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Author: Stephen Weller
882 words, 5 minutes read time

Be Sure You Are Not Of The World

Scripture: Jn 17:14-18

In the previous lesson we looked at the joy Jesus experienced as he endured the cross and the joy that is ours in our relationship with him. In this lesson Jesus continues to pray for his disciples and requests that we be sanctified in truth.

^{Jn 17:14} “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. ¹⁵ I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

As Jesus continues in prayer, he now speaks of giving believers the Father’s word. This word would not be the Old Testament Scriptures, but Jesus’ own teachings. In a broader sense, he is giving himself because in John 1:1 (ESV) we find that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” and “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” The Father sent the Word to us and the Word spoke to us and went to the cross to die in our place.

We who received the Word and were born spiritually shift from being “of” the world to simply being “in” the world. That difference is noticed by the world and as a result of our righteous living the world hates us just as it hated Jesus. Jesus has set himself apart from the world as the righteous one and we as his followers are also set apart from the world having been clothed with his righteousness.

As Jesus continues in prayer, he does not request that we be taken out of the world but left here to complete our assigned work (Ephesians 2:10), and while here he requests our protection from the evil one. “We are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19 ESV). We must be careful not to be drawn into his evil activities.

He then repeats the fact that we are not of the world as he is not of the world. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6 ESV). As a result, we have different heart desires, different fundamental goals, and ultimately a different God that we serve and worship. We are set apart from the world in our stand for truth. Jesus then prays, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” Jesus is the Word and Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6 ESV). We need to study the word; we need to study Jesus and we need to be set apart (to be sanctified) by living out truth.

The footnote for John 17:17 in the ESV Study Bible indicates that “The sanctification of Christians is a lifelong process. It involves both a relational component (separation from participating in and being influenced by evil) and a moral component (growth in holiness or moral purity in attitudes, thoughts, and actions). This occurs in the truth, that is as Christians believe, think, and live according to “the truth” in relation to God, themselves, and the world. This truth comprises the entire Bible, for Jesus says, your word in truth.”

The Father sent Jesus into the world with an assignment to teach the gospel and then as a perfect sacrifice to die on the cross to validate the gospel. As Jesus finishes his assignment he gives us an assignment as described in Matthew 28:19 – 20 ESV: ¹⁹ “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus said, “for their sake I consecrate myself.” To consecrate is to sanctify or to set apart for something. In John 10:36, the Father consecrated Jesus and sent him into the world. He was chosen to go into the world on assignment. Now that Jesus is here in the world, this consecration or sanctification is for the purpose of accomplishing something for the disciples and for us, which seems to suggest a reference to his impending death on the cross. Jesus is setting himself apart or dedicating himself to do the will of the Father by going to the cross for our benefit. That benefit is that we may also be sanctified in truth.

Conclusion

How important it is that while we are in the world, that we are not of the world but be sanctified in truth and be active to doing the assigned work of bearing fruit in ministry to the glory of God.