R.A. Torrey expounds on Jesus' prayer in John 17, emphasizing its significance as a heartfelt intercession for Himself, His immediate disciples, and all believers. He highlights the themes of glorification, unity, and the gift of eternal life, illustrating how Jesus desires His followers to be sanctified and kept from evil while in the world. Torrey explains that true knowledge of God and Jesus Christ is essential for eternal life, and that believers are called to reflect the glory of Christ in their lives. The sermon underscores the importance of being one with Christ and each other, as this unity serves as a testimony to the world of God's love and truth.

DISCOVERY OF THE FACTS 1. Christ’s Prayer for Himself, vv. 1–5 With what words did Jesus close His parting discourse to His disciples? Having finished speaking to them, what did He do? Is there any connection between the discourse, especially the closing words, and the prayer. What is the meaning of the expression “the hour is come”? (c. 7:30; 8:20; 12:23, 27, 28; 13:1; Mark 14:41.) Did He draw back from that hour? He saw that hour to be the portal to what? (Compare Heb. 12:2.) What was His first petition? Why did He wish the Father to glorify Him? Had He not already glorified the Father during His earthly life? (v. 4; c. 1:14, 18.) Why, then, was it necessary that He be glorified in order to glorify the Father? What was the glorifying for which Jesus here prays? (c. 7:39; Acts 3:13; Phil. 2:9–11; 1 Peter 1:21.) What reason did Jesus first urge why God should glorify Him (v. 2)? How is that a reason? What did Jesus say the Father had bestowed upon Him? How great was this “authority over all flesh” (R. V.)? (3:35; 5:21–23, 27; Matt. 11:27; Heb. 2:8.) What two opposite sides of truth about the relation of Jesus to the Father does this statement bring out? What was God’s purpose in giving Jesus power over all flesh? What do we learn about eternal life from this? (Compare Ro. 6:23.) To whom was He to give eternal life? Who were they whom the Father had given Him? (c. 6:37.) What else do we know about those whom the Father has given to the Son? (c. 6:39, 45; 10:28, 29; 17:6, 9, 11, 12, 14, 24; 18:9.) What is eternal life (v. 3)? What does Jesus mean by saying: “This is life eternal, that they should know Thee the only true God, and Him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ” (R. V.)? Suppose one does not know God, what then? (2 Thess. 1:8, 9.) What, then, is the one all-important thing to know? How can we know God? (1 John 5:20; John 1:18; 2 Cor. 4:6; John 14:9.) Is there any proof of the divinity of Christ in v. 3? Of His subordination to the Father? Who is the only true God? Suppose we worship some other god than the God who reveals Himself in Jesus Christ, what are we doing? What second reason does Jesus urge why the Father should glorify Him? If we wish God to glorify us in heaven what must we do? How had Jesus glorified the Father on earth? How are we to glorify God on earth? What was the work Jesus had done? What does “finished” mean? Is it a good thing to be able to say at the close of life: “I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do”? Has any one beside Jesus been able to say it? (2 Tim. 4:7.) When was Jesus’ work finished? (c. 19:30.) Having finished the earthly work, what was all that was now left to do? When alone has a man a right to pray to be glorified? Where was the glory that Jesus desired? Did He desire any glory apart from God? Was this a new glory that Jesus desired? Why had He laid it down? (2 Cor. 8:9.) Why did He now take it up again (v. 4)? 2. Christ’s Prayer for His Immediate Followers, vv. 6–19 For whom did Jesus next pray? What four things did He ask for them? (11, 17, 21, 24.) Why did He pray for His own glory before praying for their keeping, sanctifying, unifying and glorifying? Before asking Him to do for them, what did Jesus tell the Father? Would it be a good thing when we ask God to do for men, if we could tell what we ourselves have already done for them? What was the first thing Jesus had done for them? What does the name stand for? (Ex. 3:13–15; 34:5–7.) What does “manifested thy name” mean? Why is this the first fact mentioned as the basis for His petitions for His disciples? To whom had He manifested the Father’s name? What difference is there between the expression describing Christ’s disciples in v. 2 and that in v. 6? Whose were they before they were given to Christ? Are not all men God’s? What had they done on their part? What does “kept” mean? Who, then, are those who belong peculiarly to the Father and whom He bestows as a peculiar possession to the Son? (Compare c. 8:31, 32; 16:21–24; Ps. 119:11; Prov. 2:1–5; 3:1–4; 2 Tim. 1:13; Rev. 3:8, 10, 11; Luke 8:15.) What further statement did Jesus make concerning the disciples (v. 7)? Is there any connection between this statement and that which precedes it? Was this fact that they knew “that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are of Thee” any good reason for blessing them? (John 16:27.) What further did Jesus say He had done for them (v. 8)? What ought we to do with the words God gives us? What are the only words we should give others? Why does v. 8 begin with the word “for”? What had the disciples done with these words? What is the best thing to do with Christ’s words? What will they do when received? (Jas. 1:21; 2 Tim. 3:15; Ps. 119:130.) How had they received them? (v. 7; compare 1 Thess. 2:13.) What was the result of their receiving them? If we desire to know surely that Christ came out from the Father, what should we do? Now, as to the result of all that Jesus had done for His disciples and what they had done, what did Jesus proceed to do? Did He pray for anyone else? (Compare Heb. 7:25; 9:24.) If we would have Jesus include us in His intercession what must we have done for us and what must we do? What does His intercession make certain? (Ro. 8:33, 34; Heb. 7:25.) Does the Father hear His prayer? (John 11:42; Luke 22:32.) For whom is it Jesus says He prays? Why did He pray for them? (vv. 9, 10.) What thought ought to encourage us in praying for believers? (Compare Ex. 32:11.) How did Jesus speak of the mutual relation between the Father and Himself? What was His relation to His disciples? (Compare c. 13:31, 32.) How is Jesus Christ glorified in His disciples? (Gal. 1:23, 24; Phil. 1:20.) What further reason did Jesus give for praying for His disciples? What is His prayer for them in their dangerous position unsheltered by His presence? Is that a sufficient safeguard for the believer in the midst of the dangers and perils of the world? (Compare John 10:29; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24; 1 Cor. 10:13.) How was the Father to keep them? What does that mean? Is that safe keeping? (Prov. 18:10.) Who were to be so kept? Is the fact that the Father had given them the promise of the keeping any guarantee that they will be kept? Who are those whom the Father has given? (John 6:37, 45.) What was the purpose of the keeping? (Compare vv. 21, 22.) How then is the only way in which believers can be one? What kind of a unity did Jesus pray for? What kind of a unity exists between the Father and the Son? (Compare Eph. 4:3–6; 1 Cor. 12:12, 13, 17.) How did Jesus address the Father in this prayer? Why did He call Him holy here? What had Jesus Himself done for His disciples during His stay with them (v. 12)? How had He kept them? How many had been lost (v. 12, R. V.)? Will any of His ever be lost? (c. 10:28, 29; Heb. 7:25.) Had not someone been lost? Who (v. 12)? If one is lost what does it prove? (1 John 2:19.) Whom was it He kept? According to what was the loss of this one? (Compare Ps. 109:8; 41:9.) What important change in the translation of the verb in v. 12 is made in the Revised Version? What is the significance of that change? (First verb means “to take care of” or “attend carefully to”; the second verb, “to protect with a military guard or garrison.” Jesus had done both.) Why did Jesus now ask the Father to do what, up to this time, He had done Himself (v. 13)? For what purpose had Jesus said those things? If we desire His joy made full in us what must we know and think much about (vv. 6–12)? Was Jesus very desirous that His disciples have His joy? (John 15:11; 16:22–24, 33.) With whom is the fault if we do not have it? What had Jesus done for the disciples (v. 14)? What was the result of Jesus’ giving them God’s Word? What will always be the result, if God’s Word is given to any one and kept by them? (2 Tim. 3:12; John 15:19.) Why did the world hate them? If the world loves us, of what may we be sure? (John 15:18; 1 John 4:5, 6.) What comforting thought have we in this not being of the world and hated by it? Did Jesus wish His own to be taken out of the world? Why not? What did He pray (v. 15, R. V.)? Why was it very necessary that they be kept from “the evil one” while in the world? (2 Cor 4:4.) While in the world, were they of it? What had separated them from it? (v. 9; c. 15:19; vv. 14, 8.) What prayer did Jesus make for His disciples in v. 17? What does sanctify mean? How would the Father sanctify them? What is truth? Through what does God sanctify men? (Compare Ps. 119:9, 11, 104; 2 Thess. 2:13.) What was Christ’s sending of them forth like? (v. 18; compare 2 Cor. 5:20.) For what purpose did He set Himself apart for His work? (v. 19; compare 2 Cor. 8:9.) 3. Christ’s Prayer for All Believers, vv. 20–26 Did Jesus confine His prayer to His immediate disciples (v. 20)? Who else did it include? How were these others to believe? What was His prayer for them? How were they to be one? Is any real unity possible except by being in the Father and in the Son? What was the purpose of this unity? What wondrous gift had Jesus bestowed upon them (v. 22)? For what purpose was this gift bestowed? How were they to be perfected into one (v. 23, R. V.)? What would be the result of this unity perfected through Christ in us? How much does the Father love those in whom Christ is? What was Christ’s will regarding those whom the Father had given Him? Does the believer wish to be with Christ? (Phil. 1:23; 2 Cor. 5:8.) Does Christ wish His own to be with Him? Does He wish us to be with Him as much as we wish to be with Him? (c. 14:3.) Will this wish of Christ’s be gratified? (1 Thess. 4:17.) For what purpose would Jesus have His disciples with Him? Why did Jesus wish His disciples to see His glory? (2 Cor. 3:18; 1 John 3:2.) Where did Jesus get His glory? Why did the Father give it to Him? What was the relation of the world to the Father (v. 25)? Who did know Him? (Compare Matt. 11:27.) What had He done for His disciples (v. 26)? What would be the result of Jesus making known the Father’s name to His disciples? What will be the result if we “know not God”? (2 Thess. 1:8, 9.) CLASSIFICATION OF TEACHINGS 1. God the Father Holy, 11; righteous, 25; only true God, 3; loved the Son before the foundation of the world, 24; sent Jesus Christ, 3, 8; gave Jesus Christ a work to do, 4; gave Jesus Christ His words to speak, 8; gave His Son authority over all flesh, 2; gave His Son a body of believers out of the world, 2, 6, 10; gave Jesus Christ His glory, 24; dwells in Son, 23; known by Son, 25; His name made known by Son, 26, R. V.; the world knew Him not, 25. 2. Jesus Christ (1). His relation to the Father: His Son, 17. Equal with the Father, 2, 3, 10; had authority over all flesh; gives eternal life; eternal life is knowing Him; all the Fathers are His and vice versa; is one with the Father, 11; eternal, 5, 24. Subordination to the Father: His authority and glory the Father’s gift, 2, 24; sent by the Father, 3; received His words from the Father, 8; dwells in the Father, 23; loved by the Father before the foundation of the world, 24; glorified the Father on earth, 4; finished the work the Father gave Him to do, 4; knew the Father, 25; made known the Father’s name, 26; manifested the Father’s name unto, etc., 6; left world and went unto the Father, 11, 13. (2). His relation to His own: Sanctified Himself for their sake, 17; gave unto them the words which the Father gave unto Him, 8; gives eternal life unto them, 2; kept (took care of) them, 12; guarded (protected as by a garrison) them, 12; lost not one, 12; wishes them to have His glory fulfilled in themselves, 13; gave to them the glory which the Father gave unto Him, 22; wishes them to be with Him that they may behold His glory, 24; sends them into the world as the Father sent Him, 18; is glorified in them, 10 ; His divine mission known to the world through their unity, 23. (3). His relation to the world: Not of the world, 14; prays not for the world, 9. (4). His prayer: For Himself to be glorified that He might glorify the Father, 1; to be glorified with the Father, etc., 5 . For His own to keep them in thy name, 11; that they may be one, 11, 21; not that they be taken out of the world, 15; that they be kept from the evil one, 15; sanctified in the truth, 17; that they might be with Him, etc., 24 . 3. Jesus Christ’s Own (1). Who they are: Those who believe, 20. (2). Whose they were: The Father’s, 6; compare 9. (3). How they became Jesus Christ’s: The Father gave them unto Him out of the world, 6. (4). What they do: Receive the Father’s words, 8; keep the Father’s word, 6; know of a truth that Jesus Christ came forth from the Father, 8; believe that the Father sent Jesus Christ, 8; know that all things the Father gave Jesus Christ are of the Father, 7. (5). Their privileges: Jesus Christ gives them the Father’s words, 8, 14; the Father’s name is manifested unto them, 6; receive eternal life from Jesus Christ, 2; kept in the Father’s name and guarded by Jesus Christ, 12; not one perished, 12; Jesus Christ intercedes for them, 9; have Christ’s joy fulfilled in themselves, 13; sanctified in the truth, 17, 19; Christ dwells in them, 23; not of the world even as Christ is not of the world, 14, 16; sent by Christ into the world even as the Father sent Him into world, 18; loved by the Father even as Jesus Christ is, 23; are to be one even as Christ and the Father are one, 22; have the same glory as Jesus Christ, 22. (6). Their relation to the world: In it, 15; not of it, 14, 16; hated by it, 14. 4. Eternal Life What it is: “That they know Thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent,” 3. How it is to be had: Christ’s gift, 2. Who receive it: As many as the Father gives the Son, 2; compare 20. 5. The Word (1). What it is: Certain of fulfillment, 12; truth, 17. (2). What it does: Sanctifies, 17; separates from the world, 14; brings knowledge of Christ, 8; brings fullness of joy, 13.