Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
John 17:2 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 2. 2As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
John 17:2 serves as the second turn in Jesus Prays for Glory and Completes the Given Work, where it sets the next condition for the scene's response: “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him”.
Read It With
- John 17:1-5
Read John 17:2 with 17:1-5. In isolation, this contribution—serves as the second turn in Jesus Prays for Glory and Completes the Given Work, where it sets the next condition for the scene's response: “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him”—can be detached from its speaker, question, sign, festival, conflict, or outcome. The complete unit establishes: Jesus addresses the Father as the hour arrives, asks to glorify the Son so the Son may glorify the Father, defines eternal life relationally, and asks for the glory he had before the world.
Why This Verse Appears Here
John 17:2 serves as the second turn in Jesus Prays for Glory and Completes the Given Work, where it sets the next condition for the scene's response: “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him”. As the second turn in Jesus Prays for Glory and Completes the Given Work, it locates its force in the scene's sequence of claim and response: Jesus addresses the Father as the hour arrives, asks to glorify the Son so the Son may glorify the Father, defines eternal life relationally, and asks for the glory he had before the world.
Follow the Context
- John 17:1-5 is a coherent Johannine movement titled “Jesus Prays for Glory and Completes the Given Work.” The change in speaker, place, audience, festival setting, or narrated response at each edge gives this unit its natural limits.
- Jesus addresses the Father as the hour arrives, asks to glorify the Son so the Son may glorify the Father, defines eternal life relationally, and asks for the glory he had before the world.
- Glory in John embraces the cross, resurrection, return, and preexistent relation rather than fame. Calling the Father 'the only true God' alongside Jesus Christ whom he sent contributes to, but does not exhaust, later Trinitarian theology. Eternal life is knowing relation, not mere information.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
This verse does not detach its specific contribution—serves as the second turn in Jesus Prays for Glory and Completes the Given Work, where it sets the next condition for the scene's response: “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him”—from John 17:1-5 or negate the unit's explicit boundary: Glory does not mean celebrity, wealth, domination, or escape from embodied suffering.
What Remains True
John 17:2 serves as the second turn in Jesus Prays for Glory and Completes the Given Work, where it sets the next condition for the scene's response: “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him”. Its enduring force supports this passage-controlled response: Seek glory that reveals God's self-giving character, and understand eternal life as faithful relationship rather than religious status.
How It Can Shape Life
- For John 17:2, practice this verse's particular contribution by doing the following without outrunning John 17:1-5: Seek glory that reveals God's self-giving character, and understand eternal life as faithful relationship rather than religious status.
Teach It Back
Explain how John 17:2 serves as the second turn in Jesus Prays for Glory and Completes the Given Work, where it sets the next condition for the scene's response: “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him”. Include 17:1-5, one stated uncertainty, and the misuse boundary attached to this Lens.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read John 17:1-5 — Jesus Prays for Glory and Completes the Given WorkSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: John 17:1-5, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and critical-text reading checked independently of the KJV.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/John.txt, 17:1-5
Open the John Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — John with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level syntax, older-English clarification, material variants, background, and alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible John PDF, John 17:1-5 and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET John PDF ↗