The Lord’s Prayer for the Church – John 17 Introduction: This the Lord’s prayer because it is the prayer Jesus prayed for His church. The other “Lord’s Prayer” as we know it (from Mt. 6 and Lk 11), is the Lord’s instructions on how to pray. This prayer in John 17, is 600+ words, 26 verses, and takes 3 minutes to read. We know Jesus prayed regularly and privately – often all night. John 17, is the longest public prayer of Jesus recorded in the Gospel. It’s not just a prayer for the church, it is the vision of Christ for the church. It is the heart of Christ for the church, His bride, for now and in the future. In this prayer Jesus carries His bride across the threshold and into the presence of God. What does Jesus pray for, when he prays for the church? I agree with John Stott when he outlines four major petitions in this prayer: Jesus Prays for the of the Church John 17:6 (NLT), “I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8 for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me… 14 I have given them your word… 17b … teach them your word, which is truth.” “And therein we find, neglected by us, the simplest, the most accessible key to our liberation: a personal nonparticipation in lies! Even if all is covered by lies, even if all is under their rule, let us resist in the smallest way: Let their rule hold not through me! … For when people renounce lies, lies simply cease to exist. Like parasites, they can only survive when attached to a person.” - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, “Live Not by Lies.” February, 12, 1974 Jesus Prays for the of the Church John 17:13 (NLT), “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.” Jesus Prays for the of the Church John 17:18 (NLT), “Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.” John 17:25, “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. 26 I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.” John 17:3, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Jesus Prays for the of the Church John 17:20, “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.” CS Lewis, “Now the whole offer which Christianity makes is this: that we can, if we let God have His way, come to share in the life of Christ… If we share in this kind of life we also shall be sons of God. We shall love the Father as He does and the Holy Spirit will arise in us. He came to this world and became a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life He has—by what I call ‘good infection’. Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.” CONCLUSION: Jesus Prays for the of the Church John 17:24 (NLT), “Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!” Jesus still prays for the church to gather in truth, holiness, mission, and unity. Jesus still prays we will see Him in all His glory, and see Him soon. These great longings we also have for the church today, are the answers to His prayers.