Episode 113 - Keep God's "Word" - John 17:6-8

John 17:6   “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.

Here are three verses packed with theological significance. If you’ve read Exodus, it begins with the Hebrew nation enslaved in Egypt. God sent Moses to Egypt to deliver the Hebrews out of bondage to the land that God had promised their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. One of Moses’ first questions to God was “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” (Ex. 3:13) The Egyptians worshipped multiple gods. The Hebrews are going to want to know which god this is? The response to Moses was, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.” (v. 14) Just like Moses was used by God to reveal God’s name and therefore, His identity, to the people in generations past, Jesus did the same thing among the Hebrew nation of his day.

Jesus adds that these people were given to him by the Father and “they have kept your word.” Do you remember the very first verse of this book? “In the beginning was the Word . . .” (John 1:1) The word for “Word” in the Greek language is “logos.” There is another Greek word for “word” and that “rhema.” Here in John 17:6 Jesus says, “they have kept your word (from logos).  Jesus is saying that those the Father has given to him have kept or guarded Jesus. He is the “logos” of God. In verse eight Jesus says, “I have given them the words (from “rhema”)  that you gave me, and they have received them . . .” We’ve seen throughout this book that Jesus only spoke and did what he received from the Father. The words (rhema) that he spoke were received by them. But, they guarded (valued and kept) God’s “logos” Jesus. 

Not always comprehending the full meaning of what Jesus said, Peter confessed, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68) The author of the New Testament letter Hebrews begins his letter, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

I think that is a valuable lesson for us. We believe that the Bible contains the words from God. It’s important to read the Scriptures and strive to understand them. But, unless we value and keep Jesus, we are missing the point. Like Peter, we don’t understand everything. But, we can and should resort to simply say, “But, I trust in Jesus. All things are in his hands and he is the most complete expression of God revealed to humankind.

Episode 4 - In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind

By now it should be obvious that one of my goals is for you to see the strong association John is making between “the Word” and the God spoken of in Genesis 1 who created the spheres of life and the plant, animal, and human life within them as well as everything necessary to sustain that physical life.

One of the important things for life to exist is light. For example, light is required for photosynthesis to occur. Photosynthesis is the way green plants make food. In the beginning, according to Genesis 1:2, the universe was dark and chaotic with no apparent life forms at all apart from God.

The first thing God does is to create light. Then, He separates the light from the darkness and calls the light “good.” What does that indicate about the darkness?

So, as we continue reading this introduction, John says, “In him was life . . .” Genesis 1 says that God was the one who possessed and gave life. John 1 draws another connection of the Word to the Creator, life-giving God of Genesis 1. The focus in Genesis 1 is clearly more on the creation of life itself. The Greek word used in John 1:4 for life certainly is often intended to speak of life itself. But, it can also be translated as the sustenance of life. As we continue through John, ask yourself if John is also demonstrating the Word as one that sustains life.

John’s thoughts concerning the Word expands quickly to say that “the life (in the Word) was the light of men/mankind.” He says more about the light in the following verse. But, stop here and write some of your own thoughts on why John says this. Why is this important? Why is it important for the Word which has life be light for mankind?