John 17:23
in John 17I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that thou didst send me, and lovedst them, even as thou lovedst me.
KJV
I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
⋯
This verse in John 17
Commentary
25 notes on this verseHe reminds us that the whole Christian people are one in God, and, as his well-beloved children, are "partakers of the divine nature." We have already said (and the truth must now be inculcated more in detail) that we are not one in the Father and the Son according to nature but according to grace. For the essence of the human soul and the essence of God are not the same, as the Manichaeans constantly assert. But, says our Lord, "You have loved them as you have loved me."
This site's exposition
the glory You gave Me
on John 17:22-23
The glory You gave Me is handed on to them. I in them and You in Me sets the indwelling of Father and Son inside the church. The last clause measures the Father's love for these men by His love for His own Son.
This site's exposition
that they may be perfectly united
Perfectly united means a union made complete, with no discord, as a machine is complete when every part is present and in order. The world is Israel first, then the Gentiles. The oneness of the Son with the Father stays distinct from the union of the head with His body.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
There are some … who in their desire to deny the unity of the divine substance try to make light of the love of the Father and the Son, because it is written, "You have loved them, as you have loved me." But when they say this, what else do they do but adopt a likeness of comparison between the Son of God and human beings? Can we indeed be loved by God as the Son is, in whom the Father is well-pleased? The Son is well-pleasing in himself; we are well-pleasing through him.
He did not say, I and they are one thing; although, in that He is the head of the church which is His body, He might have said, and they are, not one thing, but one person, because the head and the body is one Christ; but in order to show His own Godhead consubstantial with the Father (for which reason He says in another place, "I and my Father are one"), in His own kind, that is, in the consubstantial parity of the same nature, He wills His own to be one, but in Himself; since they could not be so in themselves, separated as they are one from another by divers pleasures and desires and uncleannesses of sin; whence they are cleansed through the Mediator, that they may be one in Him, not only through the same nature in which all become from mortal men equal to the angels, but also through the same will most harmoniously conspiring to the same blessedness, and fused in some way by the fire of charity into one spirit.
And then He added: "I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one." Here He briefly intimated Himself as the Mediator between God and men. Nor was this said in any such way as if the Father were not in us, or we were not in the Father; since He had also said in another place, "We will come unto him, and make our abode with him;" and a little before in this present passage He had not said, "I in them and Thou in me," as He said now; or, They in me, and I in Thee; but, "Thou in me, and I in Thee, and they in us." Accordingly, when He now says, "I in them, and Thou in me," the words take this form in reference to the person of the Mediator, like that other expression used by the apostle, "Ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." But in adding, "That they may be made perfect in one," He showed that the reconciliation, which is effected by the Mediator, is carried to the very length of bringing us to the enjoyment of that perfect blessedness, which is thenceforth incapable of further addition. Hence the words that follow, "That the world may know that Thou hast sent me," are not, I think, to be taken as if He had again said, "That the world may believe;" for sometimes, to know, is also used in the same sense as to believe, as it is in the words He uttered some time before: "And they have known truly that I came out from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send me." He expressed the same thing by the later words, "they have believed," as He had done by the earlier, "they have known." But inasmuch as He here speaks of the consummation, the knowledge must be taken for such, as it shall then be by sight, and not, as it now is, by faith. […]
And had He said, That they may know that Thou hast sent me, it would be just of the same force as what He actually does say, "that the world may know." For they are the world that abideth not in enmity, as doth the world that is foreordained to damnation; but one that out of an enemy has been transformed into a friend, and on whose account "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself." Therefore said He, "I in them, and Thou in me;" as if He had said, I in those to whom Thou hast sent me; and Thou in me, reconciling the world unto Thyself through me. In close relation to these come also His further words: "And Thou hast loved them as Thou hast loved me." That is to say, in the Son the Father loveth us, because in Him He hath chosen us before the foundation of the world. For He who loveth the Only-begotten, certainly loveth also His members which, through His instrumentality, He engrafted into Him by adoption. But we are not on this account equal to the only-begotten Son, by whom we have been created and re-created, that it is said, "Thou hast loved them as [Thou hast] also [loved] me." For one does not always intimate equality when he says, As this, so also that other; but sometimes only, Because this is, so also is the other; or, That the one is, in order that the other may be also. For who could say that the apostles were sent by Christ into the world in exactly the same way as He Himself was sent by the Father? For, to say nothing of other differences, which it would be tedious to mention, they at all events were sent when they were already men; but He was sent in order that He might be man; and yet He said above, "As Thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I sent them into the world;" as if He had said, Because Thou hast sent me, I have sent them. […]
The love, therefore, wherewith God loveth, is incomprehensible and immutable. For it was not from the time that we were reconciled unto Him by the blood of His Son that He began to love us; but He did so before the foundation of the world, that we also might be His sons along with His Only-begotten, before as yet we had any existence of our own. Let not the fact, then, of our having been reconciled unto God through the death of His Son be so listened to or so understood, as if the Son reconciled us to Him in this respect, that He now began to love those whom He formerly hated, in the same way as enemy is reconciled to enemy, so that thereafter they become friends, and mutual love takes the place of their mutual hatred; but we were reconciled unto Him who already loved us, but with whom we were at enmity because of our sin. Whether I say the truth on this, let the apostle testify, when he says: "God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." He, therefore, had love toward us even when we were practising enmity against Him and working iniquity; and yet to Him it is said with perfect truth, "Thou hatest, O Lord, all workers of iniquity." Accordingly, in a wonderful and divine manner, even when He hated us, He loved us; for He hated us, in so far as we were not what He Himself had made; and because our own iniquity had not in every part consumed His work, He knew at once both how, in each of us, to hate what we had done, and to love what He had done.
17 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers7 voices
(Tr. cx. 4) Nor is this said, however, as if to mean that the Father was not in us, or we in the Father. He only means to say, that He is Mediator between God and man. And what He adds, That they may be made perfect in one, shows that the reconciliation made by this Mediator, was carried on even to the enjoyment of everlasting blessedness. So what follows, That the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, must not be taken to mean the same as the words just above, That the world may believe. For as long as we believe what we do not see, we are not yet made perfect, as we shall be when we have merited to see what we believe. So that when He speaks of their being made perfect, we are to understand such a knowledge as shall be by sight, not such as is by faith. These that believe are the world, not a permanent enemy, but changed from an enemy to a friend; as it follows: And hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me. The Father loves us in the Son, because He elected us in Him. These words do not prove that we are equal to the Only Begotten Son; for this mode of expression, as one thing so another, does not always signify equality. It sometimes only means, because one thing, therefore another. And this is its meaning here: Thou hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me, i. e. Thou hast loved them, because Thou hast loved Me. There is no reason for God loving His members, but that He loves him. But since He hateth nothing that He hath made, who can adequately express how much He loves the members of His Only Begotten Son, and still more the Only Begotten Himself.
(viii. de Trin) By this giving and receiving of honour, then, all are one. But I do not yet apprehend in what way this makes all one. Our Lord, however, explains the gradation and order in the consummating of this unity, when He adds, I in them, and Thou in Me; so that inasmuch as He was in the Father by His divine nature, we in Him by His incarnation, and He again in us by the mystery of the sacrament, a perfect union by means of a Mediator was established.
A commentator
Cyril of AlexandriaCommentary on the Gospel of John, Book 11 · Written before 444.
proposed
For we are made one with each other after the manner already indicated, and we are also made one with God. And in what sense we are made one with Him, the Lord very clearly explained, and to make the benefit of His teaching plain, added the words: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfected into one. For the Son dwells in us in a corporeal sense as Man, commingled and united with us by the mystery of the Eucharist; and also in a spiritual sense as God, by the effectual working and grace of His own Spirit, building up our spirit into newness of life, and making us partakers of His Divine Nature. Christ, then, is seen to be the bond of union between us and God the Father; as Man making us, as it were, His branches, and as God by Nature inherent in His own Father. For no otherwise could that nature which is subject to corruption be uplifted into incorruption, but by the coming down to it of That Nature Which is high above all corruption and variableness, lightening the burthen of ever sinking humanity, so that it can attain its own good; and by drawing it into fellowship and intercourse with Itself, well-nigh extricating it from the limitations which suit the creature, and fashioning into conformity with Itself that which is of itself contrary to It. We have, therefore, been made perfect in unity with God the Father, through the mediation of Christ. […]
A commentator
Cyril of AlexandriaCommentary on the Gospel of John, Book 11 · Written before 444.
proposed
The Son dwells in us in a corporeal sense as man, commingled and united with us by the mystery of the Eucharist. And also [he dwells with us] in a spiritual sense as God, by the effectual working and grace of his own Spirit, building up our spirit into newness of life and making us partakers of his divine nature. Christ, then, is seen to be the bond of union between us and God the Father. He is seen as human, making us, as it were, his branches, and is seen as God because he is by nature inherent in his own Father. For in no other way could that nature which is subject to corruption be elevated to incorruption, except by the coming down to it of that nature that is high above all corruption and changeability.… We have, therefore, been made perfect in unity with God the Father, through the mediation of Christ. For by receiving in ourselves (both in a corporeal and spiritual sense, as I said just now) him who is the Son by nature and who has essential union with the Father, we have been glorified and become partakers in the nature of the Most High.
"I in them, and Thou in Me." "How gave He the glory?" By being in them, and having the Father with Him, so as to weld them together. But in another place He speaketh not so; He saith not that the Father cometh by Him, but, "that He and the Father come, and take up their abode with him," "there" removing the suspicion of Sabellius, "here" that of Arius.
"That they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me." He saith these latter words immediately after the other, to show that peace hath more power to attract men than a miracle; for as it is the nature of strife to separate, so it is that of agreement to weld together. "And I have loved them as Thou hast loved Me." Here again the "as" means, as far as it is possible for a man to be loved; and the sure proof of His love is His giving Himself for them. After having told them that they shall be in safety, that they shall not be overturned, that they shall be holy, that many shall believe through them, that they shall enjoy great glory, that not He alone loved them, but the Father also; He next telleth them of what shall be after their sojourning here, concerning the prizes and crowns laid up for them.
But that God is good, all willingly admit; and that the same God is just, I require not many more words to prove, after adducing the evangelical utterance of the Lord; He speaks of Him as one, "That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world also may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given them; that they may be one, as We are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one." God is one, and beyond the one and above the Monad itself.
The Medieval Church4 voices
Through the bond of love all things are meant to be bound together in one Christ as regards head and body, which contains in itself the universality of those to be saved. This unity is now begun on the way, but is consummated in eternal …
I in them, and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one, that is, perfected in the unity of charity, and through this they may be made glorious. Whence Chrysostom: "This is the great glory, that they may be one, and this …
The manner of this unity is added when he says, I in them and you in me. They arrive at unity, because they see that I am in them, as in a temple: "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's …
"I in them, and You in Me." By this He shows that the apostles also contained the Father within themselves. "For I," He says, "am in them; and I have You in Myself, therefore You also are in them." In another place He says that …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
I in them,....
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
May be made perfect in one - That their union may be complete. That there may be no jars, discords, or contentions. A machine is perfect or complete when it has all its parts and is in good order when there is no portion of it wanting. So the union of Christians, for which the Saviour prayed, would be complete or perfect if there were no controversies, no envyings, no contentions, and no heart-burnings and jealousies. It is worthy of remark here how entirely the union of his people occupied the mind of Jesus as he drew near to death.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
These wonderful verses form a fitting conclusion of the most wonderful prayer that was ever prayed on earth —the last Lord's prayer after the first Lord's Supper. They contain three most important petitions which our Lord offered up in behalf of His disciples. On these three petitions let us fix our attention. Passing by all other things in the passage, let us look steadily at these three points. We should mark, first, how Jesus prays that His people may be sanctified. "Sanctify them," He says, "through your truth—Your word is truth."
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Neither pray I for these alone--This very important explanation, uttered in condescension to the hearers and readers of this prayer in all time, is meant not merely of what follows, but of the whole prayer. them also which shall believe--The majority of the best manuscripts read "which believe," all future time being viewed as present, while the present is viewed as past and gone.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
These wonderful verses form a fitting conclusion of the most wonderful prayer that was ever prayed on earth —the last Lord's prayer after the first Lord's Supper. They contain three most important petitions which our Lord offered up in behalf of His disciples. On these three petitions let us fix our attention. Passing by all other things in the passage, let us look steadily at these three points. We should mark, first, how Jesus prays that His people may be sanctified. "Sanctify them," He says, "through your truth—Your word is truth." We need not doubt that, in this place at any rate, the word "sanctify" means "make holy." It is a prayer that the Father would make His people more holy, more spiritual, more pure, more saintly in thought and word and deed, in life and character. Grace had done something for the disciples already—called, converted, renewed, and changed them. The great Head of the Church prays that the work of grace may be carried higher and further, and that His people may be more thoroughly sanctified and made holy in body, soul, and spirit—in fact more like Himself. Surely we need not say much to show the matchless wisdom of this prayer. More holiness is the very thing to be desired for all servants of Christ. Holy living is the great proof of the reality of Christianity. Men may refuse to see the truth of our arguments, but they cannot evade the evidence of a godly life. Such a life adorns religion and makes it beautiful, and sometimes wins those who are not "won by the Word." Holy living trains Christians for heaven. The nearer we live to God while we live, the more ready shall we be to dwell forever in His presence when we die. Our entrance into heaven will be entirely by grace, and not of works; but heaven itself would be no heaven to us if we entered it with an unsanctified character. Our hearts must be in tune for heaven if we are to enjoy it.
That the world may know - That the Jewish people first, and secondly the Gentiles, may acknowledge me as the true Messiah, and be saved unto life eternal.
The words behind it
26 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐγὼ | ego | I myself | G1473 → | 839 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| αὐτοῖς | autois | them | G846 → | 5565 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| σὺ | su | You | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| ἐμοί, | emoi | Me myself — | G1473 → | 839 times |
| ἵνα | ina | that | G2443 → | 668 times |
| ὦσιν | osin | they may be | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| τετελειωμένοι | teteleiomenoi | perfected | G5048 → | 23 times |
| εἰς | eis | in | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| ἕν, | hen | unity, | G1520 → | 343 times |
| ἵνα | ina | so that | G2443 → | 668 times |
| γινώσκῃ | ginoske | may know | G1097 → | 221 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κόσμος | kosmos | world | G2889 → | 185 times |
| ὅτι | hoti | that | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| σύ | su | You yourself | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| με | me | Me | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| ἀπέστειλας | apesteilas | sent | G649 → | 132 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἠγάπησας | egapesas | You loved | G25 → | 143 times |
| αὐτοὺς | autous | them | G846 → | 5565 times |
| καθὼς | kathos | even as | G2531 → | 182 times |
| ἐμὲ | eme | Me myself | G1473 → | 839 times |
| ἠγάπησας.¶ | egapesas | You loved. | G25 → | 143 times |
ἐγὼI myself
egoG1473 →839 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
αὐτοῖςthem
autoisG846 →5565 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
σὺYou
suG4771 →2973 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
ἐμοί,Me myself —
emoiG1473 →839 times
ἵναthat
inaG2443 →668 times
ὦσινthey may be
osinG1510 →2333 times
τετελειωμένοιperfected
teteleiomenoiG5048 →23 times
εἰςin
eisG1519 →1755 times
ἕν,unity,
henG1520 →343 times
ἵναso that
inaG2443 →668 times
γινώσκῃmay know
ginoskeG1097 →221 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
κόσμοςworld
kosmosG2889 →185 times
ὅτιthat
hotiG3754 →1292 times
σύYou yourself
suG4771 →2973 times
μεMe
meG3165 →1936 times
ἀπέστειλαςsent
apesteilasG649 →132 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἠγάπησαςYou loved
egapesasG25 →143 times
αὐτοὺςthem
autousG846 →5565 times
καθὼςeven as
kathosG2531 →182 times
ἐμὲMe myself
emeG1473 →839 times
ἠγάπησας.¶You loved.
egapesasG25 →143 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 John 3:1Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is…
it leads to
- John 1:12
But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—
- Galatians 3:26
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
- 2 Corinthians 6:18
And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
- Galatians 4:5–6
to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.
- John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
- John 1:12
Through
John 13:35By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”
it leads to
- 1 John 4:20–21
If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
- 1 John 2:10
Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him.
- 1 John 3:10–14
By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
- 1 John 4:20–21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies12
On this verse
On this chapter
About John
This page draws on 20 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.7.88-91; Augustine of Hippo, ON THE TRINITY 4.9.12; Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on John 110; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Breviloquium, Part 5; Bonaventure, Commentary on John, Chapter 17; Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor Book 1; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 11; Hilary of Poitiers, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Against Jovinianus 2.29; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 82; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on John and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John.