Safe and Secure

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

SAFE AND SECURE

John 17:6-12

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.

NIV

Within these words, it is evident Jesus was speaking directly about the twelve he had called out of the world. However, because we know all of scripture is for our benefit in that it is for the purpose of correcting, rebuking, teaching, and training in righteousness so we will be fully equipped. Therefore we have to take these words as applicable to our lives. It does give the impression that the twelve, and that would extend to us, already belonged to the Father and he picked them, and us, out to give to Jesus. That almost sounds like predestination. Jesus said he revealed the Father to whom the Father gave to Jesus out of the world. First, if we belonged to the Father, what were we doing in the world? We think the idea is that all mankind belongs to the Father as we are all his creation. It also makes sense that our faith is a gift from God. He gives every man a measure of faith. We do not know if there are various measures of faith, except that we also know that God does not show favoritism and thus we have to believe every man gets the same measure. So then through this gift of faith, we leave the world and come to Jesus. As long as we are in the world, we really do not know God. We might know of him, but he has not truly been revealed to us until we come to Jesus. Once we accept Jesus, once we obeyed his word, which is accepting Jesus, he then reveals the true nature of the Father to us. Having the word, having Jesus, who is the Word who became flesh and made his dwelling with us, we know with certainty that He came from the Father. Jesus prays for their protection, thus also for ours as we no longer belong to the world, but to Jesus. Again, although we always belonged to the Father because we are his creation, which means we also always belonged to Jesus as he and the Father are one and everything that was created was through Jesus. Yet, still for our better understanding, Jesus became a man, and showed us the relationship we should have with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, or simply put, God. What does the protection of God mean? Because most of the disciples ended up being killed for their faith, it would not appear the Father answered Jesus’s prayer. How is being killed for our faith being kept safe? Perhaps it has more to do with being lost, as Judas was. To be protected from the wiles of the world. To be protected from the being consumed by the temptations of the devil. To be kept safe in our salvation, or our eternal life. That almost sounds like eternal security, but it is not. The idea is that as long as we are in Jesus, the Father keeps us safe. We can of our own choice, like Judas betray Jesus, and then all bets are off. We are no longer safe. Of course, Judas may have been hand-picked for this job, so the scripture would be fulfilled. But Jesus knew all along the character of Judas, and we have been told that he was a thief and a liar all along, helping himself to money that was given to support Jesus and his disciples and their ministry. That could also give us a clue about how there might be some wolves in sheep’s clothing today, who are simply helping themselves, taking what was given to others for their own benefit. But they too are doomed to destruction. We do not listen to them, the Father has given us to Jesus, and we hear his voice. The Spirit has given or manifests his discernment and our spirit then bears as to what is true and what is not. We are kept safe by the seal of the Spirit placed on us as a guarantee of our inherence of eternal life. We are safe and secure in Jesus.