Book of Common Prayer

The Word of Life

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have gazed at, and our hands have handled—concerning the Word of Life! ² That life was displayed, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and we announce to you the life of God’s coming age, which was with the father and was displayed to us. ³ That which we have seen and heard, we announce to you too, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the father, and with his son Jesus the Messiah. ⁴ We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

God’s light and our darkness

⁵ This is the message which we have heard from him, and announce to you: God is light, and there is no darkness at all in him. ⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the dark, we are telling lies, and not doing what is true. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, just as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his son makes us pure and clean from all sin. ⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and his word is not in us.

Glorify the son

17 After Jesus had said this, he lifted up his eyes to heaven.

“Father,” he said, “the moment has come. Glorify your son, so that your son may glorify you. ² Do this in the same way as you did when you gave him authority over all flesh, so that he could give the life of God’s coming age to everyone you gave him. ³ And by ‘the life of God’s coming age’ I mean this: that they should know you, the only true God, and Jesus the Messiah, the one you sent.

⁴ “I glorified you on earth, by completing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ So now, Father, glorify me, alongside yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the world existed.

⁶ “I revealed your name to the people you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you; you gave them to me; and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything which you gave me comes from you. ⁸ I have given them the words you gave me, and they have received them. They have come to know, in truth, that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me.”

Jesus prays for his people

⁹ “I’m praying for them. I’m not praying for the world, but for the people you’ve given me. They belong to you. ¹⁰ All mine are yours; all yours are mine; and I’m glorified in them.

¹¹ “I’m not in the world any longer, but they’re still in the world; I’m coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, the name you’ve given to me, so that they may be one, just as we are one.