17:11 Holy Father. This form of address is used only here in the New Testament.

that they may be one, even as we are one. The unity of Persons in the Trinity is the example for the unity of believers with one another through their union with Christ (14:10 note). There is a unity of purpose and essence in the invisible church, the body of Christ. This perfect unity (Eph. 4:12–16), to be manifested on the day of Christ, already forms and shapes God’s people so “that the world may believe” (v. 21). Organized unity is no substitute for spiritual unity, although organizational divisions and separations among Christians undoubtedly bear a negative witness in the world (1 Cor. 1:10–13; 12:25; Gal. 5:20).