John 17 (Five) Which Name Is One

Good day

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen.

To pick up the topic, you may need to read the one or two postings preceding this one.

“And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled,” (John 17:11, 12).

Usually if we want our prayers to have authority we pray in the name of Jesus, since to Him belongs all authority. “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me,’” (Matthew 28:18), and in Philippians 2:4-11: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

As we can see, because Jesus was prepared to be the least, He became the highest authority that ever existed. He therefore was a living example of the principle He worded in Matthew 23:12: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” It is interesting, though, that He said in John 17:11 He received His Father’s name and that this name united Jesus and His Father. What is this name? Is it actually the name ‘Jesus’, which means Saviour, since Jesus is definitely not Father God’s name?

Let us go right back to where God introduced Himself to Moses at the burning bush. We read in Exodus 3:2: “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.” As we know, when the Bible refers to ‘the angel of the Lord’ it actually refers to Jesus. When Moses asked God what His name was, he received the answer in Genesis 3:14, 15: “God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’ God also said to Moses, ‘Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.’”

This is the name that united Jesus and His Father. They are I AM, the LORD. They simply are, and have nothing to explain to those who doubt them, who try to figure out where they come from and generally who try to understand them. That is what unites them – their uniqueness, power, omniscience, omnipresence, their agape love and so on.

We just need to remain in that name - nothing to explain or understand, but only to believe. We need to believe that in Christ we are, just as they are. We are, because through some unexplainable miracle when we got born again we have received a new spirit, our sins are forgiven and we are counted as family of the Almighty God. Because of their uniqueness Jesus and His Father is one and it is the same uniqueness that would make us one, providing that we realise how unique we are and not crave to be like everyone else.

One of the major problems people are facing is peer pressure. At school, but actually throughout our lives we are pressurised to conform to a certain manner of living. Fashion tendencies, the type of furniture we have, the cars we drive, the type of social life we have, and so on determine our behaviour and in many ways affect the unity amongst Christians. This is why Jesus warned us against the power of the god of money (Matthew 6:24). The less we need to compromise in terms of the outside appearance, the more unique we will be together in our internal oneness. To Jesus His Father is everything, and doing His Father’s will is life. To bear His Father’s name and be in one spirit with Him is the reason of Jesus’ existence. We bear the same name, but how much does it mean to us? To be continued.

Lord, I really want to be one with you and your children.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.