Made Holy

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

MADE HOLY

John 17:13-19

13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

NIV

So far it would seem the world only hates Jesus, but it sure seems as though he spoke prophetically as later the world would certainly hate them enough to kill them also. It is a good thing the world does not hate us that much, although some believers are being killed because of their faith, but not like it was back in those days. Perhaps the world hated them so much because they were out there preaching Jesus a lot more than we are, although we may have encountered some hateful attitudes toward us when we bring up Jesus and accepting him as a personal Savior, being born again, as the only way to have eternal life. We also have to consider that by the power of God, in the name of Jesus, he protects us from the evil one, but there are evil people in this world who have done evil against believers. We also should understand that we who are true believers are not of this world. It would seem we should not pray that Jesus would take us out of the world, for he has in fact sent us into the world, as he sent his disciples, but we are aliens, strangers, foreigners who do not belong to this world. Our home is in heaven, and we have been sent into the world to be an ambassador for our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus prays that we would be sanctified, to be set apart, to be made holy, consecrated for the work he has set us aside to do. As ambassadors we have diplomatic immunity from the law of this world which is the law of evil which leads to destruction. We should not get too comfortable with the ways of the world. We cannot afford to assimilate into its cultural or its principles. Sure we have to live here, work here, have a place to live, clothes, food and stuff, but we do not have to abide by the same philosophies of this world. Because Jesus set himself apart, and made himself holy, if we are in Christ then we are truly set apart, made holy, we are truly sanctified.