John 17:20-21 - Homiletics

Christ's prayer for all believers.

Our Lord, having prayed for himself and for his apostles, now prays for the whole body of believers.

I. HE PRAYS FOR THE BELIEVERS OF ALL GENERATIONS TILL THE END OF TIME . "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also who shall believe on me through their word."

1. All believers have , therefore , an interest in Christ ' s prayer .

2. The word of the apostles—that is , not merely their narrative of gospel facts , but their revelation off gospel principles—is the instrumental means of faith . ( Romans 10:17 .) A capital place is thus assigned to the Word in the conversion of the world.

II. THE GREAT END OF THIS PREACHING OF THE WORD . "That they all may be one; that as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."

1. The oneness prayed for is not that of believers with one another , but that oneness which is the foundation of visible unity—the union of believers with Christ, and through him with God.

2. It cannot refer to a visible unity , because it is a unity of successive generations of believers, who cannot be in the world at one and the same time.

3. It is a unity resembling the union of the Father and the Son , and is therefore more than a mere moral unity of purpose, or opinion, or co-operation. It is an essentially vital unity ( Romans 12:5 ; Ephesians 4:4 ). God is its essential Center.

4. The ultimate design and result of this oneness is its effect upon the world . Where disciples are seen to be