Hello and welcome to the broadcast. We call it plain and simple. We're looking in John chapter 17. Have your Bible ready. you. Reading in John 17, it says, These words spake Jesus, and lift up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come. Glorify thy son, that thy son may also glorify thee, as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on earth, I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do, and now, O Father, glorify Thou me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." Now it starts out with these words, these words. What words is he referring to? Well, he could be referring to the words that he has been speaking for the past previous chapters here. However, if we look at chapter 18 and verse number 1, when Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron. Now, it would seem that these words then specifically would be referring to what he is going to say in chapter 18. If you want a good, in chapter 17, I should say, if you want a good study, The phrase, these words, is found seven times in the book of John. It would be a good study. Now, in chapter 18, it says, when he had spoken these words, he is speaking to his father, but he is speaking for the benefit of the disciples who are listening to him as they walk towards the Garden of Gethsemane. And he is also, of course, speaking for our benefit. Verse one says, he lifted up his eyes. That phrase is found three times in John, another good study if you want it. Father, he said, the hour is come. Now that hour was set and eternity passed before the world began. Now this chapter breaks down into three sections in verse number one through five. he is praying and he is focusing on himself. And then from verses 6 through 19, the focus is on his disciples. And then from verse 20 on through 26, the focus is on us. And now I want to mention this verse number two, as thou has given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him. Thou has given him." Now this is one of those favorite verses that the Calvinists use to say that, you know, some are elected and some are not. The only way the doctrine of Calvinism can stand is if you totally take the verses out of the context in which they are presented. He said, Thou has given him. Who is he referring to here? Well, the answer is very simple. And if you keep it in its context, and if you want to find the context of a portion of Scripture, just keep on reading. And if you get down to verse number six, Jesus said, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. He is talking about those eleven men that are walking with him on the way to Gethsemane. In verse number nine he said, I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. And then in verse number 12, it gets even more plain, it says, while I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled. And so when it's talking here about those that God had given him, he's talking about those disciples that God had given him for his ministry when he was here on earth. He said, I haven't lost any of them except Judas, the son of perdition, which it was prophesied in the first place what he would do. Now, I want to read this verse by verse down through here and see what he's saying, particularly about those men. He says in verse 6, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world, Thine they were, and Thou gavest me them, and they have kept Thy word." Thou gavest me, past tense, this has nothing to do with people who are going to be saved in the next 2,000 years. Verse 7, now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee, they, who, those disciples. Verse 8, for I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me. It's very obvious here, it's past tense, he's not talking about He doesn't say, I'm going to give unto them two thousand years down the road. He is talking about those eleven men who are walking with him towards Gethsemane. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. It doesn't get much plainer than that. He went on to say in verse 9, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. He's referring to his disciples. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come unto thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me. that they may be one as we are. While I was with them in the world, was he with you in the world? No, he wasn't. He was with those men. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. And those that thou gavest me, those men, I have kept, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word." Notice, it's past tense. "...and the world hath hated them." Not going to hate them. I have hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth. Thy word is truth. And as Thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes, I sanctify myself that they also might be sanctified through the truth." And so we have seen that in the first five verses, his focus was on himself. From verse 6 on through to verse 19, his focus was totally and completely on those disciples that were with him that night. Then in verse 20 through 26, his focus is on the rest of us. He says, verse number 20, Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. Now he's talking about us. That they all may be one as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. and the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, and that they may be one even as we are one." Verse 23 continues, "...I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, and hast loved me." Now notice in verse number 20, he says, Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also, which shall believe on me through thy word. When he was talking about the people that God, the men that God had given to Jesus for service, he says, Thou has given me. He didn't say that about the rest of us getting saved. He said, Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also, which shall believe on me through their word. Big difference here. Now notice what he says about us being one, that they all may be one as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may know that thou hast sent me. And a couple more times he refers to us as being one. Now, we look and we say, well, they're anything but one. Christendom is so divided. What is he talking about here when he talks about us all being one? Jesus already said back in Matthew 5 and 23, thy brother, if thy brother has fought against thee, he knew they weren't always going to be one. In Matthew 18 and 5, he says, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go to him alone and talk to him. He knew we were going to have problems. Matthew 18 and 21, Peter says, how oft do I have to forgive my brother? Jesus knew we were going to have problems. Luke 17 and 3, if thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him. Well, that doesn't sound like they're all one. 1 Timothy 5, 20, it says, them that sin, rebuke before all. Where's the unity there? 2 Timothy 4, 2, reprove, rebuke. Titus 1.3, rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith. It doesn't sound like they're all one, and Jesus knew all this before he talked about being all one here in this prayer in John chapter 17. In 1 Corinthians 5 and 12, he says that we were to judge them that are within. It's talking about church discipline. Obviously there's not one in unity there. And what about Paul and Barnabas in Acts chapter 15 when the Bible says there was a sharp contention between them and they went their separate ways. Jesus knew all this when he said that they may be one as we are one. What was he talking about here? He's talking about that they all may be one. They all may be one. That means if you're in Canada, or if you're in Australia, or if you're in Japan, or if you're anywhere in the world, that all of those who believe on Him may be one. 1 Corinthians 12, 13 says, for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body. Ephesians 2.1 says, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body, by the cross. Ephesians 4.4 says, there is one body and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. Colossians 3.15 says, ye are called in one body. This is not a license that we can just get into trouble with everybody. He says here in 1 Thessalonians 5 and 13, he says, be at peace among yourselves. And so the key here is found in verse number 26. He said, And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. There's the secret for having peace among ourselves. He wasn't saying we would never have problems. As long as we're in the flesh, we're going to have problems with that old nature. But where we can beat that problem is what he said here in verse number 26, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them. But we read in chapter 18 when Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the Boquedron, where was the garden into the which he entered and his disciples. It's interesting that God would put that in here, the brook Kedron. It was the Passover time and of course there was thousands upon thousands of lambs being slaughtered at that particular time. As these lambs were being slaughtered, they had built a trench that would go down into this brook, Kedron, and the blood from these lambs would go down through that trench. And the brook, Kedron, would actually be a little river of blood. And it's interesting that Jesus, who is the Passover lamb, was crossing over that brook. I think that's probably why it's made reference to here. Well, it says in verse number two, and Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place where Jesus oft times resorted thither with his disciples. Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward and fell to the ground. Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he. If therefore ye seek me, let these go their way, that the saying might be fulfilled which ye spake of them which thou hast given me. I have lost none. Well, we get into verse 10, and Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it, and now he is going to protect Jesus against all these people. I guess you gotta give him straight A's for his heart, but his brain's not working very well. And we'll see that. We're out of time. We'll get into the next part of this chapter in our next broadcast. Be sure to tune in. We'll try to make it plain, and we'll try to make it simple. you.