The Gospel Of John Chapter 17 Pt. 2 Jesus Declared The Father's Name So We Might Know Him

Knowing and declaring the names of God. 

John 17:6  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 

Jesus turns His focus on the needs of His disciples, those hand picked men who would carry on kingdom ministry when Christ returned to His Father. 

The word "manifested" means Jesus fully disclosed the Father to His disciples, making known His glory, His heart and His kingdom purposes.

Manifesting the Father's name means bringing it into light, and causing it to shine and to illuminate others. 

A little of the Divine nature was known by the works of creation. A little more was known by the Mosaic revelation. 

But the full manifestation of God, His nature, and His attributes, came only through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Jesus specifically manifested the Father's name unto His disciples. This reminds us that we cannot ever be content with merely knowing things about God. Head knowledge does not change our life.

We must set our sights on knowing Him and loving Him, just as we know and love our wife or she knows and loves us.

Heart knowledge is what we need and seek, because this is where God does His transforming work in us.

Hebrews 2:12-13  Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. 13)  And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. 

The book of Hebrews is all about the Lord Jesus Christ as our Creator, Sustainer, Savior and High Priest. 

In this text, Jesus said He would declare the name of God to all His brethren, those who put their trust in Christ. 

Knowing God more intimately through knowing His names, leads to robust corporate worship and spiritual growth. 

Notice the connection John's gospel has with Hebrews.  Jesus declared the name of God to His disciples, whom the Father gave to Him. 

In Hebrews, Jesus says "Behold I and the children which God hath given me."

Making known the name of God to people leads to salvation, praise, worship and honor for the Father. 

Moses was told to tell the people "I AM" sent him to deliver them. 

Exodus 3:13-15  And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14)  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 15)  And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

Jehovah commissioned Moses to go to Egypt and lead the Hebrews out of slavery. Moses asked God what name he should say to the people. 

God replied that Moses should tell them "I AM THAT I AM" which is the Hebrew name Jehovah. This divine name is the most widely used name for God appearing more than 6,000 times in the Old Testament. 

God says "this is my name forever" to all generations. The names of God reveal His character to us and teach us about His heart toward us. 

Psalm 22:22-23  I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. 23)  Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. 

The Psalmist committed to boldly declaring "thy name" to all his brethren, praising Him, worshiping Him and glorifying God. 

To declare the name of God means to tell others about His name, to publish it abroad, to speak about God freely and openly. 

Openly declaring the name of Jehovah is much needed today, for many people think that all religions worship the same God, and this is not true.

There is only One, True, Living God and Creator of all things, and that is the God of the Bible. 

Knowing the names of God leads to keeping His Word.

John 17:6  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 

The result of Jesus declaring the name of the Father to His disciples, is faith and obedience. They kept the Father's Word. They learned it, embraced it and obeyed it.

John 6:45  It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. 

Jesus spoke about Himself as the Bread of Life. Some people believed on Him and some did not. 

The idea of all the people being taught by God, is that God manifest in the flesh, in the Person of Jesus Christ, is speaking to them and teaching them about the Father.

Those who hear and heed what the Father says through His Son, Jesus Christ, come to Christ. They become true disciples, ready to take up their cross and follow Him.  

Jesus said that only those who continue in His Word, are His true disciples (John 8:31-32).

Jesus said that those who know and keep His commandments, are the ones who truly love Him (John 14:21-24).

Jesus said the Word cleanses us, and we all need daily cleansing from the sins we commit. 

We also need daily cleansing from being contaminated by a morally polluted culture.  (John 15:3).

Psalm 119:9  BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. 

Psalm 119:11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 

The Psalmist teaches us the answer to a very important question. How can a young man cleanse his way from sin? 

It is by taking heed to the Word of God. "Taking heed" means learning what God says to us in His Word, and then living it out. 

If God says "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" then "taking heed" means we put God at the highest priority in our life. 

The Psalmist said we must hide God's Word in our hearts so that we do not sin (Psalm 119:11).

Solid faith and strong convictions come from knowing the Word of God.

John 17:7-8  Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8)  For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 

Jesus carefully and accurately taught all things to His disciples. They were exposed to the full breadth of the things of God. 

All the words that the Father gave Jesus to say, He declared fully and completely. 

Jesus led them to see that He was sent here by the Father, and He was going back to the Father. 

In between those events, the disciples heard God speaking in the words of Jesus. They saw God at work through the works of Jesus. 

They witnessed the heart of God on display in the longsuffering, patience, love, compassion and righteous indignation of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The result is that they believed that the Father sent His Son into the world, to be the Savior of the world. 

Though the disciples' faith was imperfect, they arrived at this fundamentally and theologically correct position. Jesus came from God and was going back to God. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

Christians must be prepared to share the names of God with other people, because doing so reveals His nature and character. 

We can know God much better as we study and learn about the meanings and contexts of His names. 

Let us determine to personally draw closer to our Lord, by learning what His names teach us about our God. 

Let us be bold to tell others about God's names, showing them what the scripture teaches. Let us then trust the Spirit of God to illuminate their hearts. 

Knowing God's names fosters a willing spirit of obedience in our hearts. 

When we know our glorious God better, we truly want to please Him and obey His Word, because we learned of His heart toward us, by studying His names.

I pray for the Spirit of God to grant us understanding of these wonderful truths, so that we might live for His glory, and lead others to Christ for salvation. 

Bob