John 17:6
in John 17I have revealed Your name to those You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I manifested thy name unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them to me; and they have kept thy word.
KJV
I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
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This verse in John 17
Commentary
24 notes on this verseCHAPTER VII. That the fact that something is said to have been given to the Son from the Father does not rob Him of God-befitting dignity; but He plainly appears to be Consubstantial, and of the Father, even if He is said to receive aught. I have previously stated with reference to the passages I have just examined, not without care, if I may say so, that Christ made His prayer to the Father in the heavens both as Man and also as God.
This site's exposition
I have revealed Your name
I have revealed Your name covers the whole ministry, the Father's character made plain in the Son's words and works. The men were Yours, and You gave them to Me, so the disciples are a gift from the Father to the Son. They have kept Your word is the evidence offered.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
(Tr. cvi) If He speaks of the disciples only with whom He supped, this has nothing to do with that glorifying of which He spoke above, wherewith the Son glorified the Father; for what glory is it to be known to twelve or eleven men? But if by the men which were given to Him out of the world, He means all those who should believe in Him afterwards, this is without doubt the glory wherewith the Son glorifies the Father; and, I have manifested Thy name, is the same as what He said before, I have glorified Thee; the past being put for the future both there and here. But what follows shows that He is speaking here of those who were already His disciples, not of all who should afterwards believe on Him. At the beginning of His prayer then our Lord is speaking of all believers, all to whom He should make known the Father, thereby glorifying Him: for after saying, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee, in showing how that was to be done, He says, As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh. Now let us hear what He says to the disciples: I have manifested Thy name to the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world. Had they not known the name of God then, when they were Jews? We read in the Psalms, In Jewry is God known; His name is great in Israel. (Ps. 76:1) I have manifested Thy name, then, must be understood not of the name of God, but of the Father's name, which name could not be manifested without the manifestation of the Son. For God's name, as the God of the whole creation, could not have been entirely unknown to any nation. As the Maker then of the world, He was known among all nations, even before the spread of the Gospel. […]
In this discourse we purpose speaking, as He gives us grace, on these words of the Lord which run thus: "I have manifested Thy name unto the men whom Thou gavest me out of the world." If He said this only of those disciples with whom He had supped, and to whom, before beginning His prayer, He had said so much, it can have nothing to do with that clarification, or, as others have translated it, glorification, whereof He was previously speaking, and whereby the Son clarifies or glorifies the Father. For what great glory, or what like glory, was it to become known to twelve, or rather eleven mortal creatures? But if, in saying, "I have manifested Thy name unto the men whom Thou gavest me out of the world," He wished all to be understood, even those who were still to believe on Him, as belonging to His great Church which was yet to be made up of all nations, and of which it is said in the psalm, "I will confess to Thee in the great Church [congregation];" it is plainly that glorification wherewith the Son glorifies the Father, when He makes His name known to all nations and to so many generations of men. And what He says here, "I have manifested Thy name unto the men whom Thou gavest me out of the world," is similar to what He had said a little before, "I have glorified Thee upon the earth"; putting both here and there the past for the future, as One who knew that it was predestinated to be done, and therefore saying that He had done what He had still to do, though without any uncertainty, in the future.
But what follows makes it more credible that His words, "I have manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou gavest me out of the world," were spoken by Him of those who were already His disciples, and not of all who were yet to believe on Him. For after these words, He added: "Thine they were, and Thou gavest them me; and they have kept Thy word. Now they have known that all things, whatsoever Thou hast given me, are of Thee: for I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send me." Although all these words also might have been said of all believers still to come, when that which was now a matter of hope had been turned into fact, inasmuch as they were words that still pointed to the future; yet we are impelled the more to understand Him as uttering them only of those who were at that time His disciples, by what He says shortly afterwards: "While I was with them, I kept them in Thy name: those that Thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled"; meaning Judas, who betrayed Him, for He was the only one of the apostolic twelve that perished.
Accordingly, let us now see what He says about those disciples of His who were then listening to Him. "I have manifested," He says. "Thy name unto the men whom Thou gavest me." Did they not, then, know the name of God when they were Jews? And what of that which we read, "God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel"? Therefore, "I have manifested Thy name unto these men whom Thou gavest me out of the world," and who are now hearing my words: not that name of Thine whereby Thou art called God, but that whereby Thou art called my Father: a name that could not be manifested without the manifestation of the Son Himself. For this name of God, by which He is called, could not but be known in some way to the whole creation, and so to every nation, before they believed in Christ. For such is the energy of true Godhead, that it cannot be altogether and utterly hidden from any rational creature, so long as it makes use of its reason. For, with the exception of a few in whom nature has become outrageously depraved, the whole race of man acknowledges God as the maker of this world. In respect, therefore, of His being the maker of this world that is visible in heaven and earth around us, God was known unto all nations even before they were indoctrinated into the faith of Christ. But in this respect, that He was not, without grievous wrong being done to Himself, to be worshipped alongside of false gods, God was known in Judah alone. But in respect of His being the Father of this Christ, by whom He taketh away the sin of the world, this name of His, previously kept secret from all, He now made manifest to those whom the Father Himself had given Him out of the world.
But what are we to make of the words. "Whom Thou gavest me out of the world"? For it is said of them that they were not of the world. But this they attained to by regeneration, and not by generation. And what, also, of that which follows, "Thine they were, and Thou gavest them me"? Was there a time when they belonged to the Father, and not to His only-begotten Son; and had the Father once on a time anything apart from the Son? Surely not. Nevertheless, there was a time when God the Son had something, which that same Son as man possessed not; for He had not yet become man of an earthly mother, when He possessed all things in common with the Father. Wherefore in saying, "Thine they were," there is thereby no self-disruption made by God the Son, apart from whom there was nothing ever possessed by the Father; but it is His custom to attribute all the power He possesses to Him, of whom He Himself is, who has the power. For of whom He has it that He is, of Him He has it that He is able; and both together He always had, for He never had being without having ability. Accordingly, whatever the Father could [do], always side by side with Him could the Son; since He, who never had being without having ability, was never without the Father, as the Father never was without Him. And thus, as the Father is eternally omnipotent, so is the Son co-eternally omnipotent; and if all-powerful, certainly all-possessing.
17 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers7 voices
The name "God the Father" had been published to no one. Even Moses, who had interrogated him on that very point, had heard a different name. To us it has been revealed in the Son, for the Son is now the Father's new name.… That name, therefore, we pray "may be hallowed."
They more readily supposed that the Father acted in the Son's name, than that the Son acted in the Father's; although the Lord says Himself, "I am come in my Father's name; " and even to the Father He declares, "I have manifested Thy name unto these men; " whilst the Scripture likewise says, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord," that is to say, the Son in the Father's name.
"I am come," saith He, "in the Father's name; " and again, "Father, glorify Thy name; " and more openly, "I have manifested Thy name to men." That name, therefore, we pray may "be hallowed.
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsConstitutions of the Holy Apostles Book 8 · Written before 380.
proposed
Jesus Christ, our God and Saviour, delivered to us the great mystery of godliness, and called both Jews and Gentiles to the acknowledgment of the one and only true God His Father, as Himself somewhere says, when He was giving thanks for the salvation of those that had believed, "I have manifested Thy name to men, I have finished the work Thou gavest me;" and said concerning us to His Father, "Holy Father, although the world has not known Thee, yet have I known Thee; and these have known Thee."
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsConstitutions of the Holy Apostles Book 8 · Written before 380.
proposed
He lived holily, and taught according to the law; He drove away every sickness and every disease from men, and wrought signs and wonders among the people; and He was partaker of meat, and drink, and sleep, who nourishes all that stand in need of food, and "fills every living creature with His goodness;" "He manifested His name to those that knew it not;" He drave away ignorance; He revived piety, and fulfilled Thy will; He finished the work which Thou gavest Him to do...
A commentator
Cyril of AlexandriaCommentary on the Gospel of John, Book 11 · Written before 444.
proposed
When the Savior declares that he has made known the name of God the Father, it is the same as saying that he has shown the whole world his glory. How did he do this? By making himself known through his wonderful works. The Father is glorified in the Son as in an image and type of his own form, for the beauty of the archetype is seen in its image. The only Son then has made himself known, and he is in his essence wisdom and life, the artificer and creator of the universe. He is immortal and incorruptible, pure, blameless, merciful, holy, good. His Father is known to be like him, since he could not be different in nature from his offspring. The Father's glory is seen, as in an image and type of his own form, in the glory of the Son.…The Son made known the name of God the Father to teach us and make us fully comprehend not that he is the only God—for inspired Scripture had proclaimed that even before the coming of the Son—but that besides being truly God he is also rightly called "Father." This is so because in himself and proceeding from himself he has a Son possessed of the same eternal nature as his own: it was not in time that he became the Father of the Creator of the ages! To call God "Father" is more exact than to call him "God." The word God signifies his dignity, but the word Father points to the distinctive attribute of his person. If we say "God," we declare him to be Lord of the universe. If we call him "Father," we show the way in which he is distinct as a person, for we make known the fact that he has a Son. […]
"Messenger of great counsel" (Isa. ix. 6, LXX.), the Son of God is called, because of the other things which He taught, and principally because He announced the Father to men, as also now He saith, "I have manifested Thy Name unto the men." For after having said, "I have finished Thy work," He next explaineth it in detail, telling what sort of work. Now the Name indeed was well known. For Esaias said, "Ye shall swear by the true God." (Isa. lxv. 16.) But what I have often told you I tell you now, that though it was known, yet it was so only to Jews, and not to all of these: but now He speaketh concerning the Gentiles. Nor doth He declare this merely, but also that they knew Him as the Father. For it is not the same thing to learn that He is Creator, and that He hath a Son. But He "manifested His Name" both by words and actions. "Whom Thou gavest Me out of the world." As He saith above, "No man cometh unto Me except it be given him" (c. vi. 65); and, "Except My Father draw him" (c. vi. 64); so here too, "Whom thou gavest Me." (c. xiv. 6.) Now He calleth Himself "the Way"; whence it is clear that He establisheth two things by what is said here, that He is not opposed to the Father, and that it is the Father's will to entrust them to the Son. "Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me." Here He desireth to teach that He is greatly loved by the Father. For that He needed not to receive them, is clear from this, He made them, He careth for them continually. How then did He receive them? This, as I said before, showeth His unanimity with the Father. Now if a man choose to enquire into the matter in a human manner, and as the words are spoken, they will no longer belong to the Father. For if when the Father had them, the Son had them not, it is evident that when He gave them to the Son, He withdrew from His dominion over them. […]
The Medieval Church4 voices
And they have kept Thy word. He calls Himself the Word of the Father, because the Father by Him created all things, and because He contains in Himself all words: as if to say, They have committed Me to memory so well, that they never will forget Me. Or, They have kept Thy word, i. e. in that they have believed in Me: as it follows, Now they have known that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me, are of Thee. Some read, Now I have known, &c. But this cannot be correct. For how could the Son be ignorant of what was the Father's? It is the disciples He is speaking of; as if to say, They have learnt that there is nothing in Me alien from Thee, and that whatever I teach cometh from Thee.
Above, our Lord prayed for himself; here he prays for the society of his apostles: first, he states his reasons for praying; secondly, what he is praying for (v 11). He does two things about the first: first, he mentions his reasons for praying founded …
"I have manifested Your name to the men." He now explains what the words "I have glorified You on earth" mean, namely: I have made known Your name. How then did the Son make it known? For Isaiah had already said: "They shall swear... by …
I have manifested your name to men. This is the second part of the chapter, in which he asks for the preservation of holiness for the Apostles; and first he asks for them steadfastness in good; second, deliverance from evil, at the passage: While I …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
I have manifested thy name - All thy attributes; and in particular thy paternal relation to believers; to the men whom thou hast given me - The apostles, and so ver. 12. They were thine - By creation, and by descent from Abraham. And thou hast given them me - By giving them faith in what I have spoken.
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I have manifested thy name,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
II. Our Lord’s Prayer for His Disciples, Joh 17:6-19 I have manifested thy name - Εφανερωσα, I have brought it into light, and caused it to shine in itself, and to illuminate others. A little of the Divine nature was known by the works of creation; a little more was known by the Mosaic revelation: but the full manifestation of God, his nature, and his attributes, came only through the revelation of Christ.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
These verses begin one of the most wonderful chapters in the Bible. It is a chapter in which we see our Lord Jesus Christ addressing a long prayer to God the Father. It is wonderful as a specimen of the communion that was ever kept up between the Father and the Son, during the period of the Son's ministry on earth. It is wonderful as a pattern of the intercession which the Son, as an High Priest, is ever carrying on for us in heaven.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
These verses begin one of the most wonderful chapters in the Bible. It is a chapter in which we see our Lord Jesus Christ addressing a long prayer to God the Father. It is wonderful as a specimen of the communion that was ever kept up between the Father and the Son, during the period of the Son's ministry on earth. It is wonderful as a pattern of the intercession which the Son, as an High Priest, is ever carrying on for us in heaven. Not least it is wonderful as an example of the sort of things that believers should mention in prayer. What Christ asks for His people, His people should ask for themselves. It has been well and truly said by an old divine, that "the best and fullest sermon ever preached was followed by the best of prayers." It is needless to say that the chapter before us contains many deep things. It could hardly be otherwise. He that reads the words spoken by one Person of the blessed Trinity to another Person, by the Son to the Father, must surely be prepared to find much that he cannot fully understand, much that he has no line to fathom. There are sentences, words, and expressions, in the twenty-six verses of this chapter, which no one probably has ever unfolded completely. We have not minds to do it, or to understand the matters it contains, if we could. But there are great truths in the chapter which stand out clearly and plainly on its face, and to these truths we shall do well to direct our best attention. We should notice, firstly, in these verses, what a glorious account they contain of our Lord Jesus Christ's office and dignity. We read that the Father has "given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life." The keys of heaven are in Christ's hands. The salvation of every soul of mankind is at His disposal. We read, furthermore, that "it is life eternal to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent."
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Have manifested thy name - The word “name” here includes the attributes or character of God. Jesus had made known his character, his law, his will, his plan of mercy - or, in other words, he had revealed God to them. The word “name” is often used to designate the person, Joh 15:21; Mat 10:22; Rom 2:24; 1Ti 6:1. Which thou gavest me - God gave them to him in his purpose. He gave them by his providence. He so ordered affairs that they heard him preach and saw his miracles; and he gave them by disposing them to follow him when he called them. Thine they were - All men are God’s by creation and by preservation, and he has a right to do with them as seemeth good in his sight. These men he chose to designate to be the apostles of the Saviour; and he committed them to him to be taught, and then commissioned them to carry his gospel, though amid persecutions, to the ends of the world. God has a right to the services of all; and he has a right to appoint us to any labor, however humble, or hazardous, or wearisome, where we may promote his glory and honor his name.
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ἐφανέρωσά | ephanerosa | I revealed | G5319 → | 45 times |
| σου | sou | Your | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| τὸ | to | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ὄνομα | onoma | name | G3686 → | 227 times |
| τοῖς | tois | to the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀνθρώποις | anthropois | men | G444 → | 549 times |
| οὓς | hous | whom | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| ἔδωκάς | edokas | you gave | G1325 → | 412 times |
| μοι | moi | Me | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| ἐκ | ek | out of | G1537 → | 911 times |
| τοῦ | tou | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κόσμου· | kosmou | world; | G2889 → | 185 times |
| σοὶ | soi | Yours | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| ἦσαν | esan | they were | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| κἀμοὶ | kamoi | and to Me | G1473 →G2532 → | 839 times |
| αὐτοὺς | autous | them | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἔδωκας | edokas | You gave | G1325 → | 412 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| λόγον | logon | word | G3056 → | 329 times |
| σου | sou | of You | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| τετήρηκαν. | teterekan | they have kept. | G5083 → | 70 times |
ἘφανέρωσάI revealed
ephanerosaG5319 →45 times
σουYour
souG4771 →2973 times
τὸ<the>
toG3588 →19766 times
ὄνομαname
onomaG3686 →227 times
τοῖςto the
toisG3588 →19766 times
ἀνθρώποιςmen
anthropoisG444 →549 times
οὓςwhom
housG3739 →1405 times
ἔδωκάςyou gave
edokasG1325 →412 times
μοιMe
moiG3165 →1936 times
ἐκout of
ekG1537 →911 times
τοῦthe
touG3588 →19766 times
κόσμου·world;
kosmouG2889 →185 times
σοὶYours
soiG4771 →2973 times
ἦσανthey were
esanG1510 →2333 times
κἀμοὶand to Me
αὐτοὺςthem
autousG846 →5565 times
ἔδωκαςYou gave
edokasG1325 →412 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
λόγονword
logonG3056 →329 times
σουof You
souG4771 →2973 times
τετήρηκαν.they have kept.
teterekanG5083 →70 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 5:20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son…
it leads to
- John 17:3
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
- Luke 24:45
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
- John 14:9
Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the…
- 1 Timothy 3:16
By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world,…
- Isaiah 44:6
Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.
- John 17:3
Through
John 17:24Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
it leads to
- John 17:5
And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.
- John 12:26
If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, My servant will be as well. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
- John 14:3
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.
- John 17:5
Where this verse is studied
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About John
This page draws on 19 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Apostolic Constitutions, Constitutions of the Holy Apostles Book 8; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on John 106; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on John, Chapter 17; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 11; J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, John; 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; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 81; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Tertullian, ON PRAYER 3; Tertullian, Against Praxeas; Tertullian, On Prayer; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on John and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John.