In Christ, Our Dwelling Place, we explored how many believers have been taught that our closeness to God depends on our actions—that if we do this or that, we’ll get closer to Him. but, this is not the message of the gospel. The gospel teaches us that Jesus Christ has secured our closeness to God through His sacrifice, and our unity with Him through faith.
This closeness is unbreakable and unshakable. As we saw in John 15:1-11, Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. By being connected to Him, we bear fruit, not because of our efforts but because of our union with Him. This was His plan from the beginning, contrasting with the religious mindset that we need to earn our way to God.
This unbreakable union is not just a promise to the disciples but to all who believe, as Jesus prays in John 17:20, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word.”
- We Are Not in This World
- We Are Kept from the Evil One
- Sin and the World Are Foreign to Us
- His Word Is Our
- We Have a Mission
- We are Sanctified by Truth
- You Are One with the Father and Jesus
- He Has Given You Glory
- We Are Seated at the Right Hand of God
- We are Overflowing in His Love
- Live this Out!
We Are Not in This World
Jesus continues in John 17:14,
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
John 17:14
As believers, we are no longer of this world. We are like fish out of water, strangers in a place where we do not belong permanently. Our true citizenship is in heaven, as Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:20-21, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
This reality changes how we see ourselves and the world around us. We are ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), representing Him in a world that is not our home.
We Are Kept from the Evil One
In John 17:15, Jesus prays,
“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.”
John 17:15
This verse reassures us that, as believers, we are protected from the evil one. This primarily means that the devil cannot take our salvation away from us. instead, we are God’s possession, bought with a price. God has cleaned house, moved in, and taken residence within us. The evil one has no dominion over us.
1 John 5:18 echoes this truth:
“We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.”
1 John 5:18
This is the fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer—those who are in Christ are untouchable by the evil one.
Sin and the World Are Foreign to Us
Jesus reinforces our new identity in John 17:16,
“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
John 17:16
This statement highlights that we are as much foreigners to this world as Jesus is.
Sin is foreign to us as well. Romans 6:11-14 urges us to “consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Sin has no jurisdiction over us, because that is the truth. Remember in Galatians 5:19 it says “the works of the flesh”, but in Gal 5:22 it says, “fruit of the Spirit..”. Work needs effort while fruit is a natural consequence of being. Sinful deeds are not natural to us, and hence it is work, while fruit of the Spirit is natural to our being. This is because we are dead to Sin, and alive to Christ Jesus. But often the narrative is that sin is so easy, and living in the Spirit is tough.
So, when sinful thoughts or temptations arise, we can remind ourselves that we are dead to sin and alive in Christ. We are foreign to sin because our new identity is in Him.
His Word Is Our Reality
Jesus continues in John 17:17,
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”
John 17:17
In today’s culture, the idea of absolute truth is often rejected. But Jesus teaches that He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). The world accuse us of being narrow-minded, but Jesus is simply stating a fact: He is as essential to us as oxygen is to life. We were created to house the life of Christ, and without Him, we can’t truly live.
This doesn’t mean that the more you read the Word, the more you’ll stay in him. Our reality stays the same, whether we read or not. Instead, it shows that the Word reveals the truth about us. It’s like a double-edged sword that helps us see our true identity and cuts away the things that hide the true vine of Christ in us. Look at the prodigal son – his sonship didn’t change whether he was at home or in the pigsty. Likewise, we are God’s children in Christ Jesus, and we need the Word to recognize this.
We Have a Mission
Jesus then says in John 17:18,
“As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”
John 17:18
We have a mission as believers—to be ambassadors for Christ wherever we go. While sharing our faith is important, it’s not about measuring up by how much we evangelize. Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 3:15, “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”
Our mission is to bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in every moment, every day. By doing so, we fulfill our calling to be the light in the world.
We are Sanctified by Truth
Jesus also prays in John 17:19,
“For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.”
John 17:19
Sanctification here means being set apart for a purpose. Jesus set Himself apart to fulfill His mission—going to the cross and rising from the dead. Our sanctification is not about gradual growth in holiness but about being set apart by the truth of the gospel. Hebrews 10:10 confirms this: “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
We are fully sanctified, fully belonging to God. We are His, completely and forever.
Also see that Jesus is saying that He sanctifies Himself, so that we will be sanctified. Why? It’s because our sanctification or setting apart happens in Him. (Related blog: Are We Sanctified Now or Being Sanctified Over Time?)
You Are One with the Father and Jesus
In John 17:20-21, Jesus prays,
“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even 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 sent Me.”
John 17:20-21
Jesus prayed that we would be one with the Father and Himself, just as He is one with the Father. This prayer has been answered. We are enveloped in God, hidden in Christ, and sealed forever with Him. The reason we read and adore the Word of God is to discover who we already are in Him, not to earn something from Him. We have been given everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) and every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 1:3).
He Has Given You Glory
Jesus says in John 17:22-23,
“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”
John 17:22-23
We often try to give glory to God while avoiding situations that might bring glory to ourselves. But Jesus has given us His glory. This glory unites us with Him and with each other. We are not “another”—we are in Him, and He has shared His glory with us.
Ephesians 1:18 encourages us to understand “the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” We are not lacking; we have been given His glory.
We Are Seated at the Right Hand of God
Finally, in John 17:24, Jesus prays,
“Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
John 17:24
Where is Jesus now? He is seated at the right hand of God, and so are we. Ephesians 2:6 tells us that God
“raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Eph 2:6
This is our current reality, even as we live out our lives on earth.
We may face challenges, but nothing changes the fact that we are the righteousness of God in Christ. We are the fragrant aroma of Christ to God (2 Corinthians 2:15).
We are Overflowing in His Love
Jesus concludes His prayer in John 17:25-26,
“O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
John 17:25-26
God’s love has been poured out in our hearts. We are fully equipped with His love, and it is by living in this love that we fulfill our calling. This is what we saw in Part 1, in John 15, that we can express His love to one another, when we abide in His love.
Live this Out!
Can anything be more absolutely amazing than this union we have in Him. Nothing beats is. This is perfection. Live every moment of your life with the awareness that you are in Christ, and He is in you. This is the essence of being the temple of God—treasures in earthen vessels. Just as light is both a particle and a wave, so too are you fully in Christ and Christ fully in you.
Embrace this union, and let it transform how you see yourself, your mission, and your relationship with God. You are not striving to get closer to God—you are already as close as you can be, united with Him forever.
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