“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
(John 17:20-23 ESV)
The "these only" refers to the apostles. Earlier in this prayer Jesus had prayed for them as they imparted the words He had entrusted to them. He now prays for us, those who have received, down the line, the truth of the Gospel entrusted to us. His prayer was simple - that the Gospel would so unify us in fellowship with Him and one another that the a watching world would witness it's power in our lives and be drawn to Him. Those are powerful words, that would reach across generations, miles and cultures to bring us all together. Can we even allow them to join us here and now?
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