John 17:3

The Pulpit Commentary - John 17:3

The life eternal , of which Jesus has just spoken, is this (cf. for construction, John 15:12 ; 1 John 3:11 , 1 John 3:23 ; 1 John 5:3 ), that £ they might know —should come to know— thee, the only veritable God . All ideas of God which deviate from or fall short of "the Father" revealed to us by Christ, are not the veritable God, and the knowledge of them is not life eternal. The Father is here set forth as the fens Deitatis . This does not exclude "the Son," but is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 17:3

Knowledge and life: a sermon for the young. We cannot doubt that God knows us. We cannot conceive of him otherwise than as knowing all things. "He telleth the number of the stars;" and at the same time he reads the secrets of every heart. The psalmist took a just view of his God when he exclaimed, "Thou art acquainted with all my ways: for there is not a word in my tongue, but lo Lord, thou knowest it altogether." But whilst God knows us perfectly, we can only know him imperfectly. Yet it... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 17:3

What eternal life is given for. By the faculties inherent in natural life there comes the knowledge of every natural object. If there is to be the knowledge of more, there must be something more whereby to know. Hence it seems not enough here to take "eternal life" as but another way of expressing the knowledge of the only true God and of his Son. Rather is it true of him who has the life of eternity in him that he thereby gets that glorious knowledge which God and Jesus want him to have.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - John 17:3

This is life eternal - This is the source of eternal life; or it is in this manner that it is to be obtained. The knowledge of God and of his Son Jesus Christ is itself a source of unspeakable and eternal joy. Compare John 11:25; John 6:63; John 12:50.Might know thee - The word “know” here, as in other places, expresses more than a mere speculative acquaintance with the character and perfections of God. “It includes all the impressions on the mind and life which a just view of God and of the... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - John 17:1-3

John 17:1-3. These words spake Jesus Namely, the words recorded in the three preceding chapters; and lifted up his eyes to heaven Put himself in the posture of prayer. The following has been called Our Lord’s Intercessory Prayer, because it is considered as a pattern of the intercession he is now making in heaven for his people. In it he comprises all he had said from chap. John 13:31, and seals, as it were, all he had hitherto done, beholding things past, present, and to come. It... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - John 17:1-26

148. Jesus’ prayer (John 17:1-26)Having announced his victory over the world (see John 16:33), Jesus now offers a prayer that reflects the triumph of his completed work. He begins by speaking of his relationship with the Father. Jesus’ work was to reveal God to the world so that people might receive eternal life through him. He prays that by dying on the cross and successfully finishing his work, he will bring glory to his Father. At the same time, his death will bring glory to himself, for it... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - John 17:3

this , &c. Not a definition of eternal life, but the purpose (Greek. hina, as in John 17:1 ) for which it is given. know. App-132 . true . App-175 ., and p. 1511. God . App-98 . Jesus Christ . App-98 . sent. App-174 . Christ said to be the sent One six times in this prayer, forty-three times in John; apostello, 17 times; pempo, 33 times. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - John 17:3

And this is life eternal, that they know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ.Here is stated the fundamental condition of receiving eternal life. Men must know God and Jesus Christ in order to be saved.Jesus Christ ... Jesus' third person reference to himself in this compound title is the basis of all kinds of wild speculations to the effect that these are John's words, not those of our Lord; but without doubt these are the true words of Jesus (see under John... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - John 17:3

John 17:3. And this is life eternal;— But, or now, this is the eternal life, &c. "Now, the way to this eternal life, the beginnings and earnests of it, the evidences of right and title to it, lie, not only in their approving and fiducial knowledge of thee, under the character of the only true and faithful God, in opposition to all other gods; but also in the like knowledge of me, the anointed Saviour, whom thou hast sent into the world under the character of the only true Mediator, in... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - John 17:3

3. this is—that. life eternal, that they might—may. know, c.—This life eternal, then, is not mere conscious and unending existence, but a life of acquaintance with God in Christ ( :-). thee, the only true God—the sole personal living God in glorious contrast equally with heathen polytheism, philosophic naturalism, and mystic pantheism. and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent—This is the only place where our Lord gives Himself this compound name, afterwards so current in apostolic preaching and... read more

Group of Brands