Jesus prays, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17). He is praying for His future apostles. Truth is that which is absolute, invariable, and unchanging. Many in our culture and society see truth as relative. Many subscribe to the postmodern fallacy that, in written documents, authority resides with the reader, not with the intent of the author. They subordinate written texts to their own views, often to the exclusion of the author’s intent.

However, truth in the Bible is unchangeable. The Bible is the word of God written. It is true and presents truth because God is truth. And so, Jesus adds, “Your word is truth.”

When Jesus speaks of “Your word,” He is speaking of the word of the Father, the word of God. In verse 14, Jesus prays, “I have given them Your word.” Part of the purpose of His coming was to teach His future apostles. He spoke to them in public and in private. He taught them the words and the ways of God.

Jesus regularly attended the synagogue, and He often taught people there. When He did so, He read from the Old Testament Scriptures and explained the written word of God in the Old Testament.

In the upper room, Jesus makes an extraordinary promise to His disciples. He promises them the Holy Spirit and says, “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).

Everything this select company needs to know about Jesus will be taught to them. The Spirit will ensure that they properly recall everything Jesus related to them orally. As Sinclair Ferguson maintains, these words of Jesus “constituted a specific promise to the apostles which found its fulfillment in their writing of the New Testament Scriptures” (The Holy Spirit, 70). As a result, “Your word” refers to God’s word written in both the Old and New Testaments.

The word “sanctify” in John 17:17 means to set apart for the purposes of God. Before sin entered the picture, Adam was holy and righteous (Eph. 4:24). He was perfectly set apart for the purposes of God. In John 17:19, Jesus goes on to pray, “For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.” Jesus sanctified Himself so that His obedience and sacrifice would result in the sanctification of His disciples. The Greek word translated “be sanctified” at the end of the verse is a perfect tense. This tense indicates past actions having present and future effects. That is, the past saving work of Jesus results in the present and progressive sanctification of His disciples.

Finally, note that Jesus is also praying for you and me. “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word” (John 17:20). The word of the apostles is found in Scripture. You and I come to faith in Jesus Christ through their word in Scripture. Jesus now applies to you and to me what he prays in John 17:17. He prays for you to be sanctified by means of the truth of God’s word in Scripture.

If you desire growth and sanctification, you must take Scripture seriously. You must read and study God’s Word. You must regularly attend worship where you hear the Scriptures read, taught, and proclaimed. Jesus is praying for you, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

Dennis J. Prutow | reformedvoice.com/rptsprof