John xvii. 20, 21. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 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 may believe that thou hast sent me.
IN the former part of this chapter our Lord has been interceding principally for his own immediate Disciples : but here he intercedes for all his people to the end of time. Who the particular persons were, is known only when the word of God reaches their hearts, and they are made obedient to the faith of Christ. But the substance of the petition is evi- dently most important ; because our Lord had before made the same request in behalf of his own Disciples; and because he repeats it again more strongly in the two verses following our text.
We will endeavour to shew,
I. What is that union which Christ prayed for in our behalf—
If we should interpret the union spoken of in ver. 11, as relating only to the testimony which the Apostles were to bear concerning Christ, still we cannot possibly limit the import of the text to that sense : the terms are too varied and too strong to admit of such a limitation. The comparison insti- tuted between Christ's union with the Father, and ours with each other in him, leads our thoughts into a far different channel ; a channel mysterious indeed, but deeply fraught with the richest instruction. Christ is one with the Father, in essence and in opera- tion; being " the brightness of his Father's glory and the express image of his person," and at the same time acting in every thing in perfect concert with the Father, having no will but his, speaking nothing but according to his commands, doing nothing but by his direction, and seeking only the glory of Ms name.