20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 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. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 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. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
— John 17:20-26, ESV

Perhaps you’ve read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman.  Twenty million copies of the book have been sold since it was written in 1992.  Chapman is sometimes panned by the church for not being theological enough (though he’s earned a Ph.D. from SWBTS), and by the world for not being scientific enough (he’s a biblical counselor, not Freudian), but I find him the wisest and wittiest writer and speaker on the subject of marriage and relationships I have ever read or heard.  At age 87 he is still ticking, and I hope he lives to be 103.  

If you have not read the book, let me summarize.  Chapman proposes five love languages (hence the title) which can and should be used to strengthen marriages and other interpersonal relationships.  They are: words, time, service, gifts, and touch.  

Words well worded work wonderfully.  Time is a means to really get to know someone and grow a relationship.  Descending to serve others is always the way up.  Everyone loves gifts.  And, we all need a loving touch, a kiss or a hug or a glad handshake, from someone who loves us.  

Do you know God speaks these love languages?  He invented them, of course.  He spoke them long before Chapman’s book was written.  And, you can hear them, all five of them, in the crescendo of the high priestly prayer of Jesus.  

After the upper room and before the cross, Jesus prayed.  He prayed for Himself, for the burden He was about to bear (ref. John 17:1-5).  He prayed for His immediate disciples about to be left behind (ref. John 17:6-19).  And, He prayed for you, me, and every member of Christ’s church who has been saved through the apostolic preaching of the cross (ref. 17:20-26).  In this final, personal part of the prayer, Jesus speaks the five love languages of God.

“Believe” = Faith = Words (vs. 20, 21)

You cannot hear God speak until you “believe” God exists.  

In O Brother, Where Art Thou, Pappy O’Daniel is the Governor of Mississippi.  A seasoned politician, he campaigned in the early days by “pressing the flesh,” shaking hands, one on one with his constituents.  Then he discovered radio, and began “mass communicating” his words over the air to reach a larger public.

In the beginning, God pressed the flesh.  He showed up, in person, to speak His words of love to the people of His choosing.  He just appeared, from Adam to Abraham to Moses, to enable people believe in Him.

Beginning with Moses, however, God began to mass communicate.  He withdrew from public view, in bodily form for the most part, and began broadcasting words of Scripture to call His people to faith, from Moses’ Pentateuch to John’s Revelation.  

Since then, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (ref. Romans 10:17, KJV).  Read the Bible cover to cover, the New Testament over and over, the Gospels over and over and over.  Listen to good preaching and teaching, and it’s only good if it comes from the Bible and revels in the gospel.  It is this love language of God that will lead you to “believe,” and belief itself is the gift of God (ref. Ephesians 2:8; 2 Peter 1:1).  

“Know” = Relationship = Time (vs. 23, 25, 25, 25, 26, 26)

Time is of the essence if you really want to “know” the Lord.  God makes time for those He loves.  Do you make time for God?

“Know” in Jesus’ prayer and in both biblical languages means so much more than merely grasping facts.  It means grasping a person.  It means personal relationship.  Loving, personal relationships require time.

Did you know Jesus spent a large amount of time during His earthly life reading Scripture and praying to God the Father?  He memorized what we call the Old Testament and would sometimes spend all night in prayer.  He could also be found in public worship at the synagogue every sabbath day.  In these and other ways of spending time, Father and Son (and Spirit) knew each of the other persons in the Godhead perfectly well.

Forgive the cliché, but God is always there for you.  “He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (ref. Psalm 121:4), and this includes you if you are born again into Christ’s church, “The Israel of God” (ref. Galatians 6:16).  Like the prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (ref. Jeremiah 1:5), God has always known you and spends every second of every day watching over you.  

Respond to His love with your love, and time, and get to know Him better and better. 

“One” = Unity = Service (vs. 22, 22, 23)

“One” Christian cannot make much of a difference unless he or she is “one” with Christ’s church and strives to keep the church “one.”  

I am going to tiptoe close to blasphemy here, so pray I do not cross the line.  Imagine if God were not the Holy Trinity.  Imagine the Father without Son or Spirit.  Who would bear the burden of our sin and win our forgiveness?  Who would convict and convert our hearts unto salvation?  

But praise the Lord, He is three-in-one, a tri-unity, with an emphasis in Jesus’ prayer of their need to be “one.”  Only as three-in-one can they serve their purpose, to choose and save and possess for all eternity the elect of God.  

Only a unified, gospel church can serve the purposes of the one, true, and living God in this world.  A worship service cannot be accomplished by one, but by a church meeting as one.  Discipleship is a team sport.  Fellowship requires fellows.  Ministry needs many hands.  Missions have a lot of moving parts.

This is why the Psalmist wrote, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity” (ref. Psalm 133:1).  Unloving language breaks unity apart and displeases the Lord.  When we worship and work as “one,” love is experienced and people are reached, making the Lord’s church a heaven on earth, with the true heaven just in sight.  

“Glory” = Heaven = Gift (vs. 22, 24)

Heaven is the home the Father gifts to His children.  The closest description we have in words is the indescribable word, “glory.”  The glory of Heaven is the gift of God.

We get only glimpses of glory in this life.  As a hometown hero of sorts, I heard my name shouted in glory when I threw the game-winning touchdown pass and hit the walk-off homer.  But there is a far better glory.  

I heard it in January of 1982 when the Lord called me to be His own, when I was born again.  At other stages of my Christian life, the calling to serve Him as a Pastor, discovering the doctrines of grace, preaching just the right sermon at the right time, these give me tinges of glory.  But there is a far better glory.

Jesus prayed we would have it, His glory.  It does not get any better than this.  It is Heaven.  And we will hear it, see it, feel it, and touch it when we go to be with the Lord.

“Love” = Eternity = Touch (vs. 23, 23, 24, 26, 26)

Nothing touches the heart more than a touch accompanied by the three most touching words in the English language, “I love you.”  From the beginning of our relationship with God, to its never end, “love” is the theme.  

Love is never underrated, but I feel it is underemphasized in the church today, and I am culpable.  We must remember Jesus mentioned love several times in this short close of His long prayer.  Therefore, I am trying to atone for my sin with this sermon, to bring God’s love, and the language He uses to speak it, to the forefront.  

I do not like paintings of Jesus.  They strike too close to a violation of the Second Commandment for my comfort, though I would not accuse those who paint or like such pictures of a sin.  Besides, I am sure the paintings never do Him justice.  I once refused the opportunity to serve a church, and a good opportunity it was, because above their baptistry stood a twelve-foot-tall, stained glass, rendering of the European/American, blond-haired, blue-eyed Jesus.  No thank you.

But I must admit one such painting of the Lord did manage to touch my soul.  The Jesus part made me uncomfortable, again, but in the picture He was reaching out to embrace a well-drawn, broken-down fellow as he entered Heaven.  Jesus was smiling at him.  Jesus was embracing him.  Jesus was touching him, with a smile on His face and nail scars on His hands.

We hem and haw, we balk and bluff,
Our words don’t ever seem to say enough;
But a simple smile, a tender touch,
Speaks the true language of love.
— Dan Fogelberg

Let God speak to you today, in the language of love.  Hear His word and come to faith.  Take the time to get to know Him, well.  Be one with Him and His church.  Receive the gift of Heaven.  Wait for His embrace.