• Know God causes us to grow in our desire to live for him and to build unity with other Christians.
• Know our oneness with God and one another has a direct influence on our witness to the unbelieving world.
• Feel unified with God, knowing his love and presence in our everyday lives.
• Build unity amongst believers in our communities so that the world might believe in Jesus.

What hobby would you like to pick up? What would you need to do to start learning and practicing that hobby?

 When we start a new hobby, we often have a lot to learn. We may have to read books, research online, or find a teacher just to get started. Building your base of knowledge can be both exciting and overwhelming, but it doesn’t count for much unless you start practicing your hobby. What good is knowing everything about carpentry if you never use a hammer?

In the same way, learning about God is a good and necessary step to growing in our faith. But if we don’t start practicing God’s commands and trusting his promises, that knowledge won’t make much of a difference.

As we begin the last session of this series, consider everything we have learned so far. We can’t leave that knowledge unused. We need to live and experience what John chapters 13–17 teaches. Let hit a couple verses to begin with…

²⁰“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹that 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. ²²The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³I 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. ²⁴Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” – John 17:20-26 ESV

• How does Jesus define eternal life?
• What is the purpose of unity in the church?

Watch Session 6: Christ’s Prayer for Us (13 minutes).

Throughout this series, Francis has asked us to know the truths of John 13–17 in a deeper way. He has called Jesus’s final message a kind of menu, an invitation to “taste” Jesus’s goodness. In this session, we’ll see why it is so essential for us to know God in an intimate way. Read John 17:1–5.

¹When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, ²since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. ⁵And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. – John 17:1-5 ESV

According to Jesus, eternal life is found in knowing God. If you have a relationship with God, in what ways has your life changed since you first met him?

 Eternal life is not just something we receive after death but a new life we can experience today. As Francis said in the video, there are multiple ways we experience eternal life today. We have peace during the chaos of life, love that will not fail, security in unsure times, and wisdom from the Holy Spirit. Having a relationship with God gives us a taste of what it will be like to be with God in eternity. In what ways are you experiencing tastes of eternal life?

No matter if you have known Jesus since you were a child or if you just put your faith in him last week, there is always room for us to deepen our relationship with God. What could it look like for you to grow in your knowledge of God? In what ways has your relationship with him grown during this series?

In the middle section of John 17, Jesus prays to the Father, giving us insight into the relationship between him and his disciples.

⁶“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. ⁷Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. ⁸For 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. ⁹I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. ¹¹And 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. ¹²While 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. ¹³But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴I 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. ¹⁵I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. – John 17:6-19 ESV

What requests does Jesus make on behalf of his disciples? What did Jesus do for his disciples? What are Jesus’s hopes for his disciples?

Jesus prays for his disciples’ protection but makes an interesting request. He asks that they would be protected in a hostile world but not that they would be taken away from that hostility. Would you rather be protected during hostility or never experience hostility at all? Why?

Francis said that Jesus’s ministry did not end at the cross; it continues through us. It is better for the world if we remain in it, even if it is difficult for us. What benefits could we bring to the world if we remain in it, even when it gives us trouble?

 Re-read verse 15. – I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

In what ways could we be confident, knowing that we are protected by Jesus?

In John 17, Jesus prays for those who would come to know him after he left.

²⁰“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹that 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. ²²The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³I 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. – John 17:20-23 ESV

What is the purpose of our love and unity?

In John 13, Jesus told his disciples they will be known by their love. If we love one another, we will be unified. If we are unified, the world will be drawn to know God. Would you say that the church today is unified? Why or why not?

What stands in the way of us being “one”?

Unity feels optional in today’s church, but it was Jesus’s final plea to the Father before his arrest. Our unity—our love for one another—is part of our witness to the world. We cannot ignore that what Jesus said will cause the world to believe in him. What steps could we take today to unify the churches we attend? Our local Christian community?

 Francis challenged us to love one another, to get outside of our comfort zones, to forgive each other, and to actively seek to be unified. What differences will we have to overlook or overcome to make unity in the church a reality? What challenges might you face as you seek to build unity? How could we work together to overcome these challenges?

Jesus ends his prayer with two final requests. Read John 17:24–26.

²⁴Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” – John 17:24-26 ESV

Jesus wants us to know his glory, his love, and his presence. During this series, how have you become more aware of God’s glory? His love? His presence?

In the end, Jesus invites us into his love. He doesn’t want us to be able to ace a theological exam; he wants us to be in a relationship with him. What will you take away from this series to help you continue to know Jesus more deeply?

When we think back on all we have learned in John 13–17, there is one thing that stands out: Jesus wants us to know him in a deep, relational way. The truths of Jesus’s farewell message are not trivia we can master; they are truths to live by. We cannot master a relationship with God—we have to spend time with him in prayer, meditate on his Word, and obey his commands so that we can know his love, power, and presence more deeply. Knowing him is the key to life today and eternally.

This is just the beginning. What comes next is up to you. Do you want to know him—his peace, security, and love? What will you do to get to know him more deeply?