17:15
As is often said, we are in the world not of the world. Christianity is not escapism. Our natural reaction is usually to want to avoid conflict. But Jesus’ prayer is that we remain in the world and are protected by the Father. Now I am sure that we can all agree that Jesus’ prayers will be answered! So we can be confident. This day we can be sure that the Father is protecting us, just as He protected Jesus. We have exactly the same covering. Now we must also remember that the Father’s covering involved leading Jesus to the cross, it may also include us suffering for the sake of the kingdom, but we can be sure that nothing happens that is outside God’s control. We are protected from the evil one. The devil is real, but is our protection.
17:16
Note the identification of us with Jesus. When we come to know Christ we are born again, we become a new creation. Now, for all the time we are on earth our old self is still and we experience the flesh warring against the spirit, but we need to know where our true identity lies, and it is with Christ (Col 3:1-4). As we mature in Christ the new self becomes more dominant and more of the old self dies. So we are not of the world any longer. Now there may be times when we wish we were just like everyone else in the world, in those times we need to remind ourselves that we belong to Jesus.
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