Christians Glorify Jesus

Jesus’ prayer in John 17 gives a clear picture of what a Christian is and what a Christian lives for. Christ prays for those the Father has given Him, those who have received the Father’s Word, believed that Christ was sent, and now belong to Him. Christ says, “I am glorified in them,” and that puts the purpose of the Christian life right on the table. Christians believe Christ, follow Christ, know and live the truth of Christ, belong to the body of Christ, and ultimately live for the glory of Christ.

The glory of Christ stands in sharp contrast to the world’s hunger to make a name. Earthly fame is cheap, crowds are fickle, and praise fades as quickly as it comes. Christ calls His people to “preach the gospel, be forgotten,” because the greater thing is not being remembered but making Jesus known. Every part of life, work, parenting, friendships, recreation, and even a well-kept yard, becomes an opportunity to point beyond self to the goodness of God.

Christ gives His people joy that is deeper than happiness. Happiness rises and falls with circumstances, but joy is rooted in belonging to God. A house can burn, sickness can come, plans can fall apart, and none of it can touch the fact that God has given His people to Christ. Christ’s joy produces contentment because God is enough. The invitation is to stop striving for things that promise satisfaction but cannot deliver it.

Christ also calls His people to live otherworldly. The world hates the truth because it wants to be god, but Christ does not ask the Father to remove His people from the world. Christ asks the Father to keep them from the evil one and sanctify them in the truth. Christians cannot keep one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom of God. Christ ruins His people for the shallow satisfactions of the world because He becomes their ultimate satisfaction.

Christ sends His people into the world with the gospel. God saves, not human effort, but Christians must open their mouths, tell what Christ has done, and trust the Holy Spirit to work. Christ also prays for unity, not arrogant division over secondary matters. The church becomes hard to beat when every member serves the same mission and nobody cares who gets the credit. Christ receives glory when His people seek His name, His truth, His gospel, and His unity above their own.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Joy rests in belonging to God [25:59] Christ gives joy that does not depend on life going according to plan. The believer’s security rests in the Father’s gift of His people to the Son. Circumstances can wound, disappoint, and unsettle, but they cannot undo that belonging. Contentment begins when striving gives way to the settled reality that God is enough. [25:59]
• 2. Christ ruins believers for this world [37:43] Christ does not permit His people to remain at home in the values of the world. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of self cannot be blended without compromise. Biblical ethics will often make Christians stand out, and standing out may bring hatred. Christ Himself becomes the satisfaction that exposes lesser pleasures as unable to last. [37:43]
• 3. The gospel requires an open mouth [43:45] Christ sends ordinary believers to speak of His saving work in ordinary relationships. Evangelism is not reserved for professionals because friends often possess trust and credibility that strangers do not. God alone saves, which removes the crushing burden of producing an outcome. Faithfulness consists in pointing clearly to Jesus and letting the gospel do its work. [43:45]
• 4. Unity values Christ above being right [54:11] Christ prays that His people would be one so that the world may know the Father sent Him. Strong convictions matter, especially where Scripture speaks plainly, but secondary matters must be held with humility. Arrogance turns brothers and sisters into enemies over issues that do not save. Unity grows where Christ’s glory matters more than personal credit or personal certainty.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:31] - Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer
• [01:05] - What It Means to Be Christian
• [03:10] - Living for Christ’s Glory
• [04:48] - Preach the Gospel, Be Forgotten
• [13:34] - Christ Is Glorified in His People
• [21:27] - Content in Christ’s Joy
• [30:33] - Living Otherworldly
• [38:04] - Sharing the Gospel
• [44:57] - Unity in the Church
• [56:27] - Whose Glory Are You Seeking?
• [58:13] - Seek the Greater Thing

Bible Reading

John 17:6–23
“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” [00:31]

1 Corinthians 10:31
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” [16:39]

Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” [29:11]

John 15:18–19
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” [30:52]

Observation questions

1. In John 17:6–10, what marks out the people the Father has given to Jesus? What have they received, come to know, and believed? [13:34]
2. What does Jesus ask the Father to do for His people while they remain in the world, and what does He specifically not ask the Father to do? [30:46]
3. What repeated words and ideas connect Jesus’ prayer for joy, truth, being sent, and unity in John 17:11–23?
4. What ordinary parts of life were named as places where Christians can glorify Christ—work, parenting, friendships, recreation, and even caring for a yard? [16:16]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus says, “I am glorified in them.” What does this show about the purpose of a Christian’s life, and how is that different from trying to make a name for oneself? [15:02]
2. Jesus prays that His joy would be fulfilled in His people while they are still in a hard and hostile world. How can joy rooted in belonging to God remain when happiness based on circumstances disappears? [25:59]
3. Jesus asks that believers be sanctified in the truth rather than removed from the world. What might it look like for Christians to be present in their workplaces, families, and communities without simply blending into the world’s values? [33:47]
4. Jesus connects the unity of His people with the world knowing that the Father sent Him. Why can pride and arguments over secondary matters weaken the church’s witness, even when people hold sincere convictions? [50:11]

Application questions

1. Where are you most tempted to seek your own name, credit, recognition, or approval? What would it look like in that specific area to seek Christ’s glory instead? [56:34]
2. Think about your work, school, home, or daily responsibilities this week. What is one practical way you could do that ordinary task “to the glory of God”? [16:39]
3. What circumstance has recently threatened your happiness—disappointment, sickness, finances, conflict, unmet plans, or something else? How does the truth that you belong to God speak into that situation? [26:43]
4. What are you striving for right now that promises satisfaction but may not be able to deliver it? How could you practice being still before God and remembering that He is enough? [29:27]
5. Is there an area where you feel pressure to go along with the crowd rather than live by God’s truth? What might faithful, humble, and loving obedience look like there? [35:28]
6. Who is one person in your life who already knows and trusts you but may not know Christ? What is one simple way you could begin telling them what Jesus has done in your life? [43:45]
7. Is there a secondary issue, preference, or disagreement that has made it difficult for you to have peace with another believer? What would it look like to hold your convictions with humility while pursuing unity? [55:13]