John 17

v1-5: Christ came into the world to give eternal life to His people.  Eternal life is the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ.  It is to know God "as our Creator, and to love him, obey him, submit to him, and trust in him as our owner, ruler, and benefactor, to devote ourselves to him as our sovereign Lord, to depend on him as our chief good, and to direct everything to his praises as our highest aim." It is to know Christ "as our Redeemer, since it is through him alone that we can now have access to God."

v6-10: Jesus prayed for those who had been given to Him.  He is praying for those that were given given to Him to be redeemed.  He knows who they are by name.  If you are trusting in Christ for salvation, He knows your name and He is praying for you.

v11-16: Christ is praying to His Father for His people's protection and preservation, "that they would be kept from sin, have the resources for their duty, and be brought safely to heaven." He is praying that we would be kept from the corruption that is in the world. "The wonderful preservation of the Gospel ministry and the Gospel church in the world to this day is owing to this prayer."

v17-19: After praying for His people to be protected from evil, He prays that they also would be made good, "to be made holy."  In His intercession for us, Christ is praying for our sanctification.

v20-23: Christ both died and prayed to gather all His people together in one body.  He prays that they would "all be inspired by one Spirit" and "bound together in love". This prayer, however, will not be completely fulfilled "until all believers come to heaven, for then, and not until then, will they be perfect in one."

v24-26: A final petition of Jesus is that all His people would be with Him in heaven.  Heaven is "to be where Christ is.. in the paradise to which His soul and body went at his ascension."  It is "to be with him where he is... The very heaven of heaven is to be with Christ, to enjoy his company there and delight in fellowship with him."  It is "to be behold his glory... God shows his glory there through Christ, just as he shows his grace here through him."