John 17:14-15
“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.”
Three reminders. Three realities. Three facts that we need to focus on and remember as we continue looking into Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer to his Father on behalf of himself, his disciples, and all those who would ever follow him on the earth. In these two verses our LORD lays out for us the Rules of the Road, so to speak. He points us to three issues that should always be on our radar as we seek to live the life He has called us to.
The Word
Jesus gave us only what he received from his father. He did that in word and in deed and then through the power of the Holy Spirit as the rest of the New Testament was created through the disciples. We need to follow the same pattern! “You never hear from him any boast about being the originator of profound thoughts. No, he just repeated to his disciples the words he had received from the Father: ‘I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me.’ If Jesus acted thus, how much more must the messengers of God receive the word from the Lord’s mouth and speak it as they receive it!” (Spurgeon). We are most effective in our witness when we simply share that which He has given us. We are messengers, just as our Savior was.
The World
Do you live in a modern-day monastery? Are you “safe and secure” inside a Christian bubble of friends, groups, and surroundings? Of course, it is true that we are in the world, but the bigger questions is this: How much of the world is in us? How well do you “blend in” to your surroundings? Are you essentially a “camouflaged” Christian? If you never experience any pushback for your faith in Christ, that most likely means you are either living undercover or living out of sight. Perhaps you work to fit in…or you work to stay out. Both lifestyles are wrong. We are not to be conformed to the patters of this world (Rom. 12:2), therefore we should never really fit in. Nor should we seek to escape the world, but to engage it, as Paul so powerfully demonstrated in Acts 17 by venturing into the marketplace every chance he got.
The War
Because we are called to be of the Word and in the world, the natural result is to be embroiled in a war. A war of Good against Evil. A war between two kingdoms. A war between two rulers. Jesus did not pray for us to be taken off the battlefield, but to be protected “from the evil one.” Satan is indeed like a roaring lion and always on the prowl (1 Pet. 5:8). He can’t take our salvation, but there are other ways to wound. It could be temptations to sin, or apostasy, or worldliness. It might be painfully obvious…or dangerously subtle. Whatever the form, you must assume its presence, and prepare and act accordingly. Christ has called us to the battle, and in the battle we must stay.
