THE LORD'S HEARTFELT PRAYER - PART 2

SATURDAY 01 JULY 2023

Jesus prayed to His Father saying, "I have given them Your word; and the world has despised them because they are not products of the world, in the same way that I am not a product of the world." And as He prayed, the disciples were present listening to His words. Why? I think that it was quite relevant to remind the disciples of their belief and confidence in God. Remember that he was almost due to leave them and go back to heaven. So He prayed, "Now I am returning to You, Father. I am speaking this prayer here in the created cosmos alongside friends and foes so that in hearing it they might be consumed with joy" (verse 13 of the VOICE). More below!

Reference: John 17:14-15 New International Version(NIV) 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. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

The next versified statement is, "For they are not of the world any more than I am of the world." This is an affirmation of their origin. Jesus would no longer be physically present with them in the world but they would remain in the world. A man may believe in Jesus because of His personal presence and accept all that is said about Him, and yet not trust in the Lord or comply with His Word when Jesus is out of sight. So the prayer was of paramount importance in order to sustain them in the world in His absence and keep them firm in fulfilling His purpose on earth.

Jesus said to His Father, "In this moment in time, fuse our collective glory and bring us together as we were before creation existed." This is indeed a high priestly prayer. The prayer point is out of this world. It simply means, "Now, Father, glorify me together with Yourself, with the glory and majesty that I had with You before the world existed." Now watch this: anything that was in existence before the world existed, is eternity. Jesus was speaking of His eternality or foreverhood with God, which goes beyond just being a heavenly man or citizen. Bear in mind that Philippians 3:20 reads, "But [we are different, because] our citizenship is in heaven. And from there we eagerly await [the coming of] the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ..." However, this is not our main origin, because heaven and earth were created on the same day and Jesus existed before both creation (see Genesis 1:1 NIV).

Now watch this: If we are in Christ, we equally belong to where He came from, meaning that we existed before heaven was made. We simply need to have access to our citizenship when we get to heaven. That's the reason Philippians 3:20 specifically noted, "Our citizenship is in heaven." Notice that it says, "It is in heaven", not really that we are citizens of heaven. In other words, the process is actualised in that location.

Remember that Jesus says, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." Beloved, this current heaven will pass away and then give way for a new heaven and new earth but His Word will never pass away. John noted this in Revelation 21:1 which says, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea..." (NIV).

Where are we from? Firstly, understand that God the Father and His Son, Jesus, hold the attribute of self-existence, and they are "eternity." This implies that the Godhead was never created and so, Christ exists by Himself alone, an attribute that only God the Father holds. But heaven was created. Secondly, we were born of the Word which will never pass away. Hallelujah!

To that effect, Petrine epistolary dictates defined us as, "having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever..." (1 Peter 1:23 NKJV). Do you now grasp our origin? We are from eternity; our foreverhood is unquestionable because we were born of the Word. I believe you now understand why Jesus started our referenced verse by saying, "I have given them your word and the world has hated them." Stay tuned for part 3. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Matthew 6:33; Philippians 3:20; Ephesians 1:3; Colossians 3:1-3.

Exuberant Declaration: I'm born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which lives and abides for ever. Glory to God!