Deutero Q

I have been preaching the last few Sundays from the Lord's high priestly prayer in John 17. Martin Luther was surely right when he said, "This prayer may sound plain and simple, but it is reality deep, rich, and wide, and none can fully understand."

So many things about this "deep, rich, and wide" prayer stand out to me. For instance, Jesus refers four different times to His people as given to Him by the Father. Likewise, earlier in John's gospel Jesus says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him...." Jesus also said the giving by God precedes the coming to God (John 6:37). The Living Word Himself and the written Word of God both clearly teach God's sovereign initiative in saving sinners. For myself, I am finding that the older I get and the more I study sacred Scripture, the more convinced I am of the deadness of man in sin and the sovereignty of God in salvation.

Secondly, and relatedly, I note Jesus' words in John 17:9: "I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me." Whatever one thinks of the doctrine of definite atonement (or limited atonement/particular redemption, whatever term you prefer!), it is notable that Jesus does not pray for the world. My Reformation Study Bible comments that it would be absurd for Jesus to die to take away peoples' sins and then refuse to pray for them. That is a good point. To my mind, John 17 can be adduced to make a strong case for definite atonement.