Gospel of John Series Part 17 – The Glorified Life of Jesus

The Prayer of Jesus in John 17

In John 17, we encounter a prayer spoken by Jesus Christ in the presence of his disciples on the night before his crucifixion. It functions, in a meaningful sense, as his final extended instruction. The prayer unveils the depth of God’s love and acceptance—first for the Son, then for the disciples, and ultimately for all who would come to believe.

Within this moment, the Father and the Son identify their relationship as one of mutual glorification. They have loved one another since before creation and now express a shared desire to make that love visible to the world. This stands in contrast to typical human notions of glory, which are often self-referential and competitive. Here, glorification is not self-centred; it is the mutual honouring of one another within a perfect relational dynamic.

Those who come to know God through Christ are invited into this relationship. Glory, in this context, is best understood as mutual relational acceptance—an inclusion into the life shared between the Father and the Son. The result is not only the glorification of God, but also the participation of believers in that glory. Love, eternal life, and glory are not isolated attributes; they are shared realities within this relationship.

Alignment, Obedience, and Revelation

The prayer also expresses Jesus’s complete alignment with the will of the Father. His obedience is not partial or reluctant; it is total. In this dynamic, the Father accepts the Son’s obedience, and the Son fulfills the Father’s will. Through this exchange, their relationship is revealed—not only to each other, but to those who witness it. This revelation is itself described as glory.

When believers receive Jesus’s words and recognize him as sent from God, they enter into this same relational structure. Participation in this glory is not symbolic; it is experiential. To be accepted into this relationship is to be drawn into the divine life itself.

A Response of Prayer

The latter portion of the passage invites a response. The church acknowledges the love of the Father for the Son and the love of the Son for the Father. This eternal, glorified life is not distant; it is being made known in, among, and through believers.

The appropriate response is commitment—not as a means of earning this life, but as participation in it. The request is for the filling of the Holy Spirit, attentiveness to his voice, and a willingness to obey. Obedience here is not transactional; it is relational. It arises from grace and expresses a desire to share in the same fellowship, love, and alignment seen in Christ.

Obedience and the End of Self-Reliance

Obedience to God fundamentally involves relinquishing self-reliance. The narrative of Adam and Eve illustrates the opposite posture: the assumption that God has withheld something necessary, prompting the act of taking what was not given. This pattern defines much of human striving.

True obedience, by contrast, is the rejection of that assumption. It is the willingness to receive what God offers and to release the impulse to secure more through independent effort. Importantly, eternal life and glory are not granted on the basis of performance. Any act of obedience, therefore, is a response to an already extended offer, not a strategy to secure it.

What Does Jesus Mean by “Glory”?

Jesus’s request for glory may initially appear unusual. To understand it, it is helpful to draw from C. S. Lewis and his sermon The Weight of Glory. In this framework, glory is not human fame but divine approval. It is to be known and affirmed by God—to “matter” in his presence.

This reframes the concept entirely. Rather than pride, this form of glory is deeply connected to humility. To stand before one’s creator and receive approval is not self-exaltation; it is the acknowledgment of dependence and relationship. Lewis notes that the promise of such glory often feels distant, as though overheard rather than addressed to us. Yet the claim of the Gospel is that this promise is indeed personal: those who seek God will not only know him but be known by him.

Eternal Life as Relational Knowledge

In John 17, eternal life is defined relationally. It is not merely unending existence but the knowledge of God—an intimate, ongoing relationship mediated through Christ. This relationship grows over time and extends into eternity.

Jesus demonstrates this life through his own relationship with the Father: he listens, obeys, and glorifies. His earthly ministry already revealed God’s character, but the culmination comes through the cross. What appears as humiliation becomes the ultimate disclosure of divine glory. This inversion challenges conventional expectations and establishes the pattern for Christian life.

The Pattern of True Glory

The glory described in this prayer differs fundamentally from worldly glory. Worldly glory is temporary, dependent on constant effort, and often achieved at the expense of others. It requires continual ascent and competition.

By contrast, divine glory is received, not seized. It is grounded in relationship, not performance. It does not require taking what is withheld but trusting what is given. This distinction explains why Jesus prays for his disciples: he understands the difficulty of resisting alternative forms of glory and the necessity of remaining anchored through prayer.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

Jesus’s prayer for his disciples centers on protection, unity, and sanctification. His request for protection “by the power of your name” is primarily about preserving unity. This unity mirrors the oneness between the Father and the Son. It is not merely organizational but spiritual, rooted in shared alignment with God’s character and purposes.

This unity functions both internally and externally. Internally, it strengthens believers against fragmentation. Externally, it serves as a visible expression of divine life to the world. At the same time, Jesus acknowledges the presence of genuine spiritual opposition. He does not ask for removal from the world but for protection within it—specifically from the influence of evil.

Sanctification is also central. To be sanctified is to be set apart for a sacred purpose and progressively shaped in character. This process is grounded in truth, which is most clearly revealed in God’s word and in the teachings of Jesus himself. Importantly, sanctification is not a prerequisite for acceptance but its consequence.

Mission and Witness

The ultimate purpose of this unified, sanctified community is missional. The visible unity of believers serves as evidence that the Father has sent the Son. In this way, the life of the community becomes an argument for the truth of the Gospel.

This has practical implications: the relational quality of Christian community often constitutes the primary exposure others have to the message of Christ. Unity, therefore, is not incidental; it is integral to witness.

Jesus Prays for Future Believers

The prayer extends beyond the immediate disciples to include all future believers. The structure remains consistent—Jesus prays for unity—but the emphasis shifts. For the original disciples, the concern is survival amid immediate threats. For future believers, the focus is credibility and expansion through witness.

The assumption underlying this prayer is that the disciples’ testimony will be effective. Those who believe through that testimony are incorporated into the same relational life. The unity of believers becomes the means by which the world encounters the love shared between the Father and the Son.

The Glorified Life

The glorified life described in John 17 is not abstract. It is a lived participation in the relationship between the Father and the Son, characterized by love, obedience, unity, and mutual honour. It is received rather than achieved, sustained through prayer, and expressed in community.

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Resources used in this sermon and throughout the Gospel of John sermon series can be found at https://williamknelsen.com/gospel-of-john-series-bibliography/