Verse 6 says, “They have kept Your word,” and verse 8 says, “For the words which You gave Me I have given to them, and they received them.” In these verses we see in the Greek that the Father has two kinds of words: logos, the constant word, in verse 6 and rhema, the instant words, in verse 8. Both the logos and the rhema are used by the Lord to impart eternal life to the believers. The logos, the constant word, is always the same. The written word in the Bible is the logos. But when you read the logos, the Spirit will use a sentence, a phrase, or even a single word to inspire you, and that word will become the instant word. Take the example of John 3:16. As the written word in the Bible, John 3:16 is the logos. One day, as you read this verse, the written word becomes the instant word. Suddenly the words, “God so loved the world,” stand out, and you say, “Oh, God so loved me!” By this we see how the constant word becomes the instant word, how the logos becomes the rhema.
Both the constant word and the instant word, the logos and the rhema, are for imparting eternal life into the believers who receive these words. The Father’s words are not mainly for teaching or instruction; they are mainly for imparting life into the believers. When the words, “God so loved the world,” stood out to you and you were inspired, saying, “Praise God, You loved me,” life was immediately imparted into you. You received the Father’s life. The Father’s life is the Father’s reality. When we have the life of the Father, we also have the Father and enjoy the Father. Where is the Father? The Father is in His life, for His divine life is the reality of the name Father.
When we received the word of God, we were regenerated by that word (1 Pet. 1:23) and became the sons of God. In this way, God became our Father and we became the sons of God. The Lord came to reveal to His disciples that God is the Father, the source of life, who intends to bring forth countless sons. Therefore, the Lord brought the word of God to His disciples, who, by receiving the word, became the reborn sons of God. They became the sons of God, and God became their Father. Consequently, they have the name of the Father. Now they can call God their Father because they have the life of God which makes them the children of God.
In verse 11 the Lord said, “And I am no longer in the world, and they are in the world; and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.” To be kept in the Father’s name is to be kept by His life, because only those who are born of the Father and have the Father’s life can participate in the Father’s name. The Son has given the Father’s life to those whom the Father has given Him (v. 2). They share the Father’s name by being kept in it, and they are one in it. Hence, the first aspect of oneness is the oneness in the Father’s name by His divine life.
The Son’s believers are still in the world. They need to be kept, that is, separated, from the world that they might be sanctified, made holy. In verse 11 the Son prays that the Father, who is holy, will do this.
In verse 11 the Lord addresses His Father as “Holy Father.” The Father’s life is a holy life, a life that is separated from the world. Although we have this life, if we stay far away from the Holy Father, we shall have problems. We all need to be kept in the Father’s name by the life of the Holy Father.