The Trinitarian Covenant in John 17 by Rev. Ralph Allan Smith

Covenantal Exposition of John 17:20-23

When we interpret John 17, we must keep in mind the fact that we are approaching perhaps the most theologically profound author of the New Testament, quoting what may be the most theologically profound of all of Jesus' words. While it is not possible to do justice to this passage, we may suggest the contours of a covenantal interpretation. The important elements to be considered are the following four: 1) the purpose of the prayer as stated in verse 21 and verse 23; 2) the meaning of the glory given to the disciples in verse 22; 3) the idea of unity in verses 21 and 23; 4) the meaning of the "in" phrases.

Purpose of Prayer

That the purpose of Jesus' prayer was the unity of His disciples is emphasized by repetition, with slight variation, in verses 21 and 23: "that the world may believe that thou didst send me," "that the world may know that thou didst send me," and "[that the world may know that thou] lovedst them, even as thou lovedst me." On any interpretation of the exact meaning of the three phrases employed, it is probably best to view them as envisioning a single purpose. But what exactly does Jesus mean by this petition?

In the previous verses, Jesus has already made a clear distinction between the world and His disciples. Even more He specifically denied that He prayed for the world (vs. ). He described the world as hostile to Himself and His followers (11, 14, 15, 16). Given this context, we have to ask, whether there has been a change and He is now praying for the world, or whether the threefold petition for the world is to be understood as a prayer for judgment in accordance with the previous context?

A prayer for judgment seems highly unlikely. It not only forces the language of Jesus' prayer into a peculiar straightjacket consistency, it ignores the important transition in verses 17-19, the contextual key to the meaning of Jesus view of the world in verses 21-23. The transition is clear. After first praying that the disciples would not be overcome by the world (14-16), Jesus prays for their sanctification and refers to their being sent into to the world with a mission like His. This is where the perspective on the world changes. Rather than being the place of evil for which Jesus refuses to pray, the world is now seen from the perspective of Jesus' mission. It is the place Jesus was sent to save: "For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him" (Jn. 3:17).

It is, therefore, in terms of the mission of the Church as a continuation of the mission of Christ that Jesus prays for the world in words that recall the earlier prayer for His disciples: "And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ. . . . [they] knew of a truth that I came forth from thee, and they believed that thou didst send me." (17:3, 8). A prayer for the world to know and believe that Jesus was sent by the Father, and to know that the Father loves the Church as He loves Christ can only be a prayer for the salvation of the world - a prayer, in other words, for the fulfillment of the promise of the Abrahamic covenant.

Meaning of Glory

The idea of glory, one of the main themes of John's Gospel, surprisingly, often has reference to Jesus' death (7:39; 12:16, 23; 13:31-32). However, in the present context it seems to be resurrection glory that is in view, for the glory in consideration here is the glory that Jesus shared with the Father before the world began and the glory to which He is returning (17:1, 5, 24).

If that assumption is correct, we are again faced with the difficulty of unusual language. What does Jesus mean when He says "And the glory which thou hast given me I have given unto them" (22a)? My suggestion is that Jesus is referring here to the blessings of salvation in general but especially the gift of the Holy Spirit, the one who will glorify Christ in and through the disciples (16:14). This is in accord with Jesus' earlier promise that the Holy Spirit would be given to those who believe in Him transforming believers into Edenic gardens that bring the water of life to the world: "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive: for the Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified" (7:38-39).

If it is the gift of the Spirit that is especially in mind, we understand also how the gift of this glory is related to the unification of believers and the salvation of the world. For whatever the gift of glory here is, it brings a unity to the people of God that is analogous to the unity between Christ and the Father (22b) and it is this unity that persuades the world that Christ has been sent of the Father (21, 23). The theology here seems to demand that the glory given by Christ is to be associated especially with the Spirit.

Idea of Unity

We are now ready to consider the unity spoken of in verses 21 and 23. This is a unity brought about by the gift of glory. It must be observable to the world since it is a means for the salvation of the world (21, 23). Visible unity of this sort, especially in the context of John's Gospel, must mean the unity of covenant life. There is no reference here to an institution as such. When the unity here is said to be like the unity of the Father and the Son, it can only mean a unity of love and purpose grounded in the eternal covenant.

Covenant unity is included in the figure of speech Jesus used to describe covenantal life as branches abiding in the vine through obedience to God's commandments. When the people of God live in obedience to God's word, their lives governed by a single covenantal standard, they will manifest unity of fellowship and purpose, just as Jesus kept the Father's commandments and walked in perfect unity with Him.

Meaning of "in" Phrases

There are four important "in" phrases. Two refer to Jesus and the Father: "Thou, Father, in me" (21, repeated in verse 23) and "I in thee" (21). Two refer to Christians "they also may be in us" (21) and "I in them" (23). The first two phrases refer to the Father and the Son mutually indwelling one another. This mutual indwelling is both the basis for the perfect unity of the Father and the Son and the pattern for the unity of Christians. It is obvious that a fully "ontological" interpretation of the mutual indwelling of the Father and the Son could only suggest a unity of Christians that is vaguely similar. My suggestion is that we should see the ontological mutual inexisting of the Persons of the Trinity as having covenantal implications and, therefore, as being also a pattern for the unity of God's people. Unless the ontological coinherenence of the Persons of the Trinity has covenantal connotations, there could be no real analogy between the relationship between Christ and the Father and the relationship between God and man. The Persons of the Trinity dwelling covenantally in one another offers a theological background for the fact that God makes His covenant with His people by "dwelling in" them.

The other two expressions refer to Christians being "in" the Father and the Son, and Christ being "in" Christians. Once again the immediate context of the farewell discourse contains similar language. Christians are said to be "in" Christ and commanded to abide in that position through covenantal obedience (15:1-10). For believers to be "in" the Father and the Son must have a similar meaning. Believers dwelling in God, in other words, refers to covenantal relationship.

This is also the meaning of Christ dwelling in the believer, referred to in an earlier context when Jesus says, "In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him. . . . If a man love me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him" (14:20-21, 23). Christ dwells in us as covenant Lord. Disobedience to His commandments brings discipline, or even expulsion (15:6). Obedience brings blessing, for obedience to the commandments is an expression of love and loyalty to Christ which He rewards with deeper fellowship and greater blessing, whereas disobedience is a rejection of His Lordship.

Summary

If our interpretation of these four basic issues is correct, the meaning of the paragraph in which Jesus prays for the unity of all believers will be something like the following. First, Jesus prays not only for the disciples but also for those who believe through the disciples preaching (20) in order that they all may be one in covenantal faith and obedience (21a).

Second, Jesus takes this to a higher theological plane when He indicates that the covenantal unity of believers has its ground in His dwelling in them and its pattern in the mutual indwelling of the Persons of the Trinity (21b, 23a). Christ speaks of a mutual indwelling of God and man when He says that believers are to be in God (21b) and He will be in them (23a). This mutuality of indwelling points to the deep mystery of covenantal fellowship and oneness that comes to fulfillment in the new covenant in Christ.

In the old covenant era, when God made a covenant with Israel to be their covenant Lord, He came to them and dwelt in the tabernacle and temple, just as He had originally dwelt with Adam in the Garden. This dwelling with man in the old creation was from the beginning a temporary state that pointed forward to the indwelling of the Spirit (cf. 1 Cor. 15:20-28, 35-50). In both, the old creation dwelling "with" man and the new creation dwelling "in" man, there is an analogy to the mutual indwelling of the Persons of the Trinity, not indeed in its ontological meaning, but in its covenantal significance.

Third, Jesus indicates that the purpose of this covenantal indwelling is the extension of covenant blessing to all the world (21c). Abiding in Christ, the covenant picture of Christians united in Him and bearing fruit through obedience, provides the bridge which links indwelling and the conversion of the world, for when the world sees an obedient Church, it will be converted and the Abrahamic promise will be fulfilled.

Fourth, Jesus speaks of the gift of the glory of God, and the Spirit of glory who glorifies Christ and His people (22). As Jesus taught the disciples shortly before He prayed, it is through the indwelling of the Spirit that Christ and the Father are also present (14:15 ff.) and, therefore also, through the Spirit that Christians are one. The same Holy Spirit dwelling "in" all of us, not indeed in any "ontologically" limiting sense, but dwelling in us as He did in the tabernacle, brings all Christians together into one. Through the Spirit, we share the covenant life of God.

Fifth, Jesus implies that His indwelling the Church brings about increased covenantal unity over time ("that they may be perfected in one," 23). There is a process, a covenantal process of pruning the branches so that they bear more fruit, which leads to perfected unity. As the Church matures over time, the world is eventually converted, for it can no longer resist the revelation of the glory of Christ in and through the Church.