Why does God leave us here after we become Christians? Think of all the pain, grief, and sorrow we could avoid if God would take us away to heaven rather than remain on earth. God has, according to His good will, determined that it is best for His children to remain in the world. In John 17:6-19, Jesus prays to the Father on behalf of His disciples that He wouldn’t remove His children from the world, but would secure and sanctify them as they proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God.
Secure in Christ (17:6-13)
First, Jesus prays that His disciples would be secure in Christ because they belong to Christ, they have received God’s words, and they are protected in the world.
Belong to Christ
The disciples are secure in Christ because they belong to Christ. Jesus says that He has “manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word” (17:6). The disciples were called by Jesus and given to Jesus by the Father. They were not chosen because they were important people, but chosen by grace to bear fruit (John 15:16). These men walked with Jesus and “Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You” (17:7). Because they belong to Jesus, He is advocating on their behalf. He said, “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours” (17:9). Jesus is the Mediator (Advocate) between God and Christians; this a special relationship. John wrote about this John 1:12, “but as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”
Received the Word
The disciples are secure in Christ because they have received God’s words. Jesus said, “For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me” (17:8). Peter would later testify, “we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). They know that Jesus is the prophet like Moses who will have the words of God in His mouth who must be heard and obeyed (Deut 18:15,18). We magnify (or malign) Christ with our thoughts, words, and actions. The words/commands of Christ should guide our lives and we must know the word of God and be able to distinguish it from error.
Protected in the World
The disciples are secure in Christ because Christ protects them in the world. We belong to Christ, have received His word, and we exist to bring Him glory (17:10). Jesus pleads for the Father to “keep through Your name those whom You have given Me” (17:11). Jesus has kept them and none have been lost except Judas (son of perdition) (17:12). As they are protected, Jesus wants His joy fulfilled in them (17:13). It is God’s will that His children remain in the world and that they are kept secure in Christ as they carry out the mission of their Lord. Christians are not fearful because Christ loves us and cares for us.
Sanctified for Christ (17:14-19)
Second, Jesus prays that His disciples would be sanctified (set apart for holy use) for Christ because they do not belong to this world, they have the truth, and their mission is in the world.
Not of the World
The disciples are sanctified for Christ because they do not belong to this world. Jesus said “I have given them Your world; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (17:14). Vance Havner once said, “It’s one thing for the boat to be in the water, it’s another matter if the water is in the boat.” Christians are in the world, but the world should not be in them. We are “His own special people” (1 Peter 2:9). Jesus said, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (17:15-16). We are to do battle against the devil and his army. Christians are supposed to stand out because we have been called out of the world to live for God. We are supposed to be different. We shouldn’t think, speak, or act like the ungodly.
Sanctified by the Word
The disciples are sanctified for Christ because they have the truth. Jesus said, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (17:17). Later Jesus adds, “and for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth” (17:19). Christians are sanctified and called to be holy (1 Peter 1:16). The Psalmist speaks of the sanctifying work of the word of God. He wrote, “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word” (Ps 119:9). He also wrote, “Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth” (Ps 119:142). He adds to this, “You are near, O Lord, and all Your commandments are truth” (Ps 119:151). The disciples are set apart by God because we are taught by God. We hear and obey the commands of God. Our standard of truth is the Bible. We will obey God rather than man as we seek to win men to Christ. There is no Christianity without God’s Law.
Sent into the World
The disciples are sanctified for Christ because their mission is in the world. Jesus said, “As You sent Me into the world I also have sent them into the world” (17:18). The disciples are not taken out of the world, but sent into the world to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God. The disciples mission is to be sanctified for Christ as they live for Him and proclaim that He is the Messiah who offers forgiveness of sin and eternal life. Jesus sent out His disciples earlier “to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:2). We see this in the early parts of Acts when the disciples proclaimed that Jesus is the Son of God. Peter said, “God had sworn with an oath to [David] that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ” (Acts 2:30-31). Paul would proclaim in Athens that God “commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31). The earth is our mission field.Why does God leave us here on earth after we become Christians? Why do we undergo pain, trials and heartache? God does so because He intends to use it in us to mature us. He also uses us in it to draw others to Jesus. Consider, why would God remove us from trials and troubles when it brings Him glory by maturing our faith and providing a powerful testimony of Him? As Christians, while we still draw breath in this world, we can have confidence “that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6). Let us cast aside indifference, apathy, anger, and malice. Let us boldly proclaim that Jesus is Lord!
First Baptist Scott City, MO 
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