Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1472
Delivered on Lord’s-Day Morning, May 4, 1879
“And the Glory which You gave Me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are One: fin them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that You ha ve sent Me and ha ve lo ved them, as You have loved Me.” John 17:22-3.
SOME words serve many uses and have many meanings. We are very apt to make mistakes if we give the same sense in all places to the same word. The word, “world,” throughout Scripture is used with a very remarkable variety of meaning and one had need to have his wits about him and to read carefully in order to know what is the precise force of the term in each place where it occurs. In the text before us it is evident that Christ had a view to the world—He desired that the world might know that the Father had sent Him and might know, also, that God had loved His people even as He had loved His Son. From the somewhat altered expression in the 21st verse, we feel convinced that our Lord did not limit His desires for the world to its having a bare knowledge of these facts, but wished that it should also believe them, for thus runs the verse—“That the world may believe that You have sent Me.”
He wished, then, that this “world” might do exactly what He elsewhere says His own disciples had already done— “O righteous Father, the world has not known You: but I have known You, and these have known that You have sent Me.” Certainly there is a world for which Jesus did not pray, for He said, “I pray for them: I pray not for the world,” yet here there is a world for which, if He does not actually pray, He yet prays that certain gracious events may occur in order that certain results may be produced upon the world.
I say again, the word, “world,” therefore, has many shades of meaning ranging from that jet black meaning in which the, “world lies in the Wicked One” and, that other, “love not the world, neither the things that are in the world,” upward to the milder senses in John 1:10, “He was in the world and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.” And yet higher to the brighter meaning, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.” It is not in the worst sense that our text speaks of the world, but in the same manner as we find it used in such passages as these, “The Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.” “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.” And again in 1 John 2, “And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
It is certain that, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” and we cannot suppose that the great Redeemer would refuse to pray for those for whom He was given. I understand in this particular place by the word, “world,” the whole mass of mankind upon the face of the earth who are not as yet converted. Among them there is an elect part, for our Lord speaks of some men who shall yet believe on Him through the word of His servants, but these, at this present moment, are undistinguished from the rest. I understand here by the word, “world,” all as yet unrenewed out of the whole living family of man—and on account of these our Lord would have His believing people brought into that admirable condition which we shall now attempt to describe.
For the sake of the world He would have the Church in a high state of holy beauty and strength. May His gracious prayer be answered in all of us by the working of the Holy Spirit! I trust that I may say of all of you, my Beloved in Christ, that you are living with this objective. At any rate, I know that you desire to live for the Glory of our Lord Jesus and the salvation of men. We would make all men see what is the fellowship of this mystery, for we would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth of God. Our wish is to bring multitudes to the Savior and to conquer
province after province of this revolted world for King Jesus. “Let the whole earth be filled with His Glory” is a prayer which we cannot, dare not, would not fail to pray!
Half the world would be a poor reward for the Redeemer’s travail. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” Even here, where He was despised and rejected of men, our Lord must reign with fullness of Glory, having dominion from sea to sea and from the river even to the ends of the earth! This is the consummation towards which we are tending, by the Grace of God. We are striving earnestly for it, according to His working, which works in us mightily. Daily we labor to bring others into subjection to that blessed Sovereignty under which we delight to dwell!
In this place our Lord tells us that this desirable end is to be brought about by a marvelous unity which, described in our text, is a unity of men with Christ, a unity of these men in Christ with one another and the unity of Christ Himself with the eternal Father. “I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one.” Let us speak about this unity this morning, always keeping in mind the drift, end and objective of it, namely, that the world may believe that God has sent the Lord Jesus.