John 17:7

John 17:7 says, Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.  Jesus was speaking of His role as Savior.  The Father gave Jesus a task to perform, and that was the salvation of mankind.  We cannot make this a statement that God gave certain people to Christ for salvation. He gave Jesus the task of saving all of mankind, but only those who have accepted the sacrifice of Christ are truly His.  We have to continue to emphasize these facts, because Jesus did.  Verse eight adds, For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I have come out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.  We cannot be restored to a personal relationship with God unless we believe the words of Christ and that He was sent by the Father to save the world.  We may not fully comprehend the triune nature of God, but we have to accept that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are One.  We cannot pick the parts we want to believe.  Verse nine continues, I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are mine.  This does not mean that Jesus died only for some.  As He prayed for strength and protection for His disciples, He could not pray the same prayer for those who did not believe.  This does not mean that Jesus did not care for the rest of the world, but His prayer for them would have to be that they accept the salvation He came to bring.  As His followers, the disciples had a faith relationship with Jesus, even if it was weak at times.  The same is true of His followers today.  We are His by faith, and even in times when that faith is weak, we are His.  Once we truly accept Jesus as our Savior, He seals us to Himself for time everlasting.  Verse ten concludes, And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.  If we belong to Jesus, we belong to the Father, and if we belong to the Father, we belong to Jesus.  Again, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are One.  If we belong to Christ, we belong to the God of the Old Testament.  Our lives should glorify what Jesus did for us on the cross.