The Father gave us to the Son, who gave us His Father's words, giving you salvation.
John 17:6-12 (NIV)
CONTEXT: We began this chapter, which contains the prayer Jesus lifted to His Father in the moments before He was arrested, yesterday.
6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
Canons of Dordt
Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election
7 - Election
Election is God’s unchangeable purpose by which he did the following:
Before the foundation of the world,
by sheer grace, according to the free good pleasure of his will,
God chose in Christ to salvation
a definite number of particular people
out of the entire human race,
which had fallen by its own fault from its original innocence into sin and ruin.
Those chosen were neither better nor more deserving than the others, but lay with them in the common misery.
God did this in Christ,
whom he also appointed from eternity to be the mediator,
the head of all those chosen, and the foundation of their salvation.
And so God decreed
to give to Christ those chosen for salvation,
and to call and draw them effectively into Christ’s fellowship through the Word and Spirit.
In other words, God decreed
to grant them true faith in Christ, to justify them,
to sanctify them,
and finally, after powerfully preserving them in the fellowship of the Son, to glorify them.
God did all this in order to demonstrate his mercy, to the praise of the riches of God’s glorious grace.
Summary
As Jesus continues His prayer, He gives us a fascinating insight into His trinitarian role and relationship with His Father. One of Jesus' primary missions in becoming Immanuel (God with us) was to reveal the Father to those the Father gave to Him. This sentence has profound implications on the scope and breadth of your salvation.
Expressed in the simplest terms, Jesus saved you by atoning (paying) for your sins in His death on the cross, conquering death three days later as He rose from the grave, and fulfilling your obligation to perfectly obey God as He triumphantly ascended into heaven. But in more abstract terms, Jesus saved you by revealing His Father, making God's sovereign, saving grace evident. In other words, your salvation is the result of you truly knowing God through His Son. This is why we continually push you to know God more and more.
But there's one word that sticks out more than any other in this short passage since Jesus used it eight times: gave. As Jesus reflects on His earthly ministry in the hours before He goes to the cross, it becomes evident just how involved our Father is in bringing salvation to His people. Jesus unpacks a number of transactions, so to speak, between Him, the Father, and those He came to save.
Dig Deeper
Following the flow of Jesus' prayer in this paragraph is a bit like trying to keep your eye on the ball during a fast paced volley - you need to keep your head on a swivel and track all that is given:
Jesus revealed the Father to those the Father gave to Him;
The Father gave them to Jesus, and they obeyed the Word (Jesus);
They know that everything the Father gave Jesus came from the Father.
Jesus gave them the words
the Father gave Him,
and they accepted them.
Jesus' concern is not for the world in general, but rather for those the Father has given to Him,
for they are the Father's.
Everything Jesus has is the Father's,
All that the Father has belongs to Jesus.
The Father gave His powerful name to Jesus,
Jesus prays that the Father would protect them [us] by the power of God's name;
While He was with us, Jesus protected us and kept us safe by the name the Father gave Him.
As you continue with your day, be mindful of all of the ways you've been handed back and forth between God the Father and His Son in order to accomplish your salvation. Remember that you remain in these very same hands, protected and preserved by God's powerful grace, which is far stronger than you are.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who gave you to His Son that you might come to truly know Him;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that glory will come to Christ in the way you live;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Acts 16
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