…that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.
Sometimes Jesus talks about himself in the third person. He starts out asking his Father to “… Glorify your Son…” Somehow this seems important. The words needed to be said but Jesus wants it known that it is not about him. He does not ask his Father to glorify “Me.” That would seem awkward and self-serving. So, he resorts to the third person, “Glorify your Son that your Son may glorify you.”
In the same way, he speaks about this authority. This use of the third person voice is also called the “Royal ‘We’.” It is the way royalty speaks because they speak not only for themselves as a person but also for the nation as a whole. They literally speak for all their people when they speak. In the same way, Jesus speaks for the Trinity. He speaks not for himself alone but also for God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He speaks for all his kingdom; his angelic beings, and all who the Father has “given him.”
Then we get to the heart of this passage. God gives Jesus four things in this chapter:
- Glory from the Father so that he might glorify the Father.
- Authority over all people. Not some people, not only believers but all people.
- The power to grant eternal life.
- People for himself. Jesus has been given people to grant eternal life to.
Are you one of those people? Have you been given to Jesus so that he can grant you eternal life?
We live in a world full of people who deny the existence of God. It is like people in the days of Paul’s missionary journeys who believed in other gods. We also live in a world where the Church, the body of Jesus on earth, is fractured into hundreds if not thousands of different parts.
So who among us has been given to Jesus? There are a lot of people who claim to know. There is only one person who knows for certain: Jesus knows. For the rest of us, it is a matter of faith.
Food for Thought: What do you tell someone who wants to know if they can have eternal life?
1 John 5: 11 – 13 comes to mind. So does John 5: 24 and a good section of John 10.
Rich,
Great verses!
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5: 13
and
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24
I find it interesting that in Isaiah 1:18 God says to the sinner,”Come now, let us reason together…though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow…” yet many reject the invitation. Paul said to the Jews in Acts 13:46, …seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. “ Sadly, I have seen much more of the latter than the former. God puts more value on a lost man’s soul than the lost man. If he only understood how valuable his soul is to God. Starting with Romans 3:23, 5:8 and John 3:16 are always a good place to start.
JEC,
Thank you for the additional perspective. I love the point you make: “If [man] only understood how valuable his soul is to God.”
Amen!
It is, I think, another way of saying that we a deeply loved by our Creator.
Great perspective JEC. I like your statement that God places more value on the lost mans soul than the lost man does. Well said.
“For the rest of us it is a matter of Faith”
Jeff this is so true, Faith is so foundational. I was in a small weekly /coffee gathering and one person was struggling with his walk. I felt led to share a simple illustration I had heard and been taught early on in my life. Our walk with Christ can have so many derailments when the Train were on gets a little mixed up. It’s important to have our train led by the Engine of Faith fueled by the coal car of Facts in His Word and lastly encouraged by the Caboose of feelings.. We see many so called biblical professors in liberal arts colleges that have the cold hearted coal car facts of the Bible nailed down without any Faith or Feelings, it is an intellectual exercise only. We see many people that are frequently or easily derailed because they lead with the caboose of feelings that takes them all over the map. The most stable and growing Christians I have witnessed in my lifetime consistently drive a stake in the ground committing to be led by Faith, Facts, Feelings.
Anon,
Thank you for sharing! You make a great point. We are not machines that run on facts alone. We are not animals that rely on feelings and instinct alone. We are spiritual beings. When called by God we find affirmation in the facts, encouragement in the feelings given by the Spirit, and direction in our lives led by Faith.
Blessings!