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LESSON 7: Be Unique
TALKING POINTS
TRANSLATIONS
(NKJV) Verses 11, 12, Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
(Contemporary English Version) - Verse 11: “Holy Father, I am no longer in the world. I am coming to you, but my followers are still in the world. So keep them safe by the power of the name that you have given me. Then they will be one with each other, just as you and I are one.”
DISCUSSION
“I am no longer in the world.” Before Jesus ascended and before He was crucified, He had mentally and spiritually separated Himself from the world. There was evidence in His ministry that He had done this long before coming to Gethsemane. His mission was so complete that He was able to say to His Father, “I am no longer in the world” and “I am coming to you.” It was if as a military general He had already been to the battlefield and surveyed the challenge and was returning home to become King and left His lieutenants in charge.
When Jesus prayed this prayer, He was prostrate on the sod of Palestine. He was very much “in the world,” but mentally and spiritually He was already aloof from His enemies and was, in a spiritual sense, untouchable by them. His heart and mind were well connected to Heaven and to His disciples. It didn’t matter what was immediately around the corner in His life, His connection with Heaven was undeterred. He was here, but not here. He was ready because He had already made the commitment to the Father. His commitment would keep Him true to Himself and to the Father while going through the greatest trauma of His fleshly life. He had nothing more to prove. No works were left undone. Now, He had nothing more to do, but die.
Even after He ascended, He maintained a connection with His disciples. His ability to be in both worlds simultaneously is Divine. The power and mode of that connection He maintains and shares with His disciples. For a Christian to not take advantage of this connection is sheer negligence and spiritual suicide.
“these are in the world” –“But these” – an adversative contrast between He and His disciples showing that they were staying behind to conduct heaven’s business while He ascended.
Just as Jesus was in the world, but not of the world, even so are we to be in the world, but not of the world. This is a call to be different, to imitate the Father while walking in the world. We are to walk with the citizens of the world while not acting like them. We are to engage the worldly in conversation while not stooping to their level of speech, but lifting them to lofty heights by Holy words. We are to befriend the world while leading them, sometimes without their knowing they are being led, but other times while overtly and clearly showing to them our true nature and belief. We are to declare our beliefs without being intimidating, yet make clear judgment that some things of the world cannot be tolerated and are not acceptable in our lives. When we draw this line of distinction between us and the world, we cannot be the ones who cross it less we be called hypocrites. The Christian must not be moved. We must be sincere and different in ways the world will notice and accept as believable. (cf. Romans 12: 1-2)
“So keep them safe by the power of the name that you have given me” (Jn. 17:11). When Jesus ascended, He left His apostles behind and gave them a name, and oh what a name. Jesus used this name often to invoke peace, comfort, healing and salvation. It was a name the Father shared with Jesus and that Jesus shares with us. In Matthew 28: 19 we are commanded to baptize disciples into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This baptism is into the family name of God. (cf. Mt. 28: 18-19; Acts 4: 12)
The name Jesus left behind would unlock mysteries and open doors. The mystery begins to present itself in the Garden of Eden and is carried through the flood, the Red Sea, the bloodline of Abraham and through the shed blood of the prophets of old. Its answer begins to be fulfilled at the birth of Jesus and climaxes in His crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. It is the story of salvation, the greatest story ever told. (Ephesians 3: 1-13)
The power Jesus left behind was from the Father to carefully attend to the needs of His disciples and guard, guide and preserve them unto eternal life. He desired they remain in the physical state and be protected to fulfill their mission. God’s preserving power is through His name, arousing emotion when spoken or heard and has supreme rank and authority over all our interests and pleasures and commands and expects excellence in the deeds of those who own the name.
God’s power may be subtle now, but will be clearly manifest later. He will not force control over anyone. His control over man now is through His influence over our lives. We follow Him because we know He loves us. We are not afraid to entrust our lives to His philosophies because He sacrificed for us. We believe in His power because we have tested His word and found Him to be true.
The authority Jesus left behind is in the name of God. When an act is done in His name, it is by His authority. When a doctrine is spoken, it is in His name and by His authority. For example, Jesus instructed His church to baptize into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Disciples are baptized into the Divine family name by the authority and power of His name
This is both an action and a doctrine. Peter said there is no other name given among men by which we must be saved. Paul said that whatsoever we do in word or deed to do all in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Authority to act is given in the Testament which is sealed by the blood of Christ. All action taught in this testament has His sanction and is commanded of us. This testament not only has the power of Law, but it is law.
Obedience elevates the believer to the true pinnacle of happiness and oneness with God. The one who is one with God will be kept by Him. The boils of life will come, but the believer’s faith will not fester.
Usage in John:
NAME: Jn. 2:23; 3: 18; 5: 43; 10: 25; 12: 13, 28; 14: 13, 14; 14: 14, 26; 15: 16, 21; 16: 23, 24, 26; 17: 6, 11, 12, 26; 18: 10; 20: 31.
Here are a few things that are done in the name of God. These are listed to get you started. Use any concordance to lookup “name” and notice what is to be done or is received.
Assurance, 1 Jo 5:13; Authority, John 5:43; Joh 10:3, 25; 12:28; 14:26; 1Co 1:10, 13; 5:4; Col 3:17; Jas 5:10, 14; Conviction, Mt 19:29; Devotion; Mt 21:9; 23:39; Mr 11:9; Mr 13:13; Lu 1:49; Earthly Glory, Re 3:1; Fellowship, Mt 18:20; Glory, Ac 15:14, 17; Ac 15:26; 19:17; 21:13; 26:9; Ro 1:5; 2:24; 9:17; 15:9; Eph 3:15; 5:20; Php 2:9; 2Th 1:12; 1Ti 6:1; 2Ti 2:19; Heb 1:4; 2:12; 6:10; 13:15; Jas 2:7; 1Pe 4:14, 16; 1Jo 2:12; 3:23; 3Jo 1:7; Re 2:3, 13; 3:8, 12; 11:18; Re 14:1; 15:4; Indwelling, Ac 8:16; Melchizedek/Glory, Heb 7:2; Miracles, Ac 3:6; 4:10, 30; Prayer, Lu 11:2; Joh 14:13, 14; Joh 16:23, 24; Religious Practice, Mt 7:22; 10:42; 18:5; Mr 9:37, 41; Salvation, Mt 12:21.
“That they may be one.” Jesus prayer had a purpose. As such He taught us how to pray. The first objective is to praise the Father; the second is pray with a purpose. The Christian’s life has been described as one that should be purpose drive. So should be the Christian’s prayer. One of Jesus’ purposes in this prayer was for the unity of believers. His description of unity is oneness of will and spirit. This oneness is described by the combination verb Jesus used, “eiv en” or "into one." (verse 23). It is not that they should all worship at the same address, but that they should be of oneness of spirit as was shown at the supper on the very evening that Jesus spoke this prayer (Luke 22:24; John 13:4-15). The model of this unity is also seen in the unity of the Trinity.
“None of them is lost except the son of perdition” It is a personal tragedy to be known as the “son of perdition.” Judas was among the ones given to Jesus by the Father, but he refused to fully yield his will to Jesus. Jesus still claimed ownership of him until he was lost to all. Jesus would have saved Judas had he come to Jesus for forgiveness, but instead he committed suicide. There is no sin too great for Jesus to forgive or too strong that He cannot help us to overcome. Suicide cements a finality that cannot be revoked when instead forgiveness could have been sought and wrongs righted and consciences cleaned. Sins that are in place can never be forgiven when the blood of Christ could have provided the solution. Nothing changes in eternity. Everything can change on this side of death. Judas could have avoided being the son of perdition and so can we.
Judas was obviously imperfect, yet God gave him every chance to change so that he could be used by God. He was given the same authority and responsibilities as the other apostles. He could have seen the benefit of Jesus’ wisdom and message, but he did not. Jesus knew ahead of time how Judas would ultimately be filled with greed and jealousy and betray Him, yet He used Judas anyway. This greed and jealousy can possess us all except for the paths we take and the decisions we make.
Jesus’ use of Judas leaves us full of questions, yet one answer is clear. We are all imperfect and any one of us could be a son of perdition, yet Jesus still invites us and chooses to use us and dares anyone else to discount us a servant of God. Jesus did not deny Judas until he manifest himself as the son of perdition. He was not out of Jesus’ reach until he died at the end of a rope. God gives us the benefit of opportunity and does not revoke it until time ends for us. Judas clearly tossed it away and rejected it out of hand, and so can we as if to betray our savior.
There are always those among us who need forgiveness, those who have stumbled horribly along the way. If we follow human nature to push them away we may cement their condemnation. If we reach out in Christian love to uplift and strengthen them we may save a soul. Let us not forget that our job is to save and NOT condemn.
Don’t let anyone tell you there is nothing in a name. By which name would you prefer to be called – Son of God or son of perdition? Perdition is defined as, “destroying, utter destruction – of vessels; a perishing, ruin, destruction – of money or the destruction which consists of eternal misery in hell.” (see Strong’s Number 684) Perdition is a reference to the source of a behavior or lifestyle and its destiny, not a celebrity. The lifestyle(s) herein referenced are fueled by hell. No one person is intended by scripture to be known as a prophecied son of perdition.
In the King James Version, “perdition” (a translation of apolia) is found in John 17: 12 (Judas); Philippians 1: 28 (terror incited by adversaries is a sign of their perdition); 2 Thess. 2: 3 (the falling away would follow the revealing of the man of sin); 1 Tim. 6: 9 (lusts drown men in perdition); Heb. 10: 39 (drawing away from Christ is unto perdition); 2 Peter 3: 7 (fire is reserved for perdition of ungodly); Revelaton 17: 8, 11 (the beast will go into perdition). It is the influence of satan and the powers of hell that would foster and nurture the falling away.
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