​His Word Is Sufficient (17:13-19)

​His Word Is Sufficient (17:13-19)

“I have given them thy word” (John 17:14; and cf. v. 8). The Word of God is given to us by God. The Father gave the words to His Son (John 17:8), and the Son entrusted them to His disciples, who handed them down to us as they were inspired by the Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20–21). The Word is God's. It is a precious gift from God. We should always value God’s Word. Those who are overcomers know the Word and how to apply it in everyday life.

How does the Word of God enable us to overcome the world? First, it provides us joy (John 17:13); but this inward joy gives us strength to overcome (Neh. 8:10). Sometimes, we only think of Jesus as the “man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3), and He was, but He was also a person of deep, abiding joy. John 17:13 is the heart of this prayer. The theme is joy!

Jesus had already spoken of His joy (John 15:11) and had taught that joy comes by transformation, not substitution (John 16:20-22). The answer to prayer is also a cause of joy (John 16:23-24). Now He made it plain that joy also comes from the Word. The believer rejoices not in the world, but in the Word. It was John the Baptist who said that we are to rejoice greatly when we hear the voice of the bridegroom (John 3:29)!

Let us never think of Jesus as having a long face and a melancholy disposition. He was a joyful man, and He gave His joy to others. His joy was not the transient levity of a world of sin but the lasting joy of the Father and the Word. He depended not upon outward circumstances but upon inward spiritual resources that others could not see. This is the joy He wants us to have, and we can have it through His Word. “Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart” (Jer. 15:16). “I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches” (Ps. 119:14). “I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil” (Ps. 119:162).

The Word brings us the joy of the Lord and guarantees us of His love (John 17:14). The world hates us. We can respond to this hatred with God’s own love, the love that the Spirit gives us in the Word. We belong to a different system (John 15:18–19), and we will resist being conformed to the world’s practices and standards (Rom. 12:2). That’s why the world hates us. The Word uncovers the truth of what the world is; it exposes the deceptions and dangerous devices of the world.

The world fights for Father’s love (1 John 2:15-17), but the Word of God helps us to enjoy Father’s love. One of the first steps toward a worldly life is to ignore the Word of God. The pillar of fire was darkness to the Egyptians but light to Israel. In the same way, God’s Word is our light in this dark world, but the world cannot understand the things of God (Ex. 14:20; 1 Cor. 2:12-16).

The Word of God not only gives us the joy and love of God but also the power of God for holy living (John 17:15-17). The burden of our Lord’s prayer in John 17:6-12 was security; here it is sanctity, practical holy living for the glory of God. We are in the world, but we are not of it. We cannot live like the world. Sometimes we think it would be easier to be “out of this world," but we aren't. Wherever we go we take our own sinful selves with us, and the powers of darkness will follow us. I have heard of people who have gone into “spiritual isolation” to become holier and found out that it doesn’t always work.

Sanctification (being set apart unto God) is through the ministry of the Word of God. “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (John 15:3). When you were saved, you were set apart to God. The experience of sanctification comes as one grows in his or her faith in God. You love more and sin less. You want to serve Him and be a blessing to others. All of that is through Word.

God’s truth has come to us in three “editions.” His Word is the truth. His Son is the truth. His Spirit is the truth (John 17:17; John 14:6; 1 John 5:6). If we are to have real sanctification, sanctification that gets into every part of our inner man, we need all three. The Word teaches the truth of God to the mind. With the heart, we love God's truth, His Son. With the will we give ourselves to the Spirit, and we live out God's truth day by day. All three are necessary for a balanced sanctification experience.

It is not enough to study the Bible and learn a great deal of doctrinal truth. We must love Jesus Christ more as we learn all that He is and all He has done for us. To learn is to love; to love is to live. May the Spirit of God help us to obey His Word and glorify Him in this present evil world.

The Word gives us joy and love and power to live a holy life. It also provides us what we need to be His witnesses in this world (John 17:18–19). Sanctification is not for self-indulgence or self-glorification; it is for representing Christ and winning others to Him in this world. Jesus has set Himself apart for us, and now He has set us apart for Himself. The Father sent Him into the world, and now He sends us into it. We are people “under orders" and had better obey them! Jesus is “set apart” in heaven, praying for us that many will turn from their sins and turn to the Lord so that our witness will bear fruit.
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What in the world can conquer us if we have the Word of God to enlighten, enable, and encourage us?