Hamblin, John 17:7, Given from God 1 Dec 11, 2010

John 17:7, Given From God

John 17:7 (KJV, literal) John 17:7 (Greek, transliteration)

Now they know that everything nuvn e¶gnwkan o¢ti pa¿nta

that you have given me o¢sa de÷dwka¿ß moi
is from you. para» souv ei˙sin:

now they-know that all-things nun egnōkan hoti panta

that you-have-given to-me hosa dedōkas moi
from you are para sou eisin.

Now they know that all things you have given me are from you.

17.7, Now they know that all things you have given me are from you.

This passage does not mean that Christ has received “all the things that the Father

happens to have given,” but that the Father has given the Son “everything that there is” (panta).

Thus, in sone sense this passage could be paraphrased: “they [the disciples] know that all things

have been given to me [Jesus] by you [the Father].” This interpretation is confirmed by the fact

that elsewhere John explicitly states that the Father has “given all things” (panta) to the Son. 1

Matthew expresses this concept a bit differently when, after his resurrection, Jesus says: “all

authority (eksousia) in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Mt 28.18). For the disciples

to know that the Father has given all things to the Son is to know that the Son is divine, and is

one with the Father. It is thus an important part of knowing the Father and the Son that brings

eternal life (17.3).

1 Jn 3.35, 13.3; Mt 11.27; Lk 20.22.

Hamblin, John 17:7, Given from God 2 Dec 11, 2010

On the other hand, throughout his gospel, John enumerates a number of specific things

that the Father has given the Son, giving us a fuller sense of what this passage means.

• The Father gives Jesus “authority (eksousia) over all flesh” (Jn 17.2).

• The Father gives the Son his “glory” (17.1, 22, 24).

• The Father has given the Son his name (Jn 17.6, 11-12).

• The Father gives the Son “what to say” (Jn 12.49-50), and what to do (Jn 5.19-20),

including specific works or assignments to accomplish (Jn 5.36).

• The Father gives the word/logos, or teaching, to the Son (Jn 17.6, 14).

• The Father gives the “true bread from heaven” (Jn 6.32).

• The Father gives “gives the Spirit” (Jn 3.34), and the Second Comforter (14.16, 26).

• Whatever the disciples ask in the Son’s name, the Father will give (Jn 15.16, 16.23).

• The Father gives Jesus the “cup” that he must drink (Jn 18.11), meaning his suffering

and death of the atonement.

• “All judgment is given to the Son” (Jn 5.22, 27).

• The Father has given the Son to have life in himself (Jn 5.12, 26), meaning that he can

overcome death through the resurrection.

• The Father gives eternal life (Jn 5.21, 27).

• Finally, it is important to note that the Father has given the disciples to the Son,2

indeed, “no one can come to [Christ] unless it is given him by the Father” (Jn 6.55).

2 Jn 6.37-39, 10.29, 17.9, 11, 24.

Hamblin, John 17:7, Given from God 3 Dec 11, 2010

But the point of this passage is not simply that Jesus has been given “all things” by the

Father, but that the disciples now know this. This is part of the life-giving knowledge about the

Father and Son and their relationship (17.3). But is also about the relationship of the disciples to

the Father and Son. As we shall see, when the disciples realize is that they were given to the Son

by the Father, this transformational knowledge changes their understanding of the relationship of

the Father to the Son--and the disciples’ relationship to both--and is foundational to the the theme

of oneness discussed in 17.11, 21-23.