RUSSELL SANDERS
8-2-2020
OUR LORD’S PRAYER – JOHN 17
LESSON 25 OF 25 VS. 26
Jesus’ prayer to the Father continues.
“And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will
(continue to)
declare it,
(so)
that the love wherewith Thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
(end of prayer.)
Jesus declared the Father’s name by teaching them His attributes. The Old Covenant scriptures often described God in this manner by attaching an attribute as a suffix to His name. Using the KJV name of Jehovah, we see it in forms such as Jehovah-jireh, or Jehovah-rapha, or Jehovah-nissi, or various others. (Perhaps we shall study these names.)
But, the more intimate name He revealed was “Abba”, which would be our equivalent of “Dad” or “Daddy,” instead of the more formal “father.” Personally, I never ever addressed my Dad as “father.” It just didn’t feel right; it was too distant feeling. Even my grandfather was only addressed as “granddad” or “granddaddy.” That is the “close” feeling in “Abba” that Jesus revealed of His Father.
“That the love (with which) You have loved me may be (imparted into) them, and (also impart me into) them.”
(My paraphrase.)
This was Jesus’ prayer for a supernatural impartation of “God-love,” a love beyond our natural ability to love all people. The original Greek word is “agape.” In I John 4, vs. 8 and 16 it says,
“God is love.”
It is His very nature, so Jesus is asking Father to impart His very nature of love into us.
“and I (into) them.”
Jesus also speaks for His life, His spirit, to be imparted into us. This is the nature of our relationship with God; both Father and Son, together as ONE, imparted into our very beings.
If you can ever truly grasp the gravity of this last sentence, it will revolutionize your walk, your life, as a child (ambassador) of God. Then, you will truly be ready to fulfill John 14:12.
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