather superficial reading of John 17, we may have the impression that the central point is the oneness of the believers. Although this point is crucial, it is neither the central point of the chapter, nor the subject of the Lord’s prayer in this chapter. The subject is clearly indicated in verse 1, where the Lord Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, … glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify you.” This sets the tone and reveals the subject of the Lord’s prayer. He is praying for His glorification so that in His glorification the Father would be glorified.

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John (Program #41) – The Work of the Spirit unto the Mingling of Divinity with Humanity (2)

You come into this chapter (John 17); it’s like stepping into a room where a Godly person is praying and you feel uneasy to interrupt Him. And, you certainly don’t want to come in to inject any thought of your own. So, there’s a holy atmosphere here, of the communication in the divine Trinity that only the Holy Spirit can make known to us.

I believe the prayer, in John 17, is very very significant, mainly because it comes at the end of a long message that the Lord Jesus gave to His disciples just before He went to the cross. Chapters 14, 15, and 16 give us the message that the Lord Jesus spoke on His way to be crucified. So, this of course is a very significant portion of the Word of God, particularly in the Gospel of John. And, after that long message, then He closes with this prayer. And, this prayer is so meaningful that unless you really pray it, or I should say, read it prayerfully, you will not know what its subject is.

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