John 17:6-19

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. ⁷ Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. ⁸ 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. ⁹ I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. ¹⁰ And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. ¹¹ 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. ¹² 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. ¹³ And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. ¹⁸ As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

“Thy Word is truth” (John 17:17). There could not be a more concise, yet comprehensive, statement on the truthfulness of Scripture. The truth that Jesus spoke of was the entire Old Testament that pointed to who He was as the Messiah and the New Testament that would be revealed through those apostles that He prayed for on that evening in John 17. The One (Jesus) who prayed this had previously stated that evening, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Jesus is the truth incarnate. He is “the Word” who “was made flesh” (John 1:14). The written Word of God is the revelation of who Jesus is. It is “given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16) and was written by “holy men of God” who “spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21). God is “the God of truth” (Isaiah 65:16) and He does not and cannot lie (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18). His Word is a reflection of His character. The Scripture is, therefore, inerrant (without error).

John 17 is a passage of Scripture that records for us what is known as the high priestly prayer. It is Jesus’ prayer of intercession for His disciples and future followers. The Apostle John records one of the most intimate moments of Jesus’ life, just before His betrayal and crucifixion. He begins His prayer in verses 1-5 by asking for the Father to fulfill His purposes through Him, to give eternal life to those who believe, and to glorify Jesus through His accomplished work. In the heart of His prayer, verses 6-19, He prays for His own, the disciples. While He prays several things for them, everything that He prays is according to His and His Father’s Word. The Word is mentioned four times in this section and each time is regarding what He is requesting on their behalf. Since the Scripture is without error, it is important that we understand this truth and what bearing it has on our lives. In Jesus’ high priestly prayer, we have three things about God’s Word that He teaches us.

First, we learn that the source of the Word is God. All of the “words” that Jesus gave to the disciples were from the Father. It was through the Word of God that Jesus manifested the Father’s name to the disciples. This is not talking about God’s literal name (YHWH or “I Am”) but refers to God’s character. The disciples knew God because Jesus revealed Him through what He taught and demonstrated. This is why John could write, “No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18). It is through the True Word that we know the True God. It is because His Word came from Him and tells us about Him.

We also learn that the fruit of the Word is endurance. The mark of a true disciples of Jesus Christ is patient endurance. A test that Jesus gave of true discipleship is whether or not a person would “continue in My Word” (John 8:31). There were many people in Jesus’ ministry that were amazed at the miracles of Jesus. They followed Him for a time, but eventually the difficulty of His Word and the potential cost of discipleship turned them away (John 2:24-25; 6:59-71). Also, it was always at the Word of Jesus that His enemies stumbled. They hated what He said because it exposed them as sinful. Therefore, the test of discipleship is not that one loves the blessings of God, but whether one loves the Word of God. By loving God’s Word, a disciple will endure all manner of persecution or difficulty, trusting in Christ through His Word.

Lastly, we learn that the Word is the means that God uses to sanctify believers. Jesus’ prayer is that the disciples will be sanctified through God’s Word as they face all types of persecution from the world. He makes clear that disciples are sanctified through the truth. Jesus cleanses His church from sin through the Word (Ephesians 5:25-27) because the Word sets us free from sin (John 8:31-36). As the Psalmist wrote, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” and “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:9, 11). The Word of God is the means by which we grow (1 Peter 2:2) and are equipped to be obedient disciples (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God has given us His Word to set us apart and conform our minds to His will (Romans 12:2).

God’s Word is truth. It has stood the test of time and all scrutiny. No one has been able to disprove God’s Word. Like the God of the Word, it is without error and incapable of lying. It reveals who God is and who we are in light of who He is. The question today is, “Do I believe God’s Word is true enough to obey it?” Are you continuing in His Word, committed to His Word, and trusting His Word, today?