John Calvin Commentary John 17:26

"and I made known unto them thy name, and will make it known; that the love wherewith thou lovedst me may be in them, and I in them." — John 17:26 (ASV)

And I have declared to them your name, and will declare it. Christ fulfilled the office of Teacher, but, to make known the Father, he employed the secret revelation of the Spirit, and not the sound of his voice alone. He means, therefore, that he taught the apostles efficaciously. Besides, their faith being very weak at that time, he promises greater progress for the future, and thus prepares them to expect more abundant grace of the Holy Spirit. Though he speaks of the apostles, we should draw from this a general exhortation to strive for constant progress, and not to think that we have run so well that we do not still have a long journey before us, as long as we are in the flesh.

That the love with which you have loved me may be in them; that is, that you may love them in me, or, that the love with which you have loved me may be extended to them. For, strictly speaking, the love with which God loves us is no other than that with which he loved his Son from the beginning, so as to make us also acceptable to him, and capable of being loved in Christ. And indeed, as was said a little before, as far as relates to us, apart from Christ, we are hated by God, and he only begins to love us when we are united to the body of his beloved Son. It is an invaluable privilege of faith that we know that Christ was loved by the Father for our sake, so that we might be made partakers of the same love, and might enjoy it forever.

And I in them. This clause deserves our attention, for it teaches us that the only way we are included in that love he mentions is that Christ dwells in us. For, as the Father cannot look upon his Son without also having before his eyes the whole body of Christ, so, if we wish to be seen in him, we must actually be his members.

CHAPTER 18.