John 17:23

John 17:23, in plain English

Jesus prays for believers to be perfectly united—'I in them and you in me'—so the world will know God sent Jesus and loves them just as much as He loves Jesus.

Why it's here

The world's most compelling evidence that God is real isn't arguments—it's the love and unity among Jesus' followers. That's what Jesus is praying for here.

Who's speaking

Jesus prays for the deepest possible unity among His people.

Where it sits in the story

Jesus wants such deep unity among His followers that the watching world can't explain it apart from God. When they see your love for each other, they'll see the Father's love.

The scholarly reading

Jesus describes a layered indwelling—Himself in believers, the Father in Him—aimed at perfecting their unity and demonstrating to the world both Christ's divine mission and the Father's love.

Language and setting

The phrase 'perfectly united' (teteleiomenoi eis hen) uses the perfect passive participle, indicating a state of completed unity. The dual witness to the world—Christ's sending and the Father's love—constitutes the church's most powerful apologetic.

Voice

Jesus articulates the deepest purpose of unity in His prayer.

Significance

Jesus envisions concentric circles of indwelling: He in believers, the Father in Him, all moving toward perfect unity. This unity becomes the world's clearest evidence of divine love.

21that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

22I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one—

23I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.

24Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

25Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me.

Read all of John 17 — You get to overhear Jesus praying to the Father. He prays for His disciples — and then He prays for you.