Charles Spurgeon Commentary John 17:11

"And I am no more in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we [are]." — John 17:11 (ASV)

And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

It has been well said that this expression, "My Father," is a binding up of the Old and New Testaments in one. The Old Testament reveals the holiness of God, but it is the New Testament that is uniquely the revelation of God as the Father. We put the two together, as Jesus does, and so he speaks, "Holy Father, make my people one, and keep them one." Let us close up our ranks, brothers.

Let us love each other more; and as Christ has prayed that we may be one, let us constantly seek to manifest our oneness among humankind.

And I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

Oh, what blessed keeping is that: to be kept in spiritual oneness!

I do not expect to see the people of God in visible oneness; but as there was a secret, invisible union, most real and most true, between the Father and the Son, so there is, at this time, a secret union in the hearts of all believers, most deep, most real, most true.

I may never have seen that good friend before; but as soon as we begin to talk of Jesus and his love, if we are the living children of the living God, the bond of unity is felt at once by both of us. One is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

But these are in the world,–

We know we are; do we not, brothers? We have a thousand things—some of them very painful and humiliating to us—to remind us that we are still in the world.

And now I am no more in the world,–

He was going away; he has gone now.

And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, –

We also know that we, too, are in the world; we have good reason to feel it, and sometimes to mourn it.

And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

Here is a prayer, then, for the preservation and the unity of the people of God; two very necessary petitions. Oh, that they might be fulfilled in us, that we might be kept, and kept even to the end, and then kept in living union with all the people of God, and with the Father and with the Son!

Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

See the plaintive power of this prayer of a tender heart. First, our Lord shows his love by praying for us, and then by dying for us.

Notice what importance he attaches to the unity of his people: that they may be one, as we are. Let us all try to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

I suppose that, while we are in this world, we shall never all think alike; but let us all think alike about our Lord, and gather to his name, and feel a holy unity through his Spirit.

When shall it be again said that all Christ's disciples have one lord, one faith, one baptism? Alas! they rent his seamless robe, and it still remains torn through the schisms and errors which divide his people one from another.

Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

This was as though he had said, "You have given them to me, my Father, to become my bride; and now I am about to die, and to return to you, I give back this bride of mine into your charge. Take care of her, I pray you, till I can come back again, and receive her to myself." There is such holy unity between these Divine Persons of the Godhead that the Father first gives the elect to Christ, and then Christ commits the elect into the Father's keeping.

And I come to you. Holy Father, keep through your own name those whom you have given me, that they may be one, as we are.

When God keeps us, he keeps us in unity; our divisions are not the result of his work. When we get away from his keeping, and get away from his Word, then we are separated in heart from him and from one another; but by his keeping he keeps his children one.

Holy Father, keep through Your own name those whom You have given me, that they may be one, as we are.

Do all that you can, beloved, to promote the unity of the people of God, not only on the larger scale, where all churches shall be brought together in loving accord, but also on the smaller scale among your own friends, and those fellow Christians who are in your own church. Let none of us break the concord. Oh! may we always be of a gentle, generous, Christlike spirit, that we may be one, as the Father is one with the Son.